Synopsis:
The morning before he found the dead body, Jathan Algevin thought he had his whole life just the way he wanted it.
He knows his city inside and out, and doesn’t bother carrying a sword, trusting his wits and his fists well enough to get by, hustling extra coin by ratting out loathsome magi to the law for execution. He and his sister, Lyra, have watched out for each other ever since the day they were orphaned by a bloodthirsty rogue sorcerer, and now they finally have steady work, good friends, and the freedom to spend every night laughing at the bottom of a bottle. But nothing lasts forever.
When he stumbles across a brutal murder, Jathan discovers a strange crystal lens that opens his eyes to an invisible world of magick and terror lurking just beneath the surface of his own, making him question everything he thought he knew. But will gazing into this new arcane realm lead Jathan to save lives, or help destroy them?
With dangerous people hunting for the lens, monstrous lies unraveling his life, and a hidden underworld calling to him, it is only a matter of time before his whole world comes crashing down. Will he find the answers he is looking for, or will he only find a monster needing to be fed?
Review:
“Our secrets and lies are the monsters we feed.”
It’s a recurring theme throughout this book, one that has significant weight considering both Jathan and his sister, Lyra, are keeping secrets and lying to one another. Not in a malicious sense; they’re both trying to protect the other… But we all know how well that usually goes, and this story is no exception.
I have a bit of a soft spot for sibling stories of any kind, and I really enjoyed this one. Jathan and Lyra are relatively close, and they are all the family they have left in the world. But as with any two siblings, there are bound to be disagreements and fights along the way. Their relationship felt very authentic, and I especially liked the way the book ended, considering everything they went through.
While magick plays a significant role in this story, Jathan isn’t a mage, so he’s seeing it from the outside. Part of what makes this particular world so fascinating is the concept of magical residue left behind after magick is rendered, and how it can be traced back to its source. The lens Jathan finds (mentioned in the synopsis) allows him to see that residue. He becomes obsessed with that arcane realm and the lens is never out of his reach. Jathan’s unyielding desire to see more, learn more, and track more magi is the driving force behind this story, leading him down an ever darker path.
What I liked most about Jathan is that not only is he an unlikely hero, but some might even consider him a villain. He makes mistakes. He tries to redeem himself. He isn’t always successful in his plans, and sometimes he pays for it. He felt human.
There’s plenty of action in this book, between street brawls with local thugs, running from authorities, and avoiding a killer, but Jathan is also offered some down time now and then with his friends. It was a nice balance and gave the world a lived-in feel.
The Monsters We Feed is a standalone, and well worth checking out if you’d like to get a taste of the author’s world without committing to a whole series.
Side note: I read The Light of Kasaban, another of the author’s books, a few months ago. It’s set in the same world, and it goes into the magick itself and how it’s rendered. While The Monsters We Feed isn’t part of that same series, it was neat to see the magick from a would-be hunter’s perspective, rather than a mage’s (if you’re more interested in the how of this world’s magic rather than its after-effects, definitely pick up The Light of Kasaban. It’s an excellent read too.)
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