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ruth_rb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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? No
4.25
mobysbooks's review against another edition
5.0
New Crobuzon is a city of contrast, a behemoth of diversity ranging from ordinary human citizens leading a bourgeois life to grotesque, otherworldly beings that haunt the city’s labyrinthine veins. The mansions of the aristocrats line up like bulwarks against the slums of the lice-infested in the shadow of gigantic bones of a long-dead beast, strutting out like landmarks above the endlessly decaying splendor of this city.
With New Crobuzon, China Miéville created the greatest urban setpiece I have yet encountered. A pulsating crucible that thrives with ponderous obscenity and breathtaking beauty. Fully fleshed out cultural quirks battle each other from district to district, a melting pot of humans interspersed with various fantastic sentient species. Some are puzzling, others are downright ridiculous and still others stir up fear.
Miéville takes everything you expect from fantasy literature and throws it out the window. This is not an ordinary book in a cool setting; he doesn't work with typical fantasy storytelling structures. He created something entirely unique that rebels against any attempt at categorization. It’s fantasy but also scifi, an urban steampunk-cyberpunk-techno-thriller compound that successfully breaks the boundaries of genres. Weird in all the good ways, something I will remember for a long time.
His prose is meticulous and visceral, sometimes poetic, he chooses archaic words that encapsulate the unique, the odd, the otherworldly atmosphere. He uses vulgar language that enhances the raw, bustling, ugly vividness of the city. His very unique style may not be for everybody - but it certainly works for me.
The story he tells in this magnificent viper’s pit of a city is of the scientist Isaac, a former university lecturer who delves into thaumaturgy and the demimonde of organized crime when he gets a special commission by an outcast who has lost his way of life in the cruelest of ways.
This is a thrilling rollercoaster of a book that never becomes predictable. I was thoroughly entertained and Miéville has a new fan in me.
With New Crobuzon, China Miéville created the greatest urban setpiece I have yet encountered. A pulsating crucible that thrives with ponderous obscenity and breathtaking beauty. Fully fleshed out cultural quirks battle each other from district to district, a melting pot of humans interspersed with various fantastic sentient species. Some are puzzling, others are downright ridiculous and still others stir up fear.
Miéville takes everything you expect from fantasy literature and throws it out the window. This is not an ordinary book in a cool setting; he doesn't work with typical fantasy storytelling structures. He created something entirely unique that rebels against any attempt at categorization. It’s fantasy but also scifi, an urban steampunk-cyberpunk-techno-thriller compound that successfully breaks the boundaries of genres. Weird in all the good ways, something I will remember for a long time.
His prose is meticulous and visceral, sometimes poetic, he chooses archaic words that encapsulate the unique, the odd, the otherworldly atmosphere. He uses vulgar language that enhances the raw, bustling, ugly vividness of the city. His very unique style may not be for everybody - but it certainly works for me.
The story he tells in this magnificent viper’s pit of a city is of the scientist Isaac, a former university lecturer who delves into thaumaturgy and the demimonde of organized crime when he gets a special commission by an outcast who has lost his way of life in the cruelest of ways.
This is a thrilling rollercoaster of a book that never becomes predictable. I was thoroughly entertained and Miéville has a new fan in me.
entropia9's review against another edition
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
4.75
lakmus's review against another edition
4.0
Dope world-building, although really gruesome in places. The author leans hard into some kind of bio-steampunk and loves to have bodily fluids going places, which is a bit off-putting, but I'll forgive it on account of cool plot and cool setting.
Props for not shying away from less happy endings, and just general clusterfuckery of it all. The characters also get a good amount of fleshing out, which is nice to see, given that the author is juggling so many things and it's easy to forget and leave something cardboard.
Want to read the next book.
Props for not shying away from less happy endings, and just general clusterfuckery of it all. The characters also get a good amount of fleshing out, which is nice to see, given that the author is juggling so many things and it's easy to forget and leave something cardboard.
Want to read the next book.
diesalher's review against another edition
5.0
Muy bueno, el impresionante dominio del lenguaje de Miéville hace que la ciudad de Nueva Crobuzon sea aun mas opresiva si cabe. He disfrutado mucho con este libro. desbordante imaginación
thomasjrowley88's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
vziliak's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
4.25
zhusl33's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
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
4.5
kluthek's review against another edition
3.0
Some interesting ideas but be prepared for pages of setting descriptions and the word "pugnacious" a stupid number of times.