Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Perdido Street Station

i would never pick this book for myself, but it was bought for me as a gift, so i gave it a go.

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.

the fact that lin wasn't in the story for most of part five is probably the reason i stopped caring about the story. when she came back my interest in the story was reignited.

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barium_squirrel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? No

5.0

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owenthetyley's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

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lynxpardinus's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense

4.0

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sf_book_cat's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

Amazing book, so creative. Fantastic world-building almost better than anything I’ve ever read before.

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tim_townes's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-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

4.5

You better strap in, because this is a truly wild ride. While other authors get the worldbuilding out of the way early, China Miévielle just does. not. stop.

Very minor spoiler to give you an idea:

Halfway through the book, the ambassador of literal hell just casually pops up. And that's just the setup for an even wilder concept.

And I'm all for it. Coupled with a tense thriller plot and a vivid, imaginative cityscape, Perdido Street Station entrances you with its colorful imagery (ha! You'll get the joke once you've read it.) and doesn't let go until the end. If you're willing to roll with the more outlandish concepts, I highly recommend it.

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