Reviews tagging 'Violence'

No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull

30 reviews

scarroll178's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Such a strange, cool world the author has crafted here. (Or should I say, worlds lol). There are definitely a lot of characters to keep up with, and some are more memorable/interesting than others unfortunately. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, and Death of parent

siriface's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Police brutality, and Mass/school shootings

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

spootilious's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-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

2.0

 

Read: August 16, 2023
 Title: No Gods, No Monsters 

Series: The Convergence Saga #1
 Author: Cadwell Turnbull
 Genre: Fantasy Horror
 Rating: 2/5
 Review: 

I don’t really have a lot to say about this one. I didn’t… NOT like it, but there isn’t much I specifically liked either. 

What I can say is that the writing style is beautiful. It is obvious that Turnbull is  very talented. However, the storyline and the characters have this sort of vagueness that keeps anything from truly standing out. 

From what I can tell, most people complain at how the story jumps around and the points of view shift so strangely. I can understand their point. I suppose I’ve read enough novels written this way that it wasn’t too bad for me. Though I will say with just a small shuffle of one or two chapters Turnbull could have kept the mystery while still making the shifts less jarring for the reader. In my opinion he didn’t quite manage what he was going for. 

I will also say that physically reading the book makes it more understandable than listening to the audiobook which is what I first attempted. Dion Graham is one of the sexiest narrators I’ve come across but there was nothing he could do with this one to make it easier to understand. 

Overall, not a bad book but not a great one in my opinion. Bit overhyped but love the writing style 😊 

 Quotes: 

N/A 

 

 

TW: Rape, Murder, Gore, Vore, Body Horror, Mass shooting, General Violence 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Torture, and Suicide attempt

gracecrandall's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Antisemitism

kryskross's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Gore, and Gun violence

Minor: Kidnapping

mossybean's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

As much as I loved some of the characters and the magic, I just came out of this book thinking: so what does that all mean? I feel like I was left out of the loop, I wasn’t told enough about the important parts, so I didn’t care about them, and the less important parts just got thrown by the wayside towards the end. I wanted it all to come together but it didn’t. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Police brutality

elle_e_d_light's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-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? No

3.0

The writing was great, but the book as a whole left me confused. I started confused. I continued to get more confused. I ended confused. So, the 3 stars are mostly for the writing. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Domestic abuse

azrah786's review against another edition

4.25

 **I received an ARC from Titan Books in exchange for an honest review**

CW: violence, gun violence/mass shootings, blood, gore, body horror, injury, death, death of parent/loved one, animal death, murder, suicide, police brutality, hate crime, drug abuse/addiction, alcohol, confinement, cannibalism, child abuse, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, grief, transphobia, racism, xenophobia
--

No Gods, No Monsters is the addictive beginning to a new supernatural/paranormal urban fantasy series. In this story filled with both magic and science, an event denoted as The Fracture sees monsters and creatures from myths and legends being chased out of the shadows and living openly amongst humans as a means of protection from some “other” threat.

Turnbull deftly blends the genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror and thriller together, and his prose perfectly encapsulates the eerie and dark vibe of the story throughout.
The combination of short chapters and a storyline laced with mystery makes this such a page turner. There are secret organisations and seers, shifters and gods but the sharp, underlying commentary on marginalised communities, human nature and the disbelief and blind ignorance people chase during times of change make this so much more than fiction.

There is an extensive cast of diverse and intriguing characters to follow which at times gets a little confusing. However, the multi pov narration also makes the book feel like an anthology of stories that are all subtly interconnected, with a greater overarching storyline connecting them all more fully happening in the background.
We also have a unnamed narrator to follow that pops up within these individual stories and honestly just wanting to figure out who this mysterious figure observing all of the character is, is just one of the unputdownable elements of the book.

A perfect read for spooky season but also one that can be enjoyed all year round.
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, and Death of parent

gilnean's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Transphobia, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Excrement