Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
Reading this book was like watching Pig (2021) starring Nicolas Cage, and therefore I strongly hope that if this book ever becomes a movie, it stars Nicolas Cage. That is all.
So, I will freely admit that China Mieville on this as a ghost writer appealed a lot to me, though I did wonder what Keanu would bring to the table as a cowriter. Let's put it this way - it's very obvious when Keanu is writing, and when Mieville is writing, and whoever the editor is clearly gave up on trying to integrate the two very separate voices very quickly. If you want to know more about the Brzrkr universe that he's been cooking up, this is a very good book for that. As someone who has had absolutely zero interest in the Brzrkr universe, there are some very solid individual chapters here, but there is some really, really rough writing here and the divide between the two authorial styles is so severe that it brings the reader out of the narrative.
100 pages in and I'm just not feeling it. All the characters feel like one person talking to themselves. The pitch of the book is being about a guy who is immortal that wants to be mortal, but after 100 pages I just don't have any interest.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
Was a good read, but the premises seemed to promise even more
Thank you to Penguin Random House SA for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Keanu Reeves wrote a book?!?
Based on Reeves' comic BZRKR & written by Mieville, it's supposed to be "mind-blowing" and "genre-bending" but I was just confused through most of it...
Come and read The Book Of Elsewhere with me, confusion and all, in my video review, up on the channel now! Click here to check it out.
Don't forget to #LikeSubscribeShare
3.5 stars
Keanu Reeves wrote a book?!?
Based on Reeves' comic BZRKR & written by Mieville, it's supposed to be "mind-blowing" and "genre-bending" but I was just confused through most of it...
Come and read The Book Of Elsewhere with me, confusion and all, in my video review, up on the channel now! Click here to check it out.
Don't forget to #LikeSubscribeShare
3.5 stars
DNF. I'm really sad that this wasn't enjoyable. The writing was trying way too hard to be something masterful but forgot to actually say anything along the way. Style? It's completely disjointed. I can feel when China is writing and when we suddenly have Keanu's voice instead. There's no blending. The story itself? There was something interesting at the heart of it, but the main character is so foreign in nature that he's alien, and nobody else has any development worth noting.
I really wanted to like this. At times the prose felt like Dune, but then nothing really happened. I made it about 1/3rd of the way through before I stopped caring enough to continue. Perhaps it picks up later.
I really wanted to like this. At times the prose felt like Dune, but then nothing really happened. I made it about 1/3rd of the way through before I stopped caring enough to continue. Perhaps it picks up later.
Three stars to split the difference between China’s 5-star writing and Keanu’s 1-star story.
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
A lot of weird, beautiful ideas and full of the kind of imaginative, borderline obfuscatory writing you'd expect from Mieville, but it felt like too many cooks in the kitchen. The story was actually several books worth of stories kind of smooshed together. I wish they had let the narrative breathe a little.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes