Reviews

Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

thesholmes's review

4.25

The torque of the town!

finn_truman's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

tyler_relyt's review

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-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? No

4.0

graff_fuller's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.0

The main two characters are Isaac and Lin, but the visual of Lin being a bug...just couldn't get past that. Not a fan of bugs. Couldn't even finish District 9. Yuck. 

BUT, I did finish this story (even through all the grime and chaos of the world that they live in).

This had an "ick" factor of 8.5/10. 

There were times where I connected with the characters and their struggles, but culture/worldbuilding just seemed to draw you (the reader) into its grit and grime. No one leaves this book pearly-white.

I know that he's written two more books within this world. Not committing to reading them, but there is a part of me...that wants to know the overall story that he's told.

This was my first foray into the mind of China Mieville. He's "out there", but there's something about his writing that draws you deeper into the story, even if you are not "enjoying" it. 

Hmmm.

klparmley's review against another edition

3.0

This was a little cluttered. I don't hink I'll read the rest of the series.

watson4972's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

4.25

7ft_rat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

The ending has left me sick, bitter, sad, and angry. I don't know if I could recommend this to anyone if they were looking for a good, fun, time. It's indulgently wordy, it's fucking weird, and I can not stress this enough, that ending.

I would recommend this to a dedicated fantasy reader. Perdido Street Station is a very viscerally unique experience.

peciim's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Gore, Death, and Body horror

jinkis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

mrbear's review against another edition

3.0

I found this a bit disappointing. It wasn't compelling enough that I felt the need to read it outside of subway rides and car trips, and the writing felt a bit too obvious - like Mieville was trying so hard to make his world gritty and real that he accidentally broke the description and made the city feel fake and overwrought. In addition, the plot wasn't compelling enough to make up for this (it was clear the book was more about the world than the plot). I will admit that Mieville paint a vivid picture, but whether it is compelling, realistic, or worth the time to read about is something else entirely. It's certainly not bad, but I'm not exactly sure to whom I would recommend this book, and that concerns me.