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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
This had some rough edges but was generally an enjoyable and well-constructed book. The characters were weakly defined but the overall atypical take on post apocalypse cyberpunk was actually very solid. I was pretty skeptical of the premise going in, but that didn't disappointing.
The conclusion didn't pop for me and I feel like the author tried to get a bit too clever with the twists and turns. Still a very satisfying read.
The conclusion didn't pop for me and I feel like the author tried to get a bit too clever with the twists and turns. Still a very satisfying read.
dark
hopeful
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
pacing was wild- first half of the book was super slow. then the second half was way too fast. enjoyed the world building though
I thought that this book was a wildly inventive way to imagine how a city might run in a world after climate change. I loved the story, but it felt like the second half of the book moved too quickly and it left me missing the impact of some of the bigger moments. I wanted the story to be as dense as the city at time.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Could have just been me, but I had a hard time tracking the characters, understanding why information mattered and then suddenly there was a Red Wedding like scene and the book was over. Interesting premise but I didn't love the execution.
I found 'Blackfish City' very compelling. The prose is lovely, the characters are intriguing and the concept of nano-bonding fascinating. I love the city as a character also. 'The Breaks' as more another form of family rather than a disease is beautifully expressed.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
This book forced me back into a reading slump. It was on my TBR list for a while. The synopsis seemed interesting with themes that I typically enjoy. However, overall, I never cared for the characters or the world they were in. At no point in reading did I ever want to pick back up and continue.
I read Blackfish City in two sittings. I absolutely am in love with this book. I haven’t been so engrossed in stand alone novel since An Unkindness of Ghosts. The world is grim and yet, it’s full of hope and heart. At the heart of the story is family which branches into dealing with a hellscape of politics and capitalism. It is one part heist, one part found family, and one part political maneuvering, and one part revenge quest.
I really loved the characters. They were well rounded with their own agendas and hopes. There’s a street fighter, a tired administrator, a rich kid that’s slowly dying, an older lesbian couple that want to protect their family, and more. My favorite hands down was Soq, an orphan and message runner who starts to work for one of the local crime lords. They are a teenager on the cusp of adulthood who is reckless, cunning, and ambitious.
Soq is nonbinary which is wonderful, but there was a “what’s in your pants” moment. Although Soq called out the character who made the comment, it was questionable Soq was established as falling outside of the gender binary just by their use of “they/them” so it was really unneeded. There was one other part where Soq used a typically lesbian identities to talk about gay men. I know what Miller was trying to get across just from seeing Discourse on social media, but it was a poor choice of terms to use. Outside of those two passages, the book was really good with the LGBT content.
I particularly like how the plot unfolds in which all the POV characters are brought together slowly. Only Ankit, the administrator pov, really knows one of the other pov characters and yet she does not interact with him until the Orcamancer makes her move. One of the povs ends halfway through the book allowing for the twist of the Orcamancer to have pov chapters. Everyone and everything is connected which is almost foreshadowed by the plot element of a mysterious podcast about Qaanaaq. There are layers of mystery to the story: Where did the breaks come from? Who is the Orcamancer? Why is Ankit’s mother imprisoned? Who is the author of “The City Without A Map? Miller weaves the mysteries together so that they are integral to understanding the answers to each other.
Qaanaaq feels so real and fleshed out for a setting. I could easily visualize it. In ways it felt like a Star Wars city meets a metropolitan area with its ith the speed skating messengers, monkeys that have taken the place of pigeons, and the contrast between the shanty towns and wealthy.. As much as I liked the characters and the plot, Qaanaaq was what really made the story appeal me. I am a huge sucker for world building. Qaanaaq takes from so many sources of inspiration that I can see the snippets in my minds eye easily. Miller puts small details into his world that makes it pop so well.
Blackfish City takes place in a near future which feels so plausible with the shape of the world as it is. As much as it is something that is depressing, I found Qaanaaq to have this sense of wonder. The people and characters are survivors of the worst parts of humanity. Somehow, even if the world is turned upside down -- there is still hope and good. I have a hard time with books where the world is horrible, there is no hope and there is nothing good, only a battle for survival. The characters try to make change for the better even if it’s for their selfish desires. The quest of revenge results in not just revenge but also hope for the future. The backstory revealed adds so much depth to the story as well.
Blackfish City is one of the best books of 2018 so far in my opinion. I highly recommend it.
I really loved the characters. They were well rounded with their own agendas and hopes. There’s a street fighter, a tired administrator, a rich kid that’s slowly dying, an older lesbian couple that want to protect their family, and more. My favorite hands down was Soq, an orphan and message runner who starts to work for one of the local crime lords. They are a teenager on the cusp of adulthood who is reckless, cunning, and ambitious.
Soq is nonbinary which is wonderful, but there was a “what’s in your pants” moment. Although Soq called out the character who made the comment, it was questionable Soq was established as falling outside of the gender binary just by their use of “they/them” so it was really unneeded. There was one other part where Soq used a typically lesbian identities to talk about gay men. I know what Miller was trying to get across just from seeing Discourse on social media, but it was a poor choice of terms to use. Outside of those two passages, the book was really good with the LGBT content.
I particularly like how the plot unfolds in which all the POV characters are brought together slowly. Only Ankit, the administrator pov, really knows one of the other pov characters and yet she does not interact with him until the Orcamancer makes her move. One of the povs ends halfway through the book allowing for the twist of the Orcamancer to have pov chapters. Everyone and everything is connected which is almost foreshadowed by the plot element of a mysterious podcast about Qaanaaq. There are layers of mystery to the story: Where did the breaks come from? Who is the Orcamancer? Why is Ankit’s mother imprisoned? Who is the author of “The City Without A Map? Miller weaves the mysteries together so that they are integral to understanding the answers to each other.
Qaanaaq feels so real and fleshed out for a setting. I could easily visualize it. In ways it felt like a Star Wars city meets a metropolitan area with its ith the speed skating messengers, monkeys that have taken the place of pigeons, and the contrast between the shanty towns and wealthy.. As much as I liked the characters and the plot, Qaanaaq was what really made the story appeal me. I am a huge sucker for world building. Qaanaaq takes from so many sources of inspiration that I can see the snippets in my minds eye easily. Miller puts small details into his world that makes it pop so well.
Blackfish City takes place in a near future which feels so plausible with the shape of the world as it is. As much as it is something that is depressing, I found Qaanaaq to have this sense of wonder. The people and characters are survivors of the worst parts of humanity. Somehow, even if the world is turned upside down -- there is still hope and good. I have a hard time with books where the world is horrible, there is no hope and there is nothing good, only a battle for survival. The characters try to make change for the better even if it’s for their selfish desires. The quest of revenge results in not just revenge but also hope for the future. The backstory revealed adds so much depth to the story as well.
Blackfish City is one of the best books of 2018 so far in my opinion. I highly recommend it.
medium-paced
medium-paced