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the_tomster16's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.25
spaffrackett's review against another edition
3.0
Compulsively read. Not sure how the future world fit into the story.
justiceofkalr's review against another edition
3.0
This book had some trouble holding my attention. I spent the first few chapters just trying to figure out who Neku even was. Sometimes it works to just drop the reader into a book, and sometimes it's just kind of disorienting. Here I found it disorienting. Even once I figured out what was going on, I still felt kind of fuzzy about Neku's world until nearly the end of the book. But maybe that's the point since Neku has lost her memory and is trying to remember what happened. Still, I liked each of the stories that were woven together. Neku's trying to remember what happened to her family nicely mirrored Kit's own quest to find out what happened to his ex who supposedly committed suicide. But there was still something unsatisfying about it at the end. I think because of the dual stories I didn't get quite as much of each of the worlds as I would have liked.
cdeane61's review against another edition
5.0
The dual story line had me wondering what the hell was going on most of the time, but in no way detracted from my enjoyment of this book.
The main characters, Kit and Neku are both as complicated and fascinating as you are likely to find in fiction.
The plot lines are complex and otherworldly as we follow Kit through the organized crime syndicates of two countries, and Neku through some future(?) parallel crime-family like construct.
All I can say is that the novel commanded my full attention, and kept me enraptured til the end.
There is some beautiful writing going on here, also.
The main characters, Kit and Neku are both as complicated and fascinating as you are likely to find in fiction.
The plot lines are complex and otherworldly as we follow Kit through the organized crime syndicates of two countries, and Neku through some future(?) parallel crime-family like construct.
All I can say is that the novel commanded my full attention, and kept me enraptured til the end.
There is some beautiful writing going on here, also.
bethanharcourt's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the insight into Japan and the kids toward the culture and customs. I enjoyed the plot, even if I did take me maybe a little to long to quite understand where it was going. It took me a while to get into the book, but once I got about half way through I flew through it
afictionalhubbard's review against another edition
4.0
While not bothered by the frequently unclear aspects of the narrative (some, but not all, of which are at least tidied up at the end,) the disjointed nature of the novel does provide for much re-reading of earlier pages, especially as the main storyline arcs so far away from the original plot that when it returns to that aspect, none of the important players are fresh in the mind. That or I just needed to have read it faster so that the earlier introduced characters were still memorable when we stumble into them again later.
Overall, a good read, not quite sci-fi, but more of a futurish tale with a fantasy narrative side-story, the title is deceptive. If you're looking for yet another way the world might blow up, this isn't it.
Overall, a good read, not quite sci-fi, but more of a futurish tale with a fantasy narrative side-story, the title is deceptive. If you're looking for yet another way the world might blow up, this isn't it.
rosepetals1984's review against another edition
3.0
End of the World Blues is one of those novels that had great ideas but not always perfect execution - sometimes I thought the plot slowed down more than it should have, but it was still an intriguing read and I wouldn't hesitate to pick it up again. I think I can see why people love Grimwood as an author because he has such a vivid sense of place in his settings and rounded characters. I liked that the novel explored elements of Japanese culture (many of which I recognized). Lady Neku was an interesting character, and I found myself drawn to Kit, the main character as things start getting crazy in the plot progression.
Kit is obviously a flawed individual with his share of problems. This is evidenced even from the beginning of the novel with his relationships in full detail and becomes even moreso when he believes his ex-girlfriend is in danger. Lady Neku simply wants a chance to start again, and as for the rest of the colorful cast of characters in this novel - well, they're just that, colorful. I think overall it was the vivid sense of characterization and ideas that drew me to the novel. It's my first Grimwood novel, so I'm looking forward to seeing what other work is within his pallete.
Overall score: 3/5
Kit is obviously a flawed individual with his share of problems. This is evidenced even from the beginning of the novel with his relationships in full detail and becomes even moreso when he believes his ex-girlfriend is in danger. Lady Neku simply wants a chance to start again, and as for the rest of the colorful cast of characters in this novel - well, they're just that, colorful. I think overall it was the vivid sense of characterization and ideas that drew me to the novel. It's my first Grimwood novel, so I'm looking forward to seeing what other work is within his pallete.
Overall score: 3/5
toastx2's review against another edition
3.0
interstellar gods managing the leftover refugees of humanity. our world iss nothing but a constructed barrier of safety created by them to allow us life.
think this book is sci-fi? it is not. this book is a thinly veiled series of structured thoughts showing the smallness of our universe. everything we know is insignificant. interestingly enough, everything outside our understanding is also also insignificant.
From the the Hagakure, The Way of the Samurai -
“Among the maxims on Lord Naoshige’s wall there was this one: ”Matters of’ great concern should be treated lightly. Matters of small concern should be treated seriously. Among one’s affairs there should not be more than two or three matters of what one could call great concern. If these are deliberated upon during ordinary times, they can be understood.”
These are ordinary times and the deliberation of concerns will not be fully qualified and resolved until the end of the tale…
This story revolves around, Kit Noveau, an ex-rocker from Ireland. living in Tokyo. he is also ex-military, unable to go home without fear of being arrested for being a deserter, not that he would want to go home.
for ten years he has been married and hiding out in Tokyo. his wife is an introverted world respected pottery artist. his best friend is an Australian biker in hiding, unable to return home himself. Yoshi, Kit’s wife, owns a bar called “Pirate Marys” in a rundown part of Tokyo.
Enter into the story Lady Neku. Neku carries blades and wears costume. Neku is hiding $15 million dollars in a train station pay per day locker. Kit gives her fresh coffee on cold mornings and she feels she owns him more than owes him.
When a homeless man (or an assassin) attacks Kit one morning, Lady Neku leaves a blade in the attacker’s lung, and blood pouring from his body. soon after she rips a hole in time space and steps through.
everything else is story… but it is more detective novel than sci-fi fantasy. all the elements of this book meld together into a nice blend of images. it is like reading Murakami lite with a bit of bit of gaiman and joe hill.
--
xpost RawBlurb.com
think this book is sci-fi? it is not. this book is a thinly veiled series of structured thoughts showing the smallness of our universe. everything we know is insignificant. interestingly enough, everything outside our understanding is also also insignificant.
From the the Hagakure, The Way of the Samurai -
“Among the maxims on Lord Naoshige’s wall there was this one: ”Matters of’ great concern should be treated lightly. Matters of small concern should be treated seriously. Among one’s affairs there should not be more than two or three matters of what one could call great concern. If these are deliberated upon during ordinary times, they can be understood.”
These are ordinary times and the deliberation of concerns will not be fully qualified and resolved until the end of the tale…
This story revolves around, Kit Noveau, an ex-rocker from Ireland. living in Tokyo. he is also ex-military, unable to go home without fear of being arrested for being a deserter, not that he would want to go home.
for ten years he has been married and hiding out in Tokyo. his wife is an introverted world respected pottery artist. his best friend is an Australian biker in hiding, unable to return home himself. Yoshi, Kit’s wife, owns a bar called “Pirate Marys” in a rundown part of Tokyo.
Enter into the story Lady Neku. Neku carries blades and wears costume. Neku is hiding $15 million dollars in a train station pay per day locker. Kit gives her fresh coffee on cold mornings and she feels she owns him more than owes him.
When a homeless man (or an assassin) attacks Kit one morning, Lady Neku leaves a blade in the attacker’s lung, and blood pouring from his body. soon after she rips a hole in time space and steps through.
everything else is story… but it is more detective novel than sci-fi fantasy. all the elements of this book meld together into a nice blend of images. it is like reading Murakami lite with a bit of bit of gaiman and joe hill.
--
xpost RawBlurb.com
kellanemc's review against another edition
4.0
Grimwood's brew of storytelling, violence, sex, high strange, and lyricism punches through the fog of reality to engage the brain from lizard on up, and leaves me at least floating in an immersive bath of fiction.
Parts of the "End of the World Blues" you could imagine being written by Gibson, sci-fi set in contemporary Tokoyo and London, but where Gibson is sparing with the heavy stuff (emotion, imagery, strangeness), Grimwood piles it on, and keep piling.
My favorite since his Arabesk trilogy
Parts of the "End of the World Blues" you could imagine being written by Gibson, sci-fi set in contemporary Tokoyo and London, but where Gibson is sparing with the heavy stuff (emotion, imagery, strangeness), Grimwood piles it on, and keep piling.
My favorite since his Arabesk trilogy
xdroot's review against another edition
5.0
a fun read encompassing japanese culture and the yakuza, english life, a talking cat, a visitor from a future where the moon is 6 slices.