Reflector Review
I adored Reflector, but it felt like an unfinished product. There were notable formatting issues (multiple instances of too many or not enough spaces between letters or words, odd typos, etc.) and these issues were worse towards the end of the book, which detracted from the gripping climax of the story.
As for the story itself:
What begins as a sort of “monster of the week” setup is quickly eclipsed by the big bad serious plot. (“Bad” in this instance referring to said plot being big, menacing, and important, and not to the quality of said plot.)
Like any good story, knowing how things end does not detract from the experience save for the fleeting wonder that is that “first read”. Knowing the full story and going back through it I can delight at the little bits and pieces I’d missed on my first go-through. Much of this review has been re-written because many of my issues were resolved via said re-read.
The story here felt cinematic. We get these big set pieces and action scenes, and the POV shifts at all the moments you’d expect from such a story. Some of these cuts happen mid-chapter, with no sort of line breaking them up, which is a touch jarring but not a deal breaker. Reflector’s issues are, at least for me, entirely in the realm of the physical (typos and formatting.)
Uh-oh folks, looks like we’re entering spoiler territory.
Throughout the story we get callbacks to variations of “misery loves company”. These bits are excellent! One of our main characters has a connection to this term, and as the story unfolds we’re given the bits and pieces needed to understand the meaning behind it.
The climax of the story has two big parts. We have the A-story with Vess and Wally going up against Vess’ toxic ex, and the B-story with the rest of the precinct going toe to toe with a literal demon. Said demon was a delightfully devilish character, preferring platitudes and mind games. She gives the people what they want, and that’s so much more compelling than fire and brimstone. You can really feel how much she looks down on these common people. A truly “gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss” kind of monster.
The A-story big bad is Vess’ ex wife (can I just say how much I love that the characters in this are grown-ass adults) Ophelia. Man this lady rules. Again with the cinematic qualities, I want to see a talented character designer take a whack at these guys. Ophelia has these wonderful villainous qualities, but also knows when to use the carrot vs the stick. Her gaslighting and ability to change how she comes across to others are completely mundane abilities that wreak havoc in a world where magic exists. Mental health is an ongoing theme in this story, and Ophelia is clearly a master of the mental arts, even moreso than Vess who can literally go into peoples’ minds and mess around with them.
Throughout the story we see that Vess can kinda do anything. She’s OP as hell and legions of players will beg for her to be nerfed in the next patch. However powerful Vess is, she has glaring weaknesses and Ophelia knows all about them. Very much that “Lex Luthor defeating Superman with that one perfectly cutting sentence in an envelope” from Red Son. Luckily, Vess has Wally to help her in this instance.
This is where Wally gets to shine. Ophelia knows all about Wally. Wally’s an asset she’s been building for a while, and I love that Ophelia is the sort of person to “stack the deck” in her favor. I get the impression that Ophelia genuinely believes the things she says, both the positive and the negative. She says it herself, she doesn’t lie. She genuinely loves Vess, and does so in a (narratively) wonderfully toxic way. Don’t we all to an extent love others for what they can do? Be that edit reality on the fly or bake a really good chocolate cake.
Whatever happened all those years ago between Vess and Ophelia was clearly messy, and I don’t think anybody is going to come away from it completely “in the right”. Again, I love that this is a story about adults. Things are messy, complicated, sometimes downright awful.
At the beginning of the book when we first learn about Wally’s arms and by extension her past, she says “I’m not that person anymore.” Ophelia ends up putting this to the test by basically offering Wally the best possible suicide. An instance where she can literally fade away and stop existing without ruining everybody else’s day by dying. As a professional clinically depressed person, I am always testy when the topic of suicide comes up. It’s something that I don’t think people take as seriously as they think they do. Wally “stepping away from the ledge” so to speak in this moment is huge. She’s proving Ophelia wrong, and also confirming that she is indeed “not that person anymore.” The thing that cinches this as a meaningful and thoughtful handling and depiction of suicidal ideation is the fact that when Wally steps away from the ledge, it isn’t treated as a “one and done” sort of thing. She steps away in this instance, but she knows there will almost certainly be more ledges in the future.
Clinical depression isn’t something you can ever truly defeat. It’s a shifting smothering something that’s deeply entwined with your very soul. That’s at least how I view/experience it. Whether through research or experience, the author knows what she’s doing with this element, and uses it in a meaningful, respectful, and non-glorifying way.
Wrapping this whole thing up, I like that things end on a messy and uncertain note between Vess and Wally. Going through the story again, armed with the knowledge of just how and why Wally isn’t afraid of Vess where everyone else is, really ties the whole thing together. Wally her has moment of proving Ophelia wrong, and in remedying this act of mental sorcery, Vess gets one of these moments too.
I am aching to get cracking with the sequel. My “wish list” of things I'd like to see explored in said sequel include but are not limited to:
Vess does some pretty messed up stuff. Her relationship with Wally is pretty skewed in terms of power. Towards the end when she's at her full power she really messes with Cassidia Truelight in a way that came off as needlessly cruel.
Vess’ older contemporaries (Ophelia and that lovely demon our B-team take down) seem to view regular people as disposable and below them. This includes Vess to an extent, even if her views are more charitable. Everything and everyone is simply the dream made manifest, and Vess just so happens to excel at all things dreamy. Her “perfect world” has her as somebody in a position of respect but not necessarily power or authority. This may be her dream, but what sorts of things is she willing to do to maintain said dream? Is she the sort of person to quietly use her powers to keep things moving in whatever direction she likes?
Given what there is so far, I am looking forward to the author tackling and exploring these issues. This book needs a once-over by an editor, and legions of fans that make kickass fan art.
Please.
