I Wouldn't Mind Hanging Out with This Band of Hybrids. A Review of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau.

 As with many classic monster books, the real horrors in The Daughter of Doctor Moreau are the people.

A bunch of sleazebags think anyone different than them are good for nothing but slavery. Indigenous people, hybrid people, women. (You'll have to read the book to see what hybrids are, but with Dr. Moreau in the title you can probably figure it out.

This isn't really a horror book, though horrible things happen. It's more of a historical fiction that happens to have piggy/kitty/people things in it. Luscious descriptions. 

I like luscious descriptions. To me, though, the beginning world-building went on and on...and on. Even as a description fan, I felt like it took a long time before anything happened. I kind of don't need to have every pot in the kitchen described.  About 40% in, things start to move along. Bear with it: it gets exciting.

It also took a long time before anybody questioned the expense of creating hybrid piggy/kitty/people thingys to work as field hands. I figured out long before the characters did that creating hybrid people was pricey compared to putting an ad under "Help Wanted." But sometimes one has to take poetic license. 

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review an eARC of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau.