Salinee Goldenberg

I have to admit, I came close to not finishing this a few times in the first half the book. A flat, voiceless writing style at times combined with clumsy, anachronistic dialogue and a juvenile central character, did its absolute best to detract from the much better stuff in the book.

The book deals with a few things. Firstly it is a superficially monster hunter book, but in a world that draws heavily from Thai mythology and spiritualism. The core story though is a tale of a young man trying show more to meet his goal of ascending to a rare True Demon Hunter despite few believing in him, but in the end finding something much more precious to him than he expected - love.

I don't really mind romance in a story, but for it to be such a significant part of the book, there needs to be chemistry and characters I'm rooting to be together. Because the romance angle was forced in at such an early stage before any of the characters had even been fleshed out, it all felt contrived. Ex's juvenility and truly cringeworthy dialogue didn't help matters and in fact was one of the main factors that nearly ended the book at an early stage. Arinya as well feels like a acharacter the author didn't know what to do with. Her impending motherhood isn't dealt with strongly enough despite a unique angle and her martial arts background is added for little reason given how little it plays out.

What the book gets right is its use of the Phi and their interactions with a world moving on from and is reflective of our own reality's movement away from a spiritual culture. The Phi are magnificent here. Vivid descriptions, bright colours and each with a deep rooted character that put the main cast to shame. I could feel the author's genuine passion and knowledge for this shining through and it's a real joy to read these sections because of it. Plus it brings a new dimension to fantasy writing by bringing in a culture less commonly seen and I've taken value from the rabbit hole it sent me down outside of the book.

This could have been a classic epic for modern audiences, but weak characters, inconsistent writing (some contradictions are present that weren't picked up by editing teams), some of the most dire dialogue I've ever read and a fairly bland tone drown the book in mediocrity. Despite all this, it's refreshing to find an author willing to challenge the domination of western fantasies and highlight that other cultures are ripe for inspiring new worlds. show less

This is by far my favorite book of 2024! Salinee Goldenberg is an incredibly talented author! This book had everything you need want! Demons, loveable characters, a villan, forbidden love and adventure.

I loved that the demons are basted on demons from various folklore and of course I had to google each one. As I read I could picture the whole story in my mind and this only happens in truly exceptional books!

I hope you write more Salinee!