Published 21 September 2023. Having loved The Toymakers by this author, and being rather partial to Greek myths, there was no way that I was going to miss the chance to read this. This is not a Greek myth retelling, this is a Greek myth reimagining. What if Theseus didn't kill the Minotaur? What if the Minotaur found his way out of the labyrinth and is in Victorian London? There is a Dickensian feel about this novel - for Fagin read Murdstone, for Fagin's little gang of child pickpockets read Murdstone's little group of mudlarks. Our story follows 10 year old Nell as, with the rest of the mudlarks, she scours the Thames looking for 'treasures' that can be sold for a meal. On this occasion she doesn't find a coin, a scrap of metal, she finds what she believes to be a body. The body of a giant of a man with misshapen features that make him appear monstrous. But this man is not dead, just badly injured and Nell makes the decision to help him - and to hide him from Murdstone. A bond develops between Nell and the man, Minos and he tells her stories, memories as he tries to find out who he is. When Murdstone does find them, he sees in Minos an opportunity to make his fortune and he also sees that he can use Nell to control the 'beast'. In this book we do not just have Minos' story as his past begins to haunt him, to leave him questioning whether he is a monster or if there is a man inside him, we also have Nell's story. Nell dreams of being a dancer - her mother was a seamstress for the ballet dancers at the Alhambra before she died and Nell became Murdstone's 'property'. I really enjoyed this, the mix of myth and Dickensian London. Murdstone is really well fleshed out villain. I did feel that, at times, the pacing slowed in the middle but the final chapters were terrific and the ending just - for me - perfect. I did struggle at little with Nell sometimes as well, a ten year old who at times seemed younger and older than her years. But Minos, I did enjoy his character, his battle to find himself as he was forever 'turning left, turning right, forever moving forward'. I also loved the ideas of the sewers under London becoming almost the tunnels of the labyrinth. This was such an original idea and at times it feels as if the author is sitting with is telling us a story - as Minos sits with Nell and tells her stories - when he breaks the fourth wall and tells us to 'follow that water' or when he talks to us and tells us to 'dredge our memories'. For me this book was a lovely mix of historical fiction and Greek myth, and a book about good and evil, nature and nurture. I look forward to seeing what he writes next.

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Once A Monster
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Robert Dinsdale
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Mythology/Historical Fiction
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 21st September 2023
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 16th August 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★★★ ½

“I like to think the Greeks knew a little about this sorry old business of being alive. That’s something we’ve forgotten in Modern Times. We Englishmen remain a puritanical breed. Being good or bad isn’t a human choice. Being good and bad–that’s the human condition.”

I adore the blending of the genres: Greek mythology stirred into a pot of filthy and industrious 1860s London is not one I could have imagined would work, but Robert Dinsdale somehow managed to enforce the imagery of muddy orphaned children fishing for treasures in the riverbanks whilst ducking and dodging the perils of urban life and mixing this scene with the literal and figurative revival of a myth. I particularly enjoyed the clever parallels between the Greek labyrinth and the London sewers.

The storytelling was deeply immersive, Dinsdale utilised a personable and vivid Dickensian prose to add depth and gravity to the book whilst holding a certain magical horror element through the character of Minos and the savage beauty of the ballet through Nell’s perspective. The author chooses the break the fourth wall every now and then to guide the reader through the story which gave me a frisson of excitement each time as I knew the story was about to develop in some way.

There is thematic exploration of human morality; the dichotomy of good and evil blurred into multiple moments that serves as the pendulum of individual choices of a righteous man and a wrongful one. These character decisions feel Dorian Gray in its nature; the more hideous choices baring a physical change on the characters, once again lending the story the feel of a timeless classic.

Once A Monster is thoughtful, savage, and has an air of finality in name and slow paced, hypnotic, and an air of continuity in nature. This book is great for those who want to slowly trudge through a labyrinth of Robert Dinsdale’s making, detailing every mark on the wall and each turn the story is about to take through historical London with a monster.

—Kayleigh🤍

I have enjoyed previous books by Robert Dinsdale so I had high hopes for this one.

I wanted to like it a lot but somehow fell flat. I didn't really like the storytelling and the characters annoyed me big time! I also struggled reading the chapters, felt too long...

However, the world-building was really good. I think the market is saturated with Greek mythology; this one is somehow different but still felt something was missing.

With such a saturated market when it comes to Greek mythology, it is hard to do something that stands above the rest. But in this tale of The Minotaur, Robert Dinsdale breathes new life into a myth we all know so well. For me, the pacing was too slow at points and I wanted to see more character development, but an enjoyable read nevertheless.

I thank NetGalley for gifting me the arc of this book. I submitted my request but was only granted the request very much later. My interest in this book has already started to wan but reflecting that The Toymakers was such a great book, my interest in this book rekindled.

This book fascinates me and has a magical feel to it. I like the story because it is a historical fiction set in London with a friendship element thrown in with some added mystery. I tend to like books set in historical London with a magical feel to it. This one has something to do with Greek myth which is something that I do not like to read too much unless it is a mystery or horror genre kind of book but this was tastefully done. This story has also something to do with the retelling of the Minotaur which is rather unique. The pacing of the story was great but just that Dinsdale's writing might not be everyone's kind of tea as I prefer a more simplistic and flowy style of writing. But after a while, you will get used to it. The characters Nell and Minos are at the forefront of the story and their friendship is touching if not bittersweet to read. The characters are all very realistic and well-developed. Overall it is a good book with a unique magical story in it and enchanting characters but not all of them are enchanting. You need to read to know as there are villains in it.

I am looking forward to seeing what would be Dinsdale's next book. I hope it is also set in Victorian times and it involves an enchanting but sad love story full of mysterious magical vibes which is the trademark of his beautiful stories. The Toymakers remains his best book. I will rate this book 4 stars because it is indeed a unique story and I could see that Dinsdale has put a lot of effort and creative juices into it. Overall I still like it and would recommend it to anyone who likes a magical and interesting story

Oh I so wanted to love this book, the premise sounded so interesting but the reality was a plodding storyline, uninteresting characters and a story that didn't live up to what I was hoping for.
The Minotaur legend is one of my favourites, such possibilities for this character, but I found myself bored and struggling to finish chapters, it feels like a waste of an opportunity.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read and review this ARC.

An unusual and highly enjoyable book. A clever and subtle bringing together of Dickens and ancient myth:
Dickens in the presence of poor children and a Fagin like character who controls and exploits them (and even a Little Nell); and ancient myth in an imagination that the minotaur survived Theseus’ attack and lived through the millennia seeking to find out who he is.
The minotaur and Nell meet when she finds him left for dead in the Thames mud and a lasting friendship ensues.
In some degree a tortured soul, bad deeds and violence make the minotaur more or a monster; good deeds more of a man. His determination towards the latter is exemplified in the constant refrain of “No!”, but is often driven to the former.
Nell’s dream of becoming a dancer provides a delightful subplot.
The style is intriguing and the characters well drawn. The pace picks as the novel develops. Ultimately a tale of redemption.

Greek mythology is getting tougher and harder to approach in new and interesting ways, but Dinsdale has succeeded with his breathtaking Victorian London-set retelling of the Minotaur narrative. The Greek myth of the Minotaur is charmingly reimagined in Dickens' novel Once a Monster. This is what I envision Greek mythology would look like if the Brothers Grimm wrote it. I don't believe I have ever read a novel with an intersection like this, thus the notion is unique. The fourth wall is periodically broken throughout the novel, which is written as though it were being told by a storyteller. It has the appearance of being read aloud while curled up next to a warm fire.

It’s becoming harder and harder to do something innovative and fresh with Greek mythology, but Dinsdale has managed to pull it off with his spectacular reimagining of the Minotaur myth in Victorian London.

Orphaned at a young age, Nell now spends her days as a mudlark on the Thames, searching for treasures to sell for her guardian - and villainous overseer - Murdstone. She stumbles upon a vast body in the mud - and on discovering it is still alive, chooses to nurse it back to health in a nearby cave. It is Minos - not the King of Crete, but the Minotaur himself, escaped from the labyrinth and the clutches of Theseus. The story unfolds at pace - from Nell, as an Ariadne figure, leading Minos through his feverish dreams and forgotten memories, to Minos sacrificing his freedom for Nell’s own future - and then follows the twists and turns of both characters as they struggle through their choices and fates.

This isn’t a quick and easy read, but rather a beautifully complex tale spanning centuries. Dinsdale skilfully weaves together several different stories and perspectives, and his impressive worldbuilding brings to life not just the dark and grimy world of Victorian London but also the glimpses of a more ancient time. But it is the reflections on the nature of monstrosity and heroism that really make the heart of this book, and offer an in-depth and unflinching exploration of the tragedy of the Minotaur himself.

London, 1800’s. A group of destitute children comb the banks of the Thames for treasures that they can sell; a lump of coal or a pair of old waterlogged shoes means a hot meal that night. But one morning, 10 year old Nell finds more than she expected; a man, if one could call him that. He is huge, brutish, with odd protuberances sprouting from a misshapen skull that suggests the emergence of bone underneath the skin. Instead of stealing from him, she nurses him to health, and despite his amnesia begins to discover the story of Minos…but is he a man, or a monster?

Once a Monster is an enchanting Dickensian reimagining of the Greek myth of the Minotaur. If the Brothers Grimm wrote Greek mythology, I imagine you’d have something similar to this. The premise is original; I don’t think I have ever read a novel with an intersection like this. The novel is written as though being narrated by a storyteller, with the fourth wall being occasionally broken. It gives the impression of being read to aloud, cosy beside a roaring fire.

Dinsdale has crafted a very atmospheric book, and the rivers and city streets flow directly from the page. The cast of characters are very Oliver Twist-esque; Benjamin Murdstone, Once a Monster’s antagonist, seems to have been directly styled on Fagin. While this helps add to the sense of place in the novel, the result is that the characters come across as archetypal and two-dimensional at times. I did really enjoy the exploration of Nell’s and Minos’ found-father-daughter relationship, though.

One gripe I had is that the prose can often feel repetitive, with certain plot points being returned to until they are worn smooth and indistinct.

I’d recommend this unusual but enjoyable novel to fans of Fairy Tales and myths. Minos’ issues in memory also reminded me of the mystery of Piranesi. While not a complete page-turner, it was still a very easy and magical read.

Book Review 📚
Once A Monster by Robert Dinsdale - 3.5/5 ⭐

Victorian London cross Greek Minotaur. Who knew there was ever such a cross over?! It's subtle on both parts but yet enough to know exactly what's happening and where.

The description and detail in this book was phenomenal. There has been so much thought in the description of not only characters but the world building also. Each and every character is perfectly described so your never questioning or wondering anything. It's done really well and Dinsdale pulled it off brilliantly.

The general theme comes across as good Vs evil which is actually pulled off amazingly. The historical fiction makes the story so much more than just a fiction, it's a nice touch and helps make the story. Overall it's a brilliant story and worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

I loved Robert Dinsdale's The Toymakers, but I really struggled with the pace of his latest novel, Once a Monster. The PoV changes were fine, switching between Nell and Minos, and a few other characters along the way, but the prose really could've done with a trim. Every thought was laboured, every plot point discussed to death, and I found myself skimming pages to get to the next scene! The ending too could of used some love - it felt rushed and too eager to wrap up lose ends. Still, it was better than a 3, so marking it a 4.

A memorable read! I was entirely seduced by Robert Dinsdale’s tale spinning, the Dickensian feel and a very refreshing take on the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Ive never read anything else by this author but I plan to correct that shortly! Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

This could have been such a good book, the premise is great but the execution fell flat for me sadly

This was a very different retelling of the Greek myth of the Minotaur. Set around a very Dickensian London it tells of Nell a little girl who finds the body of a strange man in the mud but the body is not dead and as Nell nurses him back to health a strong bond is formed between them. The villainous Murdstone attempts to exploit Minos for his own ends and the story follows Nell and Minos as they follow their dreams.
Beautifully written, the characters leap out of the pages and I really felt that I knew these characters and was totally invested in their stories.

-Summary-
Once a Monster is a reimagining of the Minotaur myth, set in Victorian London. Our protagonist is Nell, an orphaned girl forced to scrounge out a living by seeking ‘treasures’ on the mudbanks of the river Thames while dreaming of becoming a dancer. One day, she comes across a man, Minos, half-drowned in the river - and from that point onwards their lives are irrevocably intertwined as they battle unforgiving London to discover who they truly are.

-Mythic Context-
The story of the Minotaur, the Cretan Labyrinth constructed to contain him, and the hero Theseus sent to defeat him, is one of the most well-known of the Greek myths - I think it was the first one I ever heard. It’s the first one I remember, anyway!

In Once a Monster, Dinsdale explores an interesting premise: what if Theseus only thought he killed the Minotaur - and what if the Minotaur escaped, and survived, for centuries? The Minotaur of Greek myth is transported to an almost equally legendary Victorian London filled with Dickensian characters and settings - as well as tantalising references to other Greek myths scattered throughout.

-Review-
Dinsdale has a truly beautiful writing style: it’s fairly heavy on the description which I know isn’t to everyone’s taste, but I think it fits perfectly with the Dickensian setting (London and the Thames are almost other characters in their own right!).

The writing is strongest when describing London and its many characters: Dinsdale transported me to cold, wet Victorian London and the muddy banks of the Thames, the squalid and cramped living conditions of Nell and her fellow ‘mudlarks’, and the contrasting opulence of the theatre Nell dreams of dancing in.

It’s a shame that the writing falls flatter in Minos’s flashbacks. I’d have loved more vivid descriptions of the characters and settings of ancient Greece - lots of opportunities to contrast between Greece and London were sadly missed.

Nell, our protagonist, is a romantic and sentimental character, naive despite the many hardships she’s suffered. She’s a dreamer, unlike the more practical and pragmatic mudlarks she spends her days and nights with, which adds a dreamy, fairytale-like quality to the novel. As a fellow dreamer, I love her optimism, the way she hasn’t allowed herself to become jaded by her mother’s death and the terrible situations that followed, the way she always believes the best of people even when faced with evidence of their cruelty.

Nell is fiercely protective of Minos from the moment she discovers him in the river. The complexity of Minos’s character, his almost split personality, and his very existence itself, is at the very heart of the story and makes for a very powerful and intriguing mystery, especially in the first part of the book. Who is Minos? Where did he come from? Can he possibly be The Minotaur? And when some of these questions are answered, the first still remains: who is he? Who does he want to be?

The mythological background is woven into the story mainly through Minos’s flashbacks: he offers us tantalising glimpses of characters like Theseus, Pasiphae, and Circe. I wish we could have had more of these!

Our main antagonist is Murdstone, a brilliant Fagin-esque villain. If Minos is morally grey, Murdstone is morally charcoal: he’s awful to the children in his care, he’s awful to his peers, he’s awful to himself. He constantly tries to justify the worst aspects of his behaviour to himself (and to us). He’s got a very compelling back story: a tale of rags to riches and back to rags again. He’s always striving to do whatever he can to get back to the top again, and is altogether a well-rounded and intriguing antagonist.

The primary theme of the story is that of humanity vs monstrousness. Throughout the novel we are given hints that Minos becomes more ‘human’ in appearance when he acts selflessly, and more ‘monstrous’ when he submits to the rage and violence that constantly simmer beneath the surface: his horns grow back; he grows taller, broader, and hairier; he begins to lose his speech and his ability to communicate - a very Ovidian transformation! I would have preferred a more nuanced del Toro-esque take - where the monster doesn’t have to change themselves to have humanity - but I think it works in this more magical-realism context.

Minos’s battle for his humanity versus his monstrosity is reflected in Murdstone. Murdstone not only goads Minos into his more monstrous behaviour but finds himself changing, too. He grows older, weaker, and more ill the more relentlessly he pursues his obsession with regaining his fortune and status - until the end, where his corpse, bloated and disfigured by the Thames, washes up almost unrecognisable by his mudlarks.

We’re given what feels almost like a bonus chapter, an epilogue of sorts, where we learn that Minos ends up surviving his trials in the labyrinthine sewers to follow Nell and her descendants around the world - I think it’s a shame that he still seems to lack independence, and still can’t find happiness for himself, on his own terms. He has fully shed the ‘monster’ aspect of his personality - along with his immortality - but it all feels a little too neat for me. I think a story so concerned with the infinite twisting turns of a labyrinth, with the constant battle between humanity and inhumanity, could have benefitted from a more open and ambiguous ending.

Summary:
Once A Monster is a historical fiction with magical realism running through it. It follows ten year old Nell, a mudlark, who discovers a monstrous-looking man barely alive on the riverbed. Kind-hearted Nell tries to nurse the man, Minos, back to health but unfortunately, her cruel master, Benjamin Murdstone, has other, more profitable, plans for him.
As the friendship grows between Minos and Nell, Minos’s past begins to haunt him and he’s left wondering who he is, a man or a monster. In order to protect Nell from his beastly side and grant her the life of dance she’s always wished for, Minos makes a deal with Murdstone. However, uncovering the past is more dangerous than any of them had realised.

Thoughts:
On paper, Once A Monster should have been my cup of tea since it was historical fiction mixed with some fantasy elements linked to the Greek myth of the minotaur. At the start, I was drawn in to Nell’s plight and the mystery around Minos, however, as the story progressed I found my attention waning.
I think perhaps the pacing was a little off. Up to about the halfway mark, the tension was building and I was eagerly reading then suddenly, it began to drag. There were some scenes in the middle that really seemed to slow down the pace and seemed stretched out unnecessarily. I, unfortunately, found I had to force myself to finish the book and this then affected my enjoyment of it.

The other issue, for me, I believe was the voice. For most of the book, we see through Nell’s perspective and because she is only ten years old, it can come across as childish but this is not a children’s book. I found it a little hard to believe that Nell would cling so tightly to one instance from her early childhood with the ballet troupe and that this is what goes on to fuel her dreams to join them. In reality, she has very little knowledge of the dancing world and how hard it can be. This in itself made her come across as a little naïve, as did how quickly she placed her trust and became attached to Minos. This is not a girl who has been sheltered from the harsher aspects of life, so her naivety was a little jarring with her background and again, made her seem childish.
I did enjoy Bantam’s perspective and thought he might come into play to discuss the deeper questions around morality and nature versus nurture. However, I didn’t feel he was given enough space in the novel to do so and our time with him was fleeting.
Minos, in my view, doesn’t come across as a fully fleshed out character and still seems very much the confused creature he was at the beginning of his life. I will admit it was also hard to sympathise with Minos when you come to understand just how many people he’s brutally killed in his long lifetime.
Our time with Murdstone, however, does paint a picture beyond the vicious villain archetype. At his heart, Murdstone is a very desperate man trying to reclaim his past glory and lives in fear of his quickly approaching death. It doesn’t justify his cruelty but it does go some way to explaining it.
I think perhaps I was yearning for a more adult voice to tell this story but overall, I was only given snatches of more mature perspective.

I think author did a great job of setting the scene of 1800s London and of the hard lives of the mudlarks. Dinsdale did well building up the entrancing world of dance at the Alhambra Circus, whilst hinting at some of the harsh realities of being a dancer. The weaker parts for me were the flashback scenes into Minos’ past lives. During these scenes, I never truly felt drawn in and this may be the reason I found it hard, as well as all the people he killed, to connect with Minos as a character.

A theme to this novel I feel is very much ‘good versus evil’ and when it comes to the human characters I feel for the most part this is done well. However, when it comes to Minos, who should be the focus of this, I found it lacking. By the end of the story, it seems Minos starts to shed the monster not through his own will but because of Nell – is it really redemption if it’s done on the behalf of someone else?
Additionally, and probably a more personal take, I find it hard to believe that someone who has killed others, in such a gruesome fashion, can ever be redeemed, no matter how much time has passed. Plus his guilt seemed more focused on the fact he gave into his monstrous ways rather than those he hurt in doing so. Lastly, I’d argue that becoming a man isn’t necessarily a sign of overcoming the evil within but that’s just my own view.

The ending, for me, didn’t gel well with the rest of the story and it seemed like the writing style switched just so the author could do a quick sum up of the rest of Nell’s and Minos’ lives. We lost Nell’s voice almost completely at the end, despite her being a prominent character throughout the rest of the book. Minos took over and I’m not sure, for reasons previously mentioned, that worked for me. Also, from the tone of the rest of the book the ending came across, for lack of a better word, a little twee and leaned heavily into 'telling' rather than 'showing'. I think I would have preferred it if the story had been kept open at the end and we had been left to our own wonderings as to the fates of Nell and Minos.

Whilst there were aspects of Once A Monster that I enjoyed, they weren’t strong enough to keep me gripped throughout the story. The world and historical setting is well developed and I would say the historical fiction side of this novel is its strongest. It does start out fairly strong but unfortunately, come the latter half, I didn’t feel it was as engaging. The main issues for me were voice and pacing, as well as difficultly in connecting with Minos. These aspects I will admit may come down to personal tastes and as such I would recommend reading multiple reviews of before deciding whether to pick this up for yourself. Overall, I would give it 2.5 out of 5, an average score (rounded up to 3 for NetGalley/Goodreads as I really don't think it deserves a 2).

When I read the description of Once A Monster, I was intrigued. I thought that it would be quite interesting to read a novel that took the myth of the minotaur and repurposed it in 1800s London. However, I just couldn’t get into this book.

I was able to get 55% of the way through this novel, but it just never gripped me. I felt that in the first half of this book, the writing dragged and not much actually happened. If this book was shorter, it would make for an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a very interesting concept in the one the author combine Greek mythology and historical fiction, placing the famous Minotaur in Dickensian London. I like the work of the author but for me this book was difficult to read (that doesn’t means the book is bad at all)the author style always remind me the Grimm brothers style and I always tell this author write fairytales for adults. His writing stile is beautiful and normally the plots are well created. My only trouble with this book is that in some parts it seems overwritten and was a difficult to me to keep up with the plot. Thank you very much to NetGalley to the access of this ARC

What a glorious combination of Greek myth meets Charles Dickens with a bit of Brothers Grimm mixed in too. I loved this book. Robert Dinsdale is a favourite author of mine. His books are like fairytales for grown ups and this did not disappoint. His stories transport me to other worlds, times and countries. Here a beast of a man, almost dead, is discovered in the Thames by a young mudlark . Instead of stealing from his body she cares for him and helps nurse him through his darkest hours. Nell, the young mudlark has distant memories of her mother, long since passed who entrusted her to the employment of Mr Murdstone and who left her a pair of ballet shoes.. An unbreakable bond is made between the two which will be tested to its utmost as the two try to make their way through a cruel and harsh world . Who is the mysterious Minos? Will Nell ever be able to rise above scavenging in the mud and waters of the river. This is head and shoulders my best read of 2023 and is my favourite book so far by this author. My thanks to Netgalley and PanMacMillan for allowing me access to this advance digital copy.