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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Felt very uneven.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a really fun concept and world! It didn't have the pace of a heist I was expecting, and was more about exploring the world and backstories.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
dark
medium-paced
adventurous
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A lot of pages and lot of fluff - no real character development.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
A minor god and an incubus break into the British Museum to steal back a Yoruba artifact is a hell of a hook and this book somehow manages to live up to it.
This is a very noir story, pulp in the very best way with constant twists and turns. I can't write much about it without giving things away but this is one of my books of the year.
This is a very noir story, pulp in the very best way with constant twists and turns. I can't write much about it without giving things away but this is one of my books of the year.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
3.5 stars.
Two partners, Shigidi and Nneoma, one a minor, former nightmares god and the other a powerful succubus unaffiliated with any other entities, are forced by an old, formidable god, Olurun, to steal an artifact for him, back from the British, who stole it years earlier, for him. Olurun’s plan is risky in the extreme, but the pair have the abilities, skills, connections, and frankly, disposability, to possibly succeed.
Wole Talabi’s gods are dangerous, controlling and petty beings. They head up spirit companies, staffed by less powerful and minor gods, who harvest human souls for the continuance of the Company and their food, and dispense punishments, among other things. The spirit company is a corporation, with a Board, employee code of conduct, and other trappings.
Each faith has its own spirit company, with treaties and rules codifying behaviours and permissible actions of other gods when they visit other gods’ territories.
Shigidi hated his former life of using nightmares to terrify and kill to collect souls. Shigidi was a very minor god in Olurun’s company, and only received a small number of souls for sustenance. After an unexpected and violent confrontation with Nneoma years earlier, he defected to her side, in exchange for better opportunities. When almost killed by some members of his former company, he and Nneoma are granted safety by Olurun, in exchange for a task to be performed by them some time in the future.
Oluron finally decides to call in his favour, forcing the pair to retrieve an important object located at the British Museum.
Talabi shows us Nneoma’s life in different centuries, and how she collected favours from certain beings, whom she and Shigidi must call on for help to perform their heist.
Talabi’s story is fun, imaginative, violent, full of sex, and danger. I liked seeing Nneoma’s life, and what drives her and keeps her separate. We also see how implacable she can be. Shigidi follows her, and is fascinated by her; I found that he was not as interesting as her.
The story felt a little slow in parts, but I was still intrigued by the world of gods, demons and spirits Talabi created.
Thank you to Netgalley and to DAW for this ARC in exchange for my review.
Two partners, Shigidi and Nneoma, one a minor, former nightmares god and the other a powerful succubus unaffiliated with any other entities, are forced by an old, formidable god, Olurun, to steal an artifact for him, back from the British, who stole it years earlier, for him. Olurun’s plan is risky in the extreme, but the pair have the abilities, skills, connections, and frankly, disposability, to possibly succeed.
Wole Talabi’s gods are dangerous, controlling and petty beings. They head up spirit companies, staffed by less powerful and minor gods, who harvest human souls for the continuance of the Company and their food, and dispense punishments, among other things. The spirit company is a corporation, with a Board, employee code of conduct, and other trappings.
Each faith has its own spirit company, with treaties and rules codifying behaviours and permissible actions of other gods when they visit other gods’ territories.
Shigidi hated his former life of using nightmares to terrify and kill to collect souls. Shigidi was a very minor god in Olurun’s company, and only received a small number of souls for sustenance. After an unexpected and violent confrontation with Nneoma years earlier, he defected to her side, in exchange for better opportunities. When almost killed by some members of his former company, he and Nneoma are granted safety by Olurun, in exchange for a task to be performed by them some time in the future.
Oluron finally decides to call in his favour, forcing the pair to retrieve an important object located at the British Museum.
Talabi shows us Nneoma’s life in different centuries, and how she collected favours from certain beings, whom she and Shigidi must call on for help to perform their heist.
Talabi’s story is fun, imaginative, violent, full of sex, and danger. I liked seeing Nneoma’s life, and what drives her and keeps her separate. We also see how implacable she can be. Shigidi follows her, and is fascinated by her; I found that he was not as interesting as her.
The story felt a little slow in parts, but I was still intrigued by the world of gods, demons and spirits Talabi created.
Thank you to Netgalley and to DAW for this ARC in exchange for my review.
adventurous
informative
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail