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So I've started reading his books and decided to start with The City & The City followed by Embassytown. Having finished them both, I'm glad I wasn't overtly discouraged by TC&TC, since Embassytown was such a treat and one of the best and most inventive sci-fi books I've read in a long time. I liked the premise of TC&TC but in the end the story felt rather pedestrian for me: maybe it was because I was expecting a bit more sci-fi and less mystery thriller, so maybe the issue was with my expectations, but I think I was more interested in the background of the book itself rather than the actual storyline, and by the end I felt that the reveals weren't enough to make me invested in the outcome, or what exactly happened to the characters. Although the particulars would of course be different, I could have seen a similar storyline even in a book that doesn't use the interesting gimmick that TC&TC has. On the other hand, Embassytown, although relatively slow at first, builds up to a fever pitch by the end and really gripped me, and the end itself revealed so much more about the world and how the Hosts operated within them. It felt truly unique and I'm glad I had a chance to read it.
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Aug 12, 2017 23:50
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 20:09 |
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I've read Perdido Street Station, then went to Iron Council, and currently reading The Scar. I must say that, although I enjoyed Iron Council, I didn't like the ending much (the actions of the characters seemed to be shaped by the storyline that the book was trying to convey, instead of the actions of the characters shaping the storyline), and the book seems even weaker now that I'm reading The Scar (where the conceit of the story seems to be a copy/replace, although the actual flow of the storyline and the characters between the two books are markedly different).
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Dec 13, 2017 18:12
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So I’ve read PSS, The Scar, Iron Council, Embassytown and TC&TC. What next?
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Jan 13, 2018 12:55
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Kraken really dragged through the middle for me, there’s a point in the storyline where the plot isn’t really going anywhere and the book just brings out more and more elements about occult London without really explaining those elements. There is more or less an exposition dump by the end but this was one of the few of his books which I really struggled to get through.
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Jun 4, 2018 13:48
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I wouldn't say that Embassytown fizzles out and to me it has the strongest ending of all his books since the change at the end is so dramatic. After the resolution of the main plot there's an epilogue but I wouldn't really count that as the main narrative ending of the book. Although I might be biased because Embassytown is by far my favourite of his books.
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May 20, 2019 12:50
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Does anyone else know of any other book where language is the main conceit of the book like Embassytown? I think the manipulation of the language and how it feels truly alien is one of my favourite things about the book so I'm really wondering if there is anything else like it out there. Talking about embassytown also reminds me of a review of the book on goodreads where someone went "I study linguistics and it's IMPOSSIBLE that a language does not allow you to lie and that's why the book is bad", and it was the most asinine review I've ever read.
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May 21, 2019 13:29
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Embassytown 2, let's gooooo
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May 30, 2023 21:11
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I usually one-and-done books but I think I've re-read Embassytown cover to cover 5 times so far.
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May 30, 2023 21:48
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That's almost as good as the review of embassytown where an apparent linguist/brain surgeon said that it was impossible for a species to be biologically unable to lie.
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May 31, 2023 15:07
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I was pretty sure it was in goodreads but I can’t find it now.
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Jun 1, 2023 07:00
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Doing another re-read of Embassytown and still enjoying the gradual worldbuilding and reveals that happen in the early chapters before The Event. I think what I find most enjoyable about those early parts of the book is that due to the fact that the entire book reads like a diary/biography written by Avice is that there is a gradual reveal of some of the elements of the universe, especially in relation to the Ambassadors and who (or what) they actually are. I like how the writing manages to both give the illusion of normalcy since Avice is so familiar with the world of Embassytown, while still making it feel alien, since there are so many things that Avice talks about that always feel a bit off when you read about them, even when re-reading the book. I don't think I've ever re-read a book as many times as I have with Embassytown, which has kind of become a yearly (or less, if my reading queue empties) ritual for me.
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May 14, 2024 15:15
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