One ordinary day, everything changed: an enormous creature dragged itself out of the ocean and laid waste to a city.   

In the months and years that followed, more and more creatures appeared until not a single country remained untouched. At first, people tried to understand and accommodate them. And then they tried to fight them. In the end, all they could do was try and stay alive.  

We Call It Monster tells the story of these events. 

Within its pages, we see them unfold from the perspective of ordinary folk both young and old, and reflections of ourselves ask the same questions we would ask in the same situation: How does something impossible, something almost beyond comprehension, fit into my humdrum little world? What happens now that everything I thought was right turns out to be wrong? What do I do now that I’m no longer on top of the food chain?   

A story-cycle/novel-in-stories, We Call It Monster is told in a grounded and realistic way, with each chapter unfolding from the perspective of a different character and detailing their experience of the conflict between humans and monsters. 

It is a story of forces beyond our control, of immense and impossible creatures that make plain how small we really are, and of our fight for survival and our discovery of that which truly matters: community and compassion, love and family, hope and faith.   

Praise for We Call It Monster -   

“We Call It Monster reimagines formulaic kaiju fiction with unexpected focus on the human experience, disregarding Godzilla-type clichés and considering the vulnerability of humanity to forces beyond its control. Terror is derived not only from the monsters, but from the inadequacy and helplessness of society in general. Individuals become the ‘heroes’ of the story, not for fighting or defeating monsters, but for retaining their humanity… A unique take on giant monsters that will absorb readers” – Aurealis  

“This is world-changing stuff, world-destroying stuff, and there comes a point when you think we really have it coming. But what exists alongside this hideous balancing of scales is those who are not monsters at all: decent people doing the best they can to help each other survive, navigating disaster, the end of all things, with the best possible grace they can manage” – Strange Horizons  

“The author has an agenda above and beyond most monster novels. Along with global destruction, he’s telling a story about love and loneliness and commitment and survival. For him, the kaiju are the catalyst for poetry” – Super Monster Novels  

“By far one of the most original and ‘human’ stories set in a world filled with larger-than life-monsters, bringing the large-scale destruction of a Godzilla or King Kong-style film and blending it in with the character development and connectivity of a film like Crash, and focusing on the relationships and struggles of those affected by these events” - Author Anthony Avina  

“The most humane monster book I have read, showing us that the existence of monsters can make humans behave more humanely than they generally do – unlike its title and cover, in the book the monsters are not in the spotlight” – Alex the Shadow Girl