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byrdies's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gore and Body horror
Moderate: Kidnapping, Gun violence, Addiction, and Rape
Minor: Animal death, Vomit, Animal cruelty, and Torture
emisbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
well written, but too much description of setting + worldbuilding, even though its the first novel of a series. felt too long at points. i think this book could be cut in half if there weren't so many descriptive scenes. the writing is also unnecessarily gross at times.
the only character i truly cared for was lin. i felt indifferent to the protagonist isaac the entire way through.
the world is very interesting - a steampunk, victorian-esque, magical realist world with various species living amongst humans.
i wouldn't recommend this book if you don't care for science or engineering as its a core theme of the story, isaac being a scientist. i personally don't which has probably affected my rating.
(i honestly considered dnf'ing this book at multiple points, but i wanted to keep going just to say i conquered an 800+ page book, i guess)
tldr: good but not amazing. only cared for 1 character. too long. read if you like science/engineering. good worldbuilding.
Graphic: Cursing, Violence, Body horror, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Rape
Minor: Addiction
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Excrement, Animal death, Blood, Sexism, Gore, Classism, Body horror, Drug use, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Police brutality, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Gun violence
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Ableism, Child death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Vomit, and War
Minor: Abortion
silvae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Self harm, Physical abuse, Rape, Medical content, Violence, Police brutality, Hate crime, Confinement, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Slavery, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, and Terminal illness
jhbandcats's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Mental illness, Blood, Gore, Addiction, Classism, Violence, Drug abuse, Body horror, Torture, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Death, and Excrement
sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Addiction, Death, and Torture
Moderate: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Slavery, Xenophobia, Excrement, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Child abuse, Confinement, Dementia, Drug use, Rape, Classism, Gore, Grief, and Gun violence
Minor: Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Pedophilia, Vomit, War, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
kaseyd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Cursing and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Body horror, Drug use, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Abortion and Vomit
noel_b's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The writing style is on the literary side and the prose does draw attention to itself. It stops to describe the scenery or certain areas of the city every once in a while, and the author is not shy about using "challenging" or "big" words (to give you an idea, the word "palimpsest" shows up weirdly often). I thoroughly enjoyed it, but if you are looking for straightforward prose that keeps the plot moving nonstop, this may not be for you.
I would say that this book is more about the journey (the weird, weird journey) than the destination. Personally, I loved it, but if you want a fast paced, tightly written mystery/thriller, you may want to look elsewhere.
The pacing is not particularly fast, mostly because the book takes the time to explore different neighborhoods and aspects of life in that city. Everything is in service of investigating the main mystery or following a side plot, but we do spend a lot of time discovering new bizarre elements of this world.
if nothing else, the city of New Crobuzon is constantly surprising. Sometimes wonderful, many times grotesque. Always surprising
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Excrement, Mental illness, Rape, and Sexual assault