Without Light or Guide, by T. Frohock

About the book Without Light or Guide

• Print Length: 128 pages
• Publisher: Harper Voyager Impulse (November 3, 2015)

Always holding themselves aloft from the affairs of mortals, Los Nefilim have thrived for eons. But with the Spanish Civil War looming, their fragile independence is shaken by the machinations of angels and daimons… and a half breed caught in between. Although Diago Alvarez has pledged his loyalty to Los Nefilim, there are many who don’t trust his daimonic blood. And with the re-emergence of his father—a Nefil who sold his soul to a daimon—the fear is Diago will soon follow the same path. Yet even as Diago tries to prove his allegiance, events conspire that only fuel the other Nefilim’s suspicions—including the fact that every mortal Diago has known in Barcelona is being brutally murdered.

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About the author, T. Frohock

T. Frohock has turned her love of dark fantasy and horror into tales of deliciously creepy fiction. She currently lives in North Carolina where she has long been accused of telling stories, which is a southern colloquialism for lying. Check out more of her works and news at www.tfrohock.com.

My Thoughts

I didn’t read the first novel in the series about Los Nefilim, so I was a bit lost at the beginning of the book, but context and retold backstory helped me immensely. Once I figured out how Frohock’s world works, I found myself immersed in her world, which was both period (the thirties) and paranormal (angels and daimons).

I found that I really liked Diago and Miquel, and found their story to be compelling, but I was equally entranced by the richness of the world-building the author did. Within ten pages I felt like I was in her world, one populated by vampires as well as the loftier creatures already mentioned. Her descriptions of people and place are so vivid that I felt like I was walking down the same streets, and meeting – or avoiding – the same people as her characters.

I also want to call out the way the author used language. There was a candor about some of the details – Diago’s missing finger (bitten off by a vampire in book one) – was presented so matter-of-factly that what could have been an ‘ick’ moment was just a nice bit of character detail. The way the characters spoke was also well written – contemporary, but not too much so, and the angels, particularly gave the impression, through their words – of great age and power.

I’m sure I would have enjoyed this story more had I started it from the beginning, but even beginning with book two, I enjoyed the world of Los Nefilim, in general, and this haunting story specifically.