A review by mary_soon_lee
Where Oblivion Lives by T. Frohock

4.0

I have been eagerly awaiting this book since I first read "Los Nefilim," three (excellent) novellas centered on the same characters. Often when I most anticipate something, it disappoints. Not so in this case. I devoured this book within 24 hours of receiving it. The story belongs to a subgenre that I rarely enjoy, dealing as it does in angels and daimons, and falling in the borderlands between horror and fantasy. Yet there is a skill to Frohock's writing that allows me to suspend disbelief, and fall into the story. Her prose is fluid, sometimes poetic. The suspense ratchets up as the plot progresses. The 1932 setting in Spain, France, and Germany is darkly atmospheric. But it is Frohock's characters that pleased me most. They are brave, vulnerable, damaged, not quite human, and they care about each other. They help each other, which, it turns out, I much prefer to solitary heroes. In this respect, though the setting and tone are quite different, "Where Oblivion Lives" reminds me of Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's wonderful Liaden Universe. It is the characters who give Frohock's work a great sweetness against a dark backdrop. It is because of those characters that I am impatiently awaiting the next book. Highly recommended, though I would advise starting at "Los Nefilim" and then going on to "Where Oblivion Lives."