Read as part of CBR16 Bingo: cult. There is a commune at the center of this book that may-or-may-not be a cult. You’ll have to read to find out!
An interesting book that’s tough to rate but I’m glad I read it. Also glad for Book Bingos, Reading and Library Challenges that get me to get stuff off of my shelves that would otherwise sit there for years.
Shea Ernshaw has real talent. I was drawn into the world she wrote; being quite impressed with how she set the stage for everything. Starting off with an unlicensed investigator who may-or-may-not have supernatural psychic powers? Heck yeah, let’s go!
But after 40 pages, we get to the three POV characters who dominate the rest of the book and are the locus for examining the commune the investigator was investigating. And at first, it was interesting. The characters are well-written. But after a while, it got less interesting and then tedious as it became clear these three were all we were getting.
And it becomes clear why that is later in the book (can’t say without spoiling). But I don’t think it was worth it. By then, they had exhausted my curiosity and I was just eager to finish. The reveals were interesting but I think there’s a better book in there.
Still, I liked how Shea Ernshaw built the world and these people. It made me inclined to try another one of hers. I just hope she can write a story to match her stellar characterization.
