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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
Another urban fantasy novel I've read of late where the setting was super-compelling but the plot's denouement seemed to not quite live up to the potential of the first few chapters. Still, the setting in question is quite excellent.
Very engaging, a fascinating alternate reality and lead character that grabbed me from the first page. The plot got a little convoluted and hard to follow in a few places, but still, definitely recommended.
finished 8/20/12
I enjoyed this book quite a bit and the reader for the audiobook is great also. Recommended.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit and the reader for the audiobook is great also. Recommended.
I don't think I'd heard anyone not rate the award winning and highly commended Zoo City. I picked it up and despite my concerns about reading a book which included animal companions I was immediately hooked.
Following the experiences of the main character, Zinzi, it's a fast and furious read with brilliant description and realistic characters. Beukes brings the city to life with a tender but at times brutal touch, her characters are deep and developed with their own nuances and hidden skeletons. The narrative is helped also by the inclusion of snippets from essays/interviews/magazines which add a harsh reality to the unfolding story. The book seems to transcend genres, crossing between urban fantasy, science fiction and mystery/thriller.
I'll definitely be reading more from Lauren Beukes.
Following the experiences of the main character, Zinzi, it's a fast and furious read with brilliant description and realistic characters. Beukes brings the city to life with a tender but at times brutal touch, her characters are deep and developed with their own nuances and hidden skeletons. The narrative is helped also by the inclusion of snippets from essays/interviews/magazines which add a harsh reality to the unfolding story. The book seems to transcend genres, crossing between urban fantasy, science fiction and mystery/thriller.
I'll definitely be reading more from Lauren Beukes.
Three and a half stars would be more precise. There are long sections where I suddenly realized that nothing had happened that was really germane to the plot, and yet it all was strongly evocative of Zinzi's life and reality, and I kind of loved her. The whole concept of the penance animals was really well-done too - reminded me of the daemons from The Golden Compass.
If you like urban fantasy at all this book is totally worth your time. While I don't have a lot to say about this book I've discovered I *do* have a lot of appreciation for it. I enjoy urban fantasy quite a bit, but more often than not I feel like I'm reading the same story over and over again. This book is not like that at all. It's fresh, interesting, gritty, and all around different. I found the world fascinating and rich, and the characters flawed and multifaceted. I hope Beukes writes more about this world, and at the very least I plan to pick up a copy of Moxyland.
Book Club Selection: 8/12
Book Club Selection: 8/12
Imagine if the daemons from Pullman’s His Dark Materials series were real, except that you only got one if you had a guilty conscience. In Zoo City, the animalled are the new criminal element, living in the fringes of society, ghettoed into “zoo cities.” After addiction led to Zinzi December being paired with a sloth, she tries to pay off her debts by finding people’s lost things and writing 419 scam letters. But after a job goes wrong, she becomes entangled in a search for a lost girl…
Beukes’s writing style is fantastic, and she made good use of alternative chapters – articles from a fictional movie database describing a documentary on the first famous case of an animalled individual, one of the 419 scam letters that Zinzi sends out, a fictional journal article about animalling, etc. There’s also quite a lot going on in the book that’s separate from the mystery itself, such as Zinzi meeting a couple her boss is scamming, that add dimension to Zinzi and her world. I also found that Beukes’s use of descriptions is fantastic.
Unfortunately, the plot feels clunky. I rode through because the characters are compelling and the writing is a joy to read, but the mystery just falls flat.
I didn’t care for the ending at all. For one thing, can we stop writing books set in the music industry that have the producer be the baddie, please? But also, the attempt to tie together the two different plot strands in some big elaborate conspiracy was just tiresome, and totally unnecessary. The victims (other than Mrs Luditsky, who seems to have been killed only for the cover up anyway) are fringe people that no one noticed missing. As for the twins, Odi had already set them up as being unhinged with the rehab stuff, so he could have easily just covered it up with a “they ran away” story (especially once Song helped out by actually running away – giving that story some precedence). What was the point of getting Zinzi involved at all? and the victims sending out e-mails? Why? That’s not Zinzi’s shavi, so how were they doing it and why were they sending them to her?
I’d say that the book is worth reading, just for the characters, the setting, and the world-building concepts. But as a mystery, I was disappointed.
Beukes’s writing style is fantastic, and she made good use of alternative chapters – articles from a fictional movie database describing a documentary on the first famous case of an animalled individual, one of the 419 scam letters that Zinzi sends out, a fictional journal article about animalling, etc. There’s also quite a lot going on in the book that’s separate from the mystery itself, such as Zinzi meeting a couple her boss is scamming, that add dimension to Zinzi and her world. I also found that Beukes’s use of descriptions is fantastic.
Unfortunately, the plot feels clunky. I rode through because the characters are compelling and the writing is a joy to read, but the mystery just falls flat.
I’d say that the book is worth reading, just for the characters, the setting, and the world-building concepts. But as a mystery, I was disappointed.
Zoo City - this is the place where the animalled live - these are people who have been linked to an animal of some sort because of a crime committed in the past.
Zinzi December is linked to a sloth. She has a knack for finding lost objects and is currently running an spam email service in a vain attempt to clear her debts. She normally avoids looking for people as it is too much hassle, but when offered the chance to look for one half of a pop duo she accepts.
As she closes in on her quarry, she unwittingly uncovers a series of murders, and has closer brushes with the law and the criminal underworld.
Wasn't sure about this first, the animal links are weird to say the least, but Beukes has created a unique urban fantasy novel, with this new Johannesburg as an edgy, wired place. The plot twists and picks up the pace nicely and the last part of the book zips by.
Zinzi December is linked to a sloth. She has a knack for finding lost objects and is currently running an spam email service in a vain attempt to clear her debts. She normally avoids looking for people as it is too much hassle, but when offered the chance to look for one half of a pop duo she accepts.
As she closes in on her quarry, she unwittingly uncovers a series of murders, and has closer brushes with the law and the criminal underworld.
Wasn't sure about this first, the animal links are weird to say the least, but Beukes has created a unique urban fantasy novel, with this new Johannesburg as an edgy, wired place. The plot twists and picks up the pace nicely and the last part of the book zips by.