PromptedInkReads reviewed Existentially Challenged by Yahtzee Croshaw
Review of 'Existentially Challenged' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Crowshaw's second outing with the Department of Extra-Dimensional Affairs (DEDA) is a nice sequel to Differently Morphous, in which an arcane organization's entanglement with modern bureaucracy and political correctness goes even deeper. Last time, it was the existence of slime hive minds (fluidics who collectively call themselves Shgshthx) and humans bonded to or possessed by an ancient (dual-consciousness persons), which put the department at odds with the government itself. This time, with legislation passing to ensure extra-dimensional rights and the criminalization of fake magic, its a homeopathic healing cult led by a man in Worcester who's daughter, the sole healer, is a dual-conscious person that can somehow make miracles happen. These miracles result in, say, having a cut on your leg sew itself back up or reversing a debilitating disease, but how does the daughter manage to carry them out?
This is where DEDA's newly formed Office of Skepticism …
Crowshaw's second outing with the Department of Extra-Dimensional Affairs (DEDA) is a nice sequel to Differently Morphous, in which an arcane organization's entanglement with modern bureaucracy and political correctness goes even deeper. Last time, it was the existence of slime hive minds (fluidics who collectively call themselves Shgshthx) and humans bonded to or possessed by an ancient (dual-consciousness persons), which put the department at odds with the government itself. This time, with legislation passing to ensure extra-dimensional rights and the criminalization of fake magic, its a homeopathic healing cult led by a man in Worcester who's daughter, the sole healer, is a dual-conscious person that can somehow make miracles happen. These miracles result in, say, having a cut on your leg sew itself back up or reversing a debilitating disease, but how does the daughter manage to carry them out?
This is where DEDA's newly formed Office of Skepticism comes into play with Alison Arkin and Doctor Diablerie leading the investigation into the family and the cult who worship an ancient called El-Yetch. Existentially Challenged does a good job at keeping the focus on the main investigation while bringing some side-characters into the spotlight. If you read the first book and remember some of their backstories, you might be interested to see what Crowshaw did for the sequel. His audiobook narration is still pretty solid—all the voices you know and love plus some excellent impersonations—but gone are the extra sound effects and musical intro. They're not necessary, but they helped set up the atmosphere for Differently Morphous.
I also feel like this may be a sequel where it may be imperative to read the preceding book in order for some of the developments to make sense. Crowshaw does get the reader up to speed on most of the important bits—DEDA's formation and Alison Arkin come to mind—but some scenes might have you wondering as to why a character's acting the way they are or who that slime monster is.
On its own, Existentially Challenged, is a simple "whodunnit" story in which a government department stands in as the paranormal police with comedic undertones.
As the second adventure in the DEDA series, Existentially Challenged follows a great opening act with a good second outing. The layers of philosophical intrigue might have been cut down at the edges, but as a comedic take on God versus Ancient (or established religion versus holistic spirituality), it doesn't do a bad job at exploring the idea.
