Synopsis:
If jumping off a building to save a raccoon doesn’t kill Corbin Pierce then his next altruistic impulses just might.
Pierce, ex-Ivy League community college adjunct and environmental activist, has his hands full keeping the local spirit-creatures out of the hands of poachers while teaching his students about history they shouldn’t repeat. As if he didn’t already have enough on his plate, he and his new mentee-turned-apprentice discover the murder of a homeless man.
As one murder becomes two, Corbin suspects the involvement of The Hand, a secret cabal of high magicians. It won’t be his first conflict with them, but if he can’t find a way to stop them, it could well be the last.
Even worse, ancient spirits are waking to wreak havoc on the city as the bodies pile up. To end it all, Corbin must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice. If he doesn’t, the city and everyone he loves will be gone. Can Corbin take the final leap, knowing he might pay the ultimate price?
Review:
Let Sleeping Gods Lie is a thrilling urban fantasy with a neat magic system and a plump raccoon familiar that just enjoys cold french fries.
I must admit, contemporary urban fantasies are not my usual go to reads but this LSGL was a fun one, a fast read with a very intriguing basis in indigenous history. The story takes place in and around the Yale University campus and Schenkman uses the myths and legends of indigenous tribes, specifically the Quinnipiac. Centered around a sleeping giant god called Hobbomock. If you can glean from the title what the plot might include, then you’ve got the gist of this story. Plus there’s some deaths of homeless people in need of solving.
There are a bunch of characters we meet throughout this story but Corbin Pierce is our POV. He’s a magic user and sort of conservationist/inquisitor/professor/jaded dude who protects the Yale area from bad magic things™️. There’s Taylor the new guy who has magic so Corbin becomes his mentor, essentially the reader’s proxy for lore learning. Katie is another magic user who helps Corbin with a fun spy/theft scene in a museum. There’s the prim Alexander Hughes, a magic user who doesn’t like Corbin much and is part of a group called The Hand (cue mustache twirling). And finally, the best character, Scratch. Our plump raccoon who Corbin feeds french fries.
The magic system in this story is quite fun. Basically there is a sort of spirit realm that only magic users can see, and animals and other creatures inhabit this realm (very much based on indigenous myths). But magic users can also use their spirit or that of living objects to do things. They can’t make fireballs (as Corbin snarkily tells Taylor) but they can infuse their essence to get spirits to do some things, like getting Scratch to help during the aforementioned theft. I also really liked the fact that expending energy has consequences, like after the theft, Corbin is sick with the flu for a few days. It’s a very interesting magic system that isn’t bombastic (aside from the sleeping giant god of course).
The story isn’t terribly long and the pace is quite fast. The prose is solid. I liked Corbin as a POV but since it’s told via 1st POV, I wasn’t as deeply connected to him as I would’ve liked in such a POV style. I did like the multiple plot threads and how they came together in a thriller tropey way. I wouldn’t say the twists weren’t hard to spot, but they still hit exactly liked you’d want.
Let Sleeping Gods Lie was an enjoyable read, I’d highly recommend to those who enjoy urban fantasy or those who’d like more indigenous mythology in their lives!
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