Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Linn ja linn

Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Linn ja linn by China Miéville

15 reviews

bergha1998's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense 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? No

3.0

It wasn’t my thing. I enjoyed the idea of the plot, but the writing was cumbersome in my opinion. It took so long to get anywhere and the characters continuously rehashed information with each other. And then the end was very unsatisfying. Just not my cup of tea.

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rebecca_harley's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

This book has a really interesting premise, two cities occupying the same physical space "grosstopically" and how criminal jurisdiction is handled in these places. I've never read anything like it before and while it was confusing at first the worldbuilding was excellent.

The main drawback I would say is that none of the characters were particularly interesting or likeable, except the victim, in my opinion.

I also felt the ending was a little anti-climactic if I'm being honest.

As a bonus I liked the formatting. Each new chapter starts at the top of the next page, no wasted space!

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samclowe's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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mr_engineer's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I would have liked more character development, but this is purposefully written like a police procedural and the idea of two cities existing "gross topically" on top of each other is heady stuff.

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sunn_bleach's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

On one hand, I'm almost disappointed by the reveal of there being no fantastic elements in the cities. On the other hand, I'm almost more horrified by there being no fantastic elements in the cities. What I wouldn't give for a one-handed critic.

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sleepycaboose's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A book I’ve been meaning to read for a long time, and it lived up to all my expectations. It’s an exploration of what a city is and can be, probing the limits of our perception and what we can be trained to see/unsee. I found it to be thoroughly thought-provoking: as another reviewer said, a realistic depiction of a surrealist setting. I liked how the places were grounded in real-life traditions and cultures, with a sprinkling of geopolitics. I usually dislike when authors coin neologisms, but it was tastefully done here. References to “grosstopic closeness,” “topolgangers,” and “insiles” make etymological sense and convey real meaning in the context of the two cities.
If you’re looking for an emotional story with a cast of fleshed-out characters with layered motivations and backstory, look elsewhere. The real stars of the book are the City and the City, not the individuals living within them.
Would recommend reading in multiple sittings. Not a breezy read, in the best way.

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sarah984's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

I thought the setting was fascinating, and the way the thought processes of the characters navigating the city are handled was really well done. However the actual mystery wasn't that interesting or surprising, and I felt like the story kind of fell apart once more information about

Breach

was revealed.

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franceshh's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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hauban's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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sapphicbookdragon's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

This is a somewhat-good book which I deeply disliked. It's about power and control over people in a very bizarre Orwellian way: just call "Breach" a "Big Brother [Is] Watching You." (I started rooting for the unificationists and "breaching" foreigners and locals.) It's well-written, but the main themes are depressing. Without spoiling the ending with specifics, I will say the ending is unsatisfying and frustrating (to me, personally). There's little to no character development, and the protagonist stays in his box. Seeing and "unseeing" are large-scale brainwashing upon the population(s) and any visitors (who must complete "trainings" before being allowed entry to either city-state). I couldn't believe the level of acceptance and adherence to their rules or understand why it all matters, other than to control and isolate people - and, possibly, to get away with murder.

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