Reviews - Blackfish City | The StoryGraph

973 reviews for:

This book, though (mostly) well-written, was just not for me. The setting was impressive and lovingly detailed, the characters vividly drawn, though not very likable overall (not necessary literarily, but it did decrease my enjoyment). Every now and then characters broke into unnatural info-dump speak, full of tired metaphors like “implacable as a glacier” that no one would use in actual conversation. I had a hard time understanding exactly how the Shareholder had profited from his past misdeeds, too. And that’s after an extremely long, slow build - almost nothing happens until almost halfway in.
So overall I enjoyed the driving ideas behind the plot, but found the execution lackluster, and the occasional outbreaks of brutal random violence (and especially what happened to one of the main characters at the end, was no one else bothered by that ending and the nonchalance of the other characters?) detracted quite a lot.

jillpadams's review against another edition

3.0

Fun romp , not too deep. Some interesting world building and Snowpiercer vibes, where the themes get higher priority than a sensible plot. But I enjoyed it and downed it in a couple of days.

lindzee's review against another edition

1.0

I just couldn't get into this one. I think the thinly veiled allegory and allusions to AIDS/HIV were just too preachy to me.

talesofvi's review against another edition

3.0

3,75/5

robobinob's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

I loved the concept, but the book felt rushed. I feel like it could have been a trilogy with a deeper dive into the world building and character development.