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A review by stephanieridiculous
Where Oblivion Lives by T. Frohock
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This was an interesting read more than it was a good one? It was close to excellent, but fell short, which makes it a little more disappointing.
The world building here is fascinating, but I never really felt like I actually understood everything happening. I assume this is due to there being 3 novellas that predate this, and Frohock has already settled into this world, and assumes you have, too. (I could be wrong, but that's the vibe I got.)
I really enjoyed the use of alternating POV, although there were a few jump scenes that were utilized to keep the reader in the dark of what was about to happen - when the rest of the prose is full of over explaining. It was a jarring juxtaposition.
Pros: Great characters, including strong and powerful men who are also vulnerable and loving toward their families & within friendships. Interesting magic. Good use of building magic into the existing world (with one caveat I'll talk about below.) The pacing was great, I never really felt bored.
Cons: As I mentioned above, I always felt just slightly out of the loop. Forhock uses lighting another cigarette/cigars ENTIRELY TOO MUCH - in reality if they smoked this much no one would be able to see a darn thing. The technical explanations of how the magic worked were pretty awful, if I'm honest - it was hokey and nonsensical to me, and the climactic scene just felt like gibberish to me. And regarding the integration of magic into the existing world I didn't really care for the comparison to Biblical characters. I totally get the "re-writing the narrative" excuse, but the characters didn't totally vibe for me.
Anyway, all in all - it was interesting, and an mostly enjoyable fast paced read. I doubt I'll read anything else in this setting, but I might seek out other works by Frohock.
The world building here is fascinating, but I never really felt like I actually understood everything happening. I assume this is due to there being 3 novellas that predate this, and Frohock has already settled into this world, and assumes you have, too. (I could be wrong, but that's the vibe I got.)
I really enjoyed the use of alternating POV, although there were a few jump scenes that were utilized to keep the reader in the dark of what was about to happen - when the rest of the prose is full of over explaining. It was a jarring juxtaposition.
Pros: Great characters, including strong and powerful men who are also vulnerable and loving toward their families & within friendships. Interesting magic. Good use of building magic into the existing world (with one caveat I'll talk about below.) The pacing was great, I never really felt bored.
Cons: As I mentioned above, I always felt just slightly out of the loop. Forhock uses lighting another cigarette/cigars ENTIRELY TOO MUCH - in reality if they smoked this much no one would be able to see a darn thing. The technical explanations of how the magic worked were pretty awful, if I'm honest - it was hokey and nonsensical to me, and the climactic scene just felt like gibberish to me. And regarding the integration of magic into the existing world I didn't really care for the comparison to Biblical characters. I totally get the "re-writing the narrative" excuse, but the characters didn't totally vibe for me.
Anyway, all in all - it was interesting, and an mostly enjoyable fast paced read. I doubt I'll read anything else in this setting, but I might seek out other works by Frohock.