Rating: 
Summary: Great plot, great characters, but a little weak on Russia
Review: I am a Russian myself, and despite the fact that the plot was staged after future Russian civil war, I have enjoyed reading the book. The main plus of the book is the murder plot: intelligent - (where there is a war - there are always those who profit from it), and full of suspense. The second strong point is the character building - the characters are convincing. However, in my opinion, there are some problems with author's description of Russian politics. For example, I thought it was very weak for the author to depict the future dictator as a man with an accent from somewhere in the south of Russia, who has a limp and mustache, and whose name is Koba (Stalin's communist party nickname during his youth). It sounds a little too cheap - I mean, yes, history repeats it self, but not that much, and I think there is no need to paint the same face to the Devil. But overall, a good book to read.
Rating: 
Summary: C for effort, E for content
Review: I bought this book together with Russell Andrews' "Gideon". I still rue the day.Constantin Vadim is the sort of cardboard decective who would be unable to find his own nose even equipped with a map and a flashlight. For this he is promoted and sent to Moscow, to work on the case of a serial killer (the "Monstrum" of the title) so well-connected that the only way to keep everybody happy is to assign a moron to the case. Vadim has a drinking problem, a women problem and a general thinking problem (as in, he doesn't think at all). The man is so utterly brainwashed that I found it very hard to relate to him - which hampered the reading experience, as the novel is narrated in first person singular, from Vadim's viewpoint. His life is a perfect example of Henry Rollins' jibe on the genders: "All women are evil. All men are stupid", none stupider than Vadim, either. One reviewer mentioned a set of improbable coincidences required to set the plot rolling. In addition, Vadim has about as much initiative as the ball in a pinball machine - events hurl him into other events and people. Actions he undertakes of his own volition are limited to getting drunk, that's about it. The other personae appearing in this book are either sketchy or cliched, so that there's no relief for the pummelled reader - not much fun even in supposedly humoristic situations (the groan-inducing office cat storyline, for instance). The people in the book live supposedly in 2015, and the adults' historical awareness reaches back at most to 2010 (somebody did a mass mindwipe on the poor Russian people... again...). Sad beyond words. The C for effort is for the "Russianization" of certain sentences - Vadim's hungover ruminations and some dialogues sound really good. That's what made me give an extra star.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent Mystery
Review: I found this book to be very well written. The author obviously knows Russia. Others have brought up the point that the main character seemed not to know what was going on and to them that was a minus. I considered it to be very realistic. It made Constantin Vadim more real to me. After reading some of the stupid serial murder mysteries out there I found this one entertaining. The author does not insult his reader's intelligence. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes thriller/mysteries.
Rating:
Summary: What's Up With These Other Reviews?
Review: I just finished Monstrum, and I thought it was excellent! It was one of those situations where I couldn't put the book down, even though there were other things I should have been doing that day.
The book wasn't perfect, but the characters were real, the writing strong, the history compelling, and the mood chilling. Granted, some of the science is pretty shaky toward the end--but that didn't detract at all from an exciting read. Read the first 50 pages and judge for yourself. The last several chapters have very believable plot twists and turn your assumptions upside down. Great read!
Rating: 
Summary: thriller reader from Cape Cod
Review: I liked this book very much. Like Gorky Park, another of my favorites, it has a protagonist who has great depth of character in a society that is soulless. When writing about a time and place that does not exist, an author has to do "world building" and create an atmosphere that is new and different yet credible. The futuristic Russia and Moscow of the novel seems not only credible writing, but what the future Russia will be like if the present political order fails. I would recommend the book to anyone who loves suspense-thrillers.
Rating:
Summary: not your typical serial killer-novel
Review: I review this book before I read it completely, because I expect, like with every serial killer-novel, a disappointing climax. But Monstrum is a highly entertaining, but also intelligent thriller with subplots that maybe are a little farfetched. The main characters sparkle with wit and Donald James knows how to write about the numbness of the Russian people.
Rating: 
Summary: A totally implausible poorly crafted novel.
Review: I sometimes wonder what drug editors are on when they accept some novels. I'm afraid Monstrum is a perfect case of incomprehensible editorial decisions. Coincidence piles on coincidence as the hapless police inspector stumbles (litterally) on the solution to the crime. The ending leaves one totally exaspetated. One can only assume that the author's rush to justice was occasioned by his desire to reduce the reader's pain.
Rating:
Summary: Breath taking couldn't put down
Review: I thought the book was excelent. The main character Inspector Vadim didn't have a strong character all though he was strong when he decided to finish his wife if I might say that. But what I mean he kind of went with the flow and when the flow when the wrong way he hopped train's sord of speaking. I loved the way he handeled women that he in countered in his life. I also liked the way he was loose and was a hopeless drunk and at all most the end a drug adict. I also couldn't help my self but to fall in love with his doctor girl friend (I forgot her name). I also enjoid the book in part because I am russian and I understood what the author and when he used the Russian Language. To finish it off I would like to read another book like that and at the end of the book I was sad because I was finishing book.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant - I couldn't put it down until I finished it!!!
Review: I was on holiday when I read this book, yet I just couldn't put it down until it was finished. It holds your attention from the very beginning and has a good mix of intrigue and suspense to make you want to turn to the next page...I was very disappointed when I got to the end as I wanted it to continue. Brilliant I can't wait for my copy to arrive of The Fortune Teller - with the same characters in a new story...Once again excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Mother Russia
Review: In the year 2?015 , The National Democracy forces under Leonid Kobra ended the civil war by defeating the Anarchist/Marxist forces, taking back the city of Moscow. Cheka (secret service) official Roy Rolkin asks for the transfer of his friend, Inspector Constantin Vadim, from his home grounds of Murmansk to Moscow. There, Vadim should find a serial murderer who kills and carves up young women. He is placed in the worst possible district of the city, completely bombed out and destroyed,without water or electricity, and the meager population reduced to fighting for the barest survival. Slowly and energetically, he burrows his way into this underground of absolute human misery. He finds that the promised amnesty for the anarchists brings a one way ticket to Siberian hell once they surrender. Dr. Imogen Sheperd, the American supervisor of the program, is more interested in the luxury life the party bosses lead in another part of town. Vadim is also interested in the fate of his ex-wife Lydia, the anarchist commander of a regiment of women, and of their son Misha. He visits the buildings where bands of teenage robbers and murderers congregate, and goes into the underground passages where Father Alexander celebrates his libidinous church. Nothing ever is what it seems to be. The former enemies surface as top party officials of the new government. The people at the bottom of the ladder are persecuted as before, tortured and murdered. Everything has changed, and yet nothing is different. Mr. James published this book in 1997 when Jelzin was in power. His previous book, ?the Fortune Teller?, places Vadim in the hopeless harbor scene of Murmansk. His next one, ?Vadim?, plays in 2?020 and will be published shortly. A fourth one, ?the Benefactor?, is scheduled for next year. Mr. James wrote the 10-part series on Russia for PBS. He also published a book on modern Russian history. To compare the present book to ?Gorki Park? does it an immense injustice. The author uses the form of a mystery to tell us about Russia, and he comes through very loud and clear. Mr James makes a very strong point: The lot of the Russian citizen is a sad one. In command is the Cheka, the KGB, or whatever name it gives itself. And no matter how much they smile and act human they still imprison, torture and kill. At this point we should remember that Vladimir Putin is a product of the KGB.
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