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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What even is this?! I'm sorry Keanu but wow...flat Stanley is more round than the crap characters in this...what a bomb
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Patchy but fun
Honestly didn't know what to expect when I stumbled on this. I haven't read the comics that apparently precede it. The writing is as you might expect from a collaboration between a highly accomplished writer and an adorably enthusiastic amateur whose talents lie elsewhere but isn't afraid to just enjoy doing interesting things not very well. (Remember Dogstar?) It has pages that are quite brilliantly written, and others that are cringeworthily badly written. And that's okay. The concept isn't exactly original, but it's dealt with in a fresh and thought-provoking way, and that's enough to make this a highly enjoyable read. The inevitable film will no doubt iron out the kinks, and I hope it showcases some of the best parts of China's writing.
Honestly didn't know what to expect when I stumbled on this. I haven't read the comics that apparently precede it. The writing is as you might expect from a collaboration between a highly accomplished writer and an adorably enthusiastic amateur whose talents lie elsewhere but isn't afraid to just enjoy doing interesting things not very well. (Remember Dogstar?) It has pages that are quite brilliantly written, and others that are cringeworthily badly written. And that's okay. The concept isn't exactly original, but it's dealt with in a fresh and thought-provoking way, and that's enough to make this a highly enjoyable read. The inevitable film will no doubt iron out the kinks, and I hope it showcases some of the best parts of China's writing.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Full video review: https://youtu.be/W7uaXSpm_N4.
I am happy to say I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would.
And that's mostly because The Book of Elsewhere was, clearly, principally written by China Miéville, and not Keanu Reeves... no offence to him, but I wasn't actually interested in reading his stuff. No: I wanted more of Miéville's fiction, and that's mostly what I got – thankfully!
The base premise of an immortal warrior, named Unute, or B (and born circa 80000 BCE), working with the US military to discover just why he cannot die, or rather stay dead, must have come from Mr Reeves, because it definitely does not fit the pattern of what Mr Miéville usually plays with in his fiction writing. But the prose, the twisty and thoughtful story-telling; the mixing of playful- and somber-ness in the story's tone; the quality of its theming on the meaning of life, death and the unrelenting passage of time, and the weirdness of the whole 'babirusa' thing... all of that was wonderfully Miévillian!
Unute felt decently convincing as an insanely old, immortal character. His suggestion Humanity had actually seen many grand civilisations rise and fall in its very ancient history was a cheeky and amusing nod to conspiracies regarding deep time. And I found it surprisingly pleasant to realise I was somewhat reminded of... Jeff Vandermeer's Authority while reading this book.
So... not my favourite Miéville by any means, but still worth my time. 🙂
I am happy to say I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would.
And that's mostly because The Book of Elsewhere was, clearly, principally written by China Miéville, and not Keanu Reeves... no offence to him, but I wasn't actually interested in reading his stuff. No: I wanted more of Miéville's fiction, and that's mostly what I got – thankfully!
The base premise of an immortal warrior, named Unute, or B (and born circa 80000 BCE), working with the US military to discover just why he cannot die, or rather stay dead, must have come from Mr Reeves, because it definitely does not fit the pattern of what Mr Miéville usually plays with in his fiction writing. But the prose, the twisty and thoughtful story-telling; the mixing of playful- and somber-ness in the story's tone; the quality of its theming on the meaning of life, death and the unrelenting passage of time, and the weirdness of the whole 'babirusa' thing... all of that was wonderfully Miévillian!
Unute felt decently convincing as an insanely old, immortal character. His suggestion Humanity had actually seen many grand civilisations rise and fall in its very ancient history was a cheeky and amusing nod to conspiracies regarding deep time. And I found it surprisingly pleasant to realise I was somewhat reminded of... Jeff Vandermeer's Authority while reading this book.
So... not my favourite Miéville by any means, but still worth my time. 🙂
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A very well written book, but I feel if you are unaware of the comic, A lot does not.make sense. The books takes a lo g time to get going but also nothing much happens.