Not the book for me. The POV is disjointed and confusing. The chapters do not seem connected to one another; and I was not able to follow a storyline. If you enjoy more experimental fiction, this may be the book for you.

We Are the Crisis is the second book in the Convergence Saga by Cadwell Turnbull.
I’ve been patiently waiting for this title because I loved No Gods, No Monsters.
And Cadwell Turnbull didn’t disappoint here either.
This was a captivating and entertaining read.
I finished this book in two days I was that hooked.
This story was utterly fascinating and the characters so entertaining.
And the writing is very clever.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

I continuously felt like I was missing something while reading this novel. While I specifically read the first book in the series so I would know what was going on in the second, I never felt like I was confidently following the plot. The format of these books does not lend itself to continuity since it is comprised of several different vignettes featuring different characters who may appear often or seldom and may or may not intersect at any point. The premise is fabulous and I really wished the books delivered.

I'm honestly just so confused. It might've helped if I'd reread the first book, but it also might not have? The writing was great and I could follow each thread, I just couldn't remember how any of the characters related to each other or who was which monster. I really enjoyed the Dragon and the co-op storyline. But between all of the storylines and multiverse timelines, it is a LOT.

*Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I was so, so excited to get my grubby little hands on an eARC of <em>We Are the Crisis</em> this month because of how much I loved <em>No Gods No Monsters</em>. I’ve spent the past two years trying to get everyone I know who is even vaguely interested in fantasy to pick up <em>No Gods No Monsters,</em> which I keep unsuccessfully pitching as “<em>Succubus Blues</em> by way of <em>Riot Baby</em>” and Amal el-Mohtar once described as “like listening to a symphony that’s trying to eat you.”

<em>No Gods No Monsters</em> has a queer werewolf poly triad running a bookstore, a deeply dysfunctional mutual aid co-op, secret societies, dark conspiracies, incredibly awkward dinner parties, and monsters just trying to get on with things. It’s told from the perspective of a deeply involved narrator whose motives are opaque, who head-hops with wild abandon and stops the whole story to have conversations with dead academics. It’s weird, and wild, and wonderful, and I can’t recommend it enough.

I really wish I could tell you that <em>We Are the Crisis</em> is just as good, but it left me feeling a little flat. I still had a great time, but it didn’t do anything <em>new.</em> All of the elements that made me fall in love with <em>No Gods</em> remained present, but the number of plot threads was a little overwhelming, and the overarching narrative showed these threads crossing each other but never quite tying together, which I found frustrating.

<em>We Are the Crisis</em> is, structurally speaking, just plain weird. We flip through characters of interest with very little pattern, with flashbacks woven in to the present throughout. Critical plot points are relayed third- or even fourth-hand, the narrator’s level of involvement varies wildly from section to section, and the prose is sparse and distant. I loved this style in <em>No Gods</em> and continued to really enjoy it here, and if anything I would appreciated Turnbull leaning even harder into that weirdness.

I think <em>We Are the Crisis</em> is ultimately suffering a little bit from middle-book syndrome, leaving the reader with too little new information and too few conclusions to feel satisfied. <em>No Gods No Monsters</em> was always going to be a hard act to follow, so even though I was a little disappointed I’m still <em>very much</em> looking forward to the next one.

Disjointed scenes. Kept wondering how they were all going to fit together. That doesn’t happen until the end, and I mean the very end. Middle book of a trilogy and I feel it’s definitely one of those where it is best to read the first volume before cracking this one open. Interesting characters although to me they were mostly one dimensional. Some graphic violence. Unusual plot set in the near future in a world of multi-verses. Wonder if the story’s theme of humans vs monsters is allegorical of the world’s cultural and political divisions. I sure see the similarities. I know a lot of people love this series of books, but for me it was just okay. 3.75 stars

This is a solid second book in a trilogy. While it didn't wow me the same way No Gods, No Monsters did (and I deeply wish that Turnbull wasn't writing in present tense), I look forward to the last book.

WE ARE THE CRISIS is the second book of Cadwell Turnbull's "Convergence Saga" (presumably a trilogy). In the first book in the series, it is revealed to the public that "monsters" exist. Monsters are human beings who have powers of metamorphosis into other forms; werewolves being the most obvious example. Though there also seem to be people who can convert into other animal forms, as well as witches, sorcerers, and vampires, whose metamorphoses do not turn them into entirely different species of animals, but give them special nonhuman (or superhuman) powers. Apparently monsters have long existed among humankind, but have mostly hidden themselves due to (justified) fears of persecution. (Think of witch trials and witch burnings in medieval and early modern Europe). Some monster varieties are inherited, while others are the result of contact or contagion (a vampire bites another person, making them into a vampire too)

The existence of monsters only becomes generally known in the first volume of the series, when human-to-wolf metamorphoses are captured on video. The current volume takes place a few years later, more or less in an extension of our present, and explores the consequences of the revelation of monsters' actual existence. The novel does not have a linear plot, but moves back and forth among various individuals, both monsters and the people who love them. Most monsters remain circumspect, not revealing their powers publicly, and not moving out of their small circles of support. They often wish to meet others of their own kind, but they are unable to because of this very circumspection. Some of them have fraught relationships with non-monster parents and siblings.

There are also organized hate groups, composed of human beings who express fear of the monsters and their powers, and want both to contain and restrict them, and ultimately to destroy them. To some extent, monsterphobia works like an allegory of racism and homophobia -- people who take their (relatively) normative status for granted, and both loathe and fear anybody who is different from them. The bigots have political organizations that oppose any changes in the laws that might give monsters recognition or protection; they have ties with the police, letting them get away with various forms of harassment and threats; they kill individual monsters and "monster-lovers" pretty much with impunity; and they sometimes form lynch mobs that go out and murder monsters en masse, and burn down businesses or homes associated with them.

But as is so often the case in speculative fiction, monsterphobia is not just an allegory for racism and homophobia; it is also something literal, in itself. The novel works by describing both the lives of monsters, and the hatred of which they are the victims, in very specific terms. What do you do when you are a werewolf, but your sibling is not? How do people come out to their parents, and vice versa? How do monsters negotiate their everyday lives, within human society but also apart from it, and pontentially endangered by it?

The novel moves among different groups of characters, as it explores what for the most part are everyday lives and activities? People work, have family responsibilities, and so on -- even if these people are monsters. Turnbull's delicate prose maintains a careful balance between the quotidian and the extraordinary; and it emphasizes how things that are extraordinary to readers of the book might well be banal and ordinary to people who happen to be monsters (as presumably we the readers are not).

There are also a number of passages that invoke the multiverse, suggesting somewhat different outcomes on parallel, but not identical Earths. (I can only repeat here what I have said before: that the multiverse is nonsense from a physics or hard science perspective, but it is an incredible gift to speculative fiction). And some of these passages also involve the narrator (or narrative voice) of the novel as a character within it. The speaking "I" often seems to be hovering over, or observing the action, invisibly -- at the end, he emerges (as a male human being) and says something like he accesses the other parallel worlds in dreams. (It is not entirely clear). This goes along with suggestions that there are groups of monsters fighting against one another (aside from their being turned into enemies by straight people). A lot of this is left suggestive but unresolved, partly I presume because there will be another novel, but partly also because Turnbull is constructing and narrative a world (or pluriverse of world) that are intrinsically vague in certain of their aspects.

In any case, WE ARE THE CRISIS is a powerful and compelling novel, which leaves lingering traces of uncertainty in your mind after you have finished reading it, both because there is more to come but also (and more importantly) because the author insists on this wavering quality, which inhabits even his description of the most mundane activities (like playing pool in a bar).

An incredibly solid sequel that deftly dodges the ever too common "middle book" problem that series can run into, especially ones as promising as the Convergence Saga. With incredible characters, interesting politics, and increasingly stressful stakes, We Are The Crisis continues to tell one of the most engrossing stories in the urban fantasy genre.

3.75. The second of three in the Convergence Saga and sequel to No Gods, No Monsters, We Are The Crisis is set a few years after the first book. In the first, the world comes to know that monsters exist. In this installment, the world is processing what that means, and the reactions vary from extrajudicial violence to solidarity movements to debates on legislating equal protections; Turnbull weaves in conversations about monsters and their place in society happening on the streets, in governance, and in families. Like it’s predecessor, We Are The Crisis has a large ensemble cast of characters and multiple plot lines (some of which eventually intersect), together constructing a large-scale narrative of a world reckoning with a new reality; some of the characters are familiar from book one, while others are new. This will not be a book for everyone — it in some ways reads more like literary fiction than anything, and it is entirely non-linear; at times it reads more like a series of vignettes than a single novel. As someone who enjoys novels like this (and television like this, really — the kind of narratives where the setting is akin to a character whose struggles are revealed through those of disparate characters) I really love this series. The only reason I’d rate this lower than the first book is because it does feel very ‘middle book’ — some threads come together but it doesn’t end in a conclusive way, so it has left me eagerly awaiting book three.

*Content warnings:* violence, murder, blood, hate crime

*Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for this review*.

I enjoyed this sequel more than the first book. There are still a lot of concepts, storylines, and timelines addressed in one book, and it is overall a lot.

I absolutely loved No Gods No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull and I was so excited to see a sequel to this world.

We Are The Crisis was just as amazing as the first book. The multiple characters, storylines, and universes are easier to separate in this book than in the first book and we (the reader) gets to really get to know these characters. There’s mystery, intrigue, and terror in each storyline and I couldn’t put the book down (I finished it in less than 48 hours).

These multiple storylines conclude in an epic finale. We Are The Crisis is a fantastic page-turner and I can’t recommend it enough.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

I've been waiting for the follow-up to No Gods No Monsters for so long, and it delivered on all fronts! As incisively intelligent and absorbingly engaging as the original, We Are the Crisis is exactly what a bridge book should be -- continues to build upon and sharpen the tension and events of the first, while leaving readers on the edge of their seats and hungry for more in anticipation of the epic conclusion of the storyline. A great read!

This was such a strong sequel to No Gods, No Monsters, it had everything that I enjoyed from the first book and improved on it. I was hooked from the first page and it had everything that I was looking for in this universe. The characters felt like they were suppose to and I enjoyed everything. It had everything that I wanted from Cadwell Turnbull’s writing and I’m glad I read this.

This premise was so unique, and I was really looking forward to reading it! Unfortunately it just fell a bit flat for me

We Are the Crisis by Cadwell Turnbull is a captivating journey through multiverses, skillfully intertwining character growth and rich world-building. The concept captured my attention, and though pacing wavered occasionally, the story's allure prevailed. It's always tough to navigate the second book in a trilogy or larger story arc to show character growth and discovery, while still leaving you needing/wanting more. A solid concept with interesting characters - eager to see what comes next in their story. Solid 3.5 stars, which we'll go ahead and round up for y'all 😉

No tears from me for this one, though I did get creepy chills from a couple of characters, which is always a plus!

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing for the advanced reader copy via NetGalley to review. Send more magical realism, plz and thank you.

DNF I could not get past 10 pages of this book maybe I’m too old for the grammar used? Not sure but will just say not for me. Thank you NetGalley for an advance ebook

I loved No Gods, No Monsters and was thrilled to be given the opportunity to read this book.
It has so much going on, I cannot wait for the conclusion in the the next book!

read if you are a fan of; chosen families, betrayal, supernatural, complicated stories

I just reviewed We Are the Crisis by Cadwell Turnbull. #WeAretheCrisis #NetGalley

The things I love most about this book and this series are the characters and the writing. So many issues are touched upon in this book. It's worth a read!
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my review.