The unbelievable amount of creativity in this book is impressive. Every magical creature or myth you could possibly imagine is given a twist and added to the cast of "Man Made Boy". The mashup on Medusa is, by far, my favorite of all the characters. Known as "The Diva", Medusa horrifies and entices people from her extra-large dressing room. But it's not just the twist that makes me love her--it's the constant wisdom and insightful life lessons she imparts on Boy that make her, in my opinion, the most complex and interesting character in the entire book. That isn't to say there are not other wonderfully fun and inventive twists throughout the book--Skovron's take on Frankenstein's Bride are also inventive and fun, but lacks the depth of his Medusa.
Another aspect of this book that I absolutely loved were the tech references. This is probably because I work in the technology field, but the fact that one of the characters is named VI after the visual editing software made me so happy I could almost cry. But the author is not just a tech lover in the way he structures his story and characters--his note at the end of the book about supporting open source software was something I had never seen before. An author taking a stand against big bad Microsoft Word is, to me, an unbelievably admirable feat. You go, Skovron!
So if I like this book so much, why only 3.5 stars? I will tell you. The characters were inventive, the plot was interesting, but the plot twists themselves felt entirely too abrupt. So much happened throughout the book, but it never felt like Boy spent enough time in any one place for the reader to get a good sense of the setting and its people. I think if this book had been split into at least two parts, the author would have had more time to extrapolate on Boy's adventures instead of feeling the need to rush through them unnecessarily.
Overall, "Man Made Boy" was a fun, unbelievably inventive read. I loved the mashup monster characters and the technological focus of the story. My only issues were with the abrupt plot twists, which made the story feel too rushed.
Another aspect of this book that I absolutely loved were the tech references. This is probably because I work in the technology field, but the fact that one of the characters is named VI after the visual editing software made me so happy I could almost cry. But the author is not just a tech lover in the way he structures his story and characters--his note at the end of the book about supporting open source software was something I had never seen before. An author taking a stand against big bad Microsoft Word is, to me, an unbelievably admirable feat. You go, Skovron!
So if I like this book so much, why only 3.5 stars? I will tell you. The characters were inventive, the plot was interesting, but the plot twists themselves felt entirely too abrupt. So much happened throughout the book, but it never felt like Boy spent enough time in any one place for the reader to get a good sense of the setting and its people. I think if this book had been split into at least two parts, the author would have had more time to extrapolate on Boy's adventures instead of feeling the need to rush through them unnecessarily.
Overall, "Man Made Boy" was a fun, unbelievably inventive read. I loved the mashup monster characters and the technological focus of the story. My only issues were with the abrupt plot twists, which made the story feel too rushed.
I got a copy of this book to review from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I really reallly enjoyed this book, it was super creative and fun to read. I had previously read and reviewed Misfit by Skovron and really enjoyed that book as well.
Boy is the son of Frankenstein and Bride (the Bride of Frankenstein) and lives in an underground commune of other crazy supposedly mythological creatures. All the creatures help to run a theater in Manhattan and generally try to stay otherwise out of public eye. Boy however is a bit of a hacker and has a lot of online friends. When Boy finds out that his father has arranged for him to go to Switzerland for college, Boy decides to flee the commune and try to make it on the outside as a real human. He eventually ends up hooking up with the granddaughters of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde and goes on the road trip of his life.
I absolutely loved this book. It was creative, heartfelt, and just so much fun to read. I love how folklore, history, and mythology are all blended together to make a story that is witty and well thought out.
Boy was a great character, Skovron just got him absolutely spot on. Boy has many of the same problems as any teenage boy. He cant get the attention of the troll dancer girl he likes, he feels like his father is trying to run his life, and he is just soooo different from everyone else that its hard to fit in. He is a genuine character, witty, smart, and maybe a little naive about some things.
When Boy gets out into the real world he again faces many problems everyone else does. He has trouble finding a job and making ends meet, his roommate is a bit weird and his girlfriend ends up having some deep-seated issues of her own. For awhile things are all good...until they arent. Then Boy ends up on the run with the granddaughters of Dr. Jekyl and Mr Hyde.
The other main characters we spend quite a bit of time with are Claire/Sophie...two people in one body thanks to their grandaddys experiments. Both of these girls are awesome. They are two completely different people sharing one body.talk about relationship complications. They both have fun personalities that are a pleasure to read about.
This is pretty much a coming-of-age story. Boy is trying to figure out who he wants to be. I was a bit surprised that this is also a techno-thriller of sorts and had a bit of a cyberpunk vibe to it. Boy creates some AI that becomes sentient and ends up trying to hunt him down. As a result of this there is a lot of discussion about creators and the monsters that result and a creators responsibility towards their creations.
Of course, Boy being Boy (he is kind of stitched together and huge) he does struggle to fit in quite a bit. Another interesting element to this all is the fact that both Boy and his father have the ability to turn off their emotions. However the rebound from doing this is pretty intense.
We meet lots of neat creatures and there is a lot of action throughout. We get to meet the Spinx, Medusa, and many other creatures out of both story and mythology. They are all blended together seamlessly, in a way I really enjoyed. The ending was well done and realistic, again I enjoyed it.
Overall an absolutely wonderful read. This is a very creative story that is fast-paced, humorous, and heartfelt. I enjoyed Boy as a character and loved Claire/Sophie. This is a coming of age story, but with of a bit of a techo thriller twist...and uh...lots of monsters. I just loved this book and cant wait to see what Skovron writes next.
Boy is the son of Frankenstein and Bride (the Bride of Frankenstein) and lives in an underground commune of other crazy supposedly mythological creatures. All the creatures help to run a theater in Manhattan and generally try to stay otherwise out of public eye. Boy however is a bit of a hacker and has a lot of online friends. When Boy finds out that his father has arranged for him to go to Switzerland for college, Boy decides to flee the commune and try to make it on the outside as a real human. He eventually ends up hooking up with the granddaughters of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde and goes on the road trip of his life.
I absolutely loved this book. It was creative, heartfelt, and just so much fun to read. I love how folklore, history, and mythology are all blended together to make a story that is witty and well thought out.
Boy was a great character, Skovron just got him absolutely spot on. Boy has many of the same problems as any teenage boy. He cant get the attention of the troll dancer girl he likes, he feels like his father is trying to run his life, and he is just soooo different from everyone else that its hard to fit in. He is a genuine character, witty, smart, and maybe a little naive about some things.
When Boy gets out into the real world he again faces many problems everyone else does. He has trouble finding a job and making ends meet, his roommate is a bit weird and his girlfriend ends up having some deep-seated issues of her own. For awhile things are all good...until they arent. Then Boy ends up on the run with the granddaughters of Dr. Jekyl and Mr Hyde.
The other main characters we spend quite a bit of time with are Claire/Sophie...two people in one body thanks to their grandaddys experiments. Both of these girls are awesome. They are two completely different people sharing one body.talk about relationship complications. They both have fun personalities that are a pleasure to read about.
This is pretty much a coming-of-age story. Boy is trying to figure out who he wants to be. I was a bit surprised that this is also a techno-thriller of sorts and had a bit of a cyberpunk vibe to it. Boy creates some AI that becomes sentient and ends up trying to hunt him down. As a result of this there is a lot of discussion about creators and the monsters that result and a creators responsibility towards their creations.
Of course, Boy being Boy (he is kind of stitched together and huge) he does struggle to fit in quite a bit. Another interesting element to this all is the fact that both Boy and his father have the ability to turn off their emotions. However the rebound from doing this is pretty intense.
We meet lots of neat creatures and there is a lot of action throughout. We get to meet the Spinx, Medusa, and many other creatures out of both story and mythology. They are all blended together seamlessly, in a way I really enjoyed. The ending was well done and realistic, again I enjoyed it.
Overall an absolutely wonderful read. This is a very creative story that is fast-paced, humorous, and heartfelt. I enjoyed Boy as a character and loved Claire/Sophie. This is a coming of age story, but with of a bit of a techo thriller twist...and uh...lots of monsters. I just loved this book and cant wait to see what Skovron writes next.
