Welcome to today’s stop on the Monsters & Mayhem blog tour hosted by Egmont USA! I’m beyond excited to be part of this tour and feature the awesome Monsters by Ilsa J. Bick!
Monstrous Obsession
Honestly? Because we’re continually surprised/appalled/fascinated by how depraved we can be and how dark our fantasies really are (and they are; be honest). Dealing with all that at arm’s length—say, inventing the monstrous rather than acknowledging that the monsters are already here, and they are us—is the safest way to make believe that we, as a species, are the masters of our monsters rather than the other way around. And there are some truly monstrous human beings who don’t bother to hide behind masks at all, and I know: I used to consult to a women’s prison.
Look, the reality is that none of us will be particularly well behaved in a catastrophe, and stress brings out the worst in just about everyone. The patients who came to see me were never thrilled to be there, and they were under tremendous pressures from within and without. I was always struck by the fact that people can be truly awful to those they profess to love; that families are sometimes bound much more strongly by hatred than love.
It’s the same thing in a disaster. I truly believe that many otherwise decent people will behave in ways they never dreamed possible. People routinely do all the wrong things for what they believe are the right reasons. Why should an apocalypse be any different? At the end of the world as we know it, I think people will be surprised at the monsters they meet. Some might even be staring out from the mirror right this very second.
So, concocting stories where we beat/humanize/conquer/sympathize/love our monsters all have one central purpose: to comfort us in the delusion that we can and will control our basest impulses, our most sadistic fantasies, our capacity for selfishness and destruction. Yes, there are nice folks out there; people act nobly and heroically every day. But these are the exceptions. At the end of the world, I think we’ll find that altruism will be in short supply when the monsters come out to play.
About the book:
The Changed are on the move. The Spared are out of time. The End…is now.
When her parents died, Alex thought things couldn’t get much worse-until the doctors found the monster in her head.
She headed into the wilderness as a good-bye, to leave everything behind. But then the end of the world happened, and Alex took the first step down a treacherous road of betrayal and terror and death.
Now, with no hope of rescue-on the brink of starvation in a winter that just won’t quit-she discovers a new and horrifying truth.
The Change isn’t over.
The Changed are still evolving.
And…they’ve had help.
Thanks to Egmont USA I have one set of the Ashes trilogy to giveaway. US/CA only!
Great post! I have been wanting to read this series!!! 🙂
Great guest interview! I agree, in awake of a disaster people can change.
Looks interesting!
I think in this day and age more people would act dishonorably in a disaster of great proportions. Obviously there are some disasters that have happened already and people have really bonded together to help each other out, but I think in the case of a country-wide or global phenomenon…that wouldn’t happen.
I loved ashes and I’m looking forward to continuing the series.
hello
Great guest post! I can’t wait to read and see how it all ends!!
sounds fantastic! Thanks for sharing 🙂
It is always horrifying to be able to identify your everyday monster. Cannot wait to read Monsters!
I agree, I think disasters sometimes can bring out the worst in people and sometimes they can bring out the best.
Thanks for the great guest post and giveaway!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
I am dying to read this….i think some peoe definitely devolve in disaster situations, but also as we saw on 9/11 people can become heroic as well…
Thanks for the giveaway!!!
I have been dying to get my hands on these and devour them! They look so interesting and I can’t wait to be pulled into the characters world!
Sounds like an interesting read.
This looks amazing! Must-read!
~Veronica Vasquez~
O Wow that post sound so creepy scary and fantastic all the same time Love It! thanks for the awesome giveaway!
This sounds like the perfect trilogy to read next month for Halloween, super spooky!
Eeep! I love Ashes & Shadows so I can’t wait to read Monsters. Which is going to happen tonight cause I just discovered I’m 1st on the list at the library and they are holding me a copy!!!!!
Completely obsessed with this series! Definitely one of my favourites! Can’t wait to get my hands on the final book!
Sounds like a very interesting book. Thanks for the giveaway! 🙂
i would just love to read the trilogy!!!
I definitly agree with what was said. The series sounds awesome. Thanks so much for the giveaway. 🙂
Wow this would be a perfect read for Halloween!
It’s so true how our fantasies and thoughts can be so very dark like the author says. I think playing on that fact in a very interesting twist, and looking at it from both a sociological and psychological perspective make this series very important. Didn’t know she’s using her work experience in a prison to write this! It will be very realistic then,