Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro

 

The Victorian world is one of strict rules and class distinctions.  Then there is the world beneath, the world that isn't spoken of but which makes the other one possible.  That world is centered at the Institute.  It's stated purpose is to collect children with unusual talents and educate them to make their way in society.  The unstated purpose is to guard the gateway between the living and the dead.  

The children come from all over the world and have varying talents.  Charlie is an American who heals.  He has been a slave, imprisoned and executed but he is still here.  Ribs is a girl who can make herself invisible.  Oscar can make companions from meat so he is never alone.  Komako is a dustmaster and can collect and use dust to obscure or tighten around others.  Marlowe is the youngest.  He was found as a baby in a boxcare with a dying woman and then adopted into a circus.  He can glow blue and either rend or mend flesh.

But some talents get corrupted.  Jacob is one such.  He is also a dustmaster and the one who finds Komako in China.  But he gets involved with the other side when he attempts to visit there to find his dead twin and is changed forever.  Now he only wants to take down the Institute and take Marlowe with him.  He also wants to destroy the scientist who instead of helping the children wants to use them in his own battle against the Drucker, a creature of the dead.  Jacob came once and almost succeeded in capturing Marlowe as a baby.  Now that Marlowe is back, Jacob is ready to mount another attempt.

I listened to this novel and it will definitely be one of my favorite books of 2024.  I loved the Dickensian writing style and the slow unraveling of the plots and counterplots at the Institute.  The relationship between the children is fascinating and the way they complement each other's talents and their ability to form a united front is key.  I listened to this novel and I must mention the narrator, Ben Onwukwe.  His deep voice lends menace to the story and accentuates the slow unraveling of the climax of the book.  This book is highly recommended for fantasy readers.