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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
**This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.**
This is going to be a book people either love or hate.
On paper, No Gods, No Monsters is extraordinary. It’s a subversive, genre-bending, philosophical take on intersectionality, quantum theory, and the nature of humanity. It features a cast of BIPOC, queer, and monster characters (often all three at once). It questions the assumptions on which we build our world and the ways in which we can reshape it. It finds beauty in the mundane and horror in the sublime. There is no protagonist, because the novel makes clear that it is in collectives and communities that we find meaning and purpose.
But this book has a specific audience, and it will not appeal to everyone. To begin with, it does not have a traditional plot. The interweaving storylines feel as though they would be more appropriately situated in a short story cycle than a novel. Very little in terms of action actually happens; most of the book is about characters reflecting on their worldviews and philosophies while going about daily tasks, like browsing internet forums, driving to their hometowns, or stocking shelves at a collectively-owned bookstore. This book is not, as I first thought when picking it up, a blend of horror and urban fantasy; I would instead describe it as postmodernist speculative fiction.
The blurb makes it seem as though this is a book about monsters suddenly being revealed to the mundane world and then beginning to interact with it, but in fact this reveal is immediately covered up; the majority of the book is spent in a world that vaguely suspects monsters walk among us, but no one willingly admits to believing in them. The point-of-view characters all know or suspect that monsters exist, but are protected from obtaining any real knowledge about the extent of the supernatural’s presence in the world by the Powers that Be (various non-POV characters or organizations who know more but tell nothing). This can be an incredibly frustrating experience as a reader.
For me, the first 200 pages of the book really dragged. The interweaving storylines read like vignettes, barely connected by being situated in the same world and having the same distanced writing style. More than once, I would start in on a new vignette and realize, a few pages in, that I had met its central character before in an earlier vignette, and had completely forgotten about them in the interim. This doesn’t bode well for anyone who prefers character-driven fiction.
After the 200-page mark, the book really picks up. The vignettes, previously loosely-crossed threads, are pulled together in a tight weave. Characters finally take decisive actions, a coherent theme develops, and the interconnected stories build to a climax. For me, the last three hundred pages were satisfying, a reward for having made it through the often-confusing build-up.
But it’s a hard ask for most readers to wait 200 pages for a book to start making sense. If well-formed prose and philosophical musings delight you, you will love this book from the strt; if you dislike being held at arms-length by the narrative, and struggle with different PoV chapters that aren’t readily connected to an overarching narrative, you will struggle to feel engaged for the first two-thirds of the novel. In my opinion, Cadwell Turnbull shows great promise, and I look forward to reading his backlog in short fiction and seeing what his long-form fiction looks like in the future.
This is going to be a book people either love or hate.
On paper, No Gods, No Monsters is extraordinary. It’s a subversive, genre-bending, philosophical take on intersectionality, quantum theory, and the nature of humanity. It features a cast of BIPOC, queer, and monster characters (often all three at once). It questions the assumptions on which we build our world and the ways in which we can reshape it. It finds beauty in the mundane and horror in the sublime. There is no protagonist, because the novel makes clear that it is in collectives and communities that we find meaning and purpose.
But this book has a specific audience, and it will not appeal to everyone. To begin with, it does not have a traditional plot. The interweaving storylines feel as though they would be more appropriately situated in a short story cycle than a novel. Very little in terms of action actually happens; most of the book is about characters reflecting on their worldviews and philosophies while going about daily tasks, like browsing internet forums, driving to their hometowns, or stocking shelves at a collectively-owned bookstore. This book is not, as I first thought when picking it up, a blend of horror and urban fantasy; I would instead describe it as postmodernist speculative fiction.
The blurb makes it seem as though this is a book about monsters suddenly being revealed to the mundane world and then beginning to interact with it, but in fact this reveal is immediately covered up; the majority of the book is spent in a world that vaguely suspects monsters walk among us, but no one willingly admits to believing in them. The point-of-view characters all know or suspect that monsters exist, but are protected from obtaining any real knowledge about the extent of the supernatural’s presence in the world by the Powers that Be (various non-POV characters or organizations who know more but tell nothing). This can be an incredibly frustrating experience as a reader.
For me, the first 200 pages of the book really dragged. The interweaving storylines read like vignettes, barely connected by being situated in the same world and having the same distanced writing style. More than once, I would start in on a new vignette and realize, a few pages in, that I had met its central character before in an earlier vignette, and had completely forgotten about them in the interim. This doesn’t bode well for anyone who prefers character-driven fiction.
After the 200-page mark, the book really picks up. The vignettes, previously loosely-crossed threads, are pulled together in a tight weave. Characters finally take decisive actions, a coherent theme develops, and the interconnected stories build to a climax. For me, the last three hundred pages were satisfying, a reward for having made it through the often-confusing build-up.
But it’s a hard ask for most readers to wait 200 pages for a book to start making sense. If well-formed prose and philosophical musings delight you, you will love this book from the strt; if you dislike being held at arms-length by the narrative, and struggle with different PoV chapters that aren’t readily connected to an overarching narrative, you will struggle to feel engaged for the first two-thirds of the novel. In my opinion, Cadwell Turnbull shows great promise, and I look forward to reading his backlog in short fiction and seeing what his long-form fiction looks like in the future.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
170 pages is too long (for me) to go without knowing what the shit is going on.
adventurous
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:
Yes
Wow… Just wow! This book is amazing! I didn't know what I was getting into… Someone recommended it and it happen to be available on Libby so I went for it… It is such a interesting and well written book. I actually didn't even know it was a series until I got to about 55 minutes left and I was like "crap this isn't gonna wrap up… It must be a series". If you read any of my other reviews you know I'm not particularly fond of series… I mean not generally... but yes I did just post a review five minutes ago about another series that I love… thankfully none of you are really paying attention!
So this is just social commentary sci-fi/fantasy at it's finest! It is extremely relatable and I think captures much of the tone of social justice movement currently happening in the US... Of course with a heavy dash of the supernatural which isn't generally happening in social justice movements… Or at least not here in the US.
I will say this is one of those times that I wonder if reading the book would have been just a little bit easier to follow than the audiobook. The narrator of the audiobook has one of the most silky sexy voices ever but he's not as awesome with character voices... so I did find myself rewinding a little bit to figure out which character we were actually hearing from. I do think this is not entirely the fault of the narrator as I think the book bounces a lot and it generally feels like a lot of unconnected vignettes until you get later on in it.
Hey why don't you read it for yourself and let me know!
So this is just social commentary sci-fi/fantasy at it's finest! It is extremely relatable and I think captures much of the tone of social justice movement currently happening in the US... Of course with a heavy dash of the supernatural which isn't generally happening in social justice movements… Or at least not here in the US.
I will say this is one of those times that I wonder if reading the book would have been just a little bit easier to follow than the audiobook. The narrator of the audiobook has one of the most silky sexy voices ever but he's not as awesome with character voices... so I did find myself rewinding a little bit to figure out which character we were actually hearing from. I do think this is not entirely the fault of the narrator as I think the book bounces a lot and it generally feels like a lot of unconnected vignettes until you get later on in it.
Hey why don't you read it for yourself and let me know!
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
I really like Mr. Turnbull's writing style. There is something both atmospheric and accessible about it. So although I was a bit confused by the twists and turns that this novel takes, I enjoyed the writing. I am still not really sure how much I like the series. Perhaps I am having a bit of trouble because there isn't any one character that I connected to. The writing, although beautiful, seems a bit distant from the characters themselves. It feels if the narrator is a storyteller or a bard telling a legendary tale as opposed to the typical diary / conversation style that is typical of this genre.
The concept, while it falls into the supernatural genre, it feels like a different path. This novel uses the supernatural concept as a commentary about exceptionalism in marginalized communities and how the "other" is received and perceived by the mainstream.
Worth diving into. The audiobook isn't too long, and the narrator (Dion Graham) has a wonderful voice and his storytelling is well suited to the tale.
The concept, while it falls into the supernatural genre, it feels like a different path. This novel uses the supernatural concept as a commentary about exceptionalism in marginalized communities and how the "other" is received and perceived by the mainstream.
Worth diving into. The audiobook isn't too long, and the narrator (Dion Graham) has a wonderful voice and his storytelling is well suited to the tale.