Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro – Review

Published: June 7, 2022

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Series: The Talents Trilogy #1

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 672 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 4.5/5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
A stunning new work of historical fantasy, J. M. Miro’s Ordinary Monsters introduces readers to the dark, labyrinthe world of The Talents.

England, 1882. In Victorian London, two children with mysterious powers are hunted by a figure of darkness —a man made of smoke.

Sixteen-year-old Charlie Ovid, despite a lifetime of brutality, doesn’t have a scar on him. His body heals itself, whether he wants it to or not. Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight car, shines with a strange bluish light. He can melt or mend flesh. When two grizzled detectives are recruited to escort them north to safety, they are forced to confront the nature of difference, and belonging, and the shadowy edges of the monstrous.

What follows is a journey from the gaslit streets of London, to an eerie estate outside Edinburgh, where other children with gifts—the Talents—have been gathered. Here, the world of the dead and the world of the living threaten to collide. And 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.

With lush prose, mesmerizing world-building, and a gripping plot, Ordinary Monsters presents a catastophic vision of the Victorian world—and of the gifted, broken children who must save it.

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Far outside of Edinburgh is a mysterious estate called the Cairndale Institute, home to people dubbed “Talents”. They have all manner of abilities, from self-healing to the ability to craft golems from flesh and as one might expect, society isn’t all that fond of people with strange gifts. The proprietor of Cairndale is one Dr. Berghast, a Talent himself, who sends out those in his employ to track down Talents from all over the world. He’s looking for a particular boy, one who began his life at Cairndale but was kidnapped in the night and he might hold the key to their salvation. 

The story begins with Alice and Coulton tracking down rumors of Talents in America. One is Charlie Ovid, a young black boy who was sentenced to death, but who wouldn’t stay dead. The other is a mysterious glowing boy named Marlowe who’s been traveling with a small circus with his caretaker. As the two detectives make their way across the states, they realize they’re being followed by a dustworker who went rogue eight years ago and tried to steal away Marlowe from Cairndale. Time is of the essence and the race back to Cairndale begins!

There are powers at play beyond even the realm of the living. You see, Cairndale is home to a gateway to the spirit world and it’s beginning to crumble ever since the drughr, a powerful being bent on escape and destruction was aided by the dark dustworker Jacob Marber. There are several sections of flashback chapters that flesh out Jacob Marber and his motivation for assisting the drughr. Surprisingly, I found myself sympathizing with him and understanding his choices, for grief is a terrible thing to hold on to for so many years. These chapters also helped to introduce Ribs and Komako, two of the other young wards of Cairndale that Coulton and Marber picked up during their travels to Tokyo. 

This was an absolute tome of a book and it did take me a while to finish it (a solid week!) but I enjoyed every page. Imagine Victorian X-Men with a dollop of Harry Potter themes mixed in for good measure. Marlowe and Jacob Marber have sort of a Harry Potter and Voldemort vibe going on, plus you have a magical school setting in Scotland and a group of kids who get up to endless mischief. I’m sure you can see the parallels! I particularly loved Ribs (whose name is actually Eleanor) thanks to her roguish nature and the total abuse of her ability to become invisible. I mean, she’s constantly snooping around or playing pranks with her ability, which is completely and totally how anybody would use that ability.

Overall, this was an excellent read with a perfectly gloomy setting and creepy villains. J.M Miro wrote some incredible, edge-of-your-seat action scenes and some equally suspenseful scenes. I have to say, I’m going to be counting down the days until the second book is released thanks to the ending!