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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
Read my comparison of Blackfish City and Kim Stanley Robinson's New York 2140 here.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/tales-of-two-drowned-cities-new-york-2140-and-blackfish-city/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/tales-of-two-drowned-cities-new-york-2140-and-blackfish-city/
This book has solid worldbuilding and good pacing, and I appreciate there being a character who is described using they/them pronouns. The book falls apart for me because it hinges on the formation of insta-family. Like, look! We're actually all related! We all love each other instantly! We're all going to come together instantly!
The audiobook narrator also did a terrible job with the New York Jewish accent which was also jarring enough for me to dislike the book more than I might have.
Other reviewers have commented on Fill's treatment of Soq as exotic is unrealistic, especially as this book is set in the future. I would argue that Fill's treatment of Soq says more about Fill than it does about the world itself. That is, Fill thinks himself to be worldly and well-educated, but is actually incredibly sheltered and naive and perpetually interested in the next sexual adventure. Everyone else seems to be uninterested in Soq's gender one way or another, which honestly is kind of refreshing.
The audiobook narrator also did a terrible job with the New York Jewish accent which was also jarring enough for me to dislike the book more than I might have.
Other reviewers have commented on Fill's treatment of Soq as exotic is unrealistic, especially as this book is set in the future. I would argue that Fill's treatment of Soq says more about Fill than it does about the world itself. That is, Fill thinks himself to be worldly and well-educated, but is actually incredibly sheltered and naive and perpetually interested in the next sexual adventure. Everyone else seems to be uninterested in Soq's gender one way or another, which honestly is kind of refreshing.
I felt like the author got so caught up in the worldbuilding that he forgot to give us interesting characters for a while. Later on, when the POV characters actually start interacting, they become more interesting, but it took a while to get there.
I read a basic 3 sentence glimpses of this book. And I needed something to listen to on my phone. Yes, there are times when that's all the criteria that is needed.
The underlying struggle in this tale is that of the haves and have nots, politics, genocide, castes, and all manner of ugly human behaviors. However, it's not a heavy handed lesson in morality. One of the characters is a likable young person (early on clearly identified as They/Them) who sleeps in some borrowed box or such. Yeah, one step above gutters.
There is also a disease running amok thru the population. When a young girl shows signs of "the breaks" (because those who suffer with this condition seem to have a broken mind), publishing this info and saying "This candidate stands with those families who suffer with this tragic disease" is practically a death sentence. The powers that be already knew it wasn't the lowest sphere of humanity that suffered exclusively from The Breaks. But they keep that information covert. Why? Why not help people? Why keep these secrets? Well, I'm not going to tell you. I will tell you that the similarities to living thru the AIDS epidemic were sharp and uncomfortable.
This is a science fiction tale, it's about living on a floating city, built in answer to the flooding of the planet. But it's not really about "some time in the future", it almost feels like the natural consequence of our selfish living. The fun really comes when we learn about Bonded Mates, a tribe of humans savagely raped by the science community. The entire group were given nanites, which allowed them to bond with one particular animal. When our character talks about the days before the tribe was slaughtered and the few survivors scattered, she talks of being bonded to a brood of chickens or a goat and how that aided the community. She herself, however, is bonded to an Orca.
My favorite part....the accent of Inuit natives. The name of this technological marvel, the floating city is Qaanaaq (Kuh Nock). Our main characters are Soq (silk), Kaev (cave) and Ankit (un kit). :)
The underlying struggle in this tale is that of the haves and have nots, politics, genocide, castes, and all manner of ugly human behaviors. However, it's not a heavy handed lesson in morality. One of the characters is a likable young person (early on clearly identified as They/Them) who sleeps in some borrowed box or such. Yeah, one step above gutters.
There is also a disease running amok thru the population. When a young girl shows signs of "the breaks" (because those who suffer with this condition seem to have a broken mind), publishing this info and saying "This candidate stands with those families who suffer with this tragic disease" is practically a death sentence. The powers that be already knew it wasn't the lowest sphere of humanity that suffered exclusively from The Breaks. But they keep that information covert. Why? Why not help people? Why keep these secrets? Well, I'm not going to tell you. I will tell you that the similarities to living thru the AIDS epidemic were sharp and uncomfortable.
This is a science fiction tale, it's about living on a floating city, built in answer to the flooding of the planet. But it's not really about "some time in the future", it almost feels like the natural consequence of our selfish living. The fun really comes when we learn about Bonded Mates, a tribe of humans savagely raped by the science community. The entire group were given nanites, which allowed them to bond with one particular animal. When our character talks about the days before the tribe was slaughtered and the few survivors scattered, she talks of being bonded to a brood of chickens or a goat and how that aided the community. She herself, however, is bonded to an Orca.
My favorite part....the accent of Inuit natives. The name of this technological marvel, the floating city is Qaanaaq (Kuh Nock). Our main characters are Soq (silk), Kaev (cave) and Ankit (un kit). :)
It took me a while to really get with this book, only because I started out not really liking any of the characters. The author does a masterful job of introducing a lot of POV characters who are not easy to sympathize with and making you care about and get invested in them over the course of the story, slowly revealing their motivations and what made them into who they are.
Also wow was this a refreshing take on an apocalyptic setting. I come from a refugee diaspora, and I found this a really great representation of the complicated and hypocritical mixture of generational trauma, clinging to the past, and longing for the new.
Four stars mainly because I found the ending a bit unsatisfying (and traumatic). It was a little bit too open-ended, though I guess that ambiguity goes with the tone...
Also wow was this a refreshing take on an apocalyptic setting. I come from a refugee diaspora, and I found this a really great representation of the complicated and hypocritical mixture of generational trauma, clinging to the past, and longing for the new.
Four stars mainly because I found the ending a bit unsatisfying (and traumatic). It was a little bit too open-ended, though I guess that ambiguity goes with the tone...
I didn't know this was going to enrapture me as hard as it did. But as soon as I started reading I really wanted to be there, live in that horrid world, relate to the space and time and tech, but most of all, to be able to lay claim to the empty, helpless, hopeless feeling of the time and place, and feel the burning anger, desire, and determination to rise above and move beyond.
It really captured my emotions.
It really captured my emotions.
Nearly a 5. I waffled.
Very interesting. The worldbuilding is the star here, with the titular city being the best character of all. Miller has imagined a rich post-climate crisis world for us, different enough to intrigue but familiar enough to depress and scare us.
The story is a little slow at first, but did pick up and eventually pull us in. However, the book was more about family (both literal and in the broader "human family" or even "living creature family"), our relationship to one another and to our surroundings, income inequality, and the persecution heaped on the ill, both mentally and physically. Well work a read.
Also, my cover glowed in the dark. Freaked me out the first night I saw it.
Very interesting. The worldbuilding is the star here, with the titular city being the best character of all. Miller has imagined a rich post-climate crisis world for us, different enough to intrigue but familiar enough to depress and scare us.
The story is a little slow at first, but did pick up and eventually pull us in. However, the book was more about family (both literal and in the broader "human family" or even "living creature family"), our relationship to one another and to our surroundings, income inequality, and the persecution heaped on the ill, both mentally and physically. Well work a read.
Also, my cover glowed in the dark. Freaked me out the first night I saw it.
I am here for any book that manages to make orcamancer a thing.
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Didn’t expect to love it so much, I can’t describe it but I was hooked almost instantly and even though it did not have the fastest pacing I still wanted to keep reading, especially towards the end when I didn’t want to stop.
There are so many elements and themes to this story and I liked almost all of them. The cast is vast and diverse and all the various storylines converged in the end. The near future scenario was realistic and well explored and even though it was quite pessimistic I didn’t find the book depressing.
I wish I were able to properly describe this book but it would probably take too long and spoil too much about it.
There are so many elements and themes to this story and I liked almost all of them. The cast is vast and diverse and all the various storylines converged in the end. The near future scenario was realistic and well explored and even though it was quite pessimistic I didn’t find the book depressing.
I wish I were able to properly describe this book but it would probably take too long and spoil too much about it.
I give this one a solid meh. I liked the idea of it more than I actually liked the story. And the reviews on Amazon seem to feel pretty much the same.
It's dystopian/sci fi-ish. We've basically destroyed the world through money and power. And I think that's mostly the point of this book. It's incredibly true that those in power are adept at turning the people against each other in order to avoid being blamed themselves (ahem 45). And that many humans will do whatever it takes to grab power and get on top.
In this story, there are humans who were used as science experiments and were "nanobonded" to animals. They have deeper relationships and become two halves of a whole. And as a group, they are able to retrieve the memories of their ancestors as well. In the end, it is by banding together and having empathy that we may be able to come through on the other side. At least I think that's where it was going. At least i think that's the point. I think it was a solid effort, but the author just tried to put too many ideas in one book and it ended up being somewhat disjointed.
It's dystopian/sci fi-ish. We've basically destroyed the world through money and power. And I think that's mostly the point of this book. It's incredibly true that those in power are adept at turning the people against each other in order to avoid being blamed themselves (ahem 45). And that many humans will do whatever it takes to grab power and get on top.
In this story, there are humans who were used as science experiments and were "nanobonded" to animals. They have deeper relationships and become two halves of a whole. And as a group, they are able to retrieve the memories of their ancestors as well. In the end, it is by banding together and having empathy that we may be able to come through on the other side. At least I think that's where it was going. At least i think that's the point. I think it was a solid effort, but the author just tried to put too many ideas in one book and it ended up being somewhat disjointed.