Reviews

Creatures of Want and Ruin by Molly Tanzer

stepriot's review against another edition

4.0

Much closer to the tone I love in her short stories. I think she's set up a world with boundless potential. The continuity between books is very lose at this point, which is excellent. The demons in the series show genuine alieness and diversity. I eagerly await the next one.

maywhitelauren's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

kivt's review against another edition

4.0

really enjoyable and (eventually) fairly bisexual. the two protagonists & secondary cast play well off each other for a nuanced exploration of class, race & ethnicity, gender, and sexuality that’s actually fun to read.

invisibleninjacat's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Really neat worldbuilding that leans into the near-Lovecraftian diabolism and demon-summoning implied to be common in pulp magazines of the 1920s. Also featuring Prohibition-era booze smuggling, evil mushrooms, and the era's racial tensions.

boggremlin's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars. Tanzer's "Creatures of Want and Ruin" is a sequel to a previous work, which I haven't read, but I found it immersive and compelling. Set on Long Island during Prohibition, it encircles Ellie, a fisher and booze runner, and Fin, a socialite summering on the island. These two very different women are drawn together when a charismatic preacher comes to town--along with demons, creeping mushrooms, and revival meetings decrying immigrants to the island. Creepy and populated with a host of interesting characters and relationships, "Creatures of Want and Ruin" should appeal to fans of Kelley Armstrong, Mercedes Lackey, Naomi Novik, and historical fantasy that's firmly grounded in everyday life.

Netgalley review.

mllocy's review against another edition

5.0

Creatures of Want a Ruin was an enjoyable read that deals with some very ugly and very present time issues. It doesn't shy away from it's dark themes, though it does shroud them, somewhat, in a veil of supernatural horror. (Why else am I here, I ask?)

Ellie and Fin are worlds apart, but both become entangled in a sinister plot that threatens both of their homes. Ellie is a bootlegger who is working hard to send her brother to medical school. Fin is a rich socialite who misses her aggressive activist days.

Together they take on a dangerous group of diabolists who are eerily similar to the KKK. The diabolists have strange powers granted to them by their infernal lord, which, damn, I am super glad that real evil in this world doesn't have access to supernatural evil.

Ellie and Fin gain allies too, and it becomes a struggle to save the body and soul of the island they both love.

es42's review against another edition

2.0

I loved Creatures of Will and Temper, so I was looking forward to Want and Ruin! But ultimately I found it lacking when compared to its predecessor. Perhaps it would work better as a stand-alone book, if I didn't have such high expectations... What I liked about Will and Temper was that it centered around the human-demon relationship, and had a strong concept at its core (helped by the Dorian Gray allusions). The characters in Want and Ruin are likable, well-written. The setting is nice. The plot, however, is somewhat bland. But the main problem is that the book lacks in the demonology department, which was the most innovative and interesting element of Will and Temper. Molly Tanzer uses the same tactics: introduces in-universe texts ("The Demon in the Deep" and the poem "The Ginger-Eaters" - a connection to the previous novel), but we don't learn as much about the demons as I'd prefer. For the most part of the book, the characters are more like "investigators" of the demonic phenomena than active participants.

Overall, Creatures of Want and Ruin is still a fun, thrilling occult adventure novel, and the low rating I give reflects my subjective expectations.

I anticipate Tanzer's next book, Creatures of Charm and Hunger, with its promise of living deliciously "two girls living in the north of England during World War II, where they are studying to be master diabolists..." - I hope I will get to see more of the author's unique vision of demonology!


* Additional rant, with spoilers:
The main antagonist demon is just this vaguely Lovecraftian entity that wants to devour the world and is served by a mind-controlled cult. There is no additional lore. We get glimpses of the second demon through the aforementioned text, "The Demon in the Deep", but the actual entity makes its appearance quite late in the novel. It is more interesting, but, well, I'd have preferred for the novel to start at the end...

nefari_'s review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

jackiebetrue's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death

jerrypants's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

3.5