Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

3 reviews

silvae's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • 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

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woweewhoa's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This is a book that tries to do a lot, and does most of it very well! It's a very vivid world, in the best and worst ways, as it's very clear that this is a place with a history and politics as complex as they can be anywhere in the world. 
This book also revels in descriptions of the disgusting and there are Several parts of this book that you read a description and go "Ah! That's it for today!" There's a horror in this book, not in the tension or 'jump scare' sense, but in just the vivid descriptions and how extreme some of them get. 

I did overall like this book, however I guess because of everything that piled up and needed payoff, it resolved in a way I didn't particularly care for? It became much more of a 'Monster Hunting' plot once the Slake Moths became the big bad, which isn't a bad thing! It just shoved some of the political ramifications that were being touched upon to the side slightly, and I think I wanted that to be more of the focus I guess! My feelings on the book I think come from what I was looking for more than anything else all said! Also don't really like how the Lin stuff ended up going, especially when she was gone for most of the back half of the book.


I think all my problems with the book stem from what I'm looking for personally, so if you can handle really rough subject matter that honestly does make you feel Bad from how visceral it is, try this book out!  
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spoopy_moose01's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

I really, really liked the book. It is a very fun read, a rollercoaster ride that starts off a bit slow but gets quicker once you reached part three and towards part four. Mieville is a master at writing engaging characters who speaks in an engaging way. Issac, even being the boring male protagonist, feels interesting because man I love the way he speaks, I could almost hear it in my head. Lemeul, Derkhan, Lin, birdman are all similarly compelling characters who have their own motives and thoughts. However, I do have my gripes with the book. Mieville I feel could really use a Dune-style dictionary, because half the time I have no clue what they are referencing, especially in terms of the species and the different races that exist. Also, even in the fifth and sixth parts, it feels like he is constantly introducing new elements to the story, oh, it's another secret faction with immense power.
was the handslingers or whatever they were really necessary? I feel like they were forgotten so quickly that it was so unnecessary to include them at all, maybe just to provide something that weakens the moths? I don't know, it feels super shoehorned in like his editor had reminded him that the book has to be 800 plus or he's not paying or something and he just threw something in
All in all, though I have my issues with the book, I loved it regardless and overall just such a fun book. 
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