The Crooked Letter (Books of the Cataclysm, #1)

Interesting and ambitious ideas betrayed by lazy, sloppy writing and execution.

There's a lot I want to like about this book. I am usually a sucker for what I think of as “Alice In Wonderland” type books – ones where a protagonist is thrust into a world the rules of which they don't comprehend. You know the type – Gaiman's Neverwhere is the one that springs to mind, but there are scores of examples across all kinds of media. That's what this is. Unfortunately, it's a big letdown.

The Crooked Letter is the first entry in Sean Williams' series and concerns itself with Hadrian and Seth, a pair of “mirror twins,” or twins who are reflections of each other, right down to one of them having his heart on the wrong side of his chest. They are, of course, special and distinct from other twins, because blah blah blah plot device. (I have never heard of “mirror twins” and I assume the author made up the concept but I haven't bothered to check.) The book splits time between their perspectives as they attempt to stop the world from being completely destroyed.

Almost immediately, although I don't think it was intended, we learn to hate the protagonists, because both of them are irritating, whiny, immature babies. Along the way we meet a wide cast of otherworldly characters, whose primary functions are generally either to attempt to kill one of the protagonists or to keep other characters from doing so.

In classic bad book trope fashion, our would-be heroes “just know” things with alarming frequency. Sometimes events transpire the apparent importance of which is underscored via repeated references, yet are then not explored. Entire characters are introduced to no apparent purpose beyond cryptic mutterings. The climax contains a deus ex machina most notable for its blatancy. All of this is packaged in uninspired prose.

I really can't recommend this and don't intend to continue the series. Two stars for the strength of the ideas that do work.