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A review by mikewhiteman
City of the Iron Fish by Simon Ings
4.0
This is a fantasy of a closed-off world, maintained by arcane rituals which are falling out of favour and the public consciousness. As the city decays, its people are turned in upon themselves, creating, destroying and recycling in an ever-reducing spiral. Some want to revive the true essence of the rituals and bring the sustaining magics back to the city, while others want to burn away the closed existence entirely.
This side of the book is excellent, the knowledge that there is literal nothingness beyond the desert surrounding the city affecting its inhabitants in fascinating ways. The implications for the art and philosophy which underpin their lives (at least the "educated" sections of their society) are huge and are seen throughout.
However, this is also (probably mostly) a story of Thomas Kemp, an irritating and unaware student and artist who drifts lower and lower as the story progresses, leaving a trail of dead friends and family in his wake and ultimately scraping towards some redemption he barely deserves.
Kemp is self-centred, believing himself to be passive and without agency; to his mind, his actions have no consequences on those around him, only theirs on him. As he sinks further, his sins grow greater, from rudeness and neglect to abuse and rape. The writing is aware of the type of person he is and the reactions of the other characters highlight it, but I felt like it still asked the reader to sympathise.
And, to a certain extent, I did. The writing is great and illustrates the pervasive nihilism inherent in the city's situation. If you can stomach a story focused on the worst "that guy" from an art or philosophy class, then there is a big, emotional story which gives plenty of Art and Philosophy to think on while building to its world-revealing conclusion.
This side of the book is excellent, the knowledge that there is literal nothingness beyond the desert surrounding the city affecting its inhabitants in fascinating ways. The implications for the art and philosophy which underpin their lives (at least the "educated" sections of their society) are huge and are seen throughout.
However, this is also (probably mostly) a story of Thomas Kemp, an irritating and unaware student and artist who drifts lower and lower as the story progresses, leaving a trail of dead friends and family in his wake and ultimately scraping towards some redemption he barely deserves.
Kemp is self-centred, believing himself to be passive and without agency; to his mind, his actions have no consequences on those around him, only theirs on him. As he sinks further, his sins grow greater, from rudeness and neglect to abuse and rape. The writing is aware of the type of person he is and the reactions of the other characters highlight it, but I felt like it still asked the reader to sympathise.
And, to a certain extent, I did. The writing is great and illustrates the pervasive nihilism inherent in the city's situation. If you can stomach a story focused on the worst "that guy" from an art or philosophy class, then there is a big, emotional story which gives plenty of Art and Philosophy to think on while building to its world-revealing conclusion.