Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
Bit odd, couldn’t finish. What I read I had to read in Keanu’s voice. Perhaps it would make a better screenplay
I enjoyed this a lot it is definitely one for fans of Iain Banks in many ways this reminds me thematically of transition. It does take a while to get into it and sort the various characters out but I thought the lead in was well done overall.
One minor gripe the main character having 2 names initially I found that jarring but hell an 80k year old would have more than 2 names lets face it.
Weirdly my favourite character in this book was the pig the storytelling and character.given to the pig was brilliant I really enjoyed that.
I hope this continues plenty of scope to prequel or continue on this arc but this does not feel done!
One minor gripe the main character having 2 names initially I found that jarring but hell an 80k year old would have more than 2 names lets face it.
Weirdly my favourite character in this book was the pig the storytelling and character.given to the pig was brilliant I really enjoyed that.
I hope this continues plenty of scope to prequel or continue on this arc but this does not feel done!
A gloriously silly concept (immortal warrior is chased by a similarly immortal vengeance obsessed pig) but the authors lean into it so hard that it becomes a genuine epic, a comics and pop culture inflected Beowulf. Unfortunately the plotting can't quite sustain the epic tone and the last quarter pretty much falls apart in front of your eyes, but it's a fun ride getting there.
challenging
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
2.5 ⭐️
TLDR; while this book certainly had pages and plot points occurred, I can't really say anything happened in this book aside from China Miéville demonstrating that he, in fact, knows a lot of a fancy words.
The world and mysteries around B and his existence are the most intriguing part of the book. I wish more of it was developed and they made those aspects more concrete as opposed to taking the "some mysteries are not meant to be known" approach. And the same goes for the overall theme of death, immortality and what that means. B's anguish and frustration with it is well developed, but he learns nothing from it and by the end of the book, nothing really about his situation is learned. He's essentially back to where he started in the book. So, nothing intellectually interesting about the whole living forever question, but nor in B's search for an answer to his issue either.
Lastly, China's writing style is pretentious as hell and I can't say that it added more to my reading experience. If I need to look a definition every chapter, I don't think this novel is for me.
At least it's short.
TLDR; while this book certainly had pages and plot points occurred, I can't really say anything happened in this book aside from China Miéville demonstrating that he, in fact, knows a lot of a fancy words.
The world and mysteries around B and his existence are the most intriguing part of the book. I wish more of it was developed and they made those aspects more concrete as opposed to taking the "some mysteries are not meant to be known" approach. And the same goes for the overall theme of death, immortality and what that means. B's anguish and frustration with it is well developed, but he learns nothing from it and by the end of the book, nothing really about his situation is learned. He's essentially back to where he started in the book. So, nothing intellectually interesting about the whole living forever question, but nor in B's search for an answer to his issue either.
Lastly, China's writing style is pretentious as hell and I can't say that it added more to my reading experience. If I need to look a definition every chapter, I don't think this novel is for me.
At least it's short.
dark
mysterious
sad
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
Unexpectedly delightful and emotional. Not a typical reader of military related books but Mieville is my favorite, so I had to give it a go. Heartbreaking. Three different strands of narrative pushed the story so beautifully, each one captivating as it came along.
A quick and simpler read than most Mieville books, but just as brilliant.
A quick and simpler read than most Mieville books, but just as brilliant.
I really tried with this book but it was overwritten and almost impossible to get through. I switched from the ebook to audiobook as the writing was not connecting for me to read. I hoped the full cast narration would make the experience more accessible. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I’m sure that those of us who read this book because it was written by Keanu pushed through more than most. It’s hard to tell where the disconnect happened between the two authors, but it isn’t a combination that should be repeated!
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a fun book. While in some ways it seems fairly unremarkable - it's a combination of a treasure-hunt, an action novel with goo & bad guys, good guys who might not be so good, and a man-enhanced-by-machine set in the molecular / silicon era - it's the merger & integration of all these types of book that creates an excellent skeleton for gripping writing.
I blew through this book pretty quickly (and then promptly forgot to write my review (which I'm supposed to as an ARC reader)), so I had to skim it again to refresh my recollection. And in doing so, recalled the fun writing. The characters are nicely-developed, individual, flawed yet deserving of some respect if not affection. There are even surprises in the middle of the development of a character: Are they who you thought they were - or...? The story moves at a brisk pace, never leaving you bored, waiting for the next thing to happen.
Some of the story is set in Boston; and as resident there, I always have fun with those bits. it was nice to see a few passing references to things that we locals like about the town. My guess is that the author went to school here. But those were pretty rare, and there weren't *quite* enough of them to really think the city is part of the story; it could have been set anywhere.
Interesting subtle bits of writing points the fact that the author is a medical / science practitioner, because it uses ideas / language a practitioner might (only) know. Examples: One of the characters is ravenously hungry right after a body-impact that would unexpectedly demand nutrition. Or, clever interactions between the tech & the characters, such as "This body needs cinnamon", said by the tech.) Or "The purine & pyrimidine rings of the tetravalent silicon from the orange-sack-component must be intercalating with the human carbon-based nucleic acid as the subject's tissues regenerate." Insider-stuff, that.
There are also fun dialog / ideas, e.g. the components being colors, and having genders. Or, the title of the book referring to an ancient concept (Nephilim), which likely doesn't mean what you *think* it means. (Spoiler: Heroes of old.)
It isn't one of those books that asks super-deep philosophical questions, though it does raise the issue of medical ethics: How much foundation should an experimenter / researcher into new bio / molecular tech move into human trials, and who makes that decision?
In the end, though, the story leads to "Who gets to control superman?" And because of this, it misses being a five-star review for me (according to my criteria below) because in the end, there's a big reliance on fight scenes when that question is being addressed. I like the more cerebral, or subtle answers to hard questions. Now to be sure, four-stars is what I call a really-well-done book, that I enjoyed, which I'm happy to write a positive review about because it was a good time, but which doesn't rise to the level of "best book in several years", or "I've got to turn around and read it again just to get everything out of it that's in there."
Nevertheless, good book. Worth your read. My rating system:
- Five stars is when you read a book to the end, put it down, take a deep breath, pick it up and start reading it all over again - or you would if you weren't so anxious to read the next book in a multi-book series. Or, it's simply really good.
- Four stars is when you tell yourself : ”This is good, this is well-written, this is full of interesting ideas/characters/plot points”, but you know you will never read it again.
- Three stars is when you read it to the end, put it down and proceed to forget all about it in the next instant.
- Two stars when it's so bad that it makes you laugh, or sigh, and want to write a review, but you can't remember the name of the book or dislike it so much that you don't.
- One star when you can't read past chapter 3, even as penance for your sins.
Disclosure: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I blew through this book pretty quickly (and then promptly forgot to write my review (which I'm supposed to as an ARC reader)), so I had to skim it again to refresh my recollection. And in doing so, recalled the fun writing. The characters are nicely-developed, individual, flawed yet deserving of some respect if not affection. There are even surprises in the middle of the development of a character: Are they who you thought they were - or...? The story moves at a brisk pace, never leaving you bored, waiting for the next thing to happen.
Some of the story is set in Boston; and as resident there, I always have fun with those bits. it was nice to see a few passing references to things that we locals like about the town. My guess is that the author went to school here. But those were pretty rare, and there weren't *quite* enough of them to really think the city is part of the story; it could have been set anywhere.
Interesting subtle bits of writing points the fact that the author is a medical / science practitioner, because it uses ideas / language a practitioner might (only) know. Examples: One of the characters is ravenously hungry right after a body-impact that would unexpectedly demand nutrition. Or, clever interactions between the tech & the characters, such as "This body needs cinnamon", said by the tech.) Or "The purine & pyrimidine rings of the tetravalent silicon from the orange-sack-component must be intercalating with the human carbon-based nucleic acid as the subject's tissues regenerate." Insider-stuff, that.
There are also fun dialog / ideas, e.g. the components being colors, and having genders. Or, the title of the book referring to an ancient concept (Nephilim), which likely doesn't mean what you *think* it means. (Spoiler: Heroes of old.)
It isn't one of those books that asks super-deep philosophical questions, though it does raise the issue of medical ethics: How much foundation should an experimenter / researcher into new bio / molecular tech move into human trials, and who makes that decision?
In the end, though, the story leads to "Who gets to control superman?" And because of this, it misses being a five-star review for me (according to my criteria below) because in the end, there's a big reliance on fight scenes when that question is being addressed. I like the more cerebral, or subtle answers to hard questions. Now to be sure, four-stars is what I call a really-well-done book, that I enjoyed, which I'm happy to write a positive review about because it was a good time, but which doesn't rise to the level of "best book in several years", or "I've got to turn around and read it again just to get everything out of it that's in there."
Nevertheless, good book. Worth your read. My rating system:
- Five stars is when you read a book to the end, put it down, take a deep breath, pick it up and start reading it all over again - or you would if you weren't so anxious to read the next book in a multi-book series. Or, it's simply really good.
- Four stars is when you tell yourself : ”This is good, this is well-written, this is full of interesting ideas/characters/plot points”, but you know you will never read it again.
- Three stars is when you read it to the end, put it down and proceed to forget all about it in the next instant.
- Two stars when it's so bad that it makes you laugh, or sigh, and want to write a review, but you can't remember the name of the book or dislike it so much that you don't.
- One star when you can't read past chapter 3, even as penance for your sins.
Disclosure: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes