The Stars Never Rise

"I understood that my future lay ahead, as uncertain-and possibly as shrouded in darkness-as the black expanse of badlands spread out before us."

4 STARS Damn, I was not expecting that. When I first saw The Stars Never Rise advertised on Goodreads, I thought "Oh, no, not this again, we've already been here a thousand times and none have ever been as wonderful as they claim to be." But I was completely, and happily, wrong. This book tackles extremely big hurdles, ranging from a dystopian government that is actually the Church, instigating all sorts of questions over church vs. state and how someone who does not hold faith could hope to survive in this world, to the low fantasy aspects in the magic of exorcisms. Though I would have liked a more scientific basis for the development on the exorcists, though we may get this in the next installment(s) of the series, I really enjoyed how Anathema worked together: they were a team and sometimes made a game out of such a dark task, but individuals were valued as well. The dynamic between them really brought me fully into the world I had felt very distanced from being agnostic myself. Another issue I wasn't too sure about was the Finn dilemma. I would have liked more information on how he came to be without a body and how he differs from the demons; could he be one who turned good, or a fallen angel of some sort, or something? Who knows. Also, I completely loved the fact that romance was not the main part of this book. What little of it there was seemed perfectly balanced with the rest of the novel, just a kiss or two here or there, and it was what was needed and not overwhelming as it is in so, so many of the books that are in this genre. It was also made doubly interesting that the boy Nina liked could be anyone because he doesn't have a body. I'm sure that'll play out in the next book. I think the best part was that Nina and almost all of the characters were highly sarcastic and were complete cynics regarding such a dark subject matter. When all these demons, skin drooping and puss coming out of their eyes, they're keeping tally for sodas. Because of the approachable writing style, it was easy to hook onto Nina and the gang, with maybe the exception of Devi, but even she had her moments. I'm highly looking forward to the sequel! Share your thoughts!