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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
I appreciate that Miéville chose to really stick to the noir detective story style here. It’s a big change in tone/prose from the only other of his works I’ve read (Perdido Street Station) but he does it well.
Overall, The City & The City was good, but not great for me. I feel like, once you figure out what the situation is with the two cities and all the seeing/unseeing (which, if you don’t figure it out for yourself before then, it starts getting directly explained around chapter 5, so pretty early on), most of the fun is gone and the remaining crime story just wasn’t enough to keep me engaged.
This won’t go on my list of all time favorites by any means, but I’m not mad I read it and will keep checking out more Miéville.
Overall, The City & The City was good, but not great for me. I feel like, once you figure out what the situation is with the two cities and all the seeing/unseeing (which, if you don’t figure it out for yourself before then, it starts getting directly explained around chapter 5, so pretty early on), most of the fun is gone and the remaining crime story just wasn’t enough to keep me engaged.
This won’t go on my list of all time favorites by any means, but I’m not mad I read it and will keep checking out more Miéville.
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Slow burner for the first third or so, as you try to wrap your head around the world-building, but it quickly picks up after that.
A book that I thought I would like, a book I tried hard to like, yet ultimately a book which is not interested in the same questions I am. The premise is freighted with the opportunity to discuss rich questions about belonging and being yet cannot escape from the fact it is fundamentally a buddy cop story
Well and cleverly written, thought-provoking, page-turning. If slightly historically/faux-politically contrived. Looking forward to burning through the rest of Mieville's catalogue.
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No