Del Rey
Hardcover. 478 pages.
Enter Duncan Silver. Scarred by the war, fueled by a rage deeper than the trenches in which he once fought, Duncan is determined to show the Huldu that the world is not theirs for the taking. Armed with a cut-down trench gun filled with iron shot and a deadly iron knife, Duncan will stop at nothing to return the children the Huldu have stolen from the arms of their families. No matter how many Huldu he may have to slaughter along the way.
But when he is hired by a mother to return her four-year-old daughter, Miriam ‒ taken by the Huldu six months past and replaced with a Changeling ‒ all hell breaks loose. Miriam is a pawn in a much bigger game for dominance than Duncan ever expected, and several long-buried secrets from his past are about to be violently resurrected."
In No Man's Land, we follow Duncan Silver as he gets pulled into a case that quickly becomes more complicated--and more dangerous--than it initially seems (isn't that always the case?), which forces him to navigate both the human and Fae parts of this gritty setting. I had a fun time with No Man's Land, though I did have a few mixed feelings here and there. It reminded me a lot of that gritty, urban fantasy style story, and while I don't think it's going to be for everyone, I think it will absolutely find its audience and do well there.
What I liked: Duncan Silver really is an interesting protagonist. He's not always likable, but he's not exactly horribly unlikable either, which made him easy enough to follow and become invested in throughout this story. He's very much a morally grey figure, and I appreciated how Morgan crafted these qualities in him. The worldbuilding was also a strong point in this one, and I find it to be immersive, bleak, gritty, and satisfying detailed, all of which left me feeling content. I think Morgan does a good job of crafting this tale in a way that keeps the reader engaged and curious about what's to come, as it's never entirely clear, and I also liked how not everything felt fully explained or neatly define, which added to the atmosphere.
What I didn't like: The pacing was a bit uneven. At times, things moved very quickly and I found it easy to keep flipping the pages, but other sections felt considerably slower and dragged a bit in certain areas. That inconsistency made it a little harder to stay fully engaged throughout, but didn't take away too much from the story overall for me. I also wanted to note that I've seen a lot of reviews that are unhappy with the amount of sex and the ways women are described in this one, and I think if that's something that might bother you, then definitely take that into consideration. I found that although some were a bit excessive and I was not a fan of how Morgan described various sexual acts and the like, I did think they fit Duncan's character well and the overall vibe of the story, so it didn't necessarily feel out of place... but definitely not for everyone. There were many moments in this book that really worked for me and others that I struggled with a bit more, but overall I enjoyed the world and following Duncan through everything he was dealing with.
*I received a copy of No Man's Land courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating or enjoyment.*
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