The book is well written and the atmosphere of St Petroc is well set up at the start, with excellent descriptions.
The characters all have believable motivations, and the main characters are distinct in personality. The townspeople sometimes come across as a homogenized mass, but that works with the story that is being told. The scene where Kai and Kyle interact can be confusing with telling who is who if you read too quickly, the names are a little too similar, but it is only one short scene. The atmosphere of mystery around Morrigan is nicely added to by concealing even Morrigan's gender, which is done so well and subtly that I didn't realise until half way through.
The plot is original for the genre, and fits nicely into the modern setting, examining the effects of the current political climate on small towns, while showing the extremes people can be compelled to go to in order to save what they love, if a strong enough authority figure is leading them. It also deals well with the idea of peer pressure, and how people will go along with things in a group they would never consider doing alone. Occasionally there were moments that I felt were unnecessarily gory, but habitual readers of the genre would probably not be concerned.
All in all, a good read.
The characters all have believable motivations, and the main characters are distinct in personality. The townspeople sometimes come across as a homogenized mass, but that works with the story that is being told. The scene where Kai and Kyle interact can be confusing with telling who is who if you read too quickly, the names are a little too similar, but it is only one short scene. The atmosphere of mystery around Morrigan is nicely added to by concealing even Morrigan's gender, which is done so well and subtly that I didn't realise until half way through.
The plot is original for the genre, and fits nicely into the modern setting, examining the effects of the current political climate on small towns, while showing the extremes people can be compelled to go to in order to save what they love, if a strong enough authority figure is leading them. It also deals well with the idea of peer pressure, and how people will go along with things in a group they would never consider doing alone. Occasionally there were moments that I felt were unnecessarily gory, but habitual readers of the genre would probably not be concerned.
All in all, a good read.