A review by rg9400
The Last Fang of God by Ryan Kirk

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I think the concept of this book is pretty strong -- a father and daughter relationship that revolves around a concept of sacrifice for family. However, I think the very short length of the book impacted its ability to deliver on the premise quite a bit. I am all for efficiency in terms of writing, especially in regards to large exposition dumps for the world at large. My struggle with this book was not related to the fact that a lot of the world and lore felt a bit surface level, though I do think that is true. However, it's that the character development is simply not given enough time to breathe. We are told large shifts in characters without actually seeing them develop, and motivations tend to be quickly changed to suit the plot. The premise implies a very internal, personal, character driven story, yet that's not how it is written. I often struggled to find the daughter's anger toward her father believable or understandable. Sometimes, dramatic moments between characters are resolved in a paragraph. And the writer sometimes just tells us that something happened in a conversation without actually even showing us that conversation. 

My goal is to not leave a negative review, so I wanted to highlight that the action sequences are pretty good as is the atmosphere. I feel like it was more a case of focus being on one thing, with the stuff I care about falling to the side.