Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
Un petit résumé
Ce roman nous raconte les aventures de Starck, une espèce de détective privé un peu étrange, dans une ville aux dimensions d’un contient, munie de particularités assez étonnantes. Celui-ci doit aller exfiltrer une espèce de vieux cadre dynamique, censément enlevé ...
Un début d’avis
J’ai lu, il n’y a pas si longtemps, du même auteur, [b:la proie des rêves|4128492|La Proie des rêves|M. Marshall|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390666514s/4128492.jpg|22199]. Ce qui est étonnant, c’est qu’on retrouve dans les deux romans d’assez nombreux points communs : le rêve est indiférenciable de la réalité, qui n’est pas elle-même ce que l’on peut en croire. Ca ressemble à du [a:Dick|4764|Philip K. Dick|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1264613853p2/4764.jpg], me dites-vous ? Autant, pour [b:la proie des rêves|4128492|La Proie des rêves|M. Marshall|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390666514s/4128492.jpg|22199], j’aurais répondu non, autant là, à partir d’un moment, oui, j’ai bien cru voir sortir des morceaux de [b:le dieu venu du centaure|33329506|Divinite D'Un Univers de Fiction Kratos, Thor, Paul Atreides, Hogun, Siva, Kamichama Karin, Le Dieu Venu Du Centaure, Loki, Ares, Unicron, Zeus, Balder, New Gods, Enchanteresse, Hermod, Frey, Frigga, Histoires Divines, Jesus, Phobos|Source Wikipedia|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|54070173], pourtant, si il s’agit à mon avis d’un des hommages évidents de l’auteur, il ne s’agit pas d’un roman de [a:Dick|4764|Philip K. Dick|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1264613853p2/4764.jpg], et par bien des aspects, qui tiennent autant à la narration et aux personnages qu’à la forme de l’univers.
La narration, pour commencer, prend vraiment le lecteur aux tripes. J’ai déja dit bien des fois tout le bien que je pensais des récits à la première personne, et ça se confirme encore une fois. Bien que Starck ne soit pas ce qu’on pourrait appeler un héros attachant, on l’aime, on le suit, on pense avec lui, et on est souvent confus … comme lui. Car Starck est un personnage des plus confus, qui fait penser d’assez près aux détectives privés de la littérature (enfin, je dis ça, je n’ai jamais lu un seul roman mettant en scène ce genre de personnage, c’est plus de l’ordre de l’imaginaire collectif). Par de nombreux aspects, il porte en lui ce côté imper crasseux, clope tordue au coin des lèvres, dur à cuire que rien n’arrête. Pourtant, cette facade se lézarde souvent, aussi bien dans les phases où il se bat pour sa peau que dans d’autres, où le lecteur comprend que son travail repose sur d’autres bases. Et sous ces lézardes, on voit apparaître un autre individu peu en phase avec son monde. Mais ça, ça n’est pas bien difficile ! Le monde que nous décrit [a:Smith|2327917|Betty Smith|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1238556081p2/2327917.jpg], avec ses Quartiers tous plus étranges les uns que les autres, est à mes yeux complètement incroyable : un ensemble de de petits pays, tout à fait isolés les uns des autres, où chaque coin de rue peut révéler un environnement surprenant, et où surtout les règles changent quasiment tous les kilomètres ! La grande force de l’auteur est d’insufler une vraie vie à cet endroit, alors même que les personnages le parcourant ne sont pas très nombreux, et alors surtout que son étrangeté est parfois très difficile à admettre (comme par exemple pour le Quartier chat). Mais bah, habitué que je suis aux expériences de la sf, je me suis facilement laissé emmener dans ce monde, et je n’ai pas regretté le voyage.
Attention aux spoilers, maintenant.
Mais ce voyage de la première partie n’est rien, selon moi, face à ce que réserve la deuxième partie : cet univers, étrange et fascinant, qu’a construit l’auteur se lézarde à son tour pour révéler un monde du rêve, qui ne peut que faire penser aux légendes aborigènes, qui est tout aussi réel que l’univers d’où vient le héros. Quoique… Lorsque l’auteur, avec la maîtrise la plus extrême, nous explique trois pages avant la fin (je vous avais prévenu, le spoiler qui tue commence ici) que le héros et son ennemi viennent de notre bon vieux monde, là, c’est proprement fabuleux : tout s’écroule, et pourtant tout reste pareil, rien n’est clair, sauf peut-être cette conviction que Starck a choisi sa réalité. Et c’est là, justement, lorsque [a:Smith|2327917|Betty Smith|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1238556081p2/2327917.jpg] détruit son chateau de cartes, que l’ascendance de [a:Dick|4764|Philip K. Dick|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1264613853p2/4764.jpg] se révèle le plus clairement, je trouve. Alors qu’il aurait pu finir son récit tranquillement, il préfère nous asséner une grande baffe dans la figure, avant de nous pousser gentiment vers la sortie.
Bref, un grand moment de littérature, que j’ai vraiment beaucoup apprécié (beaucoup plus en tout cas, que [a:Dick|4764|Philip K. Dick|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1264613853p2/4764.jpg]) et que je ne peux que vous recommander chaudement.
This was awesome in the beginning. It's a departure for me because i'm usually not about anything that isn't straight up realistic drama grounded in reality blah blah blah but this one captured me when i read the sample chapter so when i got my hands on it i was stoked. Until about the middle.
See it's about this dude named Stark and he's a guy who can do specific things that are called upon when they are needed. He's like a jack of trades guy, but for finding people and helping people etc. but in this weird place that is earth but way in the future where the land has been divided into neighborhoods based on what the people there like, for instance there's the color neighborhood where the buildings and streets change according to it's mood and you change too. There's Red neighborhood that is home to all the gang members and violence and such. Then there's a cat neighborhood where, you guessed it. and there's one that is for holidays (the author is british) and i'm all about this story. But it just gets too weird for me.. and i'm not against weird it just seemed to not really go with the story- like gore for the sake of it? and Stark talks to the reader which is cool and fun but he deliberately says we don't know anything about him and he's withholding information on purpose and that just gets annoying so it could have been 5 stars but didn't hold my interest to the end. I really wanted to love this book.
See it's about this dude named Stark and he's a guy who can do specific things that are called upon when they are needed. He's like a jack of trades guy, but for finding people and helping people etc. but in this weird place that is earth but way in the future where the land has been divided into neighborhoods based on what the people there like, for instance there's the color neighborhood where the buildings and streets change according to it's mood and you change too. There's Red neighborhood that is home to all the gang members and violence and such. Then there's a cat neighborhood where, you guessed it. and there's one that is for holidays (the author is british) and i'm all about this story. But it just gets too weird for me.. and i'm not against weird it just seemed to not really go with the story- like gore for the sake of it? and Stark talks to the reader which is cool and fun but he deliberately says we don't know anything about him and he's withholding information on purpose and that just gets annoying so it could have been 5 stars but didn't hold my interest to the end. I really wanted to love this book.
Very creative setting (far-future London, albeit imagined from a 90s viewpoint) and plot, with twists and turns and an ending that actually satisfied me (a rare thing).
A few segments of adventuring dragged a bit, but otherwise a great read!
A few segments of adventuring dragged a bit, but otherwise a great read!
When I started reading this book, I thought I wouldn’t like it very much. It seemed very testosterone-y, you know? But I soon realized the incredible feats of imagination it took to write this novel. It felt like three or four stories in one, in the best way possible. I feel bad for the people who DNF-ed this. I don’t think I’ve read a book quite like this. Just when I thought I got things figured out, they take another turn towards the unexpected.
P.S. I love me some unreliable narrators.
P.S. I love me some unreliable narrators.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
It's late and I'm tired, but wow. I just finished this one and it's already become my favorite book. I can't even explain it.. Why most of the reviews give the last half of this book low ratings is beyond me. The last half was what kept me reading long after bedtime... I almost want to read this one again. Now. I damn near almost cried at the end - not because it's sad, but because the story was over. It is such a good book. I highly recommend it. The book kind of gave off the feel of the film '12 Monkeys'. Not that it's anything like the film, but it gives off the same spooky, haunting atmosphere of emotions. A book that makes your mind race while turning the pages and even still after finishing the book. It's a wonderful story of friendship, love and dreams.
First read in 2011.
I knew I had read this, and really liked it, but the only thing that came to mind when I thought of it was a futuristic setting, the protagonist climbing over some kind of weird structure, and someone - well, I won't say that, because it would be a spoiler. It was fun to read again - it's inventive and has some wonky humour and it's surprising and sad and sort of kind in the very good way that good science fiction is. Now that I've read pretty much everything else by this author, I can kind of see this being a first novel, but the voice has only grown more assured, not changed substantially.
I knew I had read this, and really liked it, but the only thing that came to mind when I thought of it was a futuristic setting, the protagonist climbing over some kind of weird structure, and someone - well, I won't say that, because it would be a spoiler. It was fun to read again - it's inventive and has some wonky humour and it's surprising and sad and sort of kind in the very good way that good science fiction is. Now that I've read pretty much everything else by this author, I can kind of see this being a first novel, but the voice has only grown more assured, not changed substantially.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Conceptually it's brilliant, but with terrible execution and poor writing.
95% of it is "Ohh look at x isn't it WEIRD?! Actually, never mind, how about y, isn't y WEIRD?! Well, if you think y is weird, you're really going to go wild for z! It's the weirdest of them all!" Followed by completely ignoring x, y and z, and throwing in a straightforward explanation of what has actually been going on the whole time.
I really, really liked the explanation, but the book forgot to tell a compelling story until the last 20 pages or so. I would LOVE this book if someone took the main premise and rewrote it in a way that was compelling.
95% of it is "Ohh look at x isn't it WEIRD?! Actually, never mind, how about y, isn't y WEIRD?! Well, if you think y is weird, you're really going to go wild for z! It's the weirdest of them all!" Followed by completely ignoring x, y and z, and throwing in a straightforward explanation of what has actually been going on the whole time.
I really, really liked the explanation, but the book forgot to tell a compelling story until the last 20 pages or so. I would LOVE this book if someone took the main premise and rewrote it in a way that was compelling.