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A review by jozi_girl
Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller
3.0
3.5 stars
I had to be patient with this book because it was only towards the 40% mark that the story really took off.
On a very basic level this story takes the concept of the Golden Compass – humans bonding with non-human entities (in this case real animals) - but made it much darker, grittier and more terrifying. This is no children’s story.
I really enjoyed the overall story line and was determined to give it 4 stars for its wonderful atmosphere and imaginative world HOWEVER….
The author had the knack of referring to the polar bear has having hands (?) and later corrected it by referring to paws. This is a small editing error and as I read a galley I really hope was corrected before publishing.
And then there is Soq. Now this was a very interesting character, but one thing just drove me to distraction. The author made Soq gender fluid so Soq didn’t want to be referred to as he or she but them or they. That really irritated me the same way that Matt in [b:Feedback|22359662|Feedback (Newsflesh, #4)|Mira Grant|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1466918601s/22359662.jpg|41767244] did. It was a disruptive little niggle that took me out of the story every time I read it.
I found the concept of the Breaks, very well done. This is a shameful disease normally affecting the lowest of society. When infected you see images that slowly drive you insane. There is no cure and no real cause and turns out to be much more complicated than anyone could have anticipated.
Would I recommend this? The story is worth the read, the world building solid and the story line entertaining. Yes, there were a few little things that bothered me, but this was a unique story with strong imagery and a satisfyingly open-ended ending.
ARC Netgalley
I had to be patient with this book because it was only towards the 40% mark that the story really took off.
On a very basic level this story takes the concept of the Golden Compass – humans bonding with non-human entities (in this case real animals) - but made it much darker, grittier and more terrifying. This is no children’s story.
I really enjoyed the overall story line and was determined to give it 4 stars for its wonderful atmosphere and imaginative world HOWEVER….
The author had the knack of referring to the polar bear has having hands (?) and later corrected it by referring to paws. This is a small editing error and as I read a galley I really hope was corrected before publishing.
And then there is Soq. Now this was a very interesting character, but one thing just drove me to distraction. The author made Soq gender fluid so Soq didn’t want to be referred to as he or she but them or they. That really irritated me the same way that Matt in [b:Feedback|22359662|Feedback (Newsflesh, #4)|Mira Grant|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1466918601s/22359662.jpg|41767244] did. It was a disruptive little niggle that took me out of the story every time I read it.
I found the concept of the Breaks, very well done. This is a shameful disease normally affecting the lowest of society. When infected you see images that slowly drive you insane. There is no cure and no real cause and turns out to be much more complicated than anyone could have anticipated.
Would I recommend this? The story is worth the read, the world building solid and the story line entertaining. Yes, there were a few little things that bothered me, but this was a unique story with strong imagery and a satisfyingly open-ended ending.
ARC Netgalley