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bigchipper's review against another edition
3.0
Hmmm...what an interesting book. I guess you'd call it urban fantasy. My best description of it would be equal parts The Magicians (sans the school and Narnia bits), Less Than Zero, and maybe a splash of Bill Burroughs/Kerouac blended into hipster vignettes. Oh, there may some horror elements too.
The book follows the protagonist "M", an immortal hipster who makes a long overdue pilgrimage back to Brooklyn. Each chapter is a random short story of his interactions with other "magical" beings in the greater NY area and what I'd call random pocket universes that they inhabit. Overall, an interesting and fun read. Polansky's a good writer who doesn't take himself too seriously.
The book follows the protagonist "M", an immortal hipster who makes a long overdue pilgrimage back to Brooklyn. Each chapter is a random short story of his interactions with other "magical" beings in the greater NY area and what I'd call random pocket universes that they inhabit. Overall, an interesting and fun read. Polansky's a good writer who doesn't take himself too seriously.
dinaana's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
debraisretired's review
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
More a collection of short stories. Creatively written but occasionally dark and very much a hip bro vibe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Drug use, Gore, Blood, and Toxic friendship
riverwise's review against another edition
3.0
After five strong secondary world fantasy novels, this is a change of direction for Daniel Polansky. It's firmly set in a modern New York of hipsters and craft beers, but also one where the supernatural is very real. There are pirates on the Gowanus Canal, a subway ride through the circles of Hell, and goblin markets where you can buy your heart's desire. The sense of place is one of the strengths of the book. We see it all, from Wall Street financier luxury to grubby dive bars. Our hero is the almost nameless M, a magician without any visible means of support who nevertheless has a knack for navigating the city and its denizens to his advantage. If he's between homes, an apartment sitting gig will open up, if he's thirsty someone will buy him a drink. His insouciant cockiness puts me in mind of no one so much as John Constantine. In fact, there's a vaguely edgy, vaguely hip quality to the whole book that's reminiscent of mid 90s Vertigo comics.
It's an engaging read, but it's quite lightweight. I enjoyed it a lot while I was reading it, but I'm not sure how long it will linger in the mind. The lack of gravity is emphasised by the structure. It's more a series of vignettes, episodic adventures of M and his friends, than it is a complete novel. There is a loosely overarching story of two rival magical leaders, but it's mostly background stuff until the end. I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that Polansky had been writing these stories as palate cleaning diversions between his other novels and has now lashed them together as his next book. That might be a good way to approach reading it, taking a couple of stories at a time and then breaking for something else before picking it up again.
A City Dreaming is a fun and enjoyable book, just don't expect it to change your life.
(ARC received from Netgalley)
It's an engaging read, but it's quite lightweight. I enjoyed it a lot while I was reading it, but I'm not sure how long it will linger in the mind. The lack of gravity is emphasised by the structure. It's more a series of vignettes, episodic adventures of M and his friends, than it is a complete novel. There is a loosely overarching story of two rival magical leaders, but it's mostly background stuff until the end. I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that Polansky had been writing these stories as palate cleaning diversions between his other novels and has now lashed them together as his next book. That might be a good way to approach reading it, taking a couple of stories at a time and then breaking for something else before picking it up again.
A City Dreaming is a fun and enjoyable book, just don't expect it to change your life.
(ARC received from Netgalley)
bintinery's review against another edition
4.0
A City Dreaming was not what I expected to be. It doesn't have a traditional plot and reads more like a set of short stories than a singular story on its own. Each chapter introduces new characters and new conflicts that all connect in a sort of timeline. The characters were interesting and I ended up liking the protagonist, M more than I thought I would when I started the book. I was entertained by the way that magic worked in this world, it wasn't your typical wave a wand and say the words kind of magic. It was complicated but fun to learn about. The dialogue and narration was clever in every chapter. It's just an amusing read. I also found it to be pretty uplifting. This was probably the most unexpected thing about it, it left me feeling incredibly positive. Overall, I'm a fan and would definitely recommend A City Dreaming if you're looking for a not-so-typical fantasy novel.
calypte's review
4.0
Less a novel than a series of vignettes detailing various misadventures someone might get into if they had magical abilities but lived in the real world. I liked.
Full review here
Full review here
kukadoodles's review
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
eclipse777's review against another edition
3.0
I nearly didn't finish this at the beginning I couldn't get into the style at first but then I realised that it was anthology of short stories linked by the character of M. It also didn't help that I didn't like M at first but he grow on me. With all short stories there were ones I loved ,ones I didn't care for and other's just okay. I think if you like UF and Horror blended together you would like this. For me I loved it when M visited the nightclub with the entity in his eyes with M showing what humans get up too and the coffee shop chapter but in the end it was too much horror for me. I was uncomfortable reading about the house where unspeakable things happened a glance of hell I really didn't want to read about.There is hope through underneath it after all the novel is a love letter to New York, I'm happy I read this but for me I won't be revisiting again. 3.5/5
Recommended to horror fans
Recommended to horror fans
cupiscent's review against another edition
After 50 pages (and six "chapters") I'm setting this one back on the shelf without any rancor. I absolutely loved reading it from a line-by-line sense; it was a snarky delight. But each chapter is actually a self-contained short story, beads threaded upon the life of our main character. Already, however much fun I'm having, I chafe at the lack of narrative drive. I feel like we're just doing breast-stroke, bobbing along atop the water, when I'm keep to go full scuba and dive right down.
And so, thanks but no thanks. But highly recommended for people who don't have my prejudices about short fiction, and especially those who like some eldritch horror with their urban fantasy.
And so, thanks but no thanks. But highly recommended for people who don't have my prejudices about short fiction, and especially those who like some eldritch horror with their urban fantasy.
wrongwayhome's review against another edition
4.0
Patika: tumšais humors, stāsta universs.
Pietrūka: vairāk gribējās tā paša tumšā humora, jo tā reti kad ir par daudz. Likās arī, ka varēja būt vairāk viengabalainības kopējā stāstā, jo atsevišķu epizožu bija gana daudz, bet bija sajūta, ka tāda kopējā sakarība pašam jāpiedomā. Nav tā, ka saistības nebija, bet to prasījās spēcīgāku.
Lai gan pašam autoram šis esot mīļākais darbs, man tas šķita vairāk tādas kā iestrādes lielākam eposam, kurš tā arī palicis melnraksta stadijā. Mans subjektīvais vērtējums ir tāds, ka priekš melnraksta pārāk labs, bet līdz gatavam darbam neaizvelk.
Ļoti uzjautrinošs likās mācekļa sižets, tāpēc žēl, ka tam atvēlēta mazāka daļa, nekā es gribētu. Un viss beidzās arī aizdomīgi strauji un gandrīz it kā starp citu. Kopumā mazliet vairāk par 3.5, tāpēc apaļojot sanāk 4 zvaigznes. Skatoties uz citām atsauksmēm, liekas, ka esmu ko būtisku palaidis garām, tāpēc domāju, ka pēc kāda laika grāmata ir jāpārlasa.
Pietrūka: vairāk gribējās tā paša tumšā humora, jo tā reti kad ir par daudz. Likās arī, ka varēja būt vairāk viengabalainības kopējā stāstā, jo atsevišķu epizožu bija gana daudz, bet bija sajūta, ka tāda kopējā sakarība pašam jāpiedomā. Nav tā, ka saistības nebija, bet to prasījās spēcīgāku.
Lai gan pašam autoram šis esot mīļākais darbs, man tas šķita vairāk tādas kā iestrādes lielākam eposam, kurš tā arī palicis melnraksta stadijā. Mans subjektīvais vērtējums ir tāds, ka priekš melnraksta pārāk labs, bet līdz gatavam darbam neaizvelk.
Ļoti uzjautrinošs likās mācekļa sižets, tāpēc žēl, ka tam atvēlēta mazāka daļa, nekā es gribētu. Un viss beidzās arī aizdomīgi strauji un gandrīz it kā starp citu. Kopumā mazliet vairāk par 3.5, tāpēc apaļojot sanāk 4 zvaigznes. Skatoties uz citām atsauksmēm, liekas, ka esmu ko būtisku palaidis garām, tāpēc domāju, ka pēc kāda laika grāmata ir jāpārlasa.