Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I found it difficult to read. The sprawling descriptions make it particularly so. Still, the story grabbed me.
I didn't enjoy this as much as The City and the City or Kracken, but it's still very powerful. I usually devour books in a few sittings, but this made me slow down, pay attention, reflect. The book was half done before the structure really came together for me, but once that happened it held my interest better.
Bring me more of this!
Bring me more of this!
Nueva Croburzon es una ciudad estado con identidad propia, mestiza, sucia, emprendedora, llena de contrastes y magia, donde sus habitantes humanos, rehechos, khepris, cactos y mutantes varios, viven y mueren al son de su latido. El Parlamento la dirige con mano de hierro y nada escapa su control, ni siquiera esos artistas inconformistas, que se reunen para hablar mal del alcalde, beber hasta reventar y publicar en secreto un periódico a favor de la disidencia y la revolución.
Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin científico y casi paria, cuya amante khepri en una escultora en alza, recibe un encargo poco común: fabricar unas alas para un garuda. Ésto, desencadena una serie de sucesos que pondrán en peligro el espíritu de la ciudad misma. Isaac, contra viento y marea hará lo posible para enmendar sus errores, la muerte acecha en cada esquina de Nueva Crobuzon, y es posible que sea él, el único que pueda salvarnos.
La riqueza e imaginación de [a:China Miéville|33918|China Miéville|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1243988363p2/33918.jpg] no tiene límites. En serio.
Cuando crees que ya no puede sorprenderte, que esa raza de ahí, o esa situación de allá es lo mas lejos que puede ir, giras la página y ahí está, otra sorpresa, otra esquina de Nueva Croburzon se revela ante ti, y ante su magnificencia no hay mas que caer de rodillas. La ciudad es un personaje mas de una historia que te atrapa y no te deja ir hasta el final.
Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin científico y casi paria, cuya amante khepri en una escultora en alza, recibe un encargo poco común: fabricar unas alas para un garuda. Ésto, desencadena una serie de sucesos que pondrán en peligro el espíritu de la ciudad misma. Isaac, contra viento y marea hará lo posible para enmendar sus errores, la muerte acecha en cada esquina de Nueva Crobuzon, y es posible que sea él, el único que pueda salvarnos.
La riqueza e imaginación de [a:China Miéville|33918|China Miéville|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1243988363p2/33918.jpg] no tiene límites. En serio.
Cuando crees que ya no puede sorprenderte, que esa raza de ahí, o esa situación de allá es lo mas lejos que puede ir, giras la página y ahí está, otra sorpresa, otra esquina de Nueva Croburzon se revela ante ti, y ante su magnificencia no hay mas que caer de rodillas. La ciudad es un personaje mas de una historia que te atrapa y no te deja ir hasta el final.
Well, that was unlike anything I've ever read.
I first encountered this book while looking for fantasy that stepped away from tropes of knights, dragons, wizards. etc. I was just so sick of Euro-centric stories and wanted to explore other possibilities. I'm not sure if I'd recommend Perdido to anyone I know, just 'cause it's so out there, but Mieville's imagination is extraordinary. While reviewing other fantasy books, I've occasionally remarked, "Man, I wish I thought of that." Well, in this book, there were hundreds of things I would've never dreamed up, yet I wish I had: the different races, garuda ethics, the sprawling geography of New Crobuzon, remaking (as gross as it sometimes is), etc. In fact, I find it incredibly brave of Mieville to draw from world mythologies and feature races with non-human heads, like Slavic vodyanoi, Hindu garuda, Egyptian khepri, etc. That choice is far less straightforward than using elves, gnomes, or whatnot, which look a little different but behave more or less the same way. The khepri can't even verbalize, and they have a totally different way of seeing the world (because of their insect eyes). That paves the way for Mieville to express some fascinating anthropological ideas.
I feel like the book really picked up pace 300 pages in (which sounds slow, I know) because it's not a plot-driven book. It's really a feat of world-building. There were lots of passages that I found overly descriptive, especially since Mieville is a crazy vocabularian. (I have never encountered "salubrious" that many times in my life.) There are passages which seem to revel in their grossness. Yet there is the overarching sense that Mieville loves his creation, New Crobuzon, and there are some gorgeous stretches of prose.
Yet another remarkable thing about this story is how it can't be boiled down to a handful of meanings (like many other fantasy books with their dichotomies between good and bad. Maybe I sound like I hate fantasy, but I don't. I loved it so much as a kid that I became so disheartened when I grew out of most YA. I've long been hungry for something to re-ignite that old sense of wonder.) The characters in Perdido are complex, and they can't always figure each other out. I detected several critiques of capitalism and a refusal to condone pure escapism. But beyond that, there's tons to discover. I wanted a non-Euro-centric story about flight, and I got so much more than that.
I first encountered this book while looking for fantasy that stepped away from tropes of knights, dragons, wizards. etc. I was just so sick of Euro-centric stories and wanted to explore other possibilities. I'm not sure if I'd recommend Perdido to anyone I know, just 'cause it's so out there, but Mieville's imagination is extraordinary. While reviewing other fantasy books, I've occasionally remarked, "Man, I wish I thought of that." Well, in this book, there were hundreds of things I would've never dreamed up, yet I wish I had: the different races, garuda ethics, the sprawling geography of New Crobuzon, remaking (as gross as it sometimes is), etc. In fact, I find it incredibly brave of Mieville to draw from world mythologies and feature races with non-human heads, like Slavic vodyanoi, Hindu garuda, Egyptian khepri, etc. That choice is far less straightforward than using elves, gnomes, or whatnot, which look a little different but behave more or less the same way. The khepri can't even verbalize, and they have a totally different way of seeing the world (because of their insect eyes). That paves the way for Mieville to express some fascinating anthropological ideas.
I feel like the book really picked up pace 300 pages in (which sounds slow, I know) because it's not a plot-driven book. It's really a feat of world-building. There were lots of passages that I found overly descriptive, especially since Mieville is a crazy vocabularian. (I have never encountered "salubrious" that many times in my life.) There are passages which seem to revel in their grossness. Yet there is the overarching sense that Mieville loves his creation, New Crobuzon, and there are some gorgeous stretches of prose.
Yet another remarkable thing about this story is how it can't be boiled down to a handful of meanings (like many other fantasy books with their dichotomies between good and bad. Maybe I sound like I hate fantasy, but I don't. I loved it so much as a kid that I became so disheartened when I grew out of most YA. I've long been hungry for something to re-ignite that old sense of wonder.) The characters in Perdido are complex, and they can't always figure each other out.
Spoiler
Case in point: Yagharek.
I'm disappointed that I didn't like this more. I've loved all of the other Mieville books that I've read, but part of what I loved about those is missing from this book. One thing I love is his - I'll go with linguistic complexity. He makes language his bitch ;) In this book, he did indeed show a mastery of the English language but it was very narrow. Words like juddered, chitinous, and vertiginous were used to the point of exhaustion. Seriously, vertiginous is my favorite word and I still got sick of it.
This book did show Mieville's excellent world building but it didn't work well for me because of the way the POV was done. You have this city on a macro level but it's told from the POV of a few individuals, but mostly one guy. Seriously - this vast and complex city is squished into the viewpoint of a dude who's trying to use crisis energy to make someone fly.
This book did have many cool elements but the way they were put together was off to me. I do wonder how much of my reaction was based on my love of his other books. This was only his second book and the others I've read were much farther down the line, which could make a difference. What I would like to do is read it in about a year and see if I have a different reaction.
This book did show Mieville's excellent world building but it didn't work well for me because of the way the POV was done. You have this city on a macro level but it's told from the POV of a few individuals, but mostly one guy. Seriously - this vast and complex city is squished into the viewpoint of a dude who's trying to use crisis energy to make someone fly.
This book did have many cool elements but the way they were put together was off to me. I do wonder how much of my reaction was based on my love of his other books. This was only his second book and the others I've read were much farther down the line, which could make a difference. What I would like to do is read it in about a year and see if I have a different reaction.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
It’s interesting, but slow. I don’t think I’ll make it through 600+ pages of this. It’s due back to the library.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
A great adventure story, and scary. Can't wait to read The Scar.