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maryleong 's review for:
No Gods, No Monsters
by Cadwell Turnbull
(2.5/5 rounded up because it's a cool concept, but mediocre execution) This book hits all the talking points of the zeitgeist. After a police shooting which leaves Laina's brother, Lincoln, dead, people learn that monsters are real. In the wake of this revelation, people either don't care, or use it as an excuse to scapegoat and attack those who were already marginalized. Conspiracy theories abound online, and people "who were normally on the site only once or twice a week were present all day," sending each other down deeper rabbit holes of speculation. With their growing extremism, it's easy to recruit them into doing terrible things. It's all extremely timely.
Unfortunately, I felt that this novel tried to do too much, with a multiverse side plot inserted in halfway through the novel that didn't add much to the story. The mysterious "I" narrator was also frustrating until it was finally revealed far too late – but once again, not really contributing much to the plot. I could have done entirely without it. It read like two books mushed together in a disjointed way, and that really detracted from the experience.
Unfortunately, I felt that this novel tried to do too much, with a multiverse side plot inserted in halfway through the novel that didn't add much to the story. The mysterious "I" narrator was also frustrating until it was finally revealed far too late – but once again, not really contributing much to the plot. I could have done entirely without it. It read like two books mushed together in a disjointed way, and that really detracted from the experience.