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A review by stopsaenz
No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I was interested in this book because of its themes: fantasy, urbanism, racial injustice, mystery, monsters in modern times! In many ways these are all present in No Gods, No Monsters, but what I feel isn’t is clarity and direction. Mind you, this book is a part of a saga, a trilogy I’ve recently learned and not a two parter (which saddens me), so I’m sure all will be revealed later, but wow did I wish more was given in the first book.
Turnbull goes for breadth vs. depth in his first novel in the Convergence saga, setting the tone for a world (or worlds?) spanning mystery surrounding monsters, magic, and humans through the lens of a large, diverse cast of characters. While this is really interesting in terms of worldbuilding, it’s almost solely for the purpose, in my opinion. You have to worldbuild in fantasy novels, I get this, but I feel this entire book might be setup for the rest of the trilogy. A major tool in the book’s narrator is introduced with no great effect and I currently consider a waste of time, but I suspect it’ll be explored further later. I was hoping for more payoff in a first novel to get me hooked for the rest of the saga, it feels like I’m rolling the dice on the rest of my reading experience.
Still, I’m open to read the next book as enough of the mystery has been intriguing enough for me to bite into and not completely abandon, but I won’t be jumping for it anytime soon. Turnbull does set up the promised themes of the saga well in his first novel, which I’m keen on generally exploring, but the next book better hit if I’m to see it through to the end.
Turnbull goes for breadth vs. depth in his first novel in the Convergence saga, setting the tone for a world (or worlds?) spanning mystery surrounding monsters, magic, and humans through the lens of a large, diverse cast of characters. While this is really interesting in terms of worldbuilding, it’s almost solely for the purpose, in my opinion. You have to worldbuild in fantasy novels, I get this, but I feel this entire book might be setup for the rest of the trilogy. A major tool in the book’s narrator is introduced with no great effect and I currently consider a waste of time, but I suspect it’ll be explored further later. I was hoping for more payoff in a first novel to get me hooked for the rest of the saga, it feels like I’m rolling the dice on the rest of my reading experience.
Still, I’m open to read the next book as enough of the mystery has been intriguing enough for me to bite into and not completely abandon, but I won’t be jumping for it anytime soon. Turnbull does set up the promised themes of the saga well in his first novel, which I’m keen on generally exploring, but the next book better hit if I’m to see it through to the end.