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pengenia's review against another edition
5.0
Never once while reading this did I fully know what was going to happen next. One of the strangest books I have ever read. I enjoyed every second of it. Might have just found a new favorite author.
charlieteuthis's review against another edition
4.0
This book. This book...it sure was something! I just finished it and frankly I'm a little overwhelmed.
I wasn't sure what rating to give this because there is so much information thrown at you throughout the course of the book, and even by the end it's all kind of confusing.
Yet at the same time there's so much I love about this book, especially the characters.
What I realized was that it's one of those books where the emotions stirred in the audience, or at least me, fit so well with the plot that it makes things like confusion appropriate.
So four stars, with one star taken off because there's a certain major plot point that I don't care for due to personal taste rather than lack of quality.
I wasn't sure what rating to give this because there is so much information thrown at you throughout the course of the book, and even by the end it's all kind of confusing.
Yet at the same time there's so much I love about this book, especially the characters.
What I realized was that it's one of those books where the emotions stirred in the audience, or at least me, fit so well with the plot that it makes things like confusion appropriate.
So four stars, with one star taken off because there's a certain major plot point that I don't care for due to personal taste rather than lack of quality.
againanew's review against another edition
3.0
It pains me to give this book only 3 stars for two reasons... One, my love for China Mieville and the Bas Lag series. Two, this book is full of amazing ideas and characters and impressive original ideas. But something here just missed the mark for me. It took me far longer to read this book than it should have, it started to feel like a chore really. The story was just all over the place and extremely slow moving. I feel like he had a bunch of awesome ideas and just wanted to fit them all into one book, regardless of the cohesion of the storyline.
timinbc's review against another edition
5.0
I doubt if you will find a book this year that takes you farther away from the real world. It's an enormous bucket of fantastic concepts, tied together by a complicated plot. The getting there is perhaps more fun than the arrival, but the plot does eventually wrap up the many story lines. Mainly it's the daring inventiveness of it all. Time after time I found myself saying, "What!?" as the author raised the bar yet again. Suspension of disbelief? Nah - murder of disbelief, more like. Great fun.
tregina's review
4.0
The odd thing about this is—and I do see the inherent absurdity in starting a review of something by Miéville with the odd thing about this is–that for the first fifty pages or so it didn't actually feel like Miéville. Which is not to say that I didn't find it engaging, but it was just too...normal, or something. Then, inevitably, the world opened up into the kind of complex and deeply weird and faceted landscape that Miéville's books, even his YA stuff, are most beloved by me for.
I'm not sure what I was expecting when I started reading the book, but now that I'm finished I feel like I should have been expecting exactly this, because everything layered into it in perfectly unexpected ways and all of the little things that I love about his books were all there, in the end. I think it fell short of a five—which for my tastes he is certainly capable of—because I think I liked the pieces more than I liked the story. But still, a great book.
I'm not sure what I was expecting when I started reading the book, but now that I'm finished I feel like I should have been expecting exactly this, because everything layered into it in perfectly unexpected ways and all of the little things that I love about his books were all there, in the end. I think it fell short of a five—which for my tastes he is certainly capable of—because I think I liked the pieces more than I liked the story. But still, a great book.
cassimiranda's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This is my first Miéville, and I hope it's my last. The guy is clearly intelligent, has interesting world building concepts, and knows how to write well. Unfortunately, this book was heavy on the plot and light on the character work. I have no concept of who the (many, many) POV characters are, the hero is generic and has no personality, and the protagonists are caricatures without distinct traits. On top of which, the women (all two three of them) are easily identifiable stereotypes. My rating is on concept alone, the execution is mediocre.
If you're looking for a fast paced, complex, plot-driven urban fantasy it might work for you. Avoid the audiobook though, unless you want to listen to 16+ hour movie trailer. And don't read if you understand why tribbles are troublesome. Miéville paints a scathing portrait!
If you're looking for a fast paced, complex, plot-driven urban fantasy it might work for you. Avoid the audiobook though, unless you want to listen to 16+ hour movie trailer. And don't read if you understand why tribbles are troublesome. Miéville paints a scathing portrait!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Torture, Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Sexism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Child death
caffeinatedbookwoorm's review against another edition
Writing was messy and distracting, not the usual bizarrely fun Miéville style.
daumari's review against another edition
5.0
I kind of went tag crazy on this because weirdly (or not) this book featured marine biology, mystery, natural science, and religion in a modern fantasy setting. It reminded me of Harry Potter in that it takes place in the supernatural side of London and I really enjoyed it, but there are no boarding schools here. Nay, as our hapless curator discovers early on, the giant squid specimen at NHM's Darwin Centre suddenly goes missing. With curator Billy, we get pulled into the turbulent waters of cults and crimelords who may have an interest in our squiddy friend.
The climax came rather unexpectedly for me, but when the true apocalypse is determined, I [i]cackled[/i], because it made sense in hindsight and aaah clever. Sorry. I would be more specific but I hate spoilers.
I know I'm predisposed to like it because teuthology + fantasy elements + pop culture nods, but the writing style was also excellent.
The climax came rather unexpectedly for me, but when the true apocalypse is determined, I [i]cackled[/i], because it made sense in hindsight and aaah clever. Sorry. I would be more specific but I hate spoilers.
I know I'm predisposed to like it because teuthology + fantasy elements + pop culture nods, but the writing style was also excellent.
cubit81's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
mirandafreestone's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Clever set ups from start to finish with many satisfying payoffs, but stumbles at the end undoing a lot of the beautiful world building. Creepy but humorous and full of many memorable characters partly due to the artful vocabulary (which might put off some readers as it can bog down the pace). Overall well worth reading if you really like Miéville as a writer and or you enjoy the feeling of small details being crafted into large narrative influences (or you want to learn a bunch of niche ocean words), but be prepared for a ending that is less than satisfying in my opinion. If you are reading his work for the first time I recommend The City & The City or Peridido Street Station instead, which have stronger narratives from start to finish