ichirofakename's review against another edition
2.0
Needs more steam, less punk. Turns into a fantasy on p.265. Then a revolution? Compelling characters in a silly environment pursuing dog knows what hobbyhorses. Don't read it.
houlette's review against another edition
3.0
Excellently written and quite funny at times, though a bit slow to get moving.
ctiner7's review against another edition
4.0
Turned out to be completely different then I expected. It really through me off a couple of times. It was written a little odd, I mean, at times it was directed at the reader, and other times it was just telling the story. If that makes any sense. I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars for creativity.....but I myself am not a fan, and don't plan on reading it again, or recommending it to family or friends. There are people who will enjoy it. This one is going to be a book that you either love or hate.
I won this book on Goodreads First Reads.
I won this book on Goodreads First Reads.
museful's review against another edition
1.0
I've had to abandon this one - it's fine, but the constant feeling that I'm reading a sequel to something else just became too irritating.
benjfleck's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this - I really did - but I could not. It had a lot of cool elements: a mysterious air ship, a polar kangaroo, STEAMPUNK overload, etc.
But, alas, with all that cool stuff... characterization and plot were left out. The two protagonists, Brentford Orsini and Gabriel D'Allier, were baseless and underwhelming, while also being almost interchangeable. The main problem was neither had an actual, legitimate, story-moving GOAL. Neither character knew what they wanted or where they were going. And the plot just rambled on like a continuation of some story I had never heard of.
The world created was good, but it felt too info-dumpy, and not real enough. The plot had no buildup or excitement. I didn't care about the revolution and honestly I had no idea what was happening half the time. Really... what the heck was happening? WHAT. WAS. HAPPENING.
The author filled up the book with lots of words and descriptions, but they all added up to nothing. It made me feel nothing inside. AT ALL. This book didn't have any sort of emotional or thought-provoking impact on me. It just was that... a book... that kept going on... about nothing in particular... with two unlikable, wandering characters... doing nothing in particular... in a polar city... for no reason... oh, lets throw in some weird nonsensical words.
We need Plot. We need Character Motivation. We need Character Development. We need an actual STORY. A STORY THAT MOVES. This book had none of that, and it's a shame.
But, alas, with all that cool stuff... characterization and plot were left out. The two protagonists, Brentford Orsini and Gabriel D'Allier, were baseless and underwhelming, while also being almost interchangeable. The main problem was neither had an actual, legitimate, story-moving GOAL. Neither character knew what they wanted or where they were going. And the plot just rambled on like a continuation of some story I had never heard of.
The world created was good, but it felt too info-dumpy, and not real enough. The plot had no buildup or excitement. I didn't care about the revolution and honestly I had no idea what was happening half the time. Really... what the heck was happening? WHAT. WAS. HAPPENING.
The author filled up the book with lots of words and descriptions, but they all added up to nothing. It made me feel nothing inside. AT ALL. This book didn't have any sort of emotional or thought-provoking impact on me. It just was that... a book... that kept going on... about nothing in particular... with two unlikable, wandering characters... doing nothing in particular... in a polar city... for no reason... oh, lets throw in some weird nonsensical words.
We need Plot. We need Character Motivation. We need Character Development. We need an actual STORY. A STORY THAT MOVES. This book had none of that, and it's a shame.
bookly_reads's review against another edition
1.0
Sexist garbage. I no longer waste my time on stories and authors like this.
stacialithub's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed it, but I wouldn't term it a favorite, though there were some clever things &/or wording in there that I quite enjoyed, lots of nice historical touches too. Love, love the look & feel of the cover & endpapers -- a little artistic beauty in & of itself. (Leah, here on GR, posted a review & added a link to her blog w/ some fascinating info about the cover art. Check it out! Thanks, Leah!) Overall, I'd rate this book 3.5 stars.
I guess I'd say it's a fantasy w/ dystopian overtones, set in an Arctic environment. I enjoyed the environment part of it -- the descriptions of the ice, the cold, the sky.... Fantasy is not my favorite genre (nor do I dislike it), so that part was fine, the dystopian parts were fine also (not too heavy-handed or depressing which, imo, is good). A little bit of a steampunk flavor, but not a book that overall I would call steampunk. There was a lot in there -- many people, factions, events, making me wonder if the story couldn't have been a little tighter had the author cut back just a little bit. Enjoyable & I'd probably recommend it most for people who like fantasy, but want a somewhat different (than the stereotypical norm) fantasy world.
I guess I'd say it's a fantasy w/ dystopian overtones, set in an Arctic environment. I enjoyed the environment part of it -- the descriptions of the ice, the cold, the sky.... Fantasy is not my favorite genre (nor do I dislike it), so that part was fine, the dystopian parts were fine also (not too heavy-handed or depressing which, imo, is good). A little bit of a steampunk flavor, but not a book that overall I would call steampunk. There was a lot in there -- many people, factions, events, making me wonder if the story couldn't have been a little tighter had the author cut back just a little bit. Enjoyable & I'd probably recommend it most for people who like fantasy, but want a somewhat different (than the stereotypical norm) fantasy world.
corrompido's review against another edition
3.0
I generally dislike magical realism as an entire genre, with a few exceptions (Murakami springs to mind, but he is such an excellent writer and even his weirder books have a consistent internal logic; Lethem's Chronic City was also amazingly well written and consistent in tone despite being more or less the same genre,) I find them to be lacking in story and too heavily reliant on deus ex machina to move the plot forward.
The only thing that kept me engaged enough to finish this book was that Valtat went all in, his vision of a city called New Venice at the arctic circle was delightful in many ways. The city is an early 1900s steam punk wonderland, where the sun never rises in the winter and the citizens take copious amounts of drugs to get through the cold depressing winter months. The story itself has Eskimos, anarchists, ghosts, and revolutionary suffragettes running around in this city on the brink of armed insurrection.
Despite the engrossing setting, the story itself fails in a number of ways. The slow boiling plot never really takes off and just kinds of wraps up without much of a third act. The previously mentioned deus ex machina saves a few characters in an annoyingly easy way, and worst of all Valtat has a habit of referring to events prior to the book's story with the familiarity that would suggest this was a latter book in a series; it made me feel like I was missing something often.
In the end it was an ok read, but unfortunate that the author could not realize the potential of his story's setting.
The only thing that kept me engaged enough to finish this book was that Valtat went all in, his vision of a city called New Venice at the arctic circle was delightful in many ways. The city is an early 1900s steam punk wonderland, where the sun never rises in the winter and the citizens take copious amounts of drugs to get through the cold depressing winter months. The story itself has Eskimos, anarchists, ghosts, and revolutionary suffragettes running around in this city on the brink of armed insurrection.
Despite the engrossing setting, the story itself fails in a number of ways. The slow boiling plot never really takes off and just kinds of wraps up without much of a third act. The previously mentioned deus ex machina saves a few characters in an annoyingly easy way, and worst of all Valtat has a habit of referring to events prior to the book's story with the familiarity that would suggest this was a latter book in a series; it made me feel like I was missing something often.
In the end it was an ok read, but unfortunate that the author could not realize the potential of his story's setting.
audaciaray's review against another edition
1.0
Really wanted to like this, on recommendation of Jackson McNally, but just couldn't get into it and couldn't keep the characters straight.
amorriscode's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this book was pretty neat. It was definitely very creative. At some points it was a little confusing because the author has created so much history and new words within the novel. I believe he did a great job and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes multiple storylines and a little bit of quirkiness.