A sensual exploration of art, literature, and the shadowy realms of the human spirit

In "Monstruary," Julian Rios takes us into the eerie existence of the painter Victor Mons, who has created a menagerie of personal demons summoned from the disturbing and often erotic images of his past. We follow Mons on nocturnal outings and infernal escapades as he encounters fiendish figures, otherworldly phantasms, and the beautiful models and prostitutes who serve as his muses. Rios calls up all the monsters of the Western world-from classical antiquity to the silver screen, from the Minotaur to Dracula-and collapses the boundaries between reality and imagination. With playful and inventive language, he shows the dark side of the human heart and the strange places where life and art overlap.