Review: The Madman's Daughter by Megan Sheperd

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Hardcover, 432 pages

Published January 29th 2013 by Balzer + Bray

Review

The Madman’s Daughter is a refreshing take on the YA genre. There are no vamps, demons, fallen angels or mystical beings, but there is something which is far more fascinating and repulsing –strange half-human, half-animal beings created by a scientist/surgeon gone mad.

I knew The Madman’s Daughter is something to watch out for from the very beginning. The story opens with young Juliet scrubbing her youth away at the King’s College of Medical Research. She used to live in the lap of luxury, but that was before her father’s scandal hit home and they lost everything – wealth, relatives, relations and home. Her mother had to become some rich man’s mistress to support Juliet and herself when her father went missing.

Then, by fate’s arrangement, she found Montgomery, a handsome young man who used to be their home servant. Aside the romantic feelings Juliet has for him as a young girl, she also found out that her father is still alive somewhere out there. What would a desperate girl do? Beg Montgomery to bring her to her Father, of course.

However, when she arrived at the island with a castaway they saved in the ocean, her instinct was to hide from her father. And perhaps reunion with her Father was not as exciting and happy as she had imagined.

The story itself is actually a retelling of a Wells’ classic, but new characters and twists in the storyline have made The Madman’s Daughter an enjoyable read. I witnessed the horrors a madman will do to challenge God’s power of creation, even to the extent of considering to use her own daughter as a specimen for an experiment. The story contains a few reference to Christianity, but the story itself is not religious or anything. I would rather say that the reference of religion is to act as a comparative to Dr. Morreau’s horrifying acts.

Read this if you like horror, Sci-fi or YA with a twist.

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About The Author

Megan Shepherd was "born" into the book world, growing up in her parents' independent bookstore in Western North Carolina. She is the author of THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER trilogy (Balzer+Bray/2013), and THE CAGE trilogy (Balzer+Bray/2015). When Megan is not writing, she can usually be found horseback riding, day dreaming at coffee shops, or hiking in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. She is represented by Josh Adams at Adams Literary.