Ratings21
Average rating3.2
This was on my wishlist for so long! I recently saw it on a list of great ‘horror novellas,' so I decided to finally grab it for this spooky season. Such a cool cover and nice quality for a little hardcover novella.
Firstly, this story is very inventive. A dark and criminal world, the dark and criminal city of Elendhaven, the dark and criminal population, all of it read well for me. This is best labeled as a fantasy horror. There's world-building, magic, a sorcerer, an industrial-era-esque cityscape, an assassin/gutter rat, and a mage-hunter. I enjoyed the writing and also how the author presented the world. Whenever a story has swords/knives, magic, and firearms, my mind always goes directly to the Dishonored video game franchise. Which is a good thing, because I love Dishonored. Not to mention the dirty, back-alleyed hustle of the city. Definitely a hit for me.
Secondly, with this being a novella, the pace was fast. With that being said, I still kind of felt like it didn't exactly lead somewhere, there should have been more, or a more definite ending. I didn't dislike the way it ended, it just felt like it didn't exactly jive with where it was headed originally, but maybe that's the point...
Personally a 3.5/5*. Enjoyable, quick, spooky.