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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
I picked this up on a complete whim but I was not disappointed! Mystery, supernatural creatures, revolutions, and a whole lotta characters. Essentially, the world finds out that supernatural creatures exist and there is an order of people trying to stop this. I was hooked. It was dark, and I was invested almost from the jump. I couldn’t even tell you more of what it’s about, you just gotta get into it for yourself.
I would say that the author weaves in influences from his home of Virgin Islands, while also incorporating the activism that’s been even more apparent the last few years in the US. I do urge you to look into some trigger warnings for this book as it does have a lot of gun violence! The main reason I decided to check it out was because it won a Lammy award (aka the Grammys for queer books) but I stayed for the creatures lol. Anyway, this was a great set up for a series and I’m very intrigued to see where it goes!
I would say that the author weaves in influences from his home of Virgin Islands, while also incorporating the activism that’s been even more apparent the last few years in the US. I do urge you to look into some trigger warnings for this book as it does have a lot of gun violence! The main reason I decided to check it out was because it won a Lammy award (aka the Grammys for queer books) but I stayed for the creatures lol. Anyway, this was a great set up for a series and I’m very intrigued to see where it goes!
I have mixed feelings about this book. What I really liked was the unconventional way of dealing with diversity, making it explicitly something that emerges from within each of us, thus making the division we always try to make between "us" and "them" untenable. We are the gods, but we are also the monsters, in a fluid becoming perfectly represented by the mutation of the werewolves. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the level of 'monstrosity' to maintain this division.
Really good ideas, very well described through characters that leave their mark.
What I didn't like was the "cauldron". All these excellent ideas are placed in a framework full of allusions that would like to fill the reader with stimuli, mimicking the confusion of reality, but which instead, in my opinion, is real confusion. As shown by the attempt to set up a conspiracy theory à la QAnon, which, again in my opinion, the author could really have done without.
Really good ideas, very well described through characters that leave their mark.
What I didn't like was the "cauldron". All these excellent ideas are placed in a framework full of allusions that would like to fill the reader with stimuli, mimicking the confusion of reality, but which instead, in my opinion, is real confusion. As shown by the attempt to set up a conspiracy theory à la QAnon, which, again in my opinion, the author could really have done without.
No Gods, No Monsters, while beautifully written, just wasn’t my cup of tea. It’s more like a series of loosely connected vignettes, with confusing switches between POVs—sometimes between first- and third-person in the same vignette—which makes the already nebulous plot really hard to follow. There is a diverse cast of characters, though, but there are just so many that most aren’t really fleshed out, and I can’t decide if the monster metaphor is too in-your-face or something quieter.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Dragged myself through and then got into it at the end. Will read next one, this one felt like too much build up. Mr. B's rec.
2.5
2.5
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m having trouble putting my thoughts into words. SO GOOD. I loved the rich character development and incredibly interconnected story lines. This book is a serious page turner with so many themes and surprises. I am so here for The Convergence Saga and can’t wait for the next book to come out.