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Grimm
Cyrus Grimm, the living embodiment of death, has watched over our world for countless eons. He's seen everything there is to see; or at least he thought he had. But after a chance encounter with someone still among the living, and a weapon able to pierce the barrier between the living and the dead, he's not so sure. Faced with the truth of his own mortality he must make a choice. Break the ancient laws that govern his vigil, or watch from safety as the world he has watched over for so long, burns!
313 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 23, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 29, 2024
John Rivers’ Grimm melds together lore and mythology to create an intense world and intricate plot. The story centers around Cyrus Grimm, the living embodiment of death, a being whose sole purpose is to take souls between the worlds of the living and the dead. For eons he’s been content to do his duty, no questions asked. That is, until something entirely unique occurs. A living woman, in her moment of peril, sees him. Cyrus then sets out on a mission to rescue this woman, not realizing that the plot he is about to unravel is far more twisted than he ever imagined.
This book fuses together many tropes and ideas, checking off various boxes, with a godlike character having to learn to interact with humans and a mystery that just keeps getting deeper and deeper. I applaud the author for his cohesive combination of so many different ideas from mythologies and fables across human history. After all, death spans across all cultures. I enjoyed seeing the different integrations of these bits of lore. I also appreciate the Rivers’ writing style and structure. It made the novel very easy to read and follow along with.
“Man had conquered nature and therefore needed something else to combat. What better opponent than one’s self?”
While the novel had a lot of highlight-able quotes that I really enjoyed, I’d have to say my biggest issue with it was the dialog. Oftentimes it came off rather stiff and almost juvenile, throwing me out of the story when the dialog didn’t seem to match up with its characters. The story also heavily relies on dialog as a crutch for expositional dumps. I found issue with some of the “high stake” moments throughout as well. Many times finding the solution seemed much too easy, hardly a struggle, which leads to the stakes feeling rather low and the story rushed. The book is rooted in a good idea, but it’s dragged down by rushing the plot and important moments. It honestly could be broken up into more books to really add more detail.
My favorite part of the book came towards the ending. While the middle of the story was often winding, the ending wrapped up into a nice full circle. I also found the twists and turns in the plot quite entertaining. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery, twisted plot, and the god-walking-among-humans trope. I think it was written on a really good idea, and while the execution wasn’t perfect, it still managed to be enjoyable.
This book fuses together many tropes and ideas, checking off various boxes, with a godlike character having to learn to interact with humans and a mystery that just keeps getting deeper and deeper. I applaud the author for his cohesive combination of so many different ideas from mythologies and fables across human history. After all, death spans across all cultures. I enjoyed seeing the different integrations of these bits of lore. I also appreciate the Rivers’ writing style and structure. It made the novel very easy to read and follow along with.
“Man had conquered nature and therefore needed something else to combat. What better opponent than one’s self?”
While the novel had a lot of highlight-able quotes that I really enjoyed, I’d have to say my biggest issue with it was the dialog. Oftentimes it came off rather stiff and almost juvenile, throwing me out of the story when the dialog didn’t seem to match up with its characters. The story also heavily relies on dialog as a crutch for expositional dumps. I found issue with some of the “high stake” moments throughout as well. Many times finding the solution seemed much too easy, hardly a struggle, which leads to the stakes feeling rather low and the story rushed. The book is rooted in a good idea, but it’s dragged down by rushing the plot and important moments. It honestly could be broken up into more books to really add more detail.
My favorite part of the book came towards the ending. While the middle of the story was often winding, the ending wrapped up into a nice full circle. I also found the twists and turns in the plot quite entertaining. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery, twisted plot, and the god-walking-among-humans trope. I think it was written on a really good idea, and while the execution wasn’t perfect, it still managed to be enjoyable.
May 21, 2022
Unique and action packed! I appreciated the book's carefully-conceived and thoroughly explained context. The story unfurled at a rapid pace. I slowly built empathy with the main characters, and once I did, the climax was stunning.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews