Books like 'Once a Monster'
Readers who enjoyed Once a Monster by Robert Dinsdale also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
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Jackalope Wives and Other Stories by T. Kingfisher
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWinner of the Nebula and WSFA Short Fiction Awards From award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes a collection of short stories, including "Jackalope Wives," "The Tomato Thief," "Pocosin," and many others. By turns funny, lyrical, angry and beautiful, this anthology includes two all-new stories, "Origin Story" and "Let Pass The Horses Black," appearing for the first time in print...Categorized as:
industrial-era low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings adult animals anthologies -
![Phantom by Susan Kay]()
Phantom by Susan Kay
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThis incredible portrait of Erik--the Phantom--recreates his entire life, from his survival as a child in a carnival freak show to his creative genius behind the Paris Opera House--and its labyrinthine world below--to his discovery of love...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction industrial-era retellings victorian action-adventure adult book -
![The Master's Apprentice: A Retelling of the Faust Legend by Oliver Pötzsch]()
The Master's Apprentice: A Retelling of the Faust Legend by Oliver Pötzsch
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA young man’s destined quest becomes a dance with the devil in a mesmerizing retelling of the Faust legend by the bestselling author of the Hangman’s Daughter Tales series.It’s the fifteenth century and only heretics are curious about the universe.Germany, 1494. Born under a rare alignment of the stars, Johann Georg Gerlach, “the lucky one” to his mother—is fated for greatness... -
![The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde]()
The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsMore than 120 years after Oscar Wilde submitted "The Picture of Dorian Gray" for publication in "Lippincott's Monthly Magazine," the uncensored version of his novel appears here for the first time in a paperback edition. This volume restores all of the material removed by the novel's first editor.Upon receipt of the typescript, Wilde's editor panicked at what he saw...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction industrial-era magical-realism victorian adult audiobook book -
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![A Radical Act of Free Magic by H.G. Parry]()
A Radical Act of Free Magic by H.G. Parry
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA tale of revolution and wonder in a world not quite like our own, A Radical Act of Free Magic is the conclusion to this genre-defying series of magic, war, and the struggle for freedom in the early modern world.The Concord has been broken, and a war of magic engulfs the world...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings alternate-history book dragons -
![The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings by Oscar Wilde]()
The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings by Oscar Wilde
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFlamboyant and controversial, Oscar Wilde was a dazzling personality, a master of wit, and a dramatic genius whose sparkling comedies contain some of the most brilliant dialogue ever written for the English stage...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction industrial-era magical-realism victorian adult anthologies classics -
![The Ancient Ones (The Ancient Ones Trilogy, Book 1) by Cassandra L. Thompson]()
The Ancient Ones (The Ancient Ones Trilogy, Book 1) by Cassandra L. Thompson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen David stumbles upon a tragic young woman in a sordid Limehouse pub, he has no idea she’d recognize him as the last vampyre alive, nor that she’d be the one to pull out his story... -
![Apex Magazine Issue 56, January 2014 by Sigrid Ellis, Ursula Vernon]()
Apex Magazine Issue 56, January 2014 by Sigrid Ellis, Ursula Vernon
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsApex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction from many of the top pros of the field. New issues are released on the first Tuesday of every month. We are a 2013 Hugo Award nominee for Best Semiprozine! FICTION Pale Skin, Gray Eyes by Gene O'Neill Jackalope Wives by Ursula Vernon [pseudonym: T...Categorized as:
industrial-era low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings adult animals anthologies -
![Apex Magazine Issue 80 by Jason Sizemore, Ursula Vernon]()
Apex Magazine Issue 80 by Jason Sizemore, Ursula Vernon
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsApex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction from many of the top pros of the field. New issues are released on the first Tuesday of every month... -
![The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales by Chris Baldick]()
The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales by Chris Baldick
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBrimming with tales of terror, suspense, and the uncanny, this work offers the first collection devoted to the Gothic genre. Each story contains the common elements of the gothic tale--a warped sense of time, a claustrophobic setting, a link to archaic modes of thought, and the impression of a descent into disintegration...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction industrial-era myths retellings victorian adult anthologies -
![John Eyre: A Tale of Darkness and Shadow by Mimi Matthews]()
John Eyre: A Tale of Darkness and Shadow by Mimi Matthews
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews comes a supernatural Victorian gothic retelling of Charlotte Brontë's timeless classic.Yorkshire, 1843. When disgraced former schoolmaster John Eyre arrives at Thornfield Hall to take up a position as tutor to two peculiar young boys, he enters a world unlike any he’s ever known... -
![Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs]()
Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsBefore Miss Peregrine gave them a home, the story of peculiars was written in the Tales. Wealthy cannibals who dine on the discarded limbs of peculiars. A fork-tongued princess. The origins of the first ymbryne... -
![Dracul by Dacre Stoker, J.D. Barker]()
Dracul by Dacre Stoker, J.D. Barker
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe prequel to Dracula, inspired by notes and texts left behind by the author of the classic novel, Dracul is a supernatural thriller that reveals not only Dracula's true origins but Bram Stoker's--and the tale of the enigmatic woman who connects them.It is 1868, and a twenty-one-year-old Bram Stoker waits in a desolate tower to face an indescribable evil...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction industrial-era myths retellings victorian 21st-century action-adventure -
![The Gemma Doyle Trilogy (Gemma Doyle, #1-3) by Libba Bray]()
The Gemma Doyle Trilogy (Gemma Doyle, #1-3) by Libba Bray
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe three books of the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Gemma Doyle trilogy available together for the first time.This collection contains the complete text of the three Gemma Doyle novels, a deliciously sweeping and haunting saga that won't let you go. It's the only way to get all three of Libba Bray's critically acclaimed novels in one bundle...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction industrial-era retellings victorian action-adventure book children-books -
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![The Thirteenth Gate by Kat Ross]()
The Thirteenth Gate by Kat Ross
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWinter 1888. At a private asylum in the English countryside, a man suspected of being Jack the Ripper kills an orderly and flees into the rain-soaked night. His distraught keepers summon the Lady Vivienne Cumberland—who's interviewed their patient and isn't sure he's a man at all... -
![The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories by Michael Cox]()
The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories by Michael Cox
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Victorians excelled at telling ghost stories. In an age of rapid scientific progress, the idea of a vindictive past able to reach out and violate the present held a special potential for terror. Throughout the nineteenth century, fictional ghost stories developed in parallel with the more general Victorian fascination with death and what lay beyond it... -
![The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell]()
The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a gripping tale of obsession, superstition and ambition, set against the atmospheric backdrop of Victorian London. Be careful what you wish for it may just come true.At The Mercury Theatre in London's West End, rumours are circulating of a curse... -
![Shriek: An Afterword by Jeff VanderMeer]()
Shriek: An Afterword by Jeff VanderMeer
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom the author of Borne and Annihilation comes the paperback reissue of his cult classic Shriek: An Afterword... -
![Poor Things by Alasdair Gray]()
Poor Things by Alasdair Gray
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOne of Alasdair Gray's most brilliant creations, Poor Things is a postmodern revision of Frankensteinthat replaces the traditional monster with Bella Baxter—a beautifulyoung erotomaniac brought back to life with the brain of an infant.Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion isrealized when he finds the drowned body of Bella, but his dream isthwarted by Dr...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction industrial-era magical-realism retellings victorian adult book -
![The Raven Song by Luanne G. Smith]()
The Raven Song by Luanne G. Smith
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsFleeing Victorian London, a witch finds her newfound independence comes with all-new perils—both mortal and immortal.Forever untangling the branches of her strange family tree, Edwina Blackwood is at a turning point. Her parents’ disappearances still strike her as unaccountably odd. Her sister’s questionable life and untimely death have left her shaken... -
![Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti, Joyce Carol Oates]()
Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti, Joyce Carol Oates
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsExperience the temptation, pleasure, punishment, and redemption of Christina Rossetti's brilliant poetic masterpiece in this classic keepsake edition, gorgeously illustrated with Pre-Raphaelite paintings by Christina's brother, Dante Gabriel Rossetti...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction industrial-era magical-realism myths victorian adult audiobook -
![The Fear Institute by Jonathan L. Howard]()
The Fear Institute by Jonathan L. Howard
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsJohannes Cabal and his rather inexact powers of necromancy are back once more. This time, his talents are purchased by The Fear Institute as they hunt for the Phobic Animus - the embodiment of fear...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction industrial-era low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings victorian -
![The Witch’s Lens by Luanne G. Smith]()
The Witch’s Lens by Luanne G. Smith
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsAs World War I rages, there are evils—both living and dead—that only a witch can see in a spellbinding novel by the Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestselling author of The Raven Spell.With her husband off fighting at World War I’s eastern front, Petra Kurková embraces her fleeting freedom, roaming the city at night with her camera...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magical-realism myths gothic low-fantasy retellings fantasy paranormal -
![The Erstwhile by Brian Catling]()
The Erstwhile by Brian Catling
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn London and Germany, strange beings are reanimating themselves. They are the Erstwhile, the angels that failed to protect the Tree of Knowledge, and their reawakening will have major consequences. In Africa, the colonial town of Essenwald has fallen into disarray because the timber workforce has disappeared into the Vorrh. Now a team of specialists are dispatched to find them...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism adult audiobook body-horror book -
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![Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came by Robert Browning]()
Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came by Robert Browning
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWritten in 1855 and first published in the collection "Men and Women", Browning's narrative poem later served as the inspiration for Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series. The poem tells the tale of Roland, a knight, who comes as last to the object of his quest: the Dark Tower. His comrades have all fallen, and he is the last. He endures, marching on and on, until he comes at last to the Tower... -
![Dracula the Undead by Freda Warrington]()
Dracula the Undead by Freda Warrington
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe legend returns . . . - It is seven years since a stake was driven through the heart of the infamous Count Dracula. Seven years which have not eradicated the terrible memories for Jonathan and Mina Harker, who now have a young son. To lay their memories to rest they return to Transylvania, and can find no trace of the horrific events... -
![Spirited by Julie Cohen]()
Spirited by Julie Cohen
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratings'I stayed up late, gripped. An unusual, moving read... -
![Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods]()
Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsA dark and enchanting fairy tale-inspired historical fantasy combining elements of "The Little Mermaid" and "Cinderella" into a wholly original tale of love, power, and betrayal.Saint-Malo, Brittany, 1758.For Lucinde Leon, the youngest daughter of one of Saint-Malo's wealthiest ship-owners, the high walls of the city are more hindrance than haven...Categorized as:
historical-fiction retellings magical-realism myths low-fantasy romance fantasy historical -
![Lungdon: Book Three by Edward Carey]()
Lungdon: Book Three by Edward Carey
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe delightfully macabre, astonishingly original trilogy reaches its thrilling conclusionThe dirt town of Foulsham has been destroyed, its ashes still smoldering. Darkness lies heavily over the city, the sun has not come up for days, and inside the houses of people throughout the capital, ordinary objects have begun to move. Strange new people run through the darkened streets... -
![The Dragon Coin by Aiden James]()
The Dragon Coin by Aiden James
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsASIN B00DPVP5ME moved to the most recent edition with new title Immortal DragonFree of the threat of Viktor Kaslow, William Barrow (aka Judas Iscariot) is tantalizingly close to finally having the life he has dreamed of with Beatrice and Alistair. A life blessed with youthful optimism and renewed companionship—things he once feared were forever lost. But such optimism is short lived...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure adult book -
![The Burial Plot by Elizabeth Macneal]()
The Burial Plot by Elizabeth Macneal
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Doll Factory, The Burial Plot is an unstoppable historical thriller about murder, manipulation, and a young woman trying to wrestle power from the hands of a dangerous man. But he’s always one step ahead . . .London, 1839...Categorized as:
historical-fiction gothic industrial-era victorian historical fiction mystery audiobook -
![The Arrival of Missives by Aliya Whiteley]()
The Arrival of Missives by Aliya Whiteley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsThe Arrival of Missives is a genre-defying story of fate, free-will and the choices we make in life. In the aftermath of the Great War, Shirley Fearn dreams of challenging the conventions of rural England, where life is as predictable as the changing of the seasons. The scarred veteran Mr...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism adult anthologies coming-of-age female-mc feminism -
![The Brothers Grimm Volume II: 110 Grimmer Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm]()
The Brothers Grimm Volume II: 110 Grimmer Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWe all know the stories — or do we? We know who Snow White is, but what about Rose Red? And what happens to an all-too willful child? Learn more intriguing stories about "Wise Folks," "The King's Son Who Feared Nothing," and . . . well . . . "Donkey Cabbages"--to name a few...Categorized as:
historical-fiction myths retellings anthologies children children-books classics fiction -
![Parliament of Rooks: Haunting Bronte Country - Large Print Edition: Volume 1 (Ghosts of Haworth) by Karen Perkins]()
Parliament of Rooks: Haunting Bronte Country - Large Print Edition: Volume 1 (Ghosts of Haworth) by Karen Perkins
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNo matter how hard life is, humanity has the power to make it bearable – or even worse.Parliament of Rooks, the new historical paranormal novel in the award-winning Yorkshire Ghosts series, contrasts the beautiful, inspiring village of Haworth today with the slum – or rookery – it was during the industrial revolution: rife with disease, heartache, poverty, and child slavery in the mills... -
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![Evil Roots: Killer Tales of the Botanical Gothic by Daisy Butcher]()
Evil Roots: Killer Tales of the Botanical Gothic by Daisy Butcher
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsStrangling vines and meat-hungry flora fill this unruly garden of strange stories, selected for their significance as the seeds of the "killer plant" trope in fiction, film, and video games...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction industrial-era myths retellings victorian adult anthologies -
![The White Jade Fox by Andre Norton]()
The White Jade Fox by Andre Norton
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSaranna had heard rumors about Tiensin, the strange old mansion with its oriental treasures. She had heard it was haunted. Now with her own eyes she had seen it was true. The Macabre circle of small foxes ringing the dancer in the secret garden, the mysterious robed woman with a fox’s face. Had Saranna realy seen them? Or had she dreamed it? Saranna had gone to Tiensin under protest... -
![The Haunting by Paul Doherty]()
The Haunting by Paul Doherty
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn October 1866, Father Oliver Grafield is brought from his parish work for an interview with Archbishop Manning of Westminster. Oliver is a hard-working, committed priest, and he has one gift - that of the exorcism of 'divining spirits'... -
![My Fantoms by Théophile Gautier]()
My Fantoms by Théophile Gautier
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRomantic provocateur, flamboyant bohemian, precocious novelist, perfect poet—not to mention an inexhaustible journalist, critic, and man-about-town—Théophile Gautier is one of the major figures, and great characters, of French literature... -
![The Charwoman's Shadow by Lord Dunsany]()
The Charwoman's Shadow by Lord Dunsany
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsAn old woman who spends her days scrubbing the floors might be an unlikely damsel in distress, but Lord Dunsany proves once again his mastery of the fantastical. The Charwoman's Shadow is a beautiful tale of a sorcerer's apprentice who discovers his master's nefarious usage of stolen shadows, and vows to save the charwoman from her slavery... -
![Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley]()
Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNot Wanted on the Voyage is the story of the great flood and the first time the world ended, filed with an extraordinary cast of remarkable characters. With pathos and pageantry, desperation and hope, magic and mythology, this acclaimed novel weaves its unforgettable spell...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings 20th-century adult -
![Anima Rising by Christopher Moore]()
Anima Rising by Christopher Moore
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore comes a hilariously deranged tale of a mad scientist, a famous painter, and an undead woman’s electrifying journey of self-discovery.Vienna, 1911. Gustav Klimt, the most famous painter in the Austrian Empire, the darling of Viennese society, spots a woman’s nude body in the Danube canal...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magical-realism myths low-fantasy retellings fantasy fiction humor -
![Saints and Strangers by Angela Carter]()
Saints and Strangers by Angela Carter
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAn alternate cover edition can be found here.Black Venus (also published as Saints and Strangers), is an anthology of short fiction. Angela Carter takes real people and literary legends - most often women - who have been mythologized or marginalized and recasts them in a new light...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings 20th-century adult -
![The Angel of Khan el-Khalili by P. Djèlí Clark]()
The Angel of Khan el-Khalili by P. Djèlí Clark
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA girl visits a bazaar in Cairo, seeking a favor from a mysterious angelic being.This story first appeared in the anthology Clockwork Cairo: Steampunk Tales of Egypt... -
![Grave Birds by Dana Elmendorf]()
Grave Birds by Dana Elmendorf
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires meets Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in this twisty, fresh take on a Southern gothic that follows a mysterious, charming bachelor as he makes his way into a small town, bringing a plague and the devil with him, from GMA Buzz Pick author Dana Elmendorf...Categorized as:
gothic magical-realism low-fantasy myths historical-fiction retellings horror fantasy -
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![The Cloven by Brian Catling]()
The Cloven by Brian Catling
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe Cloven is the epic climax to B. Catling's beloved genre-busting Vorrh Trilogy. A Vintage Books Original.In the stunning conclusion to Brian Catling's Vorrh trilogy, the colonial city of Essenwald gives up all its secrets, as the ancient forest seeks to reclaim what has been taken from it...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure adult -
![The Arabian Nightmare by Robert Irwin]()
The Arabian Nightmare by Robert Irwin
Rated: 3.91 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThe hero and guiding force of this epic fantasy is an insomniac young man who, unable to sleep, guides the reader through the narrow streets of Cairo—a mysterious city full of deceit and trickery.He narrates a complex tangle of dreams and imaginings that describe an atmosphere constantly shifting between sumptuously learned experiences, erotic adventure, and dry humor... -
![Malpertuis by Jean Ray, John Flanders]()
Malpertuis by Jean Ray, John Flanders
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA manuscript stolen from a monastery, the ancient stone house of a sea-trading dynasty, which may be haunted. These are familiar ingredients for a Gothic novel, but something far more strange and disconcerting is taking place within the walls of Malpertuis as the relatives gather for the impending death of Uncle Cassave. The techniques of H. P... -
![The Faerie Hounds of York by Arden Powell]()
The Faerie Hounds of York by Arden Powell
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEngland, 1810. The north is governed by a single rule. Faerie will take as it pleases. William Loxley is cursed. A pale and monstrous creature haunts his dreams, luring him from London to the desolate, grey landscape of his forgotten childhood. There, it will use him to open a door to Faerie—a fate that will trap Loxley in that glittering, heathen otherworld forever... -
![Rudyard Kipling's Tales of Horror and Fantasy by Rudyard Kipling, Neil Gaiman]()
Rudyard Kipling's Tales of Horror and Fantasy by Rudyard Kipling, Neil Gaiman
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom ghost stories to psychological suspense, the complete horror and dark fantasy stories of Rudyard Kipling.Rudyard Kipling, a major figure of English literature, used the full power and intensity of his imagination and his writing ability in his excursions into fantasy. Kipling is considered one of England's greatest writers, but was born in Bombay... -
![Supping With Panthers by Tom Holland]()
Supping With Panthers by Tom Holland
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDr. John Eliot's search for a missing friend leads him to the seductive Lilah--who will not rest until she has coaxed Eliot's most monstrous impulses out into the open--in this mesmerizing tale set in the back streets of 19th-century London...
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