Strange New World by Vivian Shaw Book Review
- Tabitha Tomala
- May 29
- 2 min read
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Strange New World Book Review
Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for providing me with a copy of this book! I voluntarily leave this review!
The title of this novel is quite the accurate one as the angels and demons try to navigate coexistence. There's a slight problem though, they are literally allergic to each other in Heaven and Hell. This hatches the idea of volunteering Greta on a road trip through America. Can angels and demons co-exist in the mortal realm? Both the demons and the angels select a candidate to be studied while on their trip. Does the premise sound bizarre? Yes, and Greta fully agrees it is, however, she and Varney embark on the journey together. But their research barely begins when supernaturals begin suffering horrible consequences from a new adversary. Greta and Varney will have to triage a whole host of creatures and figure out what in the world is going on.
The strange new world where demons and angels work together is a hard concept for some characters to understand. And the take Vivian Shaw has on why the demons fell from heaven is delightful, putting an intrinsic spin on an old tale. The difficulty in trying to understand new and evolving beliefs is explored, and there are grievous mistakes made along the way in gaining full understanding. But it all adds to the mystery and tension in the story.
And let's not pass up the fact that the angel and demon who were volunteered to travel with Greta are quite the team up of personalities. Orlax has the attitude of a teenager who would rather surf on their phone than do work. Whereas Adarial is anxious but eager to be a helpful angel trying to understand the modern world. After all, he was only created after the events of the previous novel. Both have parts to play in the reveal of mystery and take very different yet compelling journeys of self discovery.
Strange New World is a bit slower to develop than the previous novels but introduces new creatures and possibilities for the series. And it does not disappoint bringing humor and the theme of found family to the writing once again. There are cozy vibes, yet high stakes, and fans of the fantasy genre will love this series.
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