Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - No Gods, No Monsters

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull

26 reviews

eloquentlee's review against another edition

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I didn’t realize it would contain elements that are personally upsetting

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dancers_and_dragons's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Turnbull does an excellent job of handling multiple points of view, but be warned that if you do not like books where points of view are thrown around a lot, you are not going to enjoy this book. The twists of third person to first person was well-layered, and finding out

who Calvin (the narrator) was definitely kept me curious, though I wish we had learned his name before, as it felt a bit like a self-insert framing of the book and I was quite confused for a while.

The book made me a bit rabid in my curiosity to find out what was going on, and still dragged a little with certain points of view. I did feel, as the book went on, that they made more and more sense (especially when people started getting connected to each other and I wasn't just listening to one person over here and another person over there, but actually had stories coming together). I enjoyed most of the characters, too, and found their stories and motives compelling. Still, though we see many sides and many stories around the same theme, we're kept in the dark about a lot of things as the reader. It made sense from a narrative perspective, but for me this is why I ranked it lower than 4 stars. I wanted to know why things were happening, and wish we'd gotten a better picture of the grand scheme of things a little earlier in the book, so I could put things in perspective.

Ultimately, I'm definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series, but it was a challenging read in a way I wasn't expecting. I definitely need a little mental break from confusing books for a while, though!

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jb4nay's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I enjoyed how much the plot tried to do. I had some trouble remembering who was whom with just how many characters there were and the structure of the book. I did appreciate that Turnbull made a joke about all the characters in the acknowledgements.

I feel like this sets up for promising sequel once you have an idea of who everyone is and why you should care about them. It just took a while for things to click.

Like the

alternate reality jumping character, Calvin

had me second guessing if I missed a name somewhere 100 pages earlier because of how his scenes are written.

But overall, I enjoyed the world, the references to Caribbean folklore especially, and the diversity of characters. I’m curious about the sequel and how things progress. A fun read, but I’d suggest taking notes.

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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.25

Parts of this was really intriguing other parts not so much. Didn't know this was a series but it is interesting enough that I would be down to read the next one if I can get the audio from my library.
There are A LOT of characters and their own back stories along with the current roles in the main plot. It can get kind of confusing trying to remember who is who /what their life has been so far.
There are some content/trigger warnings so make sure to check them all if you are sensitive to a variety of topics.

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bessadams's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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decie's review against another edition

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3.5

at NO point in this book did I understand anything at all. I even don't know if it's supposed to make sense. can confusion be the plot of a book? did I just fully miss the message for 300+ consecutive pages?
seriously questioning my literacy skills, but I actually had a good time. don't read the first half while you're eating. good luck.

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leweylibrary's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

Listen I know I've heard good things about this book and probably know people who would like it, but it was not for me. I was bored out of my mind and almost DNF'd it at least twice. I wanted to like it so badly though because the premise is so freaking cool! Ugh.

I was about 80 pages in and just nothing was really happening, it felt like build up on build up for a bunch of different characters that are starting to overlap. The time period everything is happening is confusing, and I'm still not sure I understand what the big thing that happened even is? I love the premise, but the execution was so weird in the most pretentious way. Writing confusing shit is not cute or fun if people don't understand it. Stop trying to be a big, bad, cool writer who's elevated and throwing out literary devices and shit left and write. Just write something people want to read.

At about 90 pages in, a big thing did happen, and I was like okay, now we're getting somewhere. Aaaand then it would switch characters and we'd be back to getting nowhere. It somehow felt like the ENTIRE book was a lead up to the second book and that's just insane to me. I finished the last 50 pages or so out of spite tbh.

Quotes:

(I I could break my neck, ) she remembered thinking as she flew down the stairs, her heart thumping in her chest like a wild animal attacking its cage. She remembered wanting to so badly, relishing every moment that her foot landed on the nosing of each step, the worn souls of her shoes sliding dangerously across the knife's edge of each miniature cliff. She could break her neck and she wouldn't have to burn this horror out of her. She wouldn't have to be a good daughter. She wouldn't have to be anything at all. She could be cracked stone and fine soil. She could be a bed of weeds. (133)
"We're all blind," he says after swallowing. "Take solace in that. Choice comes first. Meaning comes later." (279)
The chant is an evolution of an anarchist slogan: "no gods, no. Masters," the original version meaning( I know human above.( It is meant as a call against hierarchy. Ridley assumes that this variation means( i no human above, no human below,( or something like it. A call against hierarchy and discrimination. (327)
As he walks with the crowd, he understands what he had forgotten: that a march is not just a voice against violence and trauma, but also a reminder that even in a cause that is stacked against them, no one is alone. (327)
There's something beautiful and devastating about the sight. Ridley feels small against it: the marvels of nature and human beings, intruding on one another; massive systems that existed before he was born and will continue long after he is dead. What can anyone do against them? The voices around him provide an answer. Like ants, perhaps enough human bodies can form a critical mass, becoming a marvel capable of great things, even against obstacles calcified through years of accumulated resource and power. Maybe. More often than not, Ridley has seen this fail to provide any change. But the effort has value for those fleeting moments when success can be snatched for the side of good. (327)
Even has things change, much stays the same, She thinks. Other tragedies are already queued up for their entrance. (334)