Intriguing premises and I enjoyed the overall idea and journey the book follows between short stories however some stories are stronger than the others which makes for a drawn out read but still definitely a book I’d recommend!

Very good Horror collection. I loved everything about it.It gave me the chills and I want more. Couldn't put it dine.

This collection of short stories are absolutely incredible. I cannot wait to have a physical copy of this book to reread and annotate. The cover is beautiful the stories are compelling, and the writing left a mark on me. I love when a collection follows a theme, but I love it even more when it is different elements and aspects of the same tale across generations. An incredible, suspenseful, and gut wrenching read, I absolutely recommend you read this if you are considering (and please check the content warnings).

Normally I’m not much of a short story person but I was very intrigued by this concept. It turned out to be a great read and perfect for the fall!

Man Made Monsters is a generational tale of horrors that haunt a family’s bloodline with literal and metaphorical  monsters. We have some tales told in first person POV, and in others we get told a two-sided story of written letters between family members of their preoccupations at the times, all carefully intertwined. We get tales, we get absolutely amazing illustrations, lore about the Cherokee tribe and their struggles throughout generations, including supernatural monsters and, of course,the worst of all, humanity. This was a fascinating read, where I had some parts that were really enthralling and others where it fell flat. I struggled at times to finish a part of the story and had to go back and reread others. It was enjoyable, but it was work. I was given the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review by NetGalley.

DNFing because the e-arc is very difficult to read. Also, I don't love the writing style. I have been trying to read this for a month at least and I am just not able to push through. It feels like we are being told the story and not being shown it.

Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers is a phenomenal collection of short stories.
The writing here is just amazing. This book was fantastic! It was engaging and it draws you in, you just want to settle in and rip through the pages.

This is a young adult collection of short stories that are all about individuals and families belonging to the Cherokee nation and follow the descendents of two families from 1839 to 2039. The style of writing, the family connections and the vibe all stay consistent and compelling and yet the stories embrace vampires, coming of age, werewolves, zombies, dystopia, aliens, school shooting, violence against women, relationships and grief.

On paper this collection shouldn’t work but it absolutely does and I loved it. So much so that even though I was gifted the ebook as part of the book tour I immediately ordered a physical copy once I’d finished it. Also because each story has these beautiful illustrations from Jeff Edwards that are stunning.

I loved the writing style of these stories, it’s both urgent and lyrical. You’re very quickly pulled into each one and then almost too soon, they are over but I thought the structure and the amount of resolution vs open ending was so well judged. These stories bring in horror and fantasy elements, monsters but with a human dimension. Complex familiy dynamics between parents and children as well as between siblings.

There’s a vampire story thread that interconnects several stories to the opening story which I loved. There’s a gut wrenching story of two sisters. I loved the stories like Ghost cat and Deer woman that leant into indigenous folklore, and the dystopian zombie elements of the final story The Zombies Attack the Drive in.

This collection of short stories follows a Cherokee family from the 1830s to the future. As the stories are horror (and sometimes sci-fi) short stories they include all manners of creatures known from classic horror stories, such as vampires, werewolves, ghosts, zombies and aliens, but they also focus the man made horrors of violence, racism, misogyny, domestic abuse, medical abuse and systemic oppression.
I spent the first half an hour after opening this book not reading, but instead flipping through the pages from the family tree in the beginning to each short story title page, which includes the name of the person whose life we will explore for a bit and taking notes of who's related to whom. I am grateful I did that as I think that made the stories feel even more connected. In general, I got really excited, when I saw the family tree, I enjoy a good family tree in a book and especially this one adds a lot to my enjoyment of the story. It also left me already wondering and worrying for the branches of the tree that did not continue and furthermore I think the book immediately primed me for the generational trauma I could expect from the stories. I also want to point out the lovely illustrations included in the book, featuring Cherokee script were really interested. I was also glad to see that a little glossary was included in the back, which also proved useful to translate some stories.
At points the choice of monsters started feeling a bit repetitive (there's a lot of werewolves and ghosts in here), but there are also some other beings featured in here that made it interesting again! And even the various werewolf stories were not by any stretch of the imagination boring, as the stories varied in time frame and family structure enough to stay intriguing. I also enjoyed that there were quite a few sapphic MCs in these stories. Often the dread is wonderfully built and kept me on my toes all throughout the stories. Not all of the stories are constantly filled with horror either, sometimes the focus lies on grief or on building interesting characters, which I enjoyed as well. My favorite moments were when I was able to spot an overlap in the stories and I can only recommend you take some notes on the dates and family tree as well, as I think it increased my enjoyment a lot. I also enjoyed that a variety of story-telling styles were includes (such as newspaper articles). All in all, I have to say that this is a really great short story collection with connected tales that I enjoyed very much and if you’re looking for diverse horror that often centers young women and deals with themes of colonialism and oppression, I can only recommend you check this out!
My personal favorite short stories were: "An Old-Fashioned Girl", "Man Made Monsters", "Maria Most Likely", “Ama’s Boys”, “Ghost Cat”, “Deer Women”, “I come from the Water” and “The Zombies Attack the Drive-In!”. There weren’t any short stories I really disliked and even if a few didn’t interest me that much I still found myself enjoying most of them! As always in my reviews for short story collections you can now find some short notes for each short story (here including the time stamps and connections of the characters, as I found that helpful to do while reading) including trigger warnings. Because of this there are some spoilers from here on out, but it should never be enough to ruin your enjoyment of the stories if you do want to read my full review first:

*FAV* An Old-Fashioned Girl: this short story follows Ama Wilson in 1839, as her tribe is fleeing from persecution by Texas Rangers. Due to sickness her family gets separated from the tribe and soon two men, a doctor and his servant, ask to join their camp for the night. Scary and with a really interesting end this is a great start to this anthology. tw: murder, racism, gore, vomiting, kidnapping

*FAV* Man Made Monsters: this story follows Suzanna Fish (born Wilson, Ama's sister) in 1856, her birthname and past having long been discarded, as she investigates the things her family’s former doctor left behind at her father's estate after retiring. Heartbreaking for many reasons and I enjoyed the dread. tw: kidnapping, child murder, ableism

An Un-Fairy Story: this story follows Edgar Spears Jr. (son of Suzanna Fish) in 1866, as he runs away from his grandmother who wants to take him to a boarding school and meets up with a nice man who takes him in for the night, but when he returns things are different. Very short, but interesting! tw: mentions of boarding schools for Native American children

Hell Hound in No Man's Land: this story follows Wilbur Spears (the son of Edgar Spears Jr.) and Jess King (grandson of Suzanna Fish) in 1919 as they recount their experience during the war. This time the story is framed through a news article and thus includes some intentionally racist content (such as "the two men, who only speak Indian"), but I found it quite interesting to read, tw: racist language

Homecoming: this story follows Rabbit Wilson (a great-great-great grandson of Ama Wilson and thus a return to the beginning of the family tree and a descent on the other side) in 1945 as he awaits his brother's return from war, the horror of this story is a bit more hidden than the other horrors so far, but I still enjoyed the quiet dread it evoked in me, an interesting story filled with grief, tw: animal death

*FAV* Maria Most Likely: this story follows Mary (but only ever called Maria) Spears Henry (granddaughter of Wilbur Spears) in 1968, as she comes to terms with her heritage and the fact that she tends to pass as white in most of her everyday life now that she's expecting a child, but a secret is haunting her and drives her to accept dangerous help, unsettling and horrifying, the monsters here are human and for that vastly more terrible, tw: unsafe medical procedures, cheating

Me & My Monsters: this story follows Gina Wilson (daugher of Rabbit Wilson) in 1968 after she is rescued from a bad date by a monster at the lake and then attempts to date him. Okay, but short. I would have liked to know more of the lore behind the lake monster. tw: mentions of attempted sexual assault

Shame on the Moon: this story follows Jimmy and Janie King (grandchildren of Jess King) in 1969 as a vampire attack leaves the sister dead and changes a teenage boy’s life forever. Seems rather typical in its choice of roles at first (evil white vampires, nice, but persecuted Indian werewolves), but I liked the end. Tw: murder, death

Snow Day: this story follows Audrey "Sissy" Henry and Sarah "Jisdu" Henry (the children of Maria Spears) in 1979 on their way home from school, as school lets them out earlier than usual as a freak snowstorm forces the city to close down. Unable to get into their house, they seek refuge in the car in the garage. The dread builds really well and I liked the story. I also enjoyed the way the nicknames were implemented in the story, as I was wondering how they would come into play, having read them on the chapter header. Tw: child endangerment

*FAV* Ama's Boys: this story follows Ama Wilson (yup, the very same Ama Wilson from the first short story!) in 1990 as she talks about her boys. As a vampire turned at 16 a long time ago her hunting takes on a bit creepy vibe in modern times, due to the age difference, but also interesting in examining how looking forever 16 might be a bit off a problem for a vampire. Obviously, I also really enjoyed seeing how her story continues! Tw: attempted sexual assault, murder

American Predators: this story follows Jamie in 1997, a girl (although there are hints of Gender tbh) who is stuck in a dead-end job she hates after flunking out of college and is now on a road trip with two very racist guys from a radio station shooting some video footage for a report on native American crafts, their road trip comes to an end when they finally come upon a little antique shop run by Darla King (daughter of Jimmy King), I enjoyed all the various horror media that was mentioned here and I definitely loved the pay-off at the end, tw: racism, sexism

Manifesting Joy: this story follows Joy Stone (who is less directly connected to the family tree of Ama Wilson, as she is a cousin to Amanda Stone, who marries Ben Wilson, the son of Gina Wilson) in 2000 after the death of her grandmother as she starts misplacing things in her grief. When the things she wishes for suddenly appear again, she finds hope again. Sweet, but very short. Tw: death

Lens: this story follows Diane King (great-granddaughter of Jess King) in 2014, who is offered the opportunity to regain full vision with the help of an experimental surgery, as you can assume weird stuff happens, really interesting and I enjoyed it a lot, tw: eye trauma, child abuse (not by parents), medical horror, implied medical abuse

*FAV* Ghost Cat: this story follows Stephanie King (granddaughter of Jimmy King) in 2016, the daughter of a real Cherokee man and his race-faking wife, as she's dealing with both the estrangement from her family and the death of her best friend, heartbreaking, but cute, tw: death, contemplation of suicide

Happily Ever After: this story follows Laura Wilson (granddaughter of Gina Wilson) in 2019 as she tries to break up with her boyfriend, but finds herself unable to fully disentangle herself from the relationship until her brother begins talking about an online prince-mail-order catalogue, kind of weird, but interesting and fun, tw: domestic abuse, death by illness, puking

*FAV* Deer Women: this story follows Sali King (sister of Diane King) in 2019 as her school goes on lockdown for what might be an active shooter or just a drill, the story is very tense and I enjoy the look it gives into the lore of the Deer Woman and the way the story has some really interesting twists, tw: murder, mention of school shootings

*FAV* I Come from the Water: this story follows Walela King Preston (great great granddaughter of Jess King) in 2029 after her father's death as she is left to care for the family when her mother sinks into depression. As if all that wasn't enough work for a teenage girl, there's also the matter of the weird alien being that moved into the family's pool and is now slowly dying and her incredibly exhausting school life after her former BFF outed her to everybody after she admitted on having a crush on her. Very interesting and heartbreaking in its depictions of grief and family relationships and I enjoyed the sci-fi aspect of this story a lot! tw: death, homophobia, bullying

*FAV* The Zombies Attack the Drive-In!: this story follows Charlotte Henry (granddaughter of Sarah Jisdu Henry) in 2039 as her family tries to survive the zombie apocalypse, a really heartbreaking story and I felt very sorry for this small family who lost everything not once (due to the zombies), but twice (due to domestic abuse before). I really enjoyed the short moments of happiness that was found in this apocalypse and I also enjoyed that this story, with the biggest upheaval in the societal structure, was the last one (plus I also found it fun that Blood Quantum, another zombie story with focus on Indigenous People, had come up in an earlier short story, because there are similarities :D), an incredibly good short story that brings everything full circle, which I enjoyed a lot! tw: domestic abuse, infectious disease, murder

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

The concept of a collection of horror stories following the members of a family over the course of two centuries is a very unique and intriguing concept. This book comes with a family tree that I found very useful to refer to.

There are a wide range of stories, from longer stories to brief snippets of characters' lives, from vampires and werewolves, to aliens and zombies, as well as different storytelling methods, like the use of first, third, and even second person PoVs. Not to mention the titular story Man Made Monsters, which was written entirely in epistolary format.

I found I preferred the earlier stories set in the past, than the stories set in modern or future times. The author's writing style feels very formal and matter-of-fact, which meshes well with the historical setting.

I wish some of the longer stories were longer, like some of the stories could have been better if they were fleshed out more.

Overall, a pretty cool concept with decent execution!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy.

Ambitious in scope, this is a mosaic novel that follows one Cherokee family from the late 1800s into the not-so-distant future. There were parts of the novel that really worked for me, and other that fell a little flat. But I feel like that's going to happen in a story with so many interlocking but disconnected parts. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and added a nice preface to each story. 4.25 stars

Thank you to Levine Querido via NetGalley for providing me a copy of this ARC, 'Man Made Monsters' by Andrea L. Rogers, with illustrations by Jeff Edwards. I am a big fan of weird stories and this book definitely was weird. Admittedly I did not realize it was YA, a genre I don't typically read but enjoyed nonetheless. However, when I compare it to other horror collection stories I have loved, this one lands more in the "like" category.

Thank you, Levine Querido, for making 'Man Made Monsters' by Andrea L. Rogers, with illustrations by Jeff Edwards, available for review on Netgalley.

'Man Made Monsters' is a chronologically-organised collection of short stories following one Cherokee family's encounter with monsters of both the paranormal and human kind over a span of more than 200 years.

The concept of a multi-generational, Indigenous horror collection is what drew me to this book in the first place. I was hoping, beyond just reading some good horror stories, to learn more about Indigenous culture, history, beliefs, and mythology. I got a bit of each, but not near as much as I was hoping for - and I think this was probably my biggest disappointment with this collection.

While it's common for some stories to hit harder than others in an anthology like this, I found that the ones that hit for me were few and far between. This is obviously a matter of subjective taste, so I can't say it'll be the same for everyone. Personally, though, I wish there'd been more stories like Maria Most Likely, American Predators, Lens, Happily Ever After and Deer Women which really leaned into the horror of their premise, both human and paranormal.

I do think that Rogers is a good writer, and I also appreciated the inclusion of queer (predominantly sapphic) representation, but I do ultimately feel like this collection fell flat for me.

I was expecting a bit more typical horror elements coming into this book. I'm both disappointed I didn't but also glad to have another flavor of the genre. I thought it was really neat to have it be a collection of stories but that does mean some stories just didn't interest me. Still, enough were interesting and overall, it's a book I have shelved with a handful of other "books that have had a personal impact"

Unfortunately, the formatting of the copy I received is messy and disorganized, making this a rather unpleasant reading experience. The text was scattered about the page, and no illustrations were featured. Bodies of text were broken up with random jargon & the author's name, etc.

The shame is that I really loved the stories, and I would want to read this book as it is intended to be read, but the copy provided here was not legible. I'm giving three stars because that only seems fair, based on the actual text I don't know how high I would rate it, based on the copy I received it would be a 1.

Man Made Monsters will take you on a captivating journey through time with an extended Cherokee family, spanning from the 1830s into the future.
The book's gripping narratives offer unique perspectives by seamlessly transitioning between first-person, second-person, and third-person storytelling.

The supernatural elements will keep you on the edge of your seat, and the author's imaginative portrayal of the future is genuinely intriguing. You'll also gain insight into Cherokee culture and language, making this a must-read for horror enthusiasts and those interested in Cherokee traditions.

Happy Spooky Reading, Paige 📚 👻 🎃

Manmade Monsters

✨Book Review✨

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5)

This novel is a series of short stories revolving around a singular Indigenous family tree with a mix of supernatural elements. The stories vary in length and time period across the United States. Each story offers its own unique perspective, with different protagonists, plots, and conflicts. Each story is a surprise waiting to reveal itself, featuring references to werewolves, vampires, ghosts, and zombies. Readers will be taken through a cultural experience mixed with supernatural phenomena.

Highlights:
⭐️ Unique and different novel format.
⭐️ Each story follows a singular family tree. I felt this was a unique spin and something I haven’t seen in other novels before.
⭐️ Variety of supernatural elements. You never knew what was coming next in a story. Stories included vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and more.
⭐️ Ama’s story and reappearance was my favorite.

Pitfalls:
❌ The family link between stories wasn’t visible enough for me as a reader to notice. While I think the intention of this is a highlight of the novel, I feel it wasn’t executed strongly enough. I think if a family tree was included at the beginning or end of the novel, it would have cleared up a lot of my confusion, and I would have been able to make the connection the author intended.
❌ Several stories were just a miss for me. While those stories weren’t for me, I would still recommend this book to those who like horror and supernatural elements.

Thank you, NetGalley and Levine Querido, for the ARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review!

This book is a collection of YA horror short stories following generations of a Cherokee family and the supernaturally terrifying things that happen to them.

This book opens up with such a visceral, violent story, I was both shocked and intrigued.

I loved the use of the Cherokee language woven throughout the stories - I felt it gave the stories an added layer of authenticity and realism even though the stories are fantastical and supernatural.

This is Rogers’s debut novel and I will certainly be reading more of her work. These stories, while on the surface, may be about werewolves, vampires, ghosts, resurrections, zombies, etc, they touch on a deeper theme like colonialism, loss of self and culture, assimilation and more.

This was the perfect book to get me into the spooky mood. I definitely recommend this book to horror fans, those wanting to read native stories, and those who like short stories (woven into the bigger story).

Thank you to @netgalley, @hearourvoicestours and @Levine querido for my copy!

Intrigante coletânea de contos em que o horror se funde e se confunde, com temas universais sobrenaturais e até mesmo góticos, com o recorte muito rico do povo Cherokee através dos séculos.

A colonização como uma ferida aberta, durante uma interessante jornada de contato com diferentes identidades que foram apagadas, perseguidas e hostilizadas.

O horror se derrama em diversas camadas com vampiros, zumbis, lobisomens e o homem branco cis hétero, sendo o ápice desse horror em diferentes épocas em momentos importantes para nossa história, em contextos sociais culturais múltiplos como também nos diversos estágios em que a violência de gênero e doméstica devasta a vida de mulheres e crianças.

A vulnerabilidade de meninas e mulheres também apavoram no decorrer dessa obra, assim como o poder religioso na mão de tão poucos e que se alastra na vida de tantos, da dimensão da negligência ao abuso mais explícito.

Tive acesso a nova edição com ilustrações pelo Netgalley que sou muito grata, e torço para a publicação no Brasil, todos esses contos tem muito a nos dizer sobre tempos passados e até mesmo futuros, apesar da dimensão fantástica.

This is an absolutely incredible book! Man Made Monsters is a collection of short horror stories following various branches of the same Cherokee family through the past, present and future.

Storytelling and the passing on of history is one of the book’s central themes. Cherokee language is key in this. It is incorporated not only in the stories, but also in Jeff Edward’s amazing illustrations preceding each story. You can see an example of this on the cover.

Throughout the generations, through genocide and oppression and apocalyptic threats, the book’s central family struggles to hold on to their language and their stories—but hold on they do.

I was impressed with the wide variety of characters, styles, tropes and themes presented in these stories. Each one of them stands well on its own, while also adding to the whole of this family’s long history.

Taking on all kinds of classic monsters and horror staples, the love for the genre can be felt on every page. But while the inspiration from horror classics is clear, each story brings something interesting and new to whichever monster it features.

By the end of the book, there’s the feeling that these stories have always been around, and will continue to be created far into the future, even if the book is over.

Whether you’re an experienced horror lover, someone new to the genre, or you’re just interested in reading more Indigenous fiction, you should read this book.