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burruss's review
4.0
China Miéville's latest collection of short stories is a mixed bag but definitely worth the read. The selections run the gamut from quick vignettes to disturbing novelettes to transcripts from non-existent movie trailers. Miéville seems to be doing his best to channel his inner Kelly Link as most of the stories have an odd, dreamlike quality to them (yes, more so IMHO than his usual dreamlike writing). Some of the entries are just odd, not bad, but have no lasting impact. Other stories are among Miéville's best. To name just a few: "The Dowager of Bees" is a thrilling tale of playing cards with the world's most unpredictable deck. "Sӓcken" and "After the Festival" are terrifying. "Dreaded Outcome" is amusing, macabre, and could possibly have you look closer at your therapist next session. "The Rope of the World" stuns you in just a few pages with a picture of the far future long after a space elevator has been constructed and neglected. "The Design" is a masterful tale of love and a prime example of show-don't-tell. "The Junket" is...actually, I can't tell you about "The Junket" since I don't want to spoil it for you and you wouldn't believe me if I told you.
There are two persistent themes throughout the collection. One is the theme of the modern world upset by a single major significant oddity, be it frozen clouds, oil rigs that walk and give birth, corpses that point in one direction only (no matter who views them or from what vantage), and human bones that have been magically scrimshawed from birth. The other theme is that of decay, with most of the stories describing either society breaking down or taking place in some post-catastrophic future. This is most obvious in the story "The Keep" with its engrossing tale of earth literally collapsing underneath the feet of the characters but it's a theme present in ways small or large across the other stories. Miéville again and again gives us characters trying to make sense of the world around them, trying to find something or someone to cling onto while all else falls apart. In very few of the stories will you find a happy ending (though there are some) but the majority leave you feeling both contemplative, a little melancholy, and more than a little disturbed.
There are two persistent themes throughout the collection. One is the theme of the modern world upset by a single major significant oddity, be it frozen clouds, oil rigs that walk and give birth, corpses that point in one direction only (no matter who views them or from what vantage), and human bones that have been magically scrimshawed from birth. The other theme is that of decay, with most of the stories describing either society breaking down or taking place in some post-catastrophic future. This is most obvious in the story "The Keep" with its engrossing tale of earth literally collapsing underneath the feet of the characters but it's a theme present in ways small or large across the other stories. Miéville again and again gives us characters trying to make sense of the world around them, trying to find something or someone to cling onto while all else falls apart. In very few of the stories will you find a happy ending (though there are some) but the majority leave you feeling both contemplative, a little melancholy, and more than a little disturbed.
squirrelsohno's review
3.0
It's not the book, it's just me. DNFed at 220, but counting it read because I tried. I TRIED I SWEAR.
angelicide's review
5.0
I recognize that this book will not be everyone's cup of tea. Perhaps very few in fact, due to its strange and uneven texture, but it had a personal significance for me. I listened to the audiobook version, which was great -- narration and all. Immediately after, I ordered the paperback so I can revisit some of the stories and take notes. Not everything is gold, but there are some really great ideas here and I find them collectively fascinating.
dallasfangmann's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
themermaddie's review
5.0
read a few of these stories for class, and just had to finish the rest of them too. mieville truly has one of the most insane imaginations i've ever read. his writing is so subtle, it's so easy to skip over crucial details so rereading some of these stories was essential for me. he has a very distinctive writing style that i think works well for these pseudo futuristic dystopic horror stories, it's all just excellent speculative fiction. he sprinkles in detail like sugar and it's SO well done, the world-building in these stories is so casually perfect, it's so easy to get absolutely sucked into the weirdness of it all. these are just weird little stories about weird little freaks and i love them!
of course not every single one was a winner for me, but it was still a good 70% of the stories that had something cool in it for me that i enjoyed.
my favourites were (in no particular order):
- the dowager of bees
- the design
- the condition of new death
- after the festival
- the bastard prompt
- keep
- polynia
of course not every single one was a winner for me, but it was still a good 70% of the stories that had something cool in it for me that i enjoyed.
my favourites were (in no particular order):
- the dowager of bees
- the design
- the condition of new death
- after the festival
- the bastard prompt
- keep
- polynia
sam_thegabbleduck's review
5.0
Classic Mievillian wonderfulness condensed into fantastic stories that are only a few pages long, but always make you stop and think
tiffanywang29's review
5.0
Definitely loved the short stories with full narratives the most (The Dowager of Bees wins as my favorite) but Miéville’s writing is just deliciously sinister. Maybe not the best book to be reading during a global pandemic (*cough* Keep) but maybe it helps put into perspective on how this is our new normal and we just gotta adapt.
Actually, side note, I started this book about three weeks ago before COVID-19 really came to the US and I wrote in the margins of one of the stories, “WE ARE NOT READY.” Feels a little more prescient today than even three weeks ago...
Actually, side note, I started this book about three weeks ago before COVID-19 really came to the US and I wrote in the margins of one of the stories, “WE ARE NOT READY.” Feels a little more prescient today than even three weeks ago...
avery_switch's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
sfstagewalker's review against another edition
3.0
I've seen Mieville compared to authors like Gaiman and King, but in this collection the influence of Lovecraft seems predominant. In addition to H.P.'s fetish for evocative vocabulary, Mieville has deeply embraced the paranoia and the omnipresent dread of that seminal writer's work.
This sense of something inexplicable happening to the world, and the world recoiling in horror... but then sort of just adapting to it as best it can (or of individuals recoiling and then being destroyed) is so present in these stories that after a while it all began to feel a bit repetitive. I feel I might have enjoyed the book more if I had interspersed the short stories with other reading. This is a common problem I have with short story collections, and I really felt the fatigue here.
This is a book I will keep on the shelf, and may return to some of these tales later, when they are no longer so fresh in my mind.
One subset of tales I will not return to are the film trailer breakdowns. I am still not sure if they are a satirical examination of the predictable nature of film trailers, a love letter to what has absolutely become a kind of art form (for indeed, how many trailers are better than the movies they are meant to advertise), or simply a literary exercise added to the mix to add variety and page count.
For those looking for highlights, I would put forward (in no particular order):
The Dowager of Bees
The Buzzard's Egg
Säken
Dreaded Outcome
The Bastard Prompt
The Design
This sense of something inexplicable happening to the world, and the world recoiling in horror... but then sort of just adapting to it as best it can (or of individuals recoiling and then being destroyed) is so present in these stories that after a while it all began to feel a bit repetitive. I feel I might have enjoyed the book more if I had interspersed the short stories with other reading. This is a common problem I have with short story collections, and I really felt the fatigue here.
This is a book I will keep on the shelf, and may return to some of these tales later, when they are no longer so fresh in my mind.
One subset of tales I will not return to are the film trailer breakdowns. I am still not sure if they are a satirical examination of the predictable nature of film trailers, a love letter to what has absolutely become a kind of art form (for indeed, how many trailers are better than the movies they are meant to advertise), or simply a literary exercise added to the mix to add variety and page count.
For those looking for highlights, I would put forward (in no particular order):
The Dowager of Bees
The Buzzard's Egg
Säken
Dreaded Outcome
The Bastard Prompt
The Design