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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
3.5 stars
This is like grimdark cyberpunk dystopia. It feels super melancholic. Almost like the author wants to be hopeful and optimistic, but can't quite convince himself to be so.
But it's actually pretty good despite the constant feeling of despair throughout the book.
I'll definitely try out other stuff by Miller in the future.
This is like grimdark cyberpunk dystopia. It feels super melancholic. Almost like the author wants to be hopeful and optimistic, but can't quite convince himself to be so.
But it's actually pretty good despite the constant feeling of despair throughout the book.
I'll definitely try out other stuff by Miller in the future.
Miller creates a daring and wildly original world in the arctic city of Qaanaaq, but, if I can just be completely honest, I found the story completely boring.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Painful so beautiful loved all the characters
This book gets 4 stars from me mostly on the strength of its setting. The floating city of Qaanaaq is described by its various denizens with love, resentment, frustration, and fear. Its people know where to go to get the best bowl of noodles in town. They watch the offgassing display of the solar shields every night. They know which of the eight arms is where the posh people live and which to avoid after dark if you don't belong. It reminds me of books written about New York, London, or any of the great cities- these cities seem to almost live themselves and it means something to say that you live in one of them.
I also liked the characters, mostly. Not all of them were likable but they were mostly interesting, at least, and felt distinct from each other. The idea of loss was central to all of them, and they all seemed to recognize that their city, and they themselves, were hanging by a thread, along with the very Earth.
I've seen this described as a mosaic novel but I disagree with that assessment. This is a novel written from multiple points of view, but these views come together and tell one story- it's not a fragmented picture and the characters do interact with each other.
I'm not sure about the plot. I enjoyed walking the city with its diverse denizens, seeing what the world was like when America isn't Number One anymore, but the plot took a while to get going and felt rushed at the end. Chekhov's Orca does get used, never fear, but I wanted more orca.
I feared that this book would be harder to understand than it actually was. I'd read another book by this author on the strength of the setting. The book reminded me of Blade Runner, of Ian McDonald, of older Neal Stephenson.
I also liked the characters, mostly. Not all of them were likable but they were mostly interesting, at least, and felt distinct from each other. The idea of loss was central to all of them, and they all seemed to recognize that their city, and they themselves, were hanging by a thread, along with the very Earth.
I've seen this described as a mosaic novel but I disagree with that assessment. This is a novel written from multiple points of view, but these views come together and tell one story- it's not a fragmented picture and the characters do interact with each other.
I'm not sure about the plot. I enjoyed walking the city with its diverse denizens, seeing what the world was like when America isn't Number One anymore, but the plot took a while to get going and felt rushed at the end. Chekhov's Orca does get used, never fear, but I wanted more orca.
I feared that this book would be harder to understand than it actually was. I'd read another book by this author on the strength of the setting. The book reminded me of Blade Runner, of Ian McDonald, of older Neal Stephenson.
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I kept reading thinking it would become something but it never really did. Too much was introduced, under developed characters - I thought maybe I missed a book, but no. Just too much with little reason for it. Could have a been a cool series if this book was the final book of a series and each character had their own book before for it to all come together. All together, I found this book just bad.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is one of those books where I can recognize from a distance that it is a very good book in terms of writing, story, world-building and thematics - but it didn't hit me quite where I needed it to.
Really liked the world and the characters, but felt the story was wrapped up a little too quickly and neatly. 3.5/5
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Super interesting concept but I wasn't completely sold on the landing.