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A review by manuphoto
The City & the City by China Miéville
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book is basically a “whodunnit” with a science fiction twist.
On one hand it’s very classic, even reminiscent of old sci-fi stories from the 50’s (old cop, walking in dark alleys at night under the rain), but it also takes clues from cyberpunk and other more modern stuff.
I like the core concept of the book, and the fact that it’s never totally explained. It’s a “show don’t tell” approach and I prefer that. I do have some small issues with the execution though.
The characters are interesting if a bit clichéd. The main one, Tyador, is your typical cop who gets emotionally invested in a case. The supporting cast gets convinced by him and everybody does stuff they’d never do normally to move the plot forward. Effective but not very original.
Also, and that’s typical of cyberpunk-type books (even though it isn’t a typical book from that sub genre), Miéville throws in brand names and specific technologies (Windows, 486, MySpace) which date the book very firmly… and will mean nothing to readers in a couple of decades.
I mean, why make your book look dated by design? There is not that much of it but it made me cringe each time. Although to be fair, it’s a relatively minor issue in this novel.
That being said, the book is well paced, very readable, funny at times and quite clever. The action scenes are also well executed. Miéville plays a lot with his concept of the two cities and does it with gusto and talent.
So overall, I liked this book, I enjoyed reading it, a lot actually, but it belongs to a sub genre that I appreciate less. Nevertheless, I recommend it, it is interesting and entertaining.
On one hand it’s very classic, even reminiscent of old sci-fi stories from the 50’s (old cop, walking in dark alleys at night under the rain), but it also takes clues from cyberpunk and other more modern stuff.
I like the core concept of the book, and the fact that it’s never totally explained. It’s a “show don’t tell” approach and I prefer that. I do have some small issues with the execution though.
The characters are interesting if a bit clichéd. The main one, Tyador, is your typical cop who gets emotionally invested in a case. The supporting cast gets convinced by him and everybody does stuff they’d never do normally to move the plot forward. Effective but not very original.
Also, and that’s typical of cyberpunk-type books (even though it isn’t a typical book from that sub genre), Miéville throws in brand names and specific technologies (Windows, 486, MySpace) which date the book very firmly… and will mean nothing to readers in a couple of decades.
I mean, why make your book look dated by design? There is not that much of it but it made me cringe each time. Although to be fair, it’s a relatively minor issue in this novel.
That being said, the book is well paced, very readable, funny at times and quite clever. The action scenes are also well executed. Miéville plays a lot with his concept of the two cities and does it with gusto and talent.
So overall, I liked this book, I enjoyed reading it, a lot actually, but it belongs to a sub genre that I appreciate less. Nevertheless, I recommend it, it is interesting and entertaining.