mandyherbet's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! It's a fantastic mix of a classic detective story set in a fantastical world. Jebediah Berry somehow makes his mystery city, the Agency, and the Travels-No-More Carnival completely real and believable.
I loved the story of Charles Unwin, clerk-extrodinaire and reluctant detective. I could have read this in one weekend but I strung it out as long as possible because I didn't want it to end. Brilliant book! I got this from the library but I may have to buy myself a copy because I think this is one book I'll want to reread many, many times.
I loved the story of Charles Unwin, clerk-extrodinaire and reluctant detective. I could have read this in one weekend but I strung it out as long as possible because I didn't want it to end. Brilliant book! I got this from the library but I may have to buy myself a copy because I think this is one book I'll want to reread many, many times.
kajalhalwa's review against another edition
5.0
One of the most pleasantly weird things i've read. You know that dream when you're in a bookshop that's having a sale and someone tells you to pick a certain thing up that's supposed to change your life? Only the book doesn't exist in your waking life? This captures that eerie, longing feeling with gorgeous images and heaps of noir themes while unfolding much like long metaphor filled dream plots do. Very grateful for the real life reccommend from Phoenix.
caitatoes's review against another edition
5.0
I am unbelievably pleased with this audiobook. I just finished it earlier today and I'm already thinking about listening again.
proust_mobile's review against another edition
3.75
The first half of this novel is perfect. With a tone that is both an homage to and a deadpan parody of hardboiled detective stories, this book presents a fully realized world with its own heightened internal logic and just the right amount of magical realism, a city that's overstuffed with detectives all working at a kind of detective factory, pitted against comic book-style villains complete with garish hideouts in plain view of everyone. An unfortunate extra conceptual layer is introduced in the second half and the plot becomes hopelessly convoluted. It all wraps up cleanly, but I think it lost a lot of focus in the process. For a while though, it's a self-aware yet nonsensical blast.
shellystilger's review against another edition
3.0
I can’t tell if the plot holes were from my bad library audio file, or not, so I’m giving the book the benefit of the doubt.
circumfloribus's review against another edition
5.0
I have been pretty disappointed with most fiction labeled 'steampunk' - it usually tries too hard to let you know how steampunk it is, and forgets to include plot and quality writing. The Manual of Detection is the opposite of all of that. It is something like a 1930s detective novel crossed with Inception with a twist of steampunk lurking in the background. It is layered, original, and takes a perspective on a mystery novel I've never seen before. Very impressed, and I definitely recommend it.
tabithar's review against another edition
3.0
The book operated with clever ideas for dream state mind control set in a 1920's/30's era CIA type setup but I was unable to connect with the characters and the story seemed to drag along. The audiobook's reader used a staccato Dick Tracy style to reading the text that seemed purposeful with the overall theme of the book but the final culmination of the mystery was not particularly thrilling. The concepts were all there but each time the story started to build things would either move too slowly and lose steam or the peak of the build would fail to captivate me. It wasn't bad but I doubt I'd have been able to finish a paper copy.
crows_in_a_trenchcoat's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
blevins's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting idea to this one that unfortunately doesn't quite live up to the promising premise--take a dash of Kafka, take a dash of hard-boiled noir, combine into a mystery. I like the idea of those things combined but the novel really doesn't go anywhere with it. There's no suspense--there's just the trick of the story's gimmick and nothing below the surface. Sorry, but I just want to get involved in the characters just a tad even if the idea is a cool one. Good idea that loses steam pretty early on--I actually had a hard time finishing this but I slogged through it to the end.
brittcoxon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0