jmm3rs's review against another edition
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.
sapphickohaku's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mrorpheus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
cariboubob's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
sr_fishtracker's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
drollgorg's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Rich in atmosphere and its mysterious mood despite the story not being as difficult to unravel as it might seem for the characters. This book returns the setting of Ambergris to the strange and hallucinatory way it felt in City of Saints and Madmen, where I thought that Shriek took away too much uncertainty and suspense. I think that VanderMeer's interest in creating mood and sketching out a tangled web of weirdness exceeds his actual ability to create a compellingly weird plot in these books, whereas his skill definitely increased by the time he wrote the Southern Reach and Borne. He constantly alludes to mysteries that end up being more straightforward than you'd be led to think- I just don't think that the ultimate answer to which everything boils down, basically just pointing to a multiverse, is that fresh or interesting in a fantasy series, people have been explaining weirdness by it coming from another plane for decades now.
Still, I what I did enjoy a lot in this book is the atmosphere that comes from blending elements of noir, fantasy and horror as well as the pervasiveness of the paranoid setting created through occupation by alien beings. John Finch is not the most compelling and unique main character, but he is a good noir protagonist and the clipped, brusque narration works well for relaying the inner feelings that he has trouble acknowledging and the harried way in which he tries to navigate the world around him. He's no detective, but its a role he's trying to play as best as he's been able to learn from the people around him. His relationship to Wyte, how he's trying to pretend his past is gone while unwilling to sever their connection, is a much more interesting human side to the character than his tropey relationship with his exotic lover & textbook femme fatale Sintra. And the character of the Lady in Blue along with the rebellion she leads is delivered in an evocative way, I'd just have liked a more detailed resolution to her plot.
Still, I what I did enjoy a lot in this book is the atmosphere that comes from blending elements of noir, fantasy and horror as well as the pervasiveness of the paranoid setting created through occupation by alien beings. John Finch is not the most compelling and unique main character, but he is a good noir protagonist and the clipped, brusque narration works well for relaying the inner feelings that he has trouble acknowledging and the harried way in which he tries to navigate the world around him. He's no detective, but its a role he's trying to play as best as he's been able to learn from the people around him. His relationship to Wyte, how he's trying to pretend his past is gone while unwilling to sever their connection, is a much more interesting human side to the character than his tropey relationship with his exotic lover & textbook femme fatale Sintra. And the character of the Lady in Blue along with the rebellion she leads is delivered in an evocative way, I'd just have liked a more detailed resolution to her plot.
natejohansen's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75