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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
Slow to start, stick with it! Not for those who find fluid genders offensive
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
Loved the development of the story and the characters, just mad about how the one character's arc ends up 😅
This was a tale set in an interesting post-apocalyptic city, but ultimately I felt like that's all it was. The story was OK but didn't leave me feeling full. The characters are OK while you're hearing about them, but most are just not memorable. At the end of the book, I felt rather like 'that's it? that's all?'
This book is fantastic. Some of the best cli-fi worldbuilding I’ve ever read.
You would thought that the genre had wrung everything it possibly could have from the phrase 'bleak dystopian future,' but Blackfish City reveals the lack of imagination in that weary sentiment. Miller weaves a unique setting that seems visible on the horizon from our own present without being heavy-handed. The vibrant city of Qanaaq will draw you in, and as the threads of this tale start to come together, you will find yourself compelled to stay.
You know those restaurants where the story is, "This guy went and lived in Italy, fully immersed himself in the culture there, and came back to America where he started a restaurant that so perfectly represents the feel and taste of the country"? I feel like that's what Sam J Miller did. Except, instead of starting a restaurant, he wrote Blackfish City. And instead of going to Italy, he hung out in my brain for a few months.
For serious, it's like this book was written for me. Weird sci fi stuff that doesn't get textbook-y. Multiple converging storylines. Beautiful writing.
This was so good and so fun and ridiculously easy to read. Highly recommended for out-of-the-box sci fi fans.
For serious, it's like this book was written for me. Weird sci fi stuff that doesn't get textbook-y. Multiple converging storylines. Beautiful writing.
This was so good and so fun and ridiculously easy to read. Highly recommended for out-of-the-box sci fi fans.
"Every city is a war."
At once a cautionary tale of social issues exacerbated by climate change and an ode to humanity's increasingly forgotten basic need for community, Blackfish City immerses us in the vibrant, gritty, city of Qaanaaq. Rising sea levels have dismantled the global order as we know it, and people from all corners of the world have come to seek refuge in this Arctic City.
I absolutely loved this place that Miller has created. The blend of cultures is fantastic. Pockets of rich cultural identity sit side-by-side, proudly distinct yet also swirled together. As the characters move throughout the city, its history is revealed in the small but specific details such as a faded welcome sign written in Chinese characters (accented pinyin provided as well!) or the mouth-watering scents wafting from a Middle Eastern food stall.
Qaanaaq may be a fictional city, but its issues are very, very real. Xenophobic religious fanatics, war-weary refugees and immigration overflow, gentrification, self-serving politicians, an AIDS equivalent, genocide, generational trauma and generational privilege - you name it, Miller talks about it. It's no easy task to comment on so many problems, but I think Miller's success in this comes from showing the intersectionality of it all. He only chooses a few to focus on, but through a diverse cast of characters, he is able to shine a light on the spiderweb that links everything together.
While Miller did an amazing job building up the culture of Qaanaaq, I thought the ending was rather anticlimatic, rushed, and sloppy. I can see the ending being a good launchpad for another book, and if Miller had planned to write a series or even just making it a duology, I would say it was the perfect place to pause. But without this promise of further exploration and unpacking of the final set of events, it reads as if Miller had gotten halfway through and then was told that he needed to wrap everything up in half the pages he had originally intended. This abrupt ending was so jarring for me that it dropped the book from 4.5 or 5 stars to the 3.5, 3 star range. Even so, Qaanaaq stuck around in my head for a long time after I had finished the book, and the moment Miller decides that he wants to return to this world, I am immediately jumping on the hype train.
At once a cautionary tale of social issues exacerbated by climate change and an ode to humanity's increasingly forgotten basic need for community, Blackfish City immerses us in the vibrant, gritty, city of Qaanaaq. Rising sea levels have dismantled the global order as we know it, and people from all corners of the world have come to seek refuge in this Arctic City.
I absolutely loved this place that Miller has created. The blend of cultures is fantastic. Pockets of rich cultural identity sit side-by-side, proudly distinct yet also swirled together. As the characters move throughout the city, its history is revealed in the small but specific details such as a faded welcome sign written in Chinese characters (accented pinyin provided as well!) or the mouth-watering scents wafting from a Middle Eastern food stall.
Qaanaaq may be a fictional city, but its issues are very, very real. Xenophobic religious fanatics, war-weary refugees and immigration overflow, gentrification, self-serving politicians, an AIDS equivalent, genocide, generational trauma and generational privilege - you name it, Miller talks about it. It's no easy task to comment on so many problems, but I think Miller's success in this comes from showing the intersectionality of it all. He only chooses a few to focus on, but through a diverse cast of characters, he is able to shine a light on the spiderweb that links everything together.
While Miller did an amazing job building up the culture of Qaanaaq, I thought the ending was rather anticlimatic, rushed, and sloppy. I can see the ending being a good launchpad for another book, and if Miller had planned to write a series or even just making it a duology, I would say it was the perfect place to pause. But without this promise of further exploration and unpacking of the final set of events, it reads as if Miller had gotten halfway through and then was told that he needed to wrap everything up in half the pages he had originally intended. This abrupt ending was so jarring for me that it dropped the book from 4.5 or 5 stars to the 3.5, 3 star range. Even so, Qaanaaq stuck around in my head for a long time after I had finished the book, and the moment Miller decides that he wants to return to this world, I am immediately jumping on the hype train.
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
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:
Complicated
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Complicated