Book Review: "No Gods, No Monsters" by Cadwell Turnbull

 

 4/5 stars

*Spoiler alert!* 

No Gods, No Monsters is the first book in the “Convergence Saga” series. The “Convergence” being when the world discovers that monsters are real—werewolves, witches, dryads, etc. Because it is set in contemporary times, it feels like this could be our world, one in which the prejudice against marginalized peoples is doubled against those that come out as monsters within those communities.

 

“‘I’m sorry to do it this way, but I had to be safe,’” Melku explains. “‘I won’t waste any more time. Our collective’s mission is to support the solidarity movement. Often, that has meant supporting marginalized peoples. Some of you are part of the queer and trans community, like me. Many of the most valuable monsters are also a part of these communities, which is why redefining to include them is so important. In that spirit, I think we should extend our support to monsters since it is likely that they’re already in the movement but have chosen to remain silent.’” 

How does the world come to know that there are monsters? 

Laina wakes up one morning to discover that her estranged brother, Lincoln, was shot and killed by the Boston police. She leaks the video of this case of police brutality to the world, which shows Lincoln in werewolf form in death. She wants no one to forget her brother but finds herself shocked by what should be impossible, that her brother was a being out of mythology, of stories perhaps older than humanity itself.

 

Naturally, the Convergence unleashes chaos worldwide. However, the chaos is slow brewing, as some of humanity refuses to acknowledge the new reality in which myths have come to life and magic is real. Those that do split into a few camps, notably those who wish to secure civil rights for vulnerable monsters and those who wish monsters gone from the world.   

“Near Ridley, a man yells, ‘No Gods.’ 

‘No monsters,’ the crowd chants back. 

The chant is an evolution of an anarchist slogan: ‘No Gods, No Masters,’ the original version meaning no human above. It is a call against hierarchy. Ridley assumes the variation means no human above, no human below, or something like it. A call against hierarchy and discrimination.” 

Hate crimes are on the rise, protestors against these crimes clashing against counter-protestors that would rather not share their world with monsters. This book came out in 2021, so in the middle of the Trump years, in which systemic discrimination and its effects were worsened. Therefore, the message of the book is very clear and unflinching in its politics of human rights.

 

“As he walks with the crowd, he understands what he had forgotten: that a march is not just a voice against violence and trauma, but also a reminder that even in a cause that is stacked against them, no one is alone.” 

Of course, because monsters are real and magic is real, so too are other conspiratorial elements of our society, particularly secret societies with agendas of their own for the world. Agendas pro-monster, anti-monster, and pro-using-monsters-for-their-own-ends.  

I was skeptical of the inclusion of secret societies, and it put me off the story for a while, but Turnbull executes the concept well, weaving it in naturally with the rest of the narrative, a message about the implications of collective paranoia.

 

Overall, I found the story compelling and eerily close to our own reality, showing the dangers of engaging in compounding cycles of hate and paranoia and discrimination. The magical elements almost felt like a side-show, convenient metaphors to convey the author’s messages of acceptance and human rights. Almost.  

By the time you read this review, I will eagerly be reading the second volume in the series, We Are the Crisis.  

Happy reading! 

--BookOwl