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A review by mr_sosotris
A Broken Darkness by Premee Mohamed
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really liked how this book continued the angst of Nick and Johnny’s fraught friendship. And I like how the character’s flaws propel this personal conflict throughout the story. I will say that, often, I found myself wishing the characters would make it through the next horde of monsters so they could have another conversation. I kept thinking “YOU TWO NEED THERAPY!” moreso than I thought, “Wow, I wonder how they’ll get out of this fix!”
This is part 2 of a trilogy, so I will start by saying I am absolutely looking forward to Book 3, and I will reserve judgement until I’ve read the whole story, but on first impressions, I had a hard time really settling into the story. The characters spend the whole book (as they did at the end of Book 1) incredibly angry at one another. It’s so pervasively negative, that I didn’t find myself rooting for either one to succeed. I just wanted them to talk about their problems and achieve some kind of catharsis. There’s moments of levity amid all the monsters, so it never feels oppressive, but I was so mad at the characters that I couldn’t really cheer for them. But like I said, I’ll wait for Book 3 because it will no doubt complete these character’s arcs.
My other issue (and it’s a nitpicky one) is that the monsters tend to become a bit wallpapery. The characters get so use to their presence after a while that bizarre things happening in the background are met with a “Yeah, we should probably move on,” and so there’s not really a feeling that these things are a threat. The monster design is OUTSTANDING and I love the look and feel of it all, but I wish they felt more genuinely threatening. But with that said, I do like how the focus is on the characters. And there are moments of dark humour that work well with the events in the background contrasting to the lively banter in the foreground.
Overall, I enjoyed this one, and look forward to reading it again once it’s part of the completed trilogy.
This is part 2 of a trilogy, so I will start by saying I am absolutely looking forward to Book 3, and I will reserve judgement until I’ve read the whole story, but on first impressions, I had a hard time really settling into the story. The characters spend the whole book (as they did at the end of Book 1) incredibly angry at one another. It’s so pervasively negative, that I didn’t find myself rooting for either one to succeed. I just wanted them to talk about their problems and achieve some kind of catharsis. There’s moments of levity amid all the monsters, so it never feels oppressive, but I was so mad at the characters that I couldn’t really cheer for them. But like I said, I’ll wait for Book 3 because it will no doubt complete these character’s arcs.
My other issue (and it’s a nitpicky one) is that the monsters tend to become a bit wallpapery. The characters get so use to their presence after a while that bizarre things happening in the background are met with a “Yeah, we should probably move on,” and so there’s not really a feeling that these things are a threat. The monster design is OUTSTANDING and I love the look and feel of it all, but I wish they felt more genuinely threatening. But with that said, I do like how the focus is on the characters. And there are moments of dark humour that work well with the events in the background contrasting to the lively banter in the foreground.
Overall, I enjoyed this one, and look forward to reading it again once it’s part of the completed trilogy.