Reviews

No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull

jessiejoelle's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

timinbc's review against another edition

2.0

DNF halfway. A promising story seemed to me to spin out of control when we jumped from monsters to magic (which had been hinted at, I admit). But after 100 pages we have met Terry, the narrator, Cory (dead), Laina, Lincoln (dead), Simone, Ridley, Auntie Jane, [a voice], Harold, Eleanor, 6Alfred9, Cameron, John, Karuna, Twenty-Nine, [a child], Dragon, [another child]. Smoke, Melku, Sonya, and Sondra. Only a couple of them are interesting. It's like being at a cocktail party full of strangers you'll never meet again. Too bad, there's a good story in here somewhere.

hondiggsreads's review against another edition

5.0

The writing is superb and the conceit is wonderful. My only issue is this: it’s one thing to set up a sequel and leave some questions it’s quite another to not finish the story. I feel like this book did the latter. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait for the sequel and I’ll read the sh*t out of it

bibi003's review against another edition

3.0

This was ok. I was into the story and I liked the characters, but it was missing something. Some parts were a bit vague, but I suppose that was intentional to build intrigue. I generally don't love it when authors jump around in the timeline without any indication that it's happening. I listened to the audiobook (maybe that was part of the problem). I enjoyed the narrator's voice and style. Will probably continue with the series, out of curiosity to see where it goes.

dreaming_ace's review against another edition

4.0

This book was not quite what I thought it was going to be. It was a story with layers on top of layers on top of layers (honesty I struggled to keep all the interlocking characters straight in my head)

I found the story to contain more eldritch horror than I was expecting, In addition I found the story was less allegory based (monsters representing marginalized communities) than I thought based on the description.

Yes the allegory was there but this volume felt like more like an academic eldritch horror introduction to a story than the story itself.

claragisela's review against another edition

mysterious fast-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? Yes

2.0

mseil24's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

megnut's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

Each thread of the story is interesting... but it's hard to follow and keep everything straight because there's so many. And that means the plot doesn't really seem like it can move forward much. 

It's a fascinating world, but I don't really feel like I got to see or experience it much. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Violence, Gun violence, and Death

Moderate: Drug abuse and Police brutality

Minor: Domestic abuse

taylor_riegs's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

shelbymarie516's review against another edition

4.0

3.75 stars...
This book was nothing like and exactly what I expected. Got some American Gods/Library at Mount Char/Ninth House vibes. But also a dash of Abed from Community and his multiple timelines was brought to mind. File this under strange sci-fi I didn't know I would enjoy but here we are.