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jhbandcats's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
This is an extraordinary book. I was bowled over when I read it twenty years ago, and it is just as powerful now. It’s about racism and loyalty and a repressive state, and about the resilience of those who are affected. I can’t recommend it highly enough - it’s phenomenal.
Content Warnings
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
vanessav's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
I can only describe the writing as delicious.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Torture, Death, Sexual assault, and Murder
noel_b's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be "weird". The world is constantly surprising you with new and weirder elements and I was just so intrigued by it all.
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
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Excrement, Mental illness, Rape, and Sexual assault
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