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For all of you ignorant dweebs its time to show you what a real book looks like!
Because holy shit have we found one. I was reached out to by an old friend Elven-Ink to reread her book since it was finished. I read it, I commented, I get the feeling I may have touched a nerve so she became hesitant about this review, but its time to smash those hesitations and show what a review looks like!
I had reviewed Mask of Mirrors before in chapter 9 of this review book, and if I recall it was rated at a 4.5/5. I don't remember why I didn't give it a higher rating, but I think it may have been because I didn't know what the quality of the book would be later because authors will either get steadily better or decline in quality over the course of the story, and usually the latter. But now the story is finished, I read the whole thing in two days, I commented the shit out of it, discussed some things with her, and now will give you my full review of the book without spoiling... much. :P
TLDR; A philosophical debate on several modern day hot-topic issues wrapped in a nice fantasy box tied with a bow of werewolves, vampires, monsters, murder, spieing, lies, espionage, and lots and lots of juicy angst!
Main Character: To Smash or not to Smash, he will never know - If the Main Character (MC) can be described in a single word it is anxiety. Because holy shit from start to finish is like one perpetual, and well warranted, panic attack! I've never, in my memory, ever read a character who thinks, worries, frets, and just feels so much while purposefully shoving himself between the immovable object and the unstoppable force chapter after chapter. I almost wonder if the guy has a death wish, but he is just that big of a heart that he is constantly bleeding inside. His motivations are clear, his desires are crystal, his ambitions and flaws and strengths and everything you could ever want in a Main Character is presented flawlessly including the fact he is very proactive and tries to constantly take control of the situation, even to his detriment. He falls on his mistakes and his flaws, rather than them be ignored. He does have a shred of plot armor at times, as if he was anyone else, the person likely would be dead or alone multiple times over, but its a shred at most and well within the established 'rules' of the text without deviating from it. (Books very quickly tend to show how far they are willing to go when things go poor and there is always some acceptable deviation from reality in any story. Because without plot armor stories tend to end VERY quickly unless you have an endless supply of bodies to throw at it. AKA. Game of Thrones.)
SC: Smashing! - Every SC is worthy of being a MC in their own right. Each of them are worthy of their own seperate books and installments. Each of them are capable of carrying their own weight and keeping it interesting. Yet they are still SCs because they never really get a POV, which can be a little bit of a shame as they were easily worthy of ones, but it would also have hurt the story I feel by confusing who the MC is vs who the SCs are, because they are simply that good. There is a bit of... shall we say... role confusion? Multiple characters fulfil basically the same role or have unclear roles for most of the story, but their sheer personality, fun, depth of backstory, and strength of character more than make up for it as you don't confuse any of them after a few chapters of getting to know them. Their backstories affect the story in profound ways. Their views and believes cause glorious tension as they clash with the MC stuck in the middle, not just because they clash, but because of how well they are presented. As said this is a philosophical story and that is handled very well by the SCs as they have understandable viewpoints and offer their own inputs into the debate that the story presents. People are in pain, people hate, people fear, and each emotion is handled tactfully and with nuance, given all the time it needs to breath, and is shown in such a way that it is easily understandable why they are the way they are even when they clearly have taken wrong paths. Some you pity, some you don't, but you understand them and what they are trying to say. In a way the MC is nothing more than a mirror to all of the SCs. The MC almost doesn't exist except as a platform for the SCs to have that philosophical debate, it is so well done by them. At least until a bit towards the final acts when he develops a voice of his own against the rest rather than constantly bouncing between them trying to keep the peace, which is incredible growth.
