A review by marmaladereads
Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This book is 50% vibes, set in a dystopian futuristic city that is run by crime syndicates with extreme income inequality and in a post climate catastrophe world where most world governments have collapsed. The book follows 5ish seemingly unrelated characters and their varied perspectives of the city - some are rich, poor, criminals, government workers. Most of the characters are queer, and the book is incredibly queer normative despite taking place with a background of a sexually transmitted and fatal pandemic reminiscent of HIV (which the government ignores). So the setting is incredibly interesting and the vibes and atmosphere established dominate the book. 

However the plot is quite thin. It took probably 60% of the book for the plot to truly emerge, and when it did finally all come together, I found it somewhat underwhelming. Characters that were pretty interesting as individuals in earlier chapters kind of fell apart in terms of character depth and personality when they were thrown into group situations in later chapters, and a lot of the relationships lacked the emotional charge that should have come with long awaited reunions and the revelations that came with them. A lot of the big mysteries set up throughout the book also fell kind of flat for me when they were finally revealed. 

Overall I would rate this book 5 stars for vibes and 2 stars for plot.
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