Rick Yancey's The Monstrumologist was initially published by Simon and Schuster in September 2009. A horror novel written for young adults, Yancey's novel is presented as entries in the diary of a young man and orphan named Will Henry, the assistant of Dr. Pellinore Warthorpe. Dr. Warthorpe is one of few people in the world who specialize in monstrumology, or the study of monsters. During his time with Dr. Warthorpe, Will experiences things few others can claim to have experienced, including strange late-night visitors and other things he imagined were never real. One night, though, when a grave robber comes to Will and Dr. Warthorpe with a strange and gruesome find, their world changes forever and they begin a case that will shock, horrify, and intrigue them.
When it was published, The Monstrumologist received very positive reviews. In their review of the novel, Publisher's Weekly wrote that "Yancey's elegant depiction of an America plagued with monsters, human and otherwise, spares no grisly detail. ... Horror lovers will be rapt." Other reviewers and the boards of foundations that regularly hand out prizes felt similarly about Yancey's novel, which won the 2010 Michael L. Printz Award. In fact, The Monstrumologist was so successful that it spawned three additional novels in the series, each of which was just as—or even more—successful than The Monstrumologist, speaking to that novel's endearing popularity and readers' appetite for more adventures with Will.
