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Just started Kraken and really really good so far. Not what I was expecting. I have also done work in the collections of the Natural History Museum and so have a really strong sense of place, which might be helping me appreciate this book.
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May 9, 2018 05:13
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Bilirubin posted:Just started Kraken and really really good so far. Not what I was expecting. I have also done work in the collections of the Natural History Museum and so have a really strong sense of place, which might be helping me appreciate this book. OK. The world is really interesting, but Billy (and Marg to a lesser extent) is quite the Mary Sue. Its ruining an otherwise fun read Perhaps it is underscoring John Constantine's old ultimate secret of magic: "Any oval office can do it"
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May 22, 2018 06:12
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mitochondritom posted:Kraken was my introduction to Mieville and I read it after a visit to the NHM (including the spirit jar tour) and so I found the whole thing to be really engaging and fun. It felt like a better take on Harry Potter, if that makes sense. I should re-read it sometime because a lot of the latter half is getting foggy with regards to what happens. I work in the natural sciences and have spent time in the collections at the NHM (edit: which I mentioned already and completely forgot oops) so yeah, that was immediately engaging. Not sure all of the technicians would immediately master the arts macabre (muahahaha) quite that quickly. Or ever. And no research staff only have masters degrees. But still, its a great fun summer read and was perfect for my 4 hour flights
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May 22, 2018 14:29
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Finished Kraken finally. Loved the twists at the climax. I mean Billy was still a little too good at doing stuff but in the end it was a fun story and I hope some of these characters get used again in future books. The FSRC is a concept that should be explored further IMO
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May 28, 2018 00:57
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Goss was a big bad and a vehicle for some bad cockney-like dialogue. Smoked occasionally. Everyone was afeared of him. That's what I got mostly
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May 31, 2018 01:03
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Just got a copy of This Census Taker on the cheap. How disappointing will this decision prove to be?
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Jun 23, 2018 17:27
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This Census-Taker was really good.
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Aug 1, 2018 04:40
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Just finished The Last Days of New Paris and like the idea of the book but regret it wasn't really allowed to grow. A real missed opportunity IMO
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Nov 1, 2018 05:50
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Clark Nova posted:Chapter 1: loving the Bug Lady Lol Giving Perdido Street Station a first read through. Already tired of the made up words and the use of "salubrious"
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May 7, 2019 02:35
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lol that's about right several chapters in and now that there are enough characters things are moving along better with less exposition. But there are still another 600 pages in which that tide could turn! Definitely prefer his shorter form fiction
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May 7, 2019 05:05
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Oasx posted:I will be interesting to hear if your opinion changes, for me Mieville's writing style isn't suited for short fiction at all. scary ghost dog posted:i was bored with it until around the time a conflict finally occurred, after which point i was enraptured......great book imo. Good to know. I will definitely keep going because it seems a well regarded book and now that the pieces are being put on the board the exposition is starting to serve more of a purpose. I have enjoyed everything of his I have read so far other than Last Days so if nothing else I expect an entertaining story (with I hear a difficult ending--don't know the specifics other than "its a hard read")
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May 7, 2019 15:09
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scary ghost dog posted:difficult might not be the right word to describe the ending —- i would use “bitter.” but i think thats one of the biggest strengths of the book.......its conclusion feels inevitable. bas-lag is a much worse place than embassytown I was using another's words but this is good to know. I am definitely warming to the book now--the parallel plots and larger societal level conflicts are emerging more clearly. Side cast of characters are interesting enough too.
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May 10, 2019 13:40
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Whoa spoilers on too much crazy poo poo as I am reading this now. Or I guess I'll ignore the thread until finished I guess
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May 14, 2019 22:55
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OK starting to get sucked into PSS. Had a 4 hour flight and covered a fair bit of ground, also read a lot of the book. The caterpillar hatched and poo poo appears to have hit the fan. Very cool to see how Mieville is scaling up the story.
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May 23, 2019 04:41
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Xiahou Dun posted:I mean I have it on my shelf so yeah. I forget how much it costs. But if you don’t care if it’s printed up all fancy, you could probably get it pretty cheap. Where did he do his degree and what year? I can probably fetch a PDF
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May 23, 2019 14:56
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poo poo is hitting the fan in PSS and I am really enjoying the ride. Its a very unique fantasy setting
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May 30, 2019 15:13
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OK. That was one of the most unique fantasy worlds I have encountered, if a tad too steampunk at times. A very engaging story too, once I got over some of the early literary quirks (like using the same less than common word over and over and over). It took a bit to give myself over to this story but once I did it worked out pretty well. I will definitely be reading the Scar at some point
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Jun 8, 2019 06:10
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Tekopo posted: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. Babel-17 by Samuel Delany
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Jun 9, 2019 17:05
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withak posted:I predict that the Spectre Haunting book will be sorely lacking in puissance. Puissaint
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Jun 1, 2022 06:23
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Hedrigall posted:Idk if this tempers expectations at all but the new book is publishing under Pan Macmillan's literary imprint Picador so it might not be as outwardly sf/f as we hope that's quite a range, as I really liked This Census-Taker but despised New Paris. I will get it when it is out but I hope its more the former
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Jun 2, 2023 15:29
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