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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If you’re a fan of Mieville, I highly recommend this book. If you’re a fan of Reeves and picked up this book solely because of that, I’d venture to guess that you’ll be disappointed and/or frustrated by this novel.
The premises of this book is a classic,we-tell-you-the-protagonist-is -bad-but-we-all-know-he’s-not . The development to get there is somewhat sporadic, at times it hums along and others it plods as if Neo is uploading into the matrix on dial up. But if you like the language use and style of Mieville, and you’re used to wading through a bit of complexity, the payoff is worth it.
The premises of this book is a classic,
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not enough narration from Keanu Reeves. There was so much happening and I felt really confused throughout but I kept listening in the hopes that there would be more than 1 chapter featuring Keanu Reeves' voiceover work. No such luck. That being said, the story was compelling enough for me to keep trying to get it while listening. But I got to the end and still felt like I had missed so much, so I reserved a hard copy of the book plus the trade paperbacks of the comic book series at the library so I can really, fully absorb what happened when and why.
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
My take on this book is this; as a Keanu Reeves book it's not bad, but as a China Miéville book it's a bit disappointing. Conceptually it is a bit underwhelming considering the rest of Miéville's oeuvre, and it felt more like a script to a TV series fronted by Keanu (which is kind of is, coming soon to Netflix). It is very violent/action focused, but I can see how Miéville tries to elevate the material with chapters jumping back and forth through time. In the end though The Book of Elsewhere is a mixed bag, as its a bit too esoteric to satisfy future Netflix audience readers and a bit too cinematic to satisfy long term Miéville fans.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I know this book was supposed to be a stand-alone, but really, it's not. I read the entire thing and it made NO sense to me. It was hard to follow, there were a lot of characters, a lot of jumping timelines in B's memory. I just kept saying WTF is going on? Who the hell is this now?
The writing is beautiful, I just couldn't follow the story and I read the entire book looking for a connection and that never happened. UNTIL! I went back (advice I found on reddit about this book) and read the BRZRKR graphic novels. OMG, that was the key that unlocked the entire story. In the graphic novel we get the whole origin story of B and the people in his life, his purpose, the things throughout history that have happened to him. The Deer-pig, the egg, the others like him.
If you like the story and you're struggling to comprehend it, I can't recommend reading BRZRKR enough. I had to read it on my kindle because issue one seems to be sold out everywhere. Its a quick read with nice illustrations.
The writing is beautiful, I just couldn't follow the story and I read the entire book looking for a connection and that never happened. UNTIL! I went back (advice I found on reddit about this book) and read the BRZRKR graphic novels. OMG, that was the key that unlocked the entire story. In the graphic novel we get the whole origin story of B and the people in his life, his purpose, the things throughout history that have happened to him. The Deer-pig, the egg, the others like him.
If you like the story and you're struggling to comprehend it, I can't recommend reading BRZRKR enough. I had to read it on my kindle because issue one seems to be sold out everywhere. Its a quick read with nice illustrations.
I have a hard time rating books like this. I recognize it is a good book and is well written. It just isn't for me. I really liked the ending though. I thought it was clever.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes