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A review by brookhorse
Kraken by China Miéville
4.0
“The sea’s full of saints and it’s been full of saints for years.”
This review is from my re-read. First, loved the opening. What a fantastic way to introduce the idea. As is his particular area of skill, this book is filled with wild, weird, wonderful ideas. The kraken cult, of course. Wati, and everything he’s involved in. The police ghosts, the street lamp, Jason Smyle, the guardchord, Grisantemum, etc. This book was stuffed with brilliant little moments of, “Oh, I love that.” This book bleeds concept, and boy does Miéville do good with concept.
He’s less good with characters. Always has been, though, so I knew that going in. Of all the books I’ve read by him (Kraken, Railsea, Un Lun Dun, The City and the City, Three Moments of an Explosion, Perido Street Station, and The Scar) the only characters that really made any impression on me were Deeba and Tanner Sack. I liked Collingswood, but she didn’t have a ton of depth. I adored Wati, but he didn’t get much time on his own. Billy, Dane, Marge, Vardy, etc. I could take or leave. I’m not exactly upset about this, though, since with how wild this book is I think it might be distracting or overwhelming to have deep characters with a lot going on.
The pacing was also a bit uneven, which I think was only exacerbated by the lack of engaging characters. Marge’s story I cared about the least, which I feel bad about, but she had so little personality beyond “my boyfriend died.” The FSRC’s plot I was vaguely interested in, but the tension was lacking as we watched them try to solve mysteries we already knew the answers to. I think this book could’ve been edited down without suffering too much.
But overall I really enjoyed myself. What a world Miéville has created, and what fantastic twists and turns, as always. The moments where I felt it dragged were more than made up for by the moments that delighted and surprised me. What a ride.
Also, I kept track of the words Mieville used that I didn’t know or wasn’t confident about. I tapped out somewhere around two thirds of the way through the book, though, since writing them down was slowing me up too much. But here’s what I managed to get down:
Truculent (“a big, truculent man”): eager or quick to argue or fight
Lugubrious (“lugubrious shapes”): looking or sounding sad and dismal
Tiddler (“no tiddler either”): a small fish
Moribund (“a weak, disoriented, moribund thing”): at the point of death
Palsied (“wheezed through its siphon and palsied”): affected with paralysis and involuntary tremors
Evinced (“evinced only a little interest”): reveal the presence of (a quality or feeling)
Benthic (“drenched in benthic water”): of the bottom of the sea, lake, or other body of water
Perfidious (“huge perfidious pulley system”): deceitful and untrustworthy
Horripilation (“some anecdote about horripilation”): the erection of hairs on the skin due to cold, fear, or excitement
Zaftig (“say zaftig at your own peril”): (of a woman) having a full, rounded figure; plump
Plinth (“plinths for leaves”): a heavy base supporting a statue or vase
Scatty (“the scattiness was not convincing”): absentminded and disorganized
Conclave (“in speechless conclave”): a private meeting
Diaphonization (“diaphonized fish”): clearing and staining of specimens
Evanescent (“so evanescent and vapid”): soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing
Parvenu (“a parvenu monster”): (often derogatory) a person of obscure origin who has gained wealth, influence, or celebrity
Charnel (“charnel Victoriana”): associated with death
Tatty (“a tatty emu”): work and shabby, in poor condition
Haptic (“it’s a haptic story”): relating to the sense of touch, in particular relation to the perception and manipulating of objects using the senses of touch and proprioception
Gnosis (“gathered to compare gnoses”): knowledge of spiritual mysteries
Demiurge (“a bloody demiurge”): responsible for the creation of the universe, in particular
Simon-pure (“perfect simon-pure exact god”): of untainted purity or integrity; also: pretentiously or hypocritically pure
Eschatology (“and epidemic of eschatologies”): the part of theology concerned with death, judgement, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind
Concertinaed (“with a gasp of air it concertinaed”): extend, compress, or collapse in folds like that of a concertina (instrument similar to an accordion)
Lepidopterist (“what have you got here, lepidopterist”): a person who studies or collects butterflies and moths
Meniscus (“like the breaching of some meniscus”): the curved upper surface of a liquid in a tube; a lens that is convex on one side and concave on the other; a thin fibrous cartilage between the surfaces of some joints
Percussed (“where his fingers percussed”): gently tap (a part of the body) with a finger or an instrument as part of a diagnosis
Efface (“species effaced by shared squidness”): erase (a mark) from a surface
Quiddity (“teuthic quiddity”): the inherent nature or essence of someone or something
Vorago (“that curved vorago”): abyss, chasm
Profligate (“profligate and foolish”): recklessly extravagant or wasteful in the use of resources
Lucre (“do it for lucre”): money, esp. when regarded as sordid or distasteful or gained in a dishonorable way
Pugnacious (“half-cringe, half-pugnacious uncoiling”): eager or quick to argue, quarrel, or fight
Oviparous (“gods are oviparous”): producing young by means of eggs that are hatched after they have been laid by the parent
Batten (“battening upon huge sea worms”): a long, flat strip of squared wood or metal used to hold something in place or as a fastening against a wall.
Tor (“every stone, cigarette packet, tor and town”): a hill or rocky peak
Ecumenical (“philistine ecumenical”): representing a number of different Christian churches or relating to unity among the world’s Christian churches
Beetling (“beetling with energy”): make one’s way hurriedly or with short, quick steps
Escutcheon (“a Pulitzer medal escutcheon”): a shield or emblem bearing a coat of arms
Unstinting (“in unstinting interpretation”): given or giving without restraint
Hermeneutic (“a merciless teuthic hermeneutic”): a method proved theory of interpretation
Exegesis (“attempting exegesis on his outburst”): critical explanation or interpretation of a text, esp. scripture
Surfeit (“a surfeit if apocalypse”): an excessive amount of something
Posset (“the inky posset”): a drink made of hot milk cuddled with ale, wine, or other alcoholic liquor and typically flavored with spices, drunk as a delicacy or a remedy for colds
Augur (“a hostage prophet, augur-inmate”): (in ancient Rome) a religious official who observed natural signs, esp. the behavior of birds, interpreting these as an indication of divine approval or disapproval of a proposed action
Obsequious (“obsequious jailers”): obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree
Ressentiment (“that ressentiment”): a psychological state arising from suppressed feelings of envy and hatred that can not be acted upon, frequently resulting in some form of self abasement
Spoor (“all the spoor”): the track or scent of an animal
Mizzen (“under the mizzen”): the mast aft of a ship’s mainmast
Alembics ("getting their alembics on which"): a distilling apparatus, now obsolete, consisting of a rounded, necked flask and a cap with a long beak for condensing and conveying the products to a receiver
Shufti ("I'd go in have a shufti"): a look or reconnoiter, esp. a quick one
Abraded (“abraded into existence”): scrape or wear away by friction or erosion
Numen (“a numen of its recall”): the spirit or divine power presiding over a thing or place
Remit (“beyond the remit”): cancel or refrain from exacting or inflicting (a debt or punishment)
Sclerotic (“though it was sclerotic”): becoming rigid and unresponsive; losing the ability to adapt
Postlapsarian (“this postlapsarian cityscape”): occurring or existing after the Fall of Man
Vatic (“opaque vatic insight”): describing or predicting what will happen in the future
Oneiric (“oneiric insights”): relating to dreams or dreaming
Sententious (“with sententious sermon-logic): given to moralizing in a pompous or affected manner
Ineluctable (“ineluctable, final, unintended consequence”): unable to be resisted or avoided; inescapable
Ructions (“urban ructions”): a disturbance or quarrel
Nous (“nous and skill): common sense; practical intelligence
This review is from my re-read. First, loved the opening. What a fantastic way to introduce the idea. As is his particular area of skill, this book is filled with wild, weird, wonderful ideas. The kraken cult, of course. Wati, and everything he’s involved in. The police ghosts, the street lamp, Jason Smyle, the guardchord, Grisantemum, etc. This book was stuffed with brilliant little moments of, “Oh, I love that.” This book bleeds concept, and boy does Miéville do good with concept.
He’s less good with characters. Always has been, though, so I knew that going in. Of all the books I’ve read by him (Kraken, Railsea, Un Lun Dun, The City and the City, Three Moments of an Explosion, Perido Street Station, and The Scar) the only characters that really made any impression on me were Deeba and Tanner Sack. I liked Collingswood, but she didn’t have a ton of depth. I adored Wati, but he didn’t get much time on his own. Billy, Dane, Marge, Vardy, etc. I could take or leave. I’m not exactly upset about this, though, since with how wild this book is I think it might be distracting or overwhelming to have deep characters with a lot going on.
The pacing was also a bit uneven, which I think was only exacerbated by the lack of engaging characters. Marge’s story I cared about the least, which I feel bad about, but she had so little personality beyond “my boyfriend died.” The FSRC’s plot I was vaguely interested in, but the tension was lacking as we watched them try to solve mysteries we already knew the answers to. I think this book could’ve been edited down without suffering too much.
But overall I really enjoyed myself. What a world Miéville has created, and what fantastic twists and turns, as always. The moments where I felt it dragged were more than made up for by the moments that delighted and surprised me. What a ride.
Also, I kept track of the words Mieville used that I didn’t know or wasn’t confident about. I tapped out somewhere around two thirds of the way through the book, though, since writing them down was slowing me up too much. But here’s what I managed to get down:
Truculent (“a big, truculent man”): eager or quick to argue or fight
Lugubrious (“lugubrious shapes”): looking or sounding sad and dismal
Tiddler (“no tiddler either”): a small fish
Moribund (“a weak, disoriented, moribund thing”): at the point of death
Palsied (“wheezed through its siphon and palsied”): affected with paralysis and involuntary tremors
Evinced (“evinced only a little interest”): reveal the presence of (a quality or feeling)
Benthic (“drenched in benthic water”): of the bottom of the sea, lake, or other body of water
Perfidious (“huge perfidious pulley system”): deceitful and untrustworthy
Horripilation (“some anecdote about horripilation”): the erection of hairs on the skin due to cold, fear, or excitement
Zaftig (“say zaftig at your own peril”): (of a woman) having a full, rounded figure; plump
Plinth (“plinths for leaves”): a heavy base supporting a statue or vase
Scatty (“the scattiness was not convincing”): absentminded and disorganized
Conclave (“in speechless conclave”): a private meeting
Diaphonization (“diaphonized fish”): clearing and staining of specimens
Evanescent (“so evanescent and vapid”): soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing
Parvenu (“a parvenu monster”): (often derogatory) a person of obscure origin who has gained wealth, influence, or celebrity
Charnel (“charnel Victoriana”): associated with death
Tatty (“a tatty emu”): work and shabby, in poor condition
Haptic (“it’s a haptic story”): relating to the sense of touch, in particular relation to the perception and manipulating of objects using the senses of touch and proprioception
Gnosis (“gathered to compare gnoses”): knowledge of spiritual mysteries
Demiurge (“a bloody demiurge”): responsible for the creation of the universe, in particular
Simon-pure (“perfect simon-pure exact god”): of untainted purity or integrity; also: pretentiously or hypocritically pure
Eschatology (“and epidemic of eschatologies”): the part of theology concerned with death, judgement, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind
Concertinaed (“with a gasp of air it concertinaed”): extend, compress, or collapse in folds like that of a concertina (instrument similar to an accordion)
Lepidopterist (“what have you got here, lepidopterist”): a person who studies or collects butterflies and moths
Meniscus (“like the breaching of some meniscus”): the curved upper surface of a liquid in a tube; a lens that is convex on one side and concave on the other; a thin fibrous cartilage between the surfaces of some joints
Percussed (“where his fingers percussed”): gently tap (a part of the body) with a finger or an instrument as part of a diagnosis
Efface (“species effaced by shared squidness”): erase (a mark) from a surface
Quiddity (“teuthic quiddity”): the inherent nature or essence of someone or something
Vorago (“that curved vorago”): abyss, chasm
Profligate (“profligate and foolish”): recklessly extravagant or wasteful in the use of resources
Lucre (“do it for lucre”): money, esp. when regarded as sordid or distasteful or gained in a dishonorable way
Pugnacious (“half-cringe, half-pugnacious uncoiling”): eager or quick to argue, quarrel, or fight
Oviparous (“gods are oviparous”): producing young by means of eggs that are hatched after they have been laid by the parent
Batten (“battening upon huge sea worms”): a long, flat strip of squared wood or metal used to hold something in place or as a fastening against a wall.
Tor (“every stone, cigarette packet, tor and town”): a hill or rocky peak
Ecumenical (“philistine ecumenical”): representing a number of different Christian churches or relating to unity among the world’s Christian churches
Beetling (“beetling with energy”): make one’s way hurriedly or with short, quick steps
Escutcheon (“a Pulitzer medal escutcheon”): a shield or emblem bearing a coat of arms
Unstinting (“in unstinting interpretation”): given or giving without restraint
Hermeneutic (“a merciless teuthic hermeneutic”): a method proved theory of interpretation
Exegesis (“attempting exegesis on his outburst”): critical explanation or interpretation of a text, esp. scripture
Surfeit (“a surfeit if apocalypse”): an excessive amount of something
Posset (“the inky posset”): a drink made of hot milk cuddled with ale, wine, or other alcoholic liquor and typically flavored with spices, drunk as a delicacy or a remedy for colds
Augur (“a hostage prophet, augur-inmate”): (in ancient Rome) a religious official who observed natural signs, esp. the behavior of birds, interpreting these as an indication of divine approval or disapproval of a proposed action
Obsequious (“obsequious jailers”): obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree
Ressentiment (“that ressentiment”): a psychological state arising from suppressed feelings of envy and hatred that can not be acted upon, frequently resulting in some form of self abasement
Spoor (“all the spoor”): the track or scent of an animal
Mizzen (“under the mizzen”): the mast aft of a ship’s mainmast
Alembics ("getting their alembics on which"): a distilling apparatus, now obsolete, consisting of a rounded, necked flask and a cap with a long beak for condensing and conveying the products to a receiver
Shufti ("I'd go in have a shufti"): a look or reconnoiter, esp. a quick one
Abraded (“abraded into existence”): scrape or wear away by friction or erosion
Numen (“a numen of its recall”): the spirit or divine power presiding over a thing or place
Remit (“beyond the remit”): cancel or refrain from exacting or inflicting (a debt or punishment)
Sclerotic (“though it was sclerotic”): becoming rigid and unresponsive; losing the ability to adapt
Postlapsarian (“this postlapsarian cityscape”): occurring or existing after the Fall of Man
Vatic (“opaque vatic insight”): describing or predicting what will happen in the future
Oneiric (“oneiric insights”): relating to dreams or dreaming
Sententious (“with sententious sermon-logic): given to moralizing in a pompous or affected manner
Ineluctable (“ineluctable, final, unintended consequence”): unable to be resisted or avoided; inescapable
Ructions (“urban ructions”): a disturbance or quarrel
Nous (“nous and skill): common sense; practical intelligence