"My life was going to flash before my eyes, but it decided to hide behind my eyes and quake with terror, instead." (Jamie Crawford)
It's the character-driven novels that get to me! A book can have great world-building and an awesome plot, but if I can't relate to the characters or understand them, my reading enjoyment level goes way down.
I have really strong emotions towards the characters in The Demon Lexicon; moments where I hate them, moments where I love them and moments where I wanted to hug them and strangle them at the same time. Not such a morally sound thing to admit, but hey, I am writing a review for The Demon Lexicon.
The tone of The Demon Lexicon is dark and twisted. There's evil magicians, demons, demons possessing humans so that evil magicians can gain more power, violence, blood, murder and death. However, there are also moments that are magical, heartfelt and humourous. The world of magic, demons and magicians is nothing out of the ordinary, but the way Brennan writes, it seems refreshing and unique. My favourite part of the The Demon Lexicon world is The Goblin Market - which has a magical and mystical carnival atmosphere.
The Demon Lexicon is narrated by Nick Ryves. Nick is unfeeling and unkind. The only emotions that we really see from him is rage and the need to hurt, maim and kill. While he's not an easy character to relate to, I could still understand him and feel sympathetic towards him. Brennan certainly has a knack for making me feel something towards an emotionless character. This could also be because there's a reason for Nick's lack of feelings. He's a demon.
There's also Alan, Nick's older brother, whose characterisation I absolutely love. Alan is Nick's total opposite. He's sensitive, kind and gentle, but he's also extremely manipulative, knows exactly how to work a crowd and uses whatever he can to his advantage. Alan also has a disability and I appreciate that The Demon Lexicon has a disabled badass as one of its main characters.
What makes The Demon Lexicon shine, is the heartfelt family dynamics. I appreciate the brotherly bonds between Nick and Alan and the sibling bond between Mae, a feisty and independent character, and her brother, Jamie - who is usually nervous, hates conflict and confronts every uncomfortable situation that he's in with humour. Like every sibling relationship, there's conflict and fights, but there's no doubt about the lengths that the siblings in The Demon Lexicon will go to in order to protect each other. I have a close relationship with my sister and I could relate to the sibling dynamics in The Demon Lexicon
When I read The Demon Lexicon in 2014, I gave it 4 stars, but after a third reread, I tried to think about reasons why I gave this book 4 stars and couldn't come up with anything. The Demon Lexicon has a dark tone and the characters aren't all black-and-white, but it's filled with sibling love, humour and heart.
"Either something bad happens or it doesn't: if it doesn't, you've wasted time being afraid, and if it does, you've wasted time that you could have spent sharpening your weapons." (Nick Ryves)