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Ordinary Monsters

The dark and dazzling Sunday Times bestseller and first book in the Talents Trilogy

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Ordinary Monsters

By: J M Miro
Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe
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Bloomsbury presents Ordinary Monsters by J M Miro, read by Ben Onwukwe.

* THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER *

'An enthralling read' GUARDIAN
'A thrilling blend of fantasy and horror, richly imagined and masterfully executed' SFX
'Terrific . . . A book that creeps up on you, wearing brass knuckles' CONN IGGULDEN
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The first in a captivating new historical fantasy series, ORDINARY MONSTERS introduces the Talents with a catastrophic vision of the Victorian world, and the gifted, broken children who must save it.

There in the shadows was a figure in a cloak, at the bottom of the cobblestone stair, and it turned and stared up at them as still and unmoving as a pillar of darkness, but it had no face, only smoke . . .

1882. North of Edinburgh, on the edge of an isolated loch, lies an institution of crumbling stone, where a strange doctor collects orphans with unusual abilities. In London, two children with such powers are hunted by a figure of darkness – a man made of smoke.

Charlie Ovid discovers a gift for healing himself through a brutal upbringing in Mississippi, while Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight, glows with a strange bluish light. When two grizzled detectives are recruited to escort them north to safety, they are confronted by a sinister, dangerous force that threatens to upend the world as they know it.

What follows is a journey from the gaslit streets of London to the lochs of Scotland, where other gifted children – the Talents – have been gathered at Cairndale Institute, and the realms of the dead and the living collide. As secrets within the Institute unfurl, Marlowe, Charlie and the rest of the Talents will discover the truth about their abilities and the nature of the force that is stalking them: that the worst monsters sometimes come bearing the sweetest gifts.
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'A dazzling mountain of wild invention, Dickensian eccentrics, supernatural horrors and gripping suspense' JOE HILL

'Expansive in scope and storytelling, Ordinary Monsters builds an electrifying Victorian world' CARI THOMAS

J.M. Miro's book 'Ordinary Monsters' was a #5 Sunday Times bestseller w/e 04-06-2022.©2022 Macmillan Publishing Action & Adventure Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Magical Realism England Paranormal Emotionally Gripping Scotland
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Continue the series
Bringer of Dust cover art
Bringer of Dust By: J. M. Miro

Critic reviews

Ordinary Monsters is a towering achievement: a dazzling mountain of wild invention, Dickensian eccentrics, supernatural horrors, and gripping suspense. Be warned... once you step into this penny dreadful to end all penny dreadfuls, you'll never want to leave (Joe Hill, #1 New York Times bestselling author of HEART-SHAPED BOX)
Expansive in scope and storytelling, Ordinary Monsters builds an electrifying Victorian world: grimy but luminous, magical but deadly, with a cast of diverse and gripping characters that feel entirely modern (Cari Thomas, bestselling author of THREADNEEDLE)
Haunting, tense, earth-shattering … A riveting mix of magic and terror (Tamora Pierce)
Murky as London smog, dark as black pudding, this is a gaslit gothic tour de force . . . The fantasy is so rich and the atmosphere so immersive in this stand-out debut, that it’s easy to overlook the crispiness of the writing and the brilliantly propulsive plotting. And while drughrs, litches, keywrasses and orsines make for a wonderful new language of dread, it’s the characters that carry the day
An engrossing piece of Gothic, Dickensian fantasy, centred around children gifted with magical powers . . . Miro’s meaty, detailed execution lends his story weight and depth and commands respect
A thrilling blend of fantasy and horror, richly imagined and masterfully executed
A fantasy series so ambitious that it makes The Lord of the Rings look like a stroll in the Shire . . . Spanning the globe and crammed with good versus evil battles and hair’s breadth escapes, this book is great fun despite frim subject matter, thanks to J. M. Miro’s darkly witty style . . . Remarkably fresh
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The way the material is read is sublime, and I thoroughly enjoyed the alternate history world. The story is however often bogged down by endless narration of surroundings, stances, attitudes and by the many many thoroughly unlikeable heroes and foes. Even the kids have little to no agency and are generally just swept along and being drowned. Not sure if I'll even bother buyibg the sequel, although I'll be looking for more audio books by this narrator. Overall it leaves me unsatisfied.

Great wordlbuilding, very longwinded prose

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I really enjoyed the first 18+ hours of this story but lost the plot with only 7 hours to go when I found I no longer understood (or, sadly, cared) what was going on ... I enjoyed the sections set in the USA, Victorian England and Japan, especially the historical aspects, but then started to find the plot confusing ... I'm probably too old to appreciate this type of fantasy fiction which is a shame as I thought it was very well written - really brilliant narrator too ...

More suited to a YA listener maybe?

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What a fantastic epic story, can't wait for book 2 to be available as an audiobook.

Epic Story

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... deep delve into its characters and other world. I loved it. There are a lot of characters in this book, but because the author did a fantastic job taking his time letting us, the reader/listener getting to know them, I found myself emotionally connecting to them and this is the real art of a book. It takes you out of yourself, you're somewhere else, with the children as they face everything from racism in the USA to poverty on the streets of London, to having the one person they should be able to trust, betray them.

Read by Ben Onwukwe, he gives every character their own voice and has a genuine empathy for the children as they traverse their very singular worlds, he is a wonderful reader and the perfect choice for this book.

J M Miro is one to watch, this is a future classic in the making.

A beautifully written.......

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It was ok, wandered somewhat but I would give a sequel a read ...... probably.

As a Scot, the accents didn't bother me.

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