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Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull

11 reviews

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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clown_the_basking_shark's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wow, this was not what I was expecting

Regular Review Style:

1. I love Dragon

2. I HATE HARRY! HE PISSED ME OFF!

Here's the real point: Paranoia has a physics to it, and even with something as insubstantial as paranoia, over time it gains substance, has weight. Secret societies are a result of paranoia, not the cause.

3. See above quote. This was the only thing I liked from Harry's perspective (And Dragon). Mostly because, this is the same type of logic that forms cults. Make a group of people paranoid and you can manipulate them. It's also the reason an uneducated society is easier to control. If people are uneducated, they're less likely to do their own research or be able to tell credible sources from not credible sources, therefore they listen to those in power, those who *say* they have the knowledge (heavy on the say). They won't question those in power. Societies that are uneducated cause little change in systems even when they are bad (for a real world example, take the dark ages in Europe).

4. No Gods, No Monsters is a genius title

5. I know Ripley had his problems but I did enjoy his perspective, I also really liked Laina's perspective.

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violerwolf's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

While I enjoyed the concept and broader ideas explored in the book, including Turnbull’s iconic mosaic narratives, the prose fell a bit flat for me. 

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plesiosaurys's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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gracecrandall's review against another edition

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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


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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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azrah786's review against another edition

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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 

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marcostorin's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

This book is amazing anarchist fiction. I don't know if the author considers himself an anarchist, but that is irrelevant, the themes and how they're handled speak for themselves - and that's without mentioning obvious references at anarchism, like Ursula K Le Guin and the title itself. It hit me hard and I can't wait for the next two books of the trilogy. 

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gilnean's review against another edition

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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


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meaghanelizabook's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0


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