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georgia_irl's review against another edition
1.5
I really wanted to like this book, and I did really enjoy the begining. Unfortunately my first thought after finishing it was "thank God that's over".
As the book went on it became clearer and clearer the disdain the author has for women. The smelling of the "oestrus" in the second half of the book was incredibly off putting, and almost every female character was a prostitute. This coupled with the language used whenever there is a female character on the page, did not make for a good reading experience.
It also felt like it needed a really good edit. There's a fantastic world in there, and some amazing ideas. Unfortunately this is let down by the uneven pacing and cluttered plot.
As the book went on it became clearer and clearer the disdain the author has for women. The smelling of the "oestrus" in the second half of the book was incredibly off putting, and almost every female character was a prostitute. This coupled with the language used whenever there is a female character on the page, did not make for a good reading experience.
It also felt like it needed a really good edit. There's a fantastic world in there, and some amazing ideas. Unfortunately this is let down by the uneven pacing and cluttered plot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
breeperscreepers's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This book started strong, VERY strong. I loved the world and the Living Mud and the oozy goozy darkness of everything, it was insane in the best way. The middle lost me, it was more like a fever dream fairytale and things just kept snowballing faster without a moment to connect or digest - one minute our main character is learning to read and the next he's burning a civilization to ash with his mere godlike presence . After a certain point everything felt so unreal and unrelatable that I wasn't really interested in what happened next, it was just going to be more magical nonsense on an evermore grander scale.
It's a shame I stopped enjoying the story, the writing was good and the dark imagery was fantastic. Certain scenes towards the end were so morbid that it ticked my rating back up a bit.
On a side note, this book was marketed to me as a steampunky mix of China Míeville and Mervyn Peake, but I found it to be none of the three. It's a city. Every dang city has a few machines, that doesn't mean it's steampunk.
It's a shame I stopped enjoying the story, the writing was good and the dark imagery was fantastic. Certain scenes towards the end were so morbid that it ticked my rating back up a bit.
On a side note, this book was marketed to me as a steampunky mix of China Míeville and Mervyn Peake, but I found it to be none of the three. It's a city. Every dang city has a few machines, that doesn't mean it's steampunk.
theajwh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
5.0
gracecashxx's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-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
3.5
kelleydoesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.5
sledge_hm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
okjaaaaa's review against another edition
5.0
i don't even know what to say. this was so good. so fucking good. oh my god. what the fuck.
hans_kh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5