In 1861, ten year-old orphan Nell makes her living mudlarking - dredging up anything saleable from the muddy banks of the river Thames, part of a gang controlled by Benjamin Murdstone. Once a mudlark himself, he rose to wealth and then fell again, but is still looking for that one find which will restore his fortunes. Or rather, his gang of children are looking for it.

Elsewhere in London, a mysterious man named Minos works in the labyrinthine tunnels of the sewers then being constructed. Enormous, misshapen (and are those signs of horns on his head?) but very strong, he's an object of curiosity and even dread, but his origins are obscure. Lost in his dreams of other lives, other ages, he will develop a close connection with Nell. Both of their lives will be wrapped up with that of Sophia, formerly a dancer at the Paris Opera Ballet, but now hiding herself away in the slum of Seven Dials.

To get the obvious out of the way first, yes, Once a Monster does have echoes of Dickens. You could see Murdstone (itself a Dickensian name) as a sort of Fagin, with his ragged gang of kids. The theme of fortunes made and lost on a twist of fate in the teeming city of trade is also familiar, as is the passion and the anger at those ground down, at the lives wasted. But this isn't a Dickens pastiche. Once a Monster is actually much stranger than that. The author of The Toymakers and Paris by Starlight doesn't hide his sympathies - and, as I have said, his anger - but Once a Monster is much more than a novel of Victorian inequality and oppression.

At its centre is Minos, whose name - and the hints of his physique, as well perhaps as his preferred refuge in tunnels and caves - give us a pretty strong indication of who or what he may be, or have been. Minos's story is a moral story, a story of growth and struggle, his history echoed by and indialgue with a whole gallery of characters. Dinsdale gives us a fascinating characters study of who Minos is and who he may become. In a city that, like a monster, devours the innocent, there is plenty of darkness to go around and it may enfold Minos yet: but it's not - or not all - coming from him and the same central dilemma is posed to all the characters here: to rise - trampling and consuming others - or to sink into the mudflats of Ratcliffe or the rookeries of Seven Dials. Minos's deeds - good or bad - are written on his frame, the result of hundreds and hundreds of years wrestling with this paradox, but the same truth captures Murdstone, his only friend Dr Bantam, Sophia and indeed Nell herself.

In this book, trades are offered, lives bought and sold. Revenge is a theme, but it's always second to trade, trade, trade, the network of deals and promises that forms the very fabric of London. Just as Minos loses himself in dreams and nightmares of the Labyrinth, the narrow streets of the city, the claustrophobic passages in the Alhambra Circus theatre, and the new, branching swedes, confine and direct the passage of those caught up in them. All are lost, whether they know it or not, in need of a thread to guide them out.

In a masterpiece of fantasy, Dinsdale illustrates the tunnels and chambers that we all wander - showing how the only way out is found through that thread of kindness, caring, and trust (and perhaps a bit of luck). There are no real villains here, I think, apart from the dark systems and constraints that oppress us all. No real monsters, except the monsters that we turn ourselves - and each other - into. Of those, Minos may be the strangest, but he is not unique, simply the most visible of his type, showing something common to all.

This is an extraordinary book, and it's one I'd strongly recommend.

It’s no secret that I ADORE Dinsdale’s earlier book The Toymakers, so when I saw his new release was going to be a Minotaur retelling I leapt at the chance to read an early copy.

As always, I was blown away by the beauty of the prose, the delicate descriptions that paint the most vivid pictures but without being overly flowery or drawn out. I felt every step of the cobbled streets, every path of the labyrinth.

This is a mythology retelling, but not in a way I’ve seen done before. This takes ancient myth and supplants it firmly in Dickensian London, and oh my is it a glorious mix!

Even if you’re not a mythology fan I would urge you to give this one a try; you absolutely don’t need to know any of the Minotaur myth before you dive in, as it guides you gently as you go. I’m not normally a fan of retellings myself (they more often don’t work for me than do) so this was a refreshing change that brought something new to the story, using the myth to give the character a history rather than as a direct retelling, and I adored it for that.

For me what makes this such a beautiful and impactful novel is the friendship between our two main characters, little mudlark orphan Nell and the giant uncertain yet powerful Minos. They are such an unlikely pair, but I swear they will warm your heart.

My only slight complaint is pacing (isn’t it always, I think I’m just picky). It’s a little slow in patches, and longer than it needed to be, but honestly, with writing this glorious I didn’t really mind. I’d happily read page after page of such perfect prose. Still one I’d absolutely recommend, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting more from Dinsdale. Whatever he has up his sleeve next, I can’t wait!

𝙾𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚊 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙰𝚁𝙲 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠

𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ★★★★.5☆
𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚎: ☆☆☆☆☆

𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚗, 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛. 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎.

💌 Myth Reimagining
📍Set in 1861 London, flashbacks to Ancient History
❤️‍🩹 Unlikely friends, Found family, What makes us human?

📖 A beautiful reimagining of Theseus and the Minotaur, with elements of mythology, philosophy and academia. We follow Nell, a young orphan mudlarking on the banks of the Thames who dreams of escaping, and Minos, a disfigured man who she discovers washed up on the banks. Despite his injuries, it is his memories where he has suffered the greatest loss.

✨ With deeply built character descriptions, endless twists and turns (like your very own labyrinth to navigate), heart wrenching found family connections, rich ancient history, and Dickens-esque villains, a truly unforgettable and unique retelling that makes you question what really makes someone a monster? 



Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for sending me this book for review!

I really wanted to love this as Robert Dinsdale is a favourite of mine, but it felt overlong and repetitive.
The concept was fantastic and I loved the characters, it was almost magical but it just didn’t quite work for me. I think it felt more literary and less fantastical than the others I’ve read, it was definitely harder to get lost in the narrative. I’m sure there are clever and deep meanings behind this but I just found it frustrating.
I shall still be recommending it as I’m sure it’s just me.

This story is a wonderful twist on the Greek tale of the Minotaur!
A little girl called Nell, scowers the river Themes for hidden treasures every day, to make money to line the pocket of her ward Benjamin Munstone. Nell finds Mino washed up on the shore after being attacked by a group of men. She takes him to a hidden cave to care for him, even though he's an ugly, strong and massive fellow, she just sees someone who needs help. Munstone finds out and tries to imprison him but Mino escapes. A beautiful friendship is born and Nell and Mino's lives are linked forever. This friendship is tested throughout the story.
..The period of this tale is based in the late 1800's and I loved the era, the characters good and bad and the conclusion was excellent. It was very well thought out, you had elements of the Greek mythology but it showed a possibility of what might occur if this happened in that time period. We see how different relationships panned out. True friendships and traitorous ones. It was a gripping read.

I received this free arc book for an honest review.
#Netgalley, #Panmacmillan, #robertdinsdale.

I will be purchasing a copy of this book and reviewing fully on bookstagram,

I did enjoy reading this, but I feel I will get more from it once I read a print copy.

This is not based on the authors writing style, it’s due tom my processing ,

Robert Dinsdale is a master story teller. This book took me back to my childhood and reminded me of everything I love about reading. This story has the charm and warmth of those early books. This story is very grown up though and has the perfect combination of ancient myth alongside the gothicness of Victorian London, All the characters in this book would be worthy of a Dickensian novel especially the larger than life villains but I especially loved Nell and Minos, This book would make a perfect book club read as there is so much about this book that deserves to be kept alive, shared and discussed. Brilliant read.

London 1861: 10-year-old Nell has been an orphan since her mother died 4 years ago leaving her only with a pair of satin slippers. She is one of the mudlarks working for Benjamin Murdstone looking for 'treasures' along the Thames. One day she discovers a body on the shore. A giant of a man, oddly beast-looking, with a suggestion of horns on his head. When she tries to steal his belongings she discovers he, Minos, is alive. Minos who doesn't remember where he came from originally. Her decision to help him changes her life forever.

A twist on the Minotaur tale, the narrative is as if a quirky someone is telling us this story. It jumps back and forth between different characters' perspectives. A story that's different, simultaneously more intricate and simple than expected, resulting in it being even more interesting. Nell will tug at your heartstrings and Minos will not be what you expect. You will really enjoy them both.

Dickensian vibes set the tone and long descriptions teleporting us to London of the past. The story feels like reading the classics though with a breezier tone, its general scope still having the gravitas. Prose of a philosophizing nature and an air of melancholy tinting it. Figurative speech that breathes lyrical, painting quite original images.

Sometimes the musings run away with themselves and the story lags because of it. Also the jumps from one POV to another can sometimes be quite jarring. It can certainly be attention-grabbing, I just wish the narrative was a bit tighter.

Being a monster has nothing to do with appearance. Are we our past and does redemption really exist? It deals with the power of dreams. The positive effect of kindness. It is about identity, and balance, and choice. This poignant story teaches us that humanity can have a heart.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 3*
Writing skill : 3*
Plot: 3*
Pace: 4*
Characters: 5*

I really really wanted to love this, but I found the story a bit convoluted. It switched between perspectives, and locations, often and within chapters. It was just a bit hard to follow. I also found you needed to know a lot about the mythological story of Minos, which I didn't. I have recently discovered the mythology genre and what I've read so far explained things so well it was easy to follow what was happening having no prior knowledge of the original story.
The winning factor of this book was the imagery and the relationship between Minos and Nell, I was invested and championing them. If you're a massive mythology fan, i think you may get on with this story much better than I did.

I received both the eBook and the audio version of this book, and would also rate the audio 3*.

DNFed at 20%. I found it very slow, unengaging, and difficult to follow. Therefore I won't be sharing a review.

A fantastic read! I love myth retellings and ths is up there with the best of them. The setting of 1860s London gave the plot such an interesting and mysterious backdrop. Really recommend to fans of historical fiction!

I did not expect this book to be as good as it was (sorry). I have read a lot of retelling greek myths and though that this would be in the same vein, not so, it is head and shoulders above the others I have read recently. An absolutely absorbing book, I loved it.

An unusual retelling of the Minotaur of Knossos and his labyrinth using dual time lines of Ancient Greece and Dickensian London 1861.
Minos is a giant of a man, who is viciously attacked one night by footpads. He is stabbed and left to die after he falls into the river Thames.
Found by mudlarks the next day, Nell who is 10 years old, persuades the other children in the gang not to alert Murdstone, their master, about this injured giant, she wants to nurse him back to health.
Minos, whilst in a deep sleep or coma, once again experiences his previous life in Athens, he has visions of a labyrinth, voices and sacrifices, whilst all the time he experiences terrible rages and a desire to kill. Each generation the Minotaur lives, the less beastly he becomes. Will Nell be safe with him, can she help heal his fragile mind?.
This is quite a story that contrasts the factual history of London and its mudlarks, against the legends of Ancient Greece. This misshapen, forbidding figure of a man- beast, is not unalike the story of the Elephant Man, we fear those who look different from the accepted norms.
A difficult story to get involved in at first, but once you start to understand and feel sympathy for both Minos and Nell, it feels more relatable and human, a very moving story about what it means to be accepted despite appearances.
I found this to be a very thoughtful and emotional novel. It shows the importance of dreams and aiming high. Nell finds happiness in her hopes of a happy future, Minos will always struggle unless people look for the man underneath.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers Pan MacMillan for my advance digital read, freely given in exchange for my honest review. A five star read. I will leave reviews to Goodreads and Amazon UK.

This was not definitely not the book that I was expecting it to be.

Once a Monster is about a 10 year old girl called Nell, a Mudlark, who one day finds the Minotaur washed up on the shores of the Thames.

I found the pacing of this book to be super slow, with the first 50% of the book mainly being about Nell and the Minotaur’s relationship/friendship. By the time we got any action or answers about the Minotaur’s history/story, I had already lost interest and was skim reading most the pages.

I also found that the relationship between Nell and the Minotaur was really weird. It wasn’t a father-daughter type of relationship and instead they had this weird obsession/loyalty to one another right from the get go. Given that the minotaur is a thousands year old man and Nell is 10, it gave me grooming vibes.

The initial plot of this book interested me and it had a lot of potential but I just wasn’t a fan of where the story went. I think the main aim of this book was to discuss the Minotaur’s evolution from monster to man which would have been interesting but due to the pacing, the author had lost me before we even got to that point of the book.

Overall, it wasn’t terrible but just wasn’t the kind of book for me.

As beautifully written as I expect from Robert Dinsdale and a branch out into mythology/historical fiction.

Thanks to Pan Macmillan for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Sadly, I ended up not finishing this book. I put it down at around the 20% mark, but since it is a review copy, I thought I’d still share my thoughts!

This book is a retelling of the Greek myth of the minotaur, set in a Dickensian period. It follows Nell, a ten-year-old orphan who comes across Minos, a disfigured man. I’d gotten nearly 20% into the book, and that was all that had happened. Sure, we’d gotten some insight into Nell’s life, but nothing much had happened plot-wise.

It wasn’t a bad book – the writing was solid, and I think the plot and the characters had a lot of potential, but I couldn’t bring myself to read more than a chapter at a time, and whenever I put the book down, I felt no motivation to pick it back up.

It was just incredibly slow and there wasn’t even an inkling of a plot, despite the fact that I’d gotten quite a way through the book. I also read a few reviews to see whether I was missing something and whether it would get better. Some people seemed to enjoy the story, but a lot of them seemed to feel the same as I did. Quite a few people also mentioned that the relationship between Minos and Nell was questionable at times, which put me off even further.

Ultimately, I don’t think it would have been fair to me, the book, or the author, to force myself to finish it if I wasn’t enjoying it. I have no doubt that there are others out there who would love it, but it just wasn’t for me.

I found this book hard to get into, as the beginning, for me, was quite slow. However once the main part of the story began and the truth of Minos emerged I could not put the book down! The twists and turns much like the labyrinth itself, kept coming and really made you feel for the characters. As a lover of Greek history and mythology I had high hopes for this book and boy did it deliver!

I’ve only recently starting reading retellings but I was drawn to this by the Dickensian nature of the book. I love anything Victorian and alongside the myth of the Minotaur this sounded like a compelling read. And it was. Set in 1861 in London the main protagonist, aside from Minos, is 10 year old Nell a mudlark who spends her days trawling the mudbanks of the Thames searching for anything of value which she then has to handover to evil overseer Benjamin Murdstone, a Fagin type character. A captivating story of Human v. Monster that will have you considering just who the real monsters are. My first read by this author and what a wonderful one, I loved his writing style and the pace was for the most part perfect.

Briefly, out searching one day Nell finds a body. Tall, hirsute and dead… until she notices a breath… The decision she makes that day will change both of their lives.

I loved determined and courageous Nell. I wanted her to realise her dreams of becoming a dancer in the theatre and enjoyed her burgeoning relationship with Minos as she nursed him back to health. The story of Minos’ escape from the Labyrinth to the dark streets of Victorian London and his desire to find out if he is man or monster was powerful. I didn’t expect it to be such a tragic and heart rending read. An atmospheric book full of emotional and physical battles between Good and Evil with the question can evil ever truly be redeemed? I enjoyed this a lot, a good historical fiction and Greek mythology peppered with elements of fairy tale storytelling. 4.5⭐️

Definitely not your usual read. Imagine Dickens mixed with Greek mythology... served in a magic realism plate. Yeah, it sounds a bit complex – it also is and isn’t at the same time. While I like all of these things separately, I found reading this book a bit bothersome. It might not be a popular opinion but the ever-changing pacing in this book kept throwing me off. While I understand what the author did in this book with all the intricate details from Greek mythology described in dreams and thoughts, they were excessively slow, and difficult to get into the mood of it, knowing that very Dickensian London life is running parallel to it. But maybe it’s just me.

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the characters though and the whole idea for the story – the classic good and bad narrative, all woven in a different kind of way. It’s a bit of patience required to read this story but it can be rewarding for those who are interested in historical fiction, Greek mythology and unusual combinations.

P.S. The constant idea underlying the second half of the book of the russian ballets and St Petersburg as a dream sort of land for an escape... left a bitter taste in my mouth, especially in these times. I’m not going to go into politics in this review but this definitely knocked a second star for me.

I absolutely adored The Toymakers by the same author when I read it a few years ago. This came up on Netgalley and I applied a while ago and got accepted. I've only just got round to reading it but wanted to make sure my review was out before publication day!

Once a Monster is a retelling of the Minotaur tales of Greek folklore. Half man, half bull, the Minotaur was locked in a labyrinth by family members and spent his says trying to get out.

In this take, the Minotaur or, Minos as he's known in this tale, surfaces on the banks of the River Thames in 1861. He is discovered by a young, orphan mudlark called Nell with whom he immediately bonds. Nell is "owned" by a vile man who sends her and other minors onto the banks of the river to sift the mud and silt for treasure. When he gets wind of Minos, he becomes power hungry at what it might do for him and thus begins a battle.

I really enjoyed this, such an interesting take. Nell was fabulous, such a great character. She yearns to escape the life of poverty and become a ballet dancer and there are lots of lovely references to the dance halls of those days.

Minos had a great story line too, flashing back to his past and the real origins of the Minotaur story, alongside his struggles in this Dickensian era tale.

It's got some humour, but is generally a dark tale, the poverty-ridden London of that era being captured perfectly.

A great read and one I'll be recommending. Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.