A review by booksny
Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Somewhat mixed feelings about this novel, though ultimately I think the pros outweighed the cons. Things I really enjoyed:
  • Creative worldbuilding
  • Adorable monsters
  • Strong resourceful protagonist
  • Engaging prose
Things which I struggled with
  • Some of the supporting characters - I really couldn't tell the difference between the voices of the two psychopomps
  • The pacing - I would've liked for more interaction to be had between Greta and Corvin at the dinner party (it felt like lost potential to have it just whizz past). I also couldn't get a sense of urgency with fixing the problems the heroes had at hand - no one else outside their group seemed to be affected by it, so it felt like it was all self-imposed deadlines to sort them out the way they did
  • The fluctuating level of competence - a couple of characters were lax in their duties for months. They otherwise seemed like earnest, responsible characters so I thought that there must be a magical reason for their carelessness but no, they were just separately irresponsible. It was especially baffling as
    one was the guardian of the city; how is it that no one in the city had called him out on his neglect or even cared?
    . I also didn't understand their strategy to
    take on Corvin's crew outnumbered when they were just waking up. Mind you, up until then, I'd also had the impression that Corvin's crew wasn't very skilled; I'm not certain how they suddenly became dangerous fighters, but given that the heroes had Corvin's second-in-command giving them valuable information, I can't see why they ended up misjudging the level of threat they were facing
    I was under the impression that a lot of the characters were well-connected and respected individuals, it puzzles me that they decided not to pull in more resources or personnel