Monstre is the debut apocalyptic novel from Duncan Swan and what a brazen debut it is. It begins with a bang—literally—in a nuclear research facility underground in Meyrin, Switzerland where scientists are searching for the "god" particle in a Large Hadron Collider. Something goes exceedingly wrong and the facility is destroyed in a series of energy spikes and explosions and a billowing black cloud begins deliberately smothering the world.

"...somehow their work had created a bomb, or a black hole, or something that behaved a little like both."

The novel then transitions point of view between seven main characters from various backgrounds and two continents over the course of the book—all either caught under the black cloud making its way across the world or attempting to outrun it. Monstre also jumps time points, often. The reader finds themselves at day 1 one moment and day 91 the next. Regardless of what character or moment you might find yourself in, there's no lack of action. In fact, this novel grabs you by throat from the very beginning and doesn't let go.

Monstre is smart. It grips you from the get-go, gets you invested in its characters, and then crushes all their hopes and dreams while you watch in wide-eyed disbelief. It's a claustrophobic, palm-sweating doomed nightmare. It's genre-defying as well, twisting science fiction and horror seamlessly throughout. While you might be tempted to call it post-apocalyptic horror for simplicity's sake, Monstre is so much more. Enmeshed with military warfare, this bleak and desperate end of days tale delivers survivors, predators, and seekers eeking another second of existence against all odds in this terrifying new world of monster and man.

If you are worried that an intelligent horror novel may not be engaging enough, there is no worry here. You shouldn't get too attached to any of Monstre's cast because no character is shielded from awful, horrible brutality. The gore is never-ending, ripping and tearing, splashing and running red. Death just might be preferable to what the characters endure from beast and human alike. Just when you think it will end and you will finally see some shred of perseverance, it does... The book, that is. Monstre makes no secret of the fact that it is a continuing series so if cliffhangers frustrate you prepare to throw your copy across the room. This is one debut you don't want to miss.


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