Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
DNF, and I TRIED! I tried the audiobook and the kindle version and I just cannot make myself care about it. The descriptions are too detailed for nothing, without anything happening very little actually happening. I can’t take it.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Absolutely loved this. The writing style drew me in, and I loved that it takes the concept of BRZRKR and expands upon it with care and even deeper thought. The flashback chapters that show the reader snippets of B’s vast life were my favorites, and I could read so many of those vignettes. There’s also quite a bit of (pitch-dark) humor.
I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone though. You definitely need to be patient, and the density of the language means you need to be willing to look words up. This isn’t a book you can breeze through.
I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone though. You definitely need to be patient, and the density of the language means you need to be willing to look words up. This isn’t a book you can breeze through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship
Minor: Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked the stories between the main plot, from the doctor, the servant, the wife. It's interesting seeing a character with as much history as B through their eyes and memories.
Ultimately, those flashbacks made this book worth reading to me. The main plot is so slow to really get started and there are so many mysteries left unanswered at the end.
Ultimately, those flashbacks made this book worth reading to me. The main plot is so slow to really get started and there are so many mysteries left unanswered at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Suicide, Grief
Minor: Cannibalism
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advance reader copy.
I didn’t know what to write for this review as I don’t know how I felt about the book. It took a lot of time for me to get to around 20% and I felt like I didn’t know what was happening half the time.
The writing style wasn’t one I think worked for me and couldn’t get into the main story.
I might come back to this at a later date but for now was confused and this book felt like work.
I didn’t know what to write for this review as I don’t know how I felt about the book. It took a lot of time for me to get to around 20% and I felt like I didn’t know what was happening half the time.
The writing style wasn’t one I think worked for me and couldn’t get into the main story.
I might come back to this at a later date but for now was confused and this book felt like work.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's a slow start - by the time I felt I had a grasp on what was going on I was 2/3rds of the way through. Fortunately it's a short enough book that I decided to finish, else I would likely have given up. The historical chapters were often interesting, and had fun ideas, but I couldn't wrangle much interest in the present-day chapters. I hadn't realised that this connects to a larger universe until seeing some of these reviews - not sure if that would add to my enjoyment
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interesting ideas wrapped in philosophy and scientific discovery. Quite violent in places and some of the language seemed unnecessarily pretentious.
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Took me a good 20% to get into the book but it got significantly better the longer I read it.
I didn’t care for both the unconnected chapters or the weird narrator perspectives but I thought that both the plot and the “philosophy” of the book were peak Mieville.
I also thought he stayed true to Reeves BRSRKR comic… but it’s much much better.
I’m super happy to have Mieville writing fiction again.
I didn’t care for both the unconnected chapters or the weird narrator perspectives but I thought that both the plot and the “philosophy” of the book were peak Mieville.
I also thought he stayed true to Reeves BRSRKR comic… but it’s much much better.
I’m super happy to have Mieville writing fiction again.