In a world that has just discovered the existence of monsters among its people, things have gotten complicated. With some monsters finally understanding that they're not alone and powerful interests trying to hide the truth, the world is not an easy place for anyone. No God, No Monsters follows many people through the history and present of how they have come to understand the world around them. With many stories but few answers, this book is a masterpiece about the human experience and otherness. The first book in the Convergence Saga; I cannot wait to read more from Cadwell Turnbull.

Urban fantasy creatively melds with social justice in Cadwell Turnbull's No Gods, No Monsters. An unarmed young man is shot in the streets by a police officer. Leaked footage from the officer's body camera is uploaded to social media. In those moments, time stands still as people look on in disbelief. Monsters do exist. Turnbull delivers diverse, well-developed characters and a carefully constructed world with humans, monsters, secret societies, and a social unrest that is so palpable it threatens to destroy it all. Recommended for fantasy readers and readers who enjoy discovering a new voice in the genre.

No Gods, No Monsters, focuses on monsters who live among us as our friends and families. The characters are complex and it doesnt shy away from sensitive topics such as police brutality.

The plot was completely new and thought-evoking and sweeps you in from the very start.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

I really enjoyed the world that the author created for this book. However, I found that the plot became a little muddled for me in the middle and lost its impetus. I probably should have done a closer reading, but I ended up losing the thread with the time shifts/alternate universe/character perspective and sometimes an omniscient observer.

Highly ambitious and written in intriguing prose, this novel lives and dies with whether or not it hooks you at the start, and that definitely won't be the case for everyone. The general concept, however ambitious, is really just a spin on a tired, overused allegory, yet this feels like a somewhat fresh take on it.

This is Cadwell Turnbull’s long awaiting sophomore novel and he was right, this is nothing like The Lesson . Turnbull has matured in his writing and you will know it once you start reading this book. This book was truly atmospheric, you could feel the fear of the characters leaping off the page. What I love is how Turnbull is able to write characters that while they are flawed, you cannot help but cheer for them. He spends a lot of time building out his character, to the point where you become invested and immerse in their experience.

So, this was a very ambitious book. And while I wasn't a fan, I give kudos to the author for his creativity and voice. I would say that my biggest issue with this story is the sheer amount of characters and the many threads that don't seem to go anywhere. When it starts, I felt like I could see where it was going and then it just went into an entirely different direction. I can see that some people would love this but I would have preferred something more cohesive to keep me engaged. I did like his writing style so for that I will say I'd be interested in reading something else by him in the future.

This book was great! I need more people to read it and fall in love like I did. I enjoyed this story tremendously.

In his debute novel, The Lesson, Cadwell Turnbull tells the story of an alien invasion and colonization of Earth, centered around his native U.S. Virgin Islands.

Rather than aliens from another planet, his second book, No Gods, No Monsters, features monsters who live among us as our friends, neighbors and even relatives. While ostensibly about the fantastical, the novel is grounded in reality with complex characters whose experiences touch on difficult but important issues like police violence, othering, and even fake news.

While the two books have different characters and storylines, Turnbull calls them “sister books.”

Aliens and monsters “are both versions of human fears manifested through these speculative elements,” Turnbull told me when I interviewed him on New Books in Science Fiction. “One is dealing with a threat from without, and one is dealing with a threat from within. And they both have similar thematic concerns.”

Among the topics we discuss in the episode are the human propensity to deny uncomfortable truths; the challenge of those with different beliefs accepting the same version of reality (even when reality is captured on video); how monsters can provide a window on intersectional marginalization; and how writing can be like solving a puzzle.

NO GODS, NO MONSTERS is a thoughtfully provocative look at science fiction and marginalized groups - whether Turnbull is discussing race, gender, sexuality, or monsters, this book makes me want to be more, be better. My only real complaint is that it is sold as a standard standalone, whereas I feel it makes more sense as an anthology of sorts.

Interesting in concept with intricate writing that is elegant and vivid with its expansive descriptions which add to world and character building. Having said that it requires an attentive reader or risk missing plot line details that can lead a reader astray and feel bewildered. This is a book that is best read slowly with patience and a well steeped tea,
Thank you to NetGalley, Caldwell Turnbull and the publishers for the advanced readers copy.

I honestly have to admit that this book left me feeling quite confused.

The first thing that you have to know, and this unfortunately didn't work for me at all, is that this book has dozens of POVs. The POVs change mid chapter, they also go from third person to first person within a paragraph. On top of that, we don't even know who the first person narrator is, at least not at the beginning.

I've never been more confused about POVs. The choice of narration makes it extremely difficult to follow the many plotlines. Since there's no central protagonist, it's really hard to connect to the characters, because one always just gets a glimpse of a character and then the POV changes again.

If this kind of narration is your cup of tea, you might have a different reading experience and I encourage you to check this book out because there were definitely other aspects that I enjoyed about it.

The conversations about racism are important, the parallels of discrimination that the monsters are facing pose an intriguing concept and there's a lot of queer representation including asexual and trans representation (I wasn't happy about the trans character's deadname being mentioned though).

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Published September 7th 2021.

content warnings: death, murder, violence, abuse parent, deadname (mentioned), guns, shooting

It was kind of difficult for me to fully get into this one. I was interested in the premise but I think I've been so mentally drained and it took more brainpower than I had to get past the first 20%.
Overall I think there were a bunch of different storylines and confusion about who the narrator was and how they were all connected (which could have very well been on my end).

DNF at 20%. I thought the premise of this one sounded really interesting but unfortunately it’s not keeping my attention. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free review copy.

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Blackstone publishing, for the chance to read and review this book!

When Laina gets the news that her brother was killed by cops, she thinks he's another case of police brutality, but nothing is what it seems. Soon enough she will see that monsters are real and, slowly, creatures from myths and legends begin to come out and looking for help. But from what? What is happening? Mysteries start to interwine, when a professor looking for a friend finds a secret society or when werewolves are threatened or when a boy with magical abilities asks for help. As people start to be pro and against monsters, with rallies and hate crimes, but the question is: what brought the monsters out of the shadows?

No gods, no monsters is a brilliant, evocative and really original book! Told by multiple POVs, the story is full of twists, complex and well written characters, while the author explores prejudices, hate, brutality, injustice. In a complex social commentary, Cadwell Turnbull talks about monsters, that are already in our society, mixing supernatural and mundane, using rich voices and brilliant characters. The writing style is immersive, evocative and it's impossible not to be involved in the story, to follow the characters, their journeys, struggles, positive and negative moments and so much more, making the readers wonder who are the real monsters and how to recognize them.

The first book in The Convergence Saga, No Gods, no Monsters is amazing, brilliantly written and unforgettable! I can't wait to know what will happen next!

a fantastic twist on monster lore, Cadwell has incredible voice and knows how to tell a compelling story. I look forward to the next installment in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley for blessing me with a fantastic audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This review is going to be fairly long, I have a lot of thoughts. There are A LOT of balls in the air in this book but firstly I want to praise the casual queerness, that always has my heart ❤️

It’s rich with werewolf’s and witches and parallel universes and secrecy societies, but at its core it’s about community. It’s pure social commentary: politics, marginalisation, complicit silence, the importance of unity, what it means to be human and deserve human rights.

The beginning of this book is incredibly intense. You’re thrown right in with no clue what’s happening BUT it works, because the characters have no clue what’s happening either, and that makes the panic and fear more real. The confusion feels completely purposeful and it’s masterfully done.

That being said, I don’t think this is going to be for everyone. It’s a very… different style of storytelling. Kind of Emily St John Mandel (whom I ADORE) meets Neil Gaiman: mosaic, half-character study, multiple seemingly tangential narratives continuously coming together in a “fuck I blinked and missed the point, let me go back” kind of way.

Which is to say, you have to pay attention and give it patience, but it’s worth it because the “point/s” are incredibly impactful once you get them. The writer leads you to most of them slowly (with lovely prose and metaphor) but the biggest messages are not subtle. Nor should they be, honestly.

(For those of you that have read and are moved to action, these websites are a good starting point: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ https://sayevery.name/take-action)

It’s a slow reveal of plot. It’s erratic shifts in tone and all over the place pacing, and some things <I>are</I> tangents (as far as I can tell) but that just makes it even more disarmingly creepy. Tense is a good word for how I felt for most of the first half. You’re purposefully lulled into a false sense of mundanity time and time again, only to realise it’s been sneaking up on you slowly. Sort’ve like that analogy of the frog boiling. After a few instances of that, I was on edge waiting for the next. (Which, now that I think about it, fits with his social commentary points in and of itself 😅. Cadwell you genius.)

One thing I will say is that there are A LOT of characters. And, given it jumps between POV/time/universe and many of them interact with each other briefly or hours down the line, it can get very confusing trying to keep them all straight in your head. Even still, I <i>cared</I> about all of the characters. Even those that were minor were so complex and were moving the story along.

Also, the ending was a little... odd. Don't expect resolution, although there is a climax and you witness the fallout etc., but I'm glad it's a series. I'll be devouring the next ones as soon as humanly possible.

oh my gawd what a wild ride. this book just jumps in & around from the get go. you're introduced to a lot of different characters & situations which can be really confusing but eventually things start to come together. i feel like i never completely knew what was going on or where anything was going but this was a case where i was okay with that. idk it's such a unique & cool story & world i enjoyed being confused lol. the writing is also really cool & pretty so many lines i am obsessed with. def interested in continuing the series

No Gods No Monsters is one of those books that you don't really know what you read, but your brain is saying you liked it. I may not have understood all of it, but it was a wild ride. I think if you try to understand this book and don't just go with the flow you will end up not liking it.

The endless perspectives were a lot to keep up with especially when you don't have alot of warning on when they change and who is who. I did really enjoy this book though. It was just so different than anything I had ever read before.

I love the plot and the characters. I loved the writing style and can't wait for book two.

No Gods, No Monsters is a really interesting, beautifully written book, which has a whole ton of inclusivity and diversity.

I loved the POVs of this novel, I loved how they intertwined with each other and rounded up as you continued reading on.

It’s fast paced, but also doesn’t throw you too deep in & has a wonderful blend of fantasy/supernatural elements. I think my only thing would be that the world building was a little less involved, and was extremely character driven.