Reviews

The Etched City by K.J. Bishop

friendyfyre's review

2.0

I think Etched city is one of those books for people looking for experimental forms of story telling. After giving it a bit of thought as to why i could not finish this and why this book wasnt for me. I came to the conclusion that, it just didnt fit the format of story telling that i know and love. I enjoy a little bit of subversion from the standard ‘hero’s journey’ and this just didnt really fit the conventions or story beats that most traditional books have.Its kind of jarring to read and the more i pushed on, the less sense it made to me but i think thats kind of the point of this book.
Not all stories have to make sense or have clean cut scenario’s that play out into endings. Its more about the journey and not about the destination. If anything, it didnt offer much answers to my questions but made me ask questions about what i was reading and what meaning i want to take away from the chapters.
Books like these do have a strong following and if anything its what makes books like House of Leaves and Infinite jest so controversially popular. These types of books are both polarizing and popular. You either hardcore love em or you hate it.
I think this pick taught me a pretty valuable lesson about they type of reader i am and what i like about reading.

writinwater's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

3.5

dfmjr's review

DNF. World is wonderful. Something is not clicking with me

robyy_g's review

adventurous slow-paced

3.25

shane_tiernan's review

3.0

I have to say I'm disappointed in this. Many people said it reminded them of [book:Perdido Street Station], and I can see some of that and some of [book:City of Saints and Madmen], but overall those promises fail to deliver. I like the world Mrs. Bishop creates but the plot was lacking. The first 100 pages is all out action ala wild west style then the entire tone changes to a more laid back, atmospheric, surreal mystery.

Unfortunately the story didn't really seem to go anywhere from there and the two main characters had little interaction. The epilogue is a little wishy-washy with its "this could have been what happened but no one's really sure" dialog. I'd probably read another novel from Bishop if it wasn't too long because I think there's a lot of potential here.

tobesmagobes's review

5.0

I always want to be reading this book

mabs's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

ryanteston's review

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

talbet's review

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

lovedayrobijn's review

5.0

Phantasmagoric, dust-dry and rust-red novel of the same Weird Frontier breed as the ʾAlf Laylah wa-Laylah, Stephen King's Wizard and Glass, and Gene Wolfe's The Fifth Head of Cerberus -- stories concerned with the empty spaces where wind and ghosts are more at home than are we ourselves. More than any other author I can name, I wish desperately for a new novel by Bishop. A masterful prose stylist with an immense and unique gift.