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brindolyn's review against another edition
4.0
This book was my introduction to Molly Tanzer’s writing, and I’ll definitely be seeking out more of her work. “Creatures of Want and Ruin,” though set in the era of speakeasies and bootleggers, has a lot of parallels with some of today’s more … divisive rhetoric.
Tanzer can write like WHOA, and the imagery she conjures is striking. The baytown of Amityville is set perfectly, and the cultists our to “return the land to its former glory” seem all too familiar. They may as well be chanting “Make Amityville Great Again.”
As if this anti-immigrant, anti-other rhetoric weren’t terrifying enough, Tanzer throws in a Lovecraftian apocalyptic nightmare. The supernatural horror element adds urgency to an already gripping page-turner.
Tanzer addresses issues that are unfortunately very familiar to modern readers (anti-immigrant sentiment; discrimination based on gender, race, sexuality; us vs. then mentality) all while laying the groundwork for a supernatural thriller. I was not expecting a read with this level of social awareness, but I was pleasantly surprised.
My only complaint is the lack of character development for some of the supporting cast of characters. They were given attributes or fleshed out with just enough details to further the overall narrative, but it seems like Tanzer missed several opportunities to develop some of her key players. Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I’m excited to check out more of Tanzer’s work.
Tanzer can write like WHOA, and the imagery she conjures is striking. The baytown of Amityville is set perfectly, and the cultists our to “return the land to its former glory” seem all too familiar. They may as well be chanting “Make Amityville Great Again.”
As if this anti-immigrant, anti-other rhetoric weren’t terrifying enough, Tanzer throws in a Lovecraftian apocalyptic nightmare. The supernatural horror element adds urgency to an already gripping page-turner.
Tanzer addresses issues that are unfortunately very familiar to modern readers (anti-immigrant sentiment; discrimination based on gender, race, sexuality; us vs. then mentality) all while laying the groundwork for a supernatural thriller. I was not expecting a read with this level of social awareness, but I was pleasantly surprised.
My only complaint is the lack of character development for some of the supporting cast of characters. They were given attributes or fleshed out with just enough details to further the overall narrative, but it seems like Tanzer missed several opportunities to develop some of her key players. Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I’m excited to check out more of Tanzer’s work.
king_lyd's review against another edition
1.0
Did not finish at 32%.
I agreed to give an honest opinion in exchange for a free copy of this book from net galley.
Ellie West fishes by day and bootlegs moonshine at night. Her customers all over the small island. One night she finds alchol bowed under odd conditions and out of desperation sells it to a newcomer to the area.
This sets off a chain of demonic activity that could ruin her island home forever.
I really tried to like this book but I just couldn't get into it. I didn't find the characters particularly sympathetic or engaging and I didn't care what happened to them.
It was slow going and I had to force myself to get as far as I did.
The writing style was nice but that was about all I can say.
I agreed to give an honest opinion in exchange for a free copy of this book from net galley.
Ellie West fishes by day and bootlegs moonshine at night. Her customers all over the small island. One night she finds alchol bowed under odd conditions and out of desperation sells it to a newcomer to the area.
This sets off a chain of demonic activity that could ruin her island home forever.
I really tried to like this book but I just couldn't get into it. I didn't find the characters particularly sympathetic or engaging and I didn't care what happened to them.
It was slow going and I had to force myself to get as far as I did.
The writing style was nice but that was about all I can say.
tempscire's review
2.0
Maybe more of a 1.5 stars in Goodreads terms: it was okay, and for some parts I didn't like it (including the climax -- I voluntarily put this book down to go do something else a couple hours. During the big confrontation!).
Possibly a good part of my enjoyment only comes from the obviously fond descriptions of rural and coastal Long Island. Sigh...
Dragging my score down:
- the paaaaaaaacing. I have mixed feelings, because sure, you want to lay proper groundwork for everything and everyone... But cripes, to still be laying exposition at the halfway mark! Surely that's excessive.
- And despite the time spent moving everyone into place, I still didn't buy the relationships that arose (or a couple illogical, plot convenient decisions/conclusions). It was especially bad with the (red herring, it turned out, basically) budding chemistry between two characters: we literally get one line of inane dialog from each before we step back into POV characters narration about gee whiz! They're talking and just crackling with chemistry! Ooh!
-- just realized, too, we don't see the other character again. He was more small plot device than character. Huh.
- couldn't get a firm grasp of some things/people. How old was Fin supposed to be again? Ellie is 25 but feels younger. I completely forgot she was into poetry: certainly she's been a bit stressed and busy during the book, but her connection to the water and her attempts at boxing are much more visible. Surely that could have been reinforced, too.
Enjoyments:
- Long Island
- Contraceptives being employed before characters have sex. So rare!
- There were a couple times I made eyerolling notes only for a sentence or paragraph later, the author answered my concern. Good!
- Holy rollers disturb me in real life: the supernaturally creepy ones definitely punch my buttons as credible threats. See also: Libba Bray's The Diviners (first book and the barely decent parts of the third book).
- nice title, nice cover art
Mixed bag:
I'm not a pacifist, at least not for fictional characters, and normally I'm gritting my teeth when the heroes can't bring themselves to kill bad guys. Here, the bad guys are fellow townsfolk with the btw SUPER COMMON in the 20s (and today, 100 years later, it turns out) bigotry that c'mon, this shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone, this was peak eugenics time, too... I digress. Anyway, bunch of hopped-up-on-demon-moonshine townies are the mooks, and our leads very quickly and relatively easily get right to the "better kill them to be safe" mode of thinking. Refreshing...but also you definitely just killed a bunch of neighbors -- not generic demons or such, but regular crappy ol' people who you can identify... And we don't see any follow-up to that! Actual townsfolk are dead now! What's the reaction? What's the investigation? How do people react in the wake of losing the influence of the lead antagonist?
And this is purely subjective personal preference, but I was expecting evil fairies, not demons. Was it just the rainbow sheen on the first guy? I think rainbows (and mushrooms and questionable comestibles), I think fairies before I think demons? It wouldn't, I think, change much one way or the other. Just mildly surprising: oh. Demons. Okay.
Possibly a good part of my enjoyment only comes from the obviously fond descriptions of rural and coastal Long Island. Sigh...
Dragging my score down:
- the paaaaaaaacing. I have mixed feelings, because sure, you want to lay proper groundwork for everything and everyone... But cripes, to still be laying exposition at the halfway mark! Surely that's excessive.
- And despite the time spent moving everyone into place, I still didn't buy the relationships that arose (or a couple illogical, plot convenient decisions/conclusions). It was especially bad with the (red herring, it turned out, basically) budding chemistry between two characters: we literally get one line of inane dialog from each before we step back into POV characters narration about gee whiz! They're talking and just crackling with chemistry! Ooh!
-- just realized, too, we don't see the other character again. He was more small plot device than character. Huh.
- couldn't get a firm grasp of some things/people. How old was Fin supposed to be again? Ellie is 25 but feels younger. I completely forgot she was into poetry: certainly she's been a bit stressed and busy during the book, but her connection to the water and her attempts at boxing are much more visible. Surely that could have been reinforced, too.
Enjoyments:
- Long Island
- Contraceptives being employed before characters have sex. So rare!
- There were a couple times I made eyerolling notes only for a sentence or paragraph later, the author answered my concern. Good!
- Holy rollers disturb me in real life: the supernaturally creepy ones definitely punch my buttons as credible threats. See also: Libba Bray's The Diviners (first book and the barely decent parts of the third book).
- nice title, nice cover art
Mixed bag:
I'm not a pacifist, at least not for fictional characters, and normally I'm gritting my teeth when the heroes can't bring themselves to kill bad guys. Here, the bad guys are fellow townsfolk with the btw SUPER COMMON in the 20s (and today, 100 years later, it turns out) bigotry that c'mon, this shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone, this was peak eugenics time, too... I digress. Anyway, bunch of hopped-up-on-demon-moonshine townies are the mooks, and our leads very quickly and relatively easily get right to the "better kill them to be safe" mode of thinking. Refreshing...but also you definitely just killed a bunch of neighbors -- not generic demons or such, but regular crappy ol' people who you can identify... And we don't see any follow-up to that! Actual townsfolk are dead now! What's the reaction? What's the investigation? How do people react in the wake of losing the influence of the lead antagonist?
And this is purely subjective personal preference, but I was expecting evil fairies, not demons. Was it just the rainbow sheen on the first guy? I think rainbows (and mushrooms and questionable comestibles), I think fairies before I think demons? It wouldn't, I think, change much one way or the other. Just mildly surprising: oh. Demons. Okay.
motherhorror's review
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up for Goodreads
This is my very first reading experience with Molly Tanzer. Ashley and I picked this book out as a read along for our curated horror book club, Night Worms. It came highly recommended to us by some authors who write urban/dark fantasy/horror: Alan Baxter, Chuck Wendig and Seanan MCGuire. New Year, New Fear!
After finishing this book last night, I would conclude that it's not horror and I don't want to create any false hope or expectations. It straddles a few different genres, mainly dark fantasy, historical fiction and maybe a touch of magical realism.
Despite that fact that this book wasn't horror, I enjoyed my time with this story for the most part. Ellie West is our main female protagonist. She's a little firecracker of a woman with a very decisive, sassy nature and a "do no harm, take no shit" persona that carries her through some pretty chaotic life turbulence. By trade, she delivers moonshine in a little boat to whomever is willing to pony up the cash and risk to get it.
She encounters Fin Coulthead delivering booze to Fin's Gatsby-esque style party. Fin seems trapped in a complicated marriage to a wealthy man who is a lot older than she is. He runs with a very materialistic, fake crowd of friends--Fin doesn't fit the mold and she's bored and tired of trying, so she doesn't--she reads poetry and looks for ways to escape her lifestyle.
I enjoyed reading about all these two ladies and was pretty engaged in the story even though it was a clear departure from my usual horror routine. I did keep feeling like I needed more teeth; something dark to start happening or I was going to get frustrated with all the romance and drama.
Fortunately there was a dark turn of events near the end of Part 2 that piqued my curiosity and kept me turning pages.
While the introduction of demons, cultish practices, magical mushrooms, murder and sex helped keep my attention and I finished the book, I will say that some parts seemed overly wrought and repetitive/ unnecessary. I felt like there was a missed opportunity to really spend more time unpacking the darker side of this story--Instead of the mildly amusing love triangles and Gatsby drama--I would have preferred to see more of Hunter (the evil cult leader) and his brood of hoodwinked followers.
So much of all that cult stuff was told secondhand by characters explaining what was going on instead of the reader actually getting to watch the sinister actions taking place. It would have made for great storytelling to have Hunter as a third narrative/perspective besides just Fin and Ellie. The readers would get to watch the secret gatherings and the intensity build unbeknownst to our hapless protagonists. But that's just me being a horror fan and wanting to see dark stuff going on instead of just hearing about it.
Molly sure has a great knack for dialogue, adventure, female characters with depth and personality as well as a great imagination. I can't wait to read another book by her--I have VERMILLION on my self!
This is my very first reading experience with Molly Tanzer. Ashley and I picked this book out as a read along for our curated horror book club, Night Worms. It came highly recommended to us by some authors who write urban/dark fantasy/horror: Alan Baxter, Chuck Wendig and Seanan MCGuire. New Year, New Fear!
After finishing this book last night, I would conclude that it's not horror and I don't want to create any false hope or expectations. It straddles a few different genres, mainly dark fantasy, historical fiction and maybe a touch of magical realism.
Despite that fact that this book wasn't horror, I enjoyed my time with this story for the most part. Ellie West is our main female protagonist. She's a little firecracker of a woman with a very decisive, sassy nature and a "do no harm, take no shit" persona that carries her through some pretty chaotic life turbulence. By trade, she delivers moonshine in a little boat to whomever is willing to pony up the cash and risk to get it.
She encounters Fin Coulthead delivering booze to Fin's Gatsby-esque style party. Fin seems trapped in a complicated marriage to a wealthy man who is a lot older than she is. He runs with a very materialistic, fake crowd of friends--Fin doesn't fit the mold and she's bored and tired of trying, so she doesn't--she reads poetry and looks for ways to escape her lifestyle.
I enjoyed reading about all these two ladies and was pretty engaged in the story even though it was a clear departure from my usual horror routine. I did keep feeling like I needed more teeth; something dark to start happening or I was going to get frustrated with all the romance and drama.
Fortunately there was a dark turn of events near the end of Part 2 that piqued my curiosity and kept me turning pages.
While the introduction of demons, cultish practices, magical mushrooms, murder and sex helped keep my attention and I finished the book, I will say that some parts seemed overly wrought and repetitive/ unnecessary. I felt like there was a missed opportunity to really spend more time unpacking the darker side of this story--Instead of the mildly amusing love triangles and Gatsby drama--I would have preferred to see more of Hunter (the evil cult leader) and his brood of hoodwinked followers.
So much of all that cult stuff was told secondhand by characters explaining what was going on instead of the reader actually getting to watch the sinister actions taking place. It would have made for great storytelling to have Hunter as a third narrative/perspective besides just Fin and Ellie. The readers would get to watch the secret gatherings and the intensity build unbeknownst to our hapless protagonists. But that's just me being a horror fan and wanting to see dark stuff going on instead of just hearing about it.
Molly sure has a great knack for dialogue, adventure, female characters with depth and personality as well as a great imagination. I can't wait to read another book by her--I have VERMILLION on my self!
jess_reads_books's review
4.0
Ellie West is a moonshine bootlegger living in a small town in Long Island, known as Amityville. Here she finds herself working to assist her family and send her brother to college through any means necessary. Fishing by day and avoiding Prohibition regulations by night. When a wealthy stranger propositions Ellie to procure a large amount of moonshine for a party they’re throwing, she finds herself selling them everything she has, along with a few bottles of booze that she came across under unusual circumstances.
Unbeknownst to Ellie, the booze in those bottles has the ability to make people see terrible visions. This liquor is distilled from a strange population of mushrooms that have been slowly sprouting around the island. At the source of this product is a group of men heading up a religious group that preaches about returning the island back to the glory of the old days. The days before the village was filled with immigrants and vacationers. This group ties it’s allegiance to a god, but in reality it is cult of diabolists. In an epic battle to save her home on Long Island and those she holds dear, Ellie will need to work against the clock to defeat this cult. She’ll turn to those she’s known longest, as well as an out-of-towner, Fin, who might just hold the answers on how to win.
Molly Tanzer has created a story about two badass women, Ellie and Fin, within the pages of CREATURES OF WANT AND RUIN. The story launches with passages from a book called FROM THE DEMON IN THE DEEP, which focuses on a demonic possession. I was a little confused where the book related to everything, but trust me, it’ll tie in later! From there you enter Ellie and Fin’s worlds. These two ladies lead completely different lives. Ellie is a hard-working, independent woman trying to make a better life for her family. Fin’s background is from a privileged family and friend circle that would rather focus on parties than work. Unlike her background, Fin wants to help make the world a better place and feels stuck with a group of people and a husband who she cannot relate to.
The two main characters of Ellie and Fin are truly the center of the book, although you are introduced to a handful of others. I really enjoyed the supporting cast of characters with a particular interest in those who end up banding together to fight against the cult invading their town. While Tanzer does not provide an in-depth background on these characters, there is nothing lacking that would have made the story better. In fact, I think if she had chosen to focus on the secondary characters backstories more the plot would have become diluted. That being said, there were quite a few I would love to know more about!
CREATURES OF WANT AND RUIN is broken down into three parts, which flow together perfectly and serve as great transition points to propel the story. There are no strange gaps of time or continuity to distract the progress of the events happening on Long Island. Tanzer’s unpacking of the story is very methodical and lends itself to this structure. Throughout the early sections there are hints to how things may play out, but the delivery is truly well done. Tying together horror, fantasy, and historical fiction is a tough combination to deliver. CREATURES OF WANT AND RUIN succeeds in melding these genres together to create an entertaining and enjoyable book!
Unbeknownst to Ellie, the booze in those bottles has the ability to make people see terrible visions. This liquor is distilled from a strange population of mushrooms that have been slowly sprouting around the island. At the source of this product is a group of men heading up a religious group that preaches about returning the island back to the glory of the old days. The days before the village was filled with immigrants and vacationers. This group ties it’s allegiance to a god, but in reality it is cult of diabolists. In an epic battle to save her home on Long Island and those she holds dear, Ellie will need to work against the clock to defeat this cult. She’ll turn to those she’s known longest, as well as an out-of-towner, Fin, who might just hold the answers on how to win.
Molly Tanzer has created a story about two badass women, Ellie and Fin, within the pages of CREATURES OF WANT AND RUIN. The story launches with passages from a book called FROM THE DEMON IN THE DEEP, which focuses on a demonic possession. I was a little confused where the book related to everything, but trust me, it’ll tie in later! From there you enter Ellie and Fin’s worlds. These two ladies lead completely different lives. Ellie is a hard-working, independent woman trying to make a better life for her family. Fin’s background is from a privileged family and friend circle that would rather focus on parties than work. Unlike her background, Fin wants to help make the world a better place and feels stuck with a group of people and a husband who she cannot relate to.
The two main characters of Ellie and Fin are truly the center of the book, although you are introduced to a handful of others. I really enjoyed the supporting cast of characters with a particular interest in those who end up banding together to fight against the cult invading their town. While Tanzer does not provide an in-depth background on these characters, there is nothing lacking that would have made the story better. In fact, I think if she had chosen to focus on the secondary characters backstories more the plot would have become diluted. That being said, there were quite a few I would love to know more about!
CREATURES OF WANT AND RUIN is broken down into three parts, which flow together perfectly and serve as great transition points to propel the story. There are no strange gaps of time or continuity to distract the progress of the events happening on Long Island. Tanzer’s unpacking of the story is very methodical and lends itself to this structure. Throughout the early sections there are hints to how things may play out, but the delivery is truly well done. Tying together horror, fantasy, and historical fiction is a tough combination to deliver. CREATURES OF WANT AND RUIN succeeds in melding these genres together to create an entertaining and enjoyable book!
annarella's review
4.0
A creepy, enthralling, and entertaining book. I loved the style of writing and the characters.
The plot hooked me since the beginning and I had to read it as fast as I can.
As far as I understand this is a series but I had no problems in understanding the plot or the characters and their relationship.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Netgalley for this ARC
The plot hooked me since the beginning and I had to read it as fast as I can.
As far as I understand this is a series but I had no problems in understanding the plot or the characters and their relationship.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Netgalley for this ARC
kamisha's review
4.0
Thanks to the NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!
I really enjoyed this strange, but entertaining speculative fiction story! There were elements of this that nodded to Molly Tanzer‰ŰŞs previous book, Creatures of Will and Temper, which I also really enjoyed so that was fun!
Just as in Creatures of Will and Temper, humans can commune with demons through the ingestion of certain foods or liquids specific to said demon, in Will and Temper it was ginger, and in this story it just so happens to be a special mushroom-based moonshine! This is a fitting libation because this story takes place on Prohibition-era Long Island. In Want and Ruin the story primarily revolves around Ellie West, a young baywoman who is Long Island born and bred, she fishes and crabs during the day and distributes bootlegged moonshine at night. Ellie is desperately doing everything she can to help her family send her younger brother off to college to become a doctor. She is so desperate in fact, that one night she agrees to supply libations to a few of the wealthy elite in town, throwing in some strange moonshine that she procured in not-so-ordinary circumstances. Unbeknownst to Ellie, this moonshine is distilled by a cult of diabolists on the island who have started to gain power, and drinking the booze causes consumers to have terrible visions of the destruction of Long Island.
I loved reading along as Ellie tried to make sense of the supernatural and sinister goings-on around her. Want and Ruin also took a way more diabolical bent than Will and Temper in my opinion, with lots of xenophobia, racism, religious prejudice and misogyny thrown into the inner belief systems of the diabolists. In both of these books I really felt like Tanzer did a great job of showing that though there is a strong sense of the supernatural in her world, true evil occurrences always stem from the power (via prejudices and other vices) that everyday people supply to the demons. As scary as this book was in parts, some of the key points were very relevant to the world that we live in today.
Another thing that I really loved about both Creatures of Will and Temper and Want and Ruin are the amazing main characters in both stories. Molly Tanzer‰ŰŞs characters are always so beautiful and diverse, and open. I loved the two female leads in this story even more than I liked the two leads in Will and Temper. Every female character that she writes always ends up being a complex individual in their own right. I really enjoyed both Ellie and Fin in this story, but for very different reasons. Ellie is strong, independent, stubborn, clever, and remarkably self-sufficient. We also get to see that Fin has all of these qualities as well, but has been tamped down and demeaned by her friends and husband so much so that she has become insecure. I ended up loving Fin the most throughout the story because she just makes such tremendous growth and truly comes into her own by the end of this book.
Overall I really enjoyed this sinister story with it‰ŰŞs intriguing characters and amazing setting. And I can‰ŰŞt leave this review without saying that both the covers for this book and for Creatures of Will and Temper are some of the creepiest, most gorgeous covers ever!
I really enjoyed this strange, but entertaining speculative fiction story! There were elements of this that nodded to Molly Tanzer‰ŰŞs previous book, Creatures of Will and Temper, which I also really enjoyed so that was fun!
Just as in Creatures of Will and Temper, humans can commune with demons through the ingestion of certain foods or liquids specific to said demon, in Will and Temper it was ginger, and in this story it just so happens to be a special mushroom-based moonshine! This is a fitting libation because this story takes place on Prohibition-era Long Island. In Want and Ruin the story primarily revolves around Ellie West, a young baywoman who is Long Island born and bred, she fishes and crabs during the day and distributes bootlegged moonshine at night. Ellie is desperately doing everything she can to help her family send her younger brother off to college to become a doctor. She is so desperate in fact, that one night she agrees to supply libations to a few of the wealthy elite in town, throwing in some strange moonshine that she procured in not-so-ordinary circumstances. Unbeknownst to Ellie, this moonshine is distilled by a cult of diabolists on the island who have started to gain power, and drinking the booze causes consumers to have terrible visions of the destruction of Long Island.
I loved reading along as Ellie tried to make sense of the supernatural and sinister goings-on around her. Want and Ruin also took a way more diabolical bent than Will and Temper in my opinion, with lots of xenophobia, racism, religious prejudice and misogyny thrown into the inner belief systems of the diabolists. In both of these books I really felt like Tanzer did a great job of showing that though there is a strong sense of the supernatural in her world, true evil occurrences always stem from the power (via prejudices and other vices) that everyday people supply to the demons. As scary as this book was in parts, some of the key points were very relevant to the world that we live in today.
Another thing that I really loved about both Creatures of Will and Temper and Want and Ruin are the amazing main characters in both stories. Molly Tanzer‰ŰŞs characters are always so beautiful and diverse, and open. I loved the two female leads in this story even more than I liked the two leads in Will and Temper. Every female character that she writes always ends up being a complex individual in their own right. I really enjoyed both Ellie and Fin in this story, but for very different reasons. Ellie is strong, independent, stubborn, clever, and remarkably self-sufficient. We also get to see that Fin has all of these qualities as well, but has been tamped down and demeaned by her friends and husband so much so that she has become insecure. I ended up loving Fin the most throughout the story because she just makes such tremendous growth and truly comes into her own by the end of this book.
Overall I really enjoyed this sinister story with it‰ŰŞs intriguing characters and amazing setting. And I can‰ŰŞt leave this review without saying that both the covers for this book and for Creatures of Will and Temper are some of the creepiest, most gorgeous covers ever!
muninnherself's review
4.0
This is the second Diabolist book and I thought it was better than the first - possibly because the setting, Amityville on Long Island - is a place Tanzer knows really well, according to the acknowledgements. It's a 1930s bootleggers/Gatsbyesque bastards/Lovecraftian mash-up which I thought worked really well. Ellie is a great protagonist.