This was an incredible mix of noir mystery and fantasy. The story hooked me immediately and the novella was the perfect length to tell such a profound story. The story grapples with good vs. evil and how this idea of opposites or opposing forces (with one group always labelled "good") is misleading. Because the "good" become equated with being infallible and therefore become more dangerous than the "evil" side. When you cannot speak out against evil because the entity doing the evil is apparently incorruptible than the evil will always perpetuate and grow and expand and destroy. Helen is such a likeable character. Full of spunk and honesty. How she lost her soul is so understandable that you can only sympathize with her plight. Her relationship with Edith is so endearing, the two supporting each other and pushing the other to do the right thing and see truth. I liked that their relationship was a juxtaposition of this fantasy world, in which we have a damned soul and an ethereal entity at odds but also working together. How we can mistake one for being wholly bad and one for being wholly good, each person or being can have a mix of both within themselves. There is no way to know motivations, impact, or decisions that someone may make in the haste of a single moment or in the face of tragedy. The book also shows the misogyny inherent in patriarchal societies and in "brotherhoods." This group meant to protect the world is full of men, as women are not deemed worthy (even when they exhibit more power). They also have no qualms with helping a being misuse young women, leaving them husks of who they used to be. At what point would they see their own hypocrisy when they say they are protecting? A thrilling novella with big oomph and a way of pushing a readers mind to truly think about ideologies and the root of good and evil.
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