The Curse of the Wendigo

Book 42 of my 2016 Reading Challenge
read from May 08 - 12

The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey
Book 2 in the Monstrumologist series

Summary (via the book jacket)
As apprentice to Dr. Pellinore Warthrop, Will Henry has lived a life dedicated to the pursuit of monstrumology: the study of monsters. But when Dr. Warthrop is informed that his old mentor Dr. von Helrung is trying to prove the existence of the mythical Wendigo, He Who Devours All Mankind, a creature that starves even as it gorges itself on human flesh, Will's world is plunged into fresh turmoil.
Will and Dr. Warthrop must traverse the desolate wastelands of Canada...and in the process, may discover a truth far more terrifying than even they could have ever imagined.

My Opinion
The author writes so poetically and beautifully that a gruesome attack on Will Henry pulls me in but doesn't frighten me.  I like the bits of humor sprinkled throughout as well; the doctor has a dry wit that amuses me greatly.

I love the relationship between the doctor and Will Henry and I love the layers of the doctor.  I don't like Lilly and hope she doesn't stay in his life for long.

The only slightly annoying thing I don't like throughout the books - Will gets attacked by things (the worm, for example), blacks out, and wakes up in bed with the doctor telling him what happened.  It takes me out of the suspense of the story and I don't like it when major acts are wrapped up "off camera".

I'm not ready to be done with these characters and look forward to continuing the series.

A Few Quotes from the Book
"I want to show you something. There is no name for it; it has no human symbol. It is old and its memory is long. It knew the world long before we named it.
 It knows everything. It knows me and it knows you. 
 And I will show it to you.
 I will show you."

"My parents had died in a fire. They had burned alive. Now I would die of cold. They by fire, I by ice. In the arms of the man who was responsible for both."

""Do you know why I think he clings to it with all his heart and soul, Gravois? For the same reason our race clings to the irrational belief in Wendigos and the vampires and all their supernatural cousins. It is very difficult to accept that the world is righteous, ruled by a just and loving God, when mere mortals are capable of such unthinkable crimes." He nodded toward the desecrated corpse upon the gleaming stainless steel table. "The monstrous act by definition demands a monster.""

"The more I learned about him, the less I knew. The more I knew, the less I understood."

"The line between what we are and what we pursue is razor thin. We will remember our humanity."