aryaxo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
sepptb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
peapod_boston's review against another edition
4.0
I should warn readers that "Finch" is the last book of Vandermeer's Ambergris cycle. While the three books are completely different genres and modes, they share a common geography and (as I learned late in "Finch"), this one answers questions raised in the first two. That said, I enjoyed reading it on its own, and I don't think I'll be put off reading the others.
"Finch" felt very much like Graham Greene's "The Third Man" if the Allies occupying Vienna were fungal creatures and their half-human servants. The titular character plays willing collaborator and reluctant detective as he tries to unwind a mystery that has, at it's heart, the truth behind the occupation and years of war that have racked the city. Intimate and cosmic, comic and tragic, sublime and explosive, I kept coming back to memories of reading Graham Greene for the first time. Finch is a similar blend of selfishness, compassion, desperate loneliness, and confusion. The mystery he unravels is as much about the fabric of his personal history, the motives of his greycap masters, and the nature of reality.
Hard-boiled and beautifully written.
"Finch" felt very much like Graham Greene's "The Third Man" if the Allies occupying Vienna were fungal creatures and their half-human servants. The titular character plays willing collaborator and reluctant detective as he tries to unwind a mystery that has, at it's heart, the truth behind the occupation and years of war that have racked the city. Intimate and cosmic, comic and tragic, sublime and explosive, I kept coming back to memories of reading Graham Greene for the first time. Finch is a similar blend of selfishness, compassion, desperate loneliness, and confusion. The mystery he unravels is as much about the fabric of his personal history, the motives of his greycap masters, and the nature of reality.
Hard-boiled and beautifully written.
sarvikaskas's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
blackcatbinx29's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I kinda liked the noir/mystery aspect to the story.
jmm3rs's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
aamccartan's review against another edition
4.0
Finch was good, but I definitely felt like the series went down as the books progressed. As disturbing as it was, I really liked City of Saints and Madmen, thought Shriek was worthwhile, and Finch was a good-to-mediocre conclusion to the series.
I preferred the levels of mystery that VanderMeer sustains through the first two books, and felt like it was missing from Finch. I also did not get deeply invested in Finch as a character, which made the book somewhat less compelling (and VanderMeer's use of sentence fragments borderline obnoxious). But still worthwhile.
City of Saints and Madmen is the standout book in this group, though.
I preferred the levels of mystery that VanderMeer sustains through the first two books, and felt like it was missing from Finch. I also did not get deeply invested in Finch as a character, which made the book somewhat less compelling (and VanderMeer's use of sentence fragments borderline obnoxious). But still worthwhile.
City of Saints and Madmen is the standout book in this group, though.
megmcardle's review against another edition
5.0
Difficult, complicated read, but once you give in to the hallucination, it's quite a ride. Vandermeer layers invented world on top of invented world, and drops us into the action so abruptly and completely that you will be trying to catch something to hold onto. Not to everyone's taste, but hard to deny that it is a genuine original. No point really in sketching the plot, except to say that it's a noir mystery with a detective and a murder. Oh yeah, and there are mushroom people.