Fractions of Existence (Existence, #1) in The Insecure Writer's Support Group Book Club

Jan 17, 2023 Ronel Janse van Vuuren rated it really liked it

Shelves: a-z-f, books-that-should-have-a-trigger-wa, speculative-fiction, mythology, urban-fantasy, magic, iwsg-member-book, book-club, natural-disasters, tbr-2023-challenge

I liked the opening: Xavier sniffing everyone on a crowded Manhattan street. LOL.

“Quiet, hiding, broody people were always suspects. Attractive, well-mannered, charming people could easily distract others.” Though this is meant to protect those of the Existence, I think it rings true for most villains, too.

I like that the spiral on the cover is the tattoo on the faces of their enemies. I would have liked to know more about why they are hunting the Existence, even though Xavier’s scars and some f I liked the opening: Xavier sniffing everyone on a crowded Manhattan street. LOL.

“Quiet, hiding, broody people were always suspects. Attractive, well-mannered, charming people could easily distract others.” Though this is meant to protect those of the Existence, I think it rings true for most villains, too.

I like that the spiral on the cover is the tattoo on the faces of their enemies. I would have liked to know more about why they are hunting the Existence, even though Xavier’s scars and some flashbacks show that they are serious.

This book is a bit difficult to shelve in a specific genre… I’d say that if you enjoyed “Avatar: The Last Airbender” with its manipulation of different elements and different benders coming together to protect the world, you’ll like the elemental magic in this book. Though it’s definitely urban fantasy, has elemental magic users who were revered as deities at some point, tattooed adversaries out to destroy them, and has some spectacular actions scenes when these two groups clashed, it’s hard to compare it with other books out there. It has an ensemble cast with more than one POV MC – like Rick Riordan’s “Heroes of Olympus” series, but without specific chapters dedicated to one POV: you go seamlessly from one character to another in the same scene (much like in a movie) and they all make the MC together. As they call themselves the Existence, I believe this is the author’s way to show that they only truly function properly as a unit – a stylistic choice that works with the pacing of the book. The book has a bit of a literary bend as the journey of the characters is more important than some big plot goal. Literary Urban Fantasy?

Wend’s life couldn’t be more different to that of Xavier, Heath and Jez’s. She’s a poor, pious Mormon – and they have drug and alcohol fuelled parties (orgies?) in their expensive Manhattan apartments. And she has no idea that she has magic – even though the wind reacts to her emotions.

What bothered me about Wend’s life (besides her younger sister invading her privacy by reading her diary) is the fact that she has no agency: she allows others to decide how her life should go (her mother and younger sister not liking her clothes and dressing her in her mother’s clothes; her father arranging her marriage to a man twice her age). Wend’s also a bit fickle – which probably had always been her nature as Caleb says at one point that she is as fickle as ever.

What bothered me about the others’ lifestyle choice was the emptiness of drugs, alcohol and meaningless sex. Oh, they have their moments of being kind and thoughtful, but for the most part they are lost.

All which to say, they have plenty of growth to go through in the rest of the series.

There are some typos (mostly missing words) in later chapters, but not a big issue.

The way their powers work, the flashbacks Wend gets from past lives –and then that ending! I need to read the next book right now.

A trigger-warning I would add to the author’s blurb is that some parts might be unsettling for readers with emetophobia as Wend is prone to vomiting.

I think I know how to recommend this book: The elemental magic and friendship of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” with mature themes and a literary bend that shows that true love can survive clashing cultures, past mistakes, and travelling across a country.
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Aug 25, 2023 Sherry Ellis rated it really liked it

In this first installment of the Existence series, readers meet god-like characters who seek each other in order to defend humans against a religious sect called The Eyes in the Shadows. Xavier, one of these "super-humans" is trying to unite with Gwendolyn, his lost love. Trouble is, she doesn't remember her past and is set to marry someone her father has chosen.

There's a lot to take in as the stage is set. Many questions remain unanswered—like why are the Eyes in the Shadows after them? Who exa ...more

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Jan 31, 2023 Toi Thomas rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, rated, adult, reviewed, diverse-characters, romance

Updated 2/28/23

-Original post-
I started this book in Jan of 2023 but stopped reading it after chapter 7. This isn't because I didn't like the book. I plan to go back and finish this book at some point (that's why it's still on my want-to-read list), but I'm not going to do so now and will not leave a rating without giving the book proper attention. Even though I read through chapter 7, I was mostly reading out of obligation to my book club and that's not fair to the author or anyone who may read Updated 2/28/23

-Original post-
I started this book in Jan of 2023 but stopped reading it after chapter 7. This isn't because I didn't like the book. I plan to go back and finish this book at some point (that's why it's still on my want-to-read list), but I'm not going to do so now and will not leave a rating without giving the book proper attention. Even though I read through chapter 7, I was mostly reading out of obligation to my book club and that's not fair to the author or anyone who may read my review at some point down the road. I decided to stop and put the book away for a while so that I could come back to it with fresh eyes; hopefully at a time when I'm in a better mental space. I've heard good things about the book and want to be in the right place to really decide if I do or don't like it.

-Updated review-
This is a tough book to review. There are many elements of the story I adore. There are some elements of the story that don't do much for me, and there are some elements I just didn't like. To me, this book reads like a YA novel but the characters are adults. I suppose this could be a New Adult book, but I'm not sure of that either. These are not two genres that I read a lot, so my experience may be marred simply because of my personal issues with the genre and not the story itself.

Overall, I love the concept of the story and the fantasy attributes of the characters. I'm interested in knowing where this is all going and what ultimately happens to this world. However, I don't really like any of the characters. It's possible there is an element of mental illness that is being subtly addressed but if so, I wish it was more clear. It's difficult to get a handle on whether I'm supposed to like or dislike these characters because they all seem to be gaslighting me. There are many contradictions in what characters say, do, and mean, from scene to scene.

The mature sexual content didn't really work for me. I'm no prude but some of it seemed pointless and was a turn-off instead of a turn-on, but that could just be me. It really wasn't that graphic compared to some other things I've read (though it is not suitable for teens and children) but it just had no context for me.

The main female character vomits a lot. I don't know if that's a thing but thought it was worth mentioning here.

I think the characters are supposed to represent cultural diversity but I had a difficult time pinpointing the characters' cultural, racial, and or ethnic identities. I know the MC female is U.S. Morman and the MC male is of European descent.

I think I have more questions about these characters than I should have after reading this book.

This book ends on a cliffhanger, which I usually don't like, but I don't think it made a difference to my overall experience.

I believe the second book is out or will be out soon and I'm still deciding if I should pick it up. I really do enjoy the sense of danger depicted, the magic, and the mystery of the world. A follow-up read is TBD. ...more

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