Come, gather around, humans, for a captivating tale awaits. The Shadows invite you to journey into their world, where magic reigns supreme and the impossible becomes reality. Let your imagination run wild as they share their inhuman experiences, offering a non-human outlook on life and a moral code that will challenge your understanding of what it means to be a monster.
Through their eyes, you will see a world so distant from your own, it seems like a dream - a world of demons, strange rules, and peculiar places. The Shadows will guide you on a journey that will leave you wondering, contemplating, and even questioning the very fabric of reality.
But fear not, for you are in good hands. Sit back, relax, and allow your mind to fall into this enchanting world, where you might stumble upon your wildest dreams or your worst nightmares. The Shadows have a great story to share, one that will transport you to a place where science meets magic, and the impossible becomes possible. So listen well, and let the magic of their tale take you on a wondrous adventure.
I have had a passion for books, as long as I can remember. And just as naturally, as this passion came to me, I had a passion for writing for just as long. Writing and reading were like two sides of a coin for me. I could stick my nose for hours into a good book. And I loved creating my own stories and worlds just as much. I could never stop reading, nor could I ever stop writing.
There a so many unique ideas compact in each page of this book. The world building is detailed, sometimes too detailed i think. The thing is I wish I could experience some slice of this huge world via a story that showed me things. For example the story behind those less than 5 shadows that were killed by non-demons. Or story of Ggal. I loved the link between god and destiny and praying. The invention of religions was very interesting.
4 Stars Stars Disclaimer: Please remember that these are my opinions and if you feel differently, that’s okay. Thanks!
Notes: POV = 1st person, group of five demons Characters: Five Shadows are writing this book for us, together. Like a group project. I found them a bit funny, every time they said they’d ‘just kill us’, I giggled a little. They were also quite condescending.
I feel like I’m being talked down to. At the same time, some parts of it are really confusing. So, combined with the condescension, I do feel stupid. Seriously, at one point the Shadows make sure to clarify for me (unprompted) that living natural phenomena are natural phenomena that are living beings… You don’t say? I didn’t realise that, thank you for spelling it out for me. They also tell me three times the definition of uncivilated vs civilated. Three. Times.
This one I can let go, though, because it is later explained to me. Because of that, it ends up becoming an odd mix of complicated things that aren’t explained enough for me and simple things that are spelled out when it should be the other way around.
Plot/Story: In the beginning, there was only nothing. Inside that nothing, there was one single being: Life. Life projected itself and created life. With life came the Shadows, Destiny (who controls the big events of your life but you create the path there); Destiny creates the worlds in the worldverse, Wind, races, gods for each world, etc. The Shadows are in charge of making sure that no laws of light and darkness are broken. This is the simplest way I can put the very, very basics. We learn about the basics, different beings, dimensions, the “First World”, specific other worlds, demon summoning, and so on. The lesson learned here to to enjoy life.
It’s incredibly interesting and incredibly confusing. I’m going to talk about what I liked first. It feels like a history lesson, and I really enjoyed that. It felt like I was learning something, even though this is fiction. I enjoyed the story, the concept, and this version of the beginning of Life. It can be confusing and I highly recommend you read aloud. I read it aloud to my coworker and it helped me keep things straight. I also recommend you to take breaks in between the things that are difficult to wrap your mind around because with a little bit of time, it makes a lot of sense. For example, I took a break after the main three dimensions of a single world in the worldverse were explained because the second dimension threw me for a loop since they got so distracted talking about Black Reflections and when I went back, I was pretty sure I understood it.
I immensely enjoyed how much this book made me think. I love books that are just vibes and no thoughts, don’t get me wrong… but I really enjoyed the world building here.
General: I’ll also say that the author is in one of my book clubs so I’m so glad that I can ask her clarifying questions. Which I will do when I’m finished but I want to write this review with only the information that a regular reader would have.
Problems: I have two big problems, though. The first is the condescension explained above in ‘characters’.
The second is the run-on sentences in combination with the spelling/grammatical errors. I mean, it was either done on purpose or I was accidentally sent an unedited version, I swear. Examples: I actually stopped making notes because it was too much. I just started reading it and correcting as I went so that I didn’t get confused.
Overall: It’s incredibly thorough and you can see, hear, and speak (in my case) the thought*wink* that went into this. It’s gorgeous and very impressive. It honestly felt like the five Shadows who wrote this book were talking to me and getting a little exasperated having to explain things that they just innately know, and I loved the feeling of immersion that created for me.