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typedtruths 's review for:
The Diabolic
by S.J. Kincaid
The Diabolic was very much a mixed bag for me. I went into this book with no idea what I was about to read. I did not know it a sci-fi or set in space. I didn’t even know that it was only going to be a standalone! If I did know those things, I honestly would have been a lot more hesitant picking it up. Space and Rachel are not a good mix... which is probably why I have been struggling to write this review ever since. Is my dislike of spacey stuff affecting my enjoyment of this novel too much? I don’t know because I did really love some aspects of this story and really, really didn’t like some others.
My biggest problem was probably the fact that the first 45% of this story was horrendously slow-paced and poorly developed. I struggled to get into this story. However, the plotline took some really exciting and unexpected directions the more it progressed - and I did enjoy seeing how everything play out - so I know that if the story had maintained the pacing of the second-half throughout the entire story, I would have enjoyed the book a whole lot more. The romantic subplot was okay; I certainly did not dislike it outright but it was not exactly my cup of tea and my problems with Tyrus (expanded more in a sec) did stop me from getting entirely invested in their relationship. My absolute favourite part of this, however, was entirely to do with the ending. It was sooo intense and clever! The pacing was on point and I liked that we got an ending perfectly balanced between satisfying and open. I thought that raised the overall standard of the book a decent notch upwards.
Nemesis was an interesting character and I definitely enjoyed seeing her development across the story. For some reason, a lot of the sci-fi books I’ve been reading lately have had themes discussing the definition of humanity and I’ve decided I really like it as a trope. It led to some really fascinating inner monologues, and I thought Nemesis’ struggle to accept this core fact of her existence was handled very well indeed. My problem was that the rest of the cast - and even Nemesis to a certain extent - were not particularly likeable. I really wanted to love Tyrus but I was so busy figuring out whether we could trust him or not that I never came to care for him to the extent I would have liked. I did appreciate that he was a complex and well-written character as a whole, and he truly was very clever, but… I don’t know, I’d have liked something more? I also really disliked the Emperor. He was so bland! For such an evil tyrant, he really had no personality. I wanted to be terrified of him or utterly revolted by his actions but he was written too mildly to evoke such strong feelings from me.
Excluding the medibots, the sci-fi elements, particularly all of the space stuff, seemed to be as realistic as possible. But as much as I appreciated that, I did find the world-building lacking as a whole. I hated being confused by the political situation, especially in the first half. I did like that it focused on a world obsessed with religion which simultaneously shunned scientific advancements. As scary as it is, the situation in America at the moment has highlighted how ignorant so many people in our society are… and that a world like this is not nearly as far away as we’d like to believe. The discussions that the conduct of this society raised definitely piqued my interest, despite the confusing nature of the fictional religion.
Overall?
The epic ending and the clever use of contemporary issues in a fictional world was impressive. I did - mostly - enjoy our protagonist, Nemesis, and the uniqueness of the world. However, I did not enjoy the secondary cast much at all and that really stopped me from emotionally engaging in the story. I also really struggled to make it past the 45% mark. The poor pacing and confusing world-building during this beginning was incredibly off-putting. I wish that the epicness of the ending could have been consistent throughout the entire book but I do still recommend it to die-hard sci-fi fans.
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.
My biggest problem was probably the fact that the first 45% of this story was horrendously slow-paced and poorly developed. I struggled to get into this story. However, the plotline took some really exciting and unexpected directions the more it progressed - and I did enjoy seeing how everything play out - so I know that if the story had maintained the pacing of the second-half throughout the entire story, I would have enjoyed the book a whole lot more. The romantic subplot was okay; I certainly did not dislike it outright but it was not exactly my cup of tea and my problems with Tyrus (expanded more in a sec) did stop me from getting entirely invested in their relationship. My absolute favourite part of this, however, was entirely to do with the ending. It was sooo intense and clever! The pacing was on point and I liked that we got an ending perfectly balanced between satisfying and open. I thought that raised the overall standard of the book a decent notch upwards.
Nemesis was an interesting character and I definitely enjoyed seeing her development across the story. For some reason, a lot of the sci-fi books I’ve been reading lately have had themes discussing the definition of humanity and I’ve decided I really like it as a trope. It led to some really fascinating inner monologues, and I thought Nemesis’ struggle to accept this core fact of her existence was handled very well indeed. My problem was that the rest of the cast - and even Nemesis to a certain extent - were not particularly likeable. I really wanted to love Tyrus but I was so busy figuring out whether we could trust him or not that I never came to care for him to the extent I would have liked. I did appreciate that he was a complex and well-written character as a whole, and he truly was very clever, but… I don’t know, I’d have liked something more? I also really disliked the Emperor. He was so bland! For such an evil tyrant, he really had no personality. I wanted to be terrified of him or utterly revolted by his actions but he was written too mildly to evoke such strong feelings from me.
Excluding the medibots, the sci-fi elements, particularly all of the space stuff, seemed to be as realistic as possible. But as much as I appreciated that, I did find the world-building lacking as a whole. I hated being confused by the political situation, especially in the first half. I did like that it focused on a world obsessed with religion which simultaneously shunned scientific advancements. As scary as it is, the situation in America at the moment has highlighted how ignorant so many people in our society are… and that a world like this is not nearly as far away as we’d like to believe. The discussions that the conduct of this society raised definitely piqued my interest, despite the confusing nature of the fictional religion.
Overall?
The epic ending and the clever use of contemporary issues in a fictional world was impressive. I did - mostly - enjoy our protagonist, Nemesis, and the uniqueness of the world. However, I did not enjoy the secondary cast much at all and that really stopped me from emotionally engaging in the story. I also really struggled to make it past the 45% mark. The poor pacing and confusing world-building during this beginning was incredibly off-putting. I wish that the epicness of the ending could have been consistent throughout the entire book but I do still recommend it to die-hard sci-fi fans.
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.