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tshepiso 's review for:
The Descent of Monsters
by Neon Yang
adventurous
dark
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Read 2: May 11th, 2021
Wow. My feelings about The Descent of Monsters have completely changed upon reread. I guess it goes to show just how much expectation plays into how you receive a book.
I would say my biggest disagreement with my previous review was my take on how Yang utilized epistolary formatting. Upon reread I was able to appreciate how Yang crafted an epistolary story. Yang did a great job utilizing letters, case files, and diary entries to convey the story. I especially appreciated Yang's intentionality in telling the audience when, where, and why characters were writing certain information down. Doing so grounded what can often feel silly, writing diary entries mid-action, into the reality of the world. I also liked the reflective tone often carried with the diary entries. Yang fully leaned into the benefit of this style of story and it added texture to the story and depth to the character.
The characters were reasonably well-wrought throughout the tale. I likely struggled to connect with the protagonist, Sariman, previously because of my attachment to other characters in the series, but on her own terms, she was a fun character to follow. Sariman wasn't the most fleshed-out character out there—there wasn't the page count to accommodate that—but I got a strong sense of her personality and motivations throughout the story. I even got a kick out of the neo-noir tinge of her diary entries after she went rogue. That touch of corniness gave an added layer of charm to her. By the end of the novella I was fully invested in seeing her finally catch a break and get a win.
What held me back from appreciating The Descent of Monsters for what it was on my initial read was the mismatch of my expectations of the story and its reality. It was probably unfair of me to judge the story on what I wanted it to be rather than what it was. When I removed those layers of expectation I found a good story lying underneath.
Read 1: October 29th, 2020
2.5 stars
I hate to give The Descent of Monsters 2.5 stars, but, if I'm being honest, the structure and focus of the Tensorate series have been increasingly disappointing. What I find frustrating about the series as it continues is that a grander overarching narrative is happening exclusively behind the scenes of the narrative. While it’s unfair to judge a series not on its own merits but what you want from it, I can't deny a lot of my love for The Black Tides of Heaven came from what seemed to be set up for an epic battle between a fascinating tyrant and an exciting rebellion. My disappointment comes from the sporadic and disconnected reality of the series.
This instalment follows a tensor detective, Chuwan Sariman, uncovering the truth behind the gruesome slaughter of a shady group of scientists and who in the Tensorate is covering it up. Told in interview format we see the unfolding of this mystery and how it connects with the past of Rider, the Qartarlandish naga rider introduced to us in the previous instalment The Red Threads of Fortune.
Outside of my disappointment at the focus of this novella, I found the storytelling itself to be uncompelling. The interview format of the storytelling made it hard to connect with our narrator Sariman. Interview formats often leave a lot to be desired on my part in terms of characterization through internal monologue. While Yang attempts to compensate for it through diary entries I never felt in Chuwan’s perspective enough to care about her. I also found it hard to be engaged in the story itself because the action happened in the fictive past. The nature of an interview format is that all the action in a story is narrated to the audience and because of that I never felt in the action of the story.
Don’t get me wrong I still adored some of the world-building introduced in this instalment. Yang has managed to create a lush and unique setting with interesting elements around every corner. But, I failed to care that much about it in the end because the style and focus of this instalment were personally unengaging. I still fully intend to finish off the Tensorate series, even if it's been disappointing as of late because I do still care about the story and world overall.
Wow. My feelings about The Descent of Monsters have completely changed upon reread. I guess it goes to show just how much expectation plays into how you receive a book.
I would say my biggest disagreement with my previous review was my take on how Yang utilized epistolary formatting. Upon reread I was able to appreciate how Yang crafted an epistolary story. Yang did a great job utilizing letters, case files, and diary entries to convey the story. I especially appreciated Yang's intentionality in telling the audience when, where, and why characters were writing certain information down. Doing so grounded what can often feel silly, writing diary entries mid-action, into the reality of the world. I also liked the reflective tone often carried with the diary entries. Yang fully leaned into the benefit of this style of story and it added texture to the story and depth to the character.
The characters were reasonably well-wrought throughout the tale. I likely struggled to connect with the protagonist, Sariman, previously because of my attachment to other characters in the series, but on her own terms, she was a fun character to follow. Sariman wasn't the most fleshed-out character out there—there wasn't the page count to accommodate that—but I got a strong sense of her personality and motivations throughout the story. I even got a kick out of the neo-noir tinge of her diary entries after she went rogue. That touch of corniness gave an added layer of charm to her. By the end of the novella I was fully invested in seeing her finally catch a break and get a win.
What held me back from appreciating The Descent of Monsters for what it was on my initial read was the mismatch of my expectations of the story and its reality. It was probably unfair of me to judge the story on what I wanted it to be rather than what it was. When I removed those layers of expectation I found a good story lying underneath.
Read 1: October 29th, 2020
2.5 stars
I hate to give The Descent of Monsters 2.5 stars, but, if I'm being honest, the structure and focus of the Tensorate series have been increasingly disappointing. What I find frustrating about the series as it continues is that a grander overarching narrative is happening exclusively behind the scenes of the narrative. While it’s unfair to judge a series not on its own merits but what you want from it, I can't deny a lot of my love for The Black Tides of Heaven came from what seemed to be set up for an epic battle between a fascinating tyrant and an exciting rebellion. My disappointment comes from the sporadic and disconnected reality of the series.
This instalment follows a tensor detective, Chuwan Sariman, uncovering the truth behind the gruesome slaughter of a shady group of scientists and who in the Tensorate is covering it up. Told in interview format we see the unfolding of this mystery and how it connects with the past of Rider, the Qartarlandish naga rider introduced to us in the previous instalment The Red Threads of Fortune.
Outside of my disappointment at the focus of this novella, I found the storytelling itself to be uncompelling. The interview format of the storytelling made it hard to connect with our narrator Sariman. Interview formats often leave a lot to be desired on my part in terms of characterization through internal monologue. While Yang attempts to compensate for it through diary entries I never felt in Chuwan’s perspective enough to care about her. I also found it hard to be engaged in the story itself because the action happened in the fictive past. The nature of an interview format is that all the action in a story is narrated to the audience and because of that I never felt in the action of the story.
Don’t get me wrong I still adored some of the world-building introduced in this instalment. Yang has managed to create a lush and unique setting with interesting elements around every corner. But, I failed to care that much about it in the end because the style and focus of this instalment were personally unengaging. I still fully intend to finish off the Tensorate series, even if it's been disappointing as of late because I do still care about the story and world overall.