Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Is it possible to rate a book like this?
Man, am I grateful the second book is already out and available for me to just jump straight into.
Read for a BookBub book club.
Man, am I grateful the second book is already out and available for me to just jump straight into.
Read for a BookBub book club.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Grief
Sorry I just don't understand how every novel now has to be told through 14 different character viewpoints I am exhausted
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For me, it was a book that tried too hard to be too many things. I get it. It's a commentary on social justice and racial divides disguised as an urban fantasy. The protagonist is the collective rather than an individual. But the execution suffered from too many aristic concepts attempted in one package (and from the author clearly trying to string this out as a series rather than making a cohesive argument).
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
No Gods, No Monsters is a weird book on many levels, from the unreliable omniscient(ish) narrator to the ant teleportation circles and the finger-eating dragon boy. It’s also a book that asks meaningful questions, both personal and social, and answers them in the ways that life does: enigmatically, heartbreakingly, surprisingly, or not at all. This is not a book to skim: there are many characters and a multitude of storylines, and the prose is worth paying attention to. A rewarding read.
No Gods, No Monsters is a story that is nearly impossible to sum up… so I’m not even going to try. Told from the POV of a mysterious narrator The story flits between multiple characters, humans and monsters alike and through them we learn how monsters have hidden themselves in the human world for centuries with them none the wiser, but the question that is asked throughout is why the monsters have chosen now to make themselves known. Some characters, like Laina, are followed throughout the book. We see her story from differing perspectives and over a period of time, whereas there are others that only stay for a few pages, but they all make an impact and have an important part to tell in the story.
I’ve never quite read a story that was narrated like this one, we not only get to follow along with the current events of people’s lives, but also get backstories into certain characters thank to our narrator having known them previously. A narrator who we don’t really learn much about until the end of the book. The narration style did throw me a little at first, but once I understood it and started to get into the story, it started to feel natural. You need to trust that the author has you, knows what they’re doing, to be willing to give yourself over to the story knowing you will spend a good portion of the book wondering what, exactly, is happening and why it’s happening now.
On the face of it, No Gods, No Monsters, is an urban fantasy filled with werewolves, vampires… basically every kind of mythical creatures from cultures around the world, that have now decided to show themselves to the human population. We deal with the question of why? Why now?, and also of who, especially for the monsters who can pull off looking normal. We see the fear, the disbelief, the willingness to pretend that it just never happened, but what Turnbull does extremely well is use the monsters to show how society treats those it deem’s ‘different.’ He deftly uses monsters, as well as minorities to bring to light how people are quick to fear things they can’t understand and, instead of trying to learn, to work alongside these people, we tend to let our anger and fear win out inciting violence.
It’s not an easy read, not just because of the narration style, but because of the way the story flips between characters, years, creatures, as well as the themes that Turnbull weaves into the story. And yet despite all that, it’s a story I struggled to put down, thanks in large to Turnbull’s prose, as well as the empathy you can’t help but feel for his characters, human and monster alike. I know this is on the smaller side for one of my reviews, but I wasn’t lying when I said it’s incredibly hard to talk about this book without giving away spoilers. It’s a story you should go into knowing as little as possible, one you will come out of with plenty of questions, and if you’re happy feeling like you never quite know what’s going to happen next, then I can’t recommend this book enough.
I’ve never quite read a story that was narrated like this one, we not only get to follow along with the current events of people’s lives, but also get backstories into certain characters thank to our narrator having known them previously. A narrator who we don’t really learn much about until the end of the book. The narration style did throw me a little at first, but once I understood it and started to get into the story, it started to feel natural. You need to trust that the author has you, knows what they’re doing, to be willing to give yourself over to the story knowing you will spend a good portion of the book wondering what, exactly, is happening and why it’s happening now.
On the face of it, No Gods, No Monsters, is an urban fantasy filled with werewolves, vampires… basically every kind of mythical creatures from cultures around the world, that have now decided to show themselves to the human population. We deal with the question of why? Why now?, and also of who, especially for the monsters who can pull off looking normal. We see the fear, the disbelief, the willingness to pretend that it just never happened, but what Turnbull does extremely well is use the monsters to show how society treats those it deem’s ‘different.’ He deftly uses monsters, as well as minorities to bring to light how people are quick to fear things they can’t understand and, instead of trying to learn, to work alongside these people, we tend to let our anger and fear win out inciting violence.
It’s not an easy read, not just because of the narration style, but because of the way the story flips between characters, years, creatures, as well as the themes that Turnbull weaves into the story. And yet despite all that, it’s a story I struggled to put down, thanks in large to Turnbull’s prose, as well as the empathy you can’t help but feel for his characters, human and monster alike. I know this is on the smaller side for one of my reviews, but I wasn’t lying when I said it’s incredibly hard to talk about this book without giving away spoilers. It’s a story you should go into knowing as little as possible, one you will come out of with plenty of questions, and if you’re happy feeling like you never quite know what’s going to happen next, then I can’t recommend this book enough.