jortsboyfriend's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
sarrahchang's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
spaceprincessv's review
One of the stories had a strong body horror theme.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
megapolisomancy's review
4.0
Long version: https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2021/09/24/panopticon-blues-review-of-in-the-watchful-city-by-s-qiouyi-lu/
Short version: a lot of beautiful (and/or traumatic), fascinating things packed into too few pages.
Short version: a lot of beautiful (and/or traumatic), fascinating things packed into too few pages.
legtart's review
3.0
the last few pages wrapped this novella up so beautifully like wow, so much feeling in so few pages
sarracenia's review
5.0
Sometimes the book you need to read comes along at just the right moment, and this was the case with In the Watchful City. It took me a while to get into as my mind kept wandering and I found the unfamiliar pronouns cumbersome at first, but once I started reading the stories in the qijitang I began to really enjoy this novella. Ultimately this is a book about feelings, trust and instincts. Lu creates a complex world where futuristic technology blends with animal instinct, politics and parable. It is spellbinding and uniquely curious. There is so much hidden in its depths that having just finished I'm already keen to reread it.
erraticeldandil's review
3.5
I have fairly complex feelings on this one.
This book focuses on Anima - one human aspect of a living city that directly cares for its citizens - meeting with an anomalous new stranger who asks ær for something of ærself in exchange for stories of objects they have collected.
On the one hand it had a lot of things I loved: casual neopronoun use, a beautiful and evocative world, a very cool concept. I love explorations of non-human or expanded human consciousness and thought.
On the other, it didn't work for me in some pretty fundamental ways that I believe were intentionally and artistically chosen. While I usually like slice of life vignettes, putting many of them into a novella of this size caused the narrative to be a bit unaturally disjointed to me. I understand why in terms of the concept it was done this way, it just wasn't my ideal read.
The author is clearly a very skilled writer, æ're just not the one for me personally at least in novella length. If æ put out a full length novel I will need to revisit.
This book focuses on Anima - one human aspect of a living city that directly cares for its citizens - meeting with an anomalous new stranger who asks ær for something of ærself in exchange for stories of objects they have collected.
On the one hand it had a lot of things I loved: casual neopronoun use, a beautiful and evocative world, a very cool concept. I love explorations of non-human or expanded human consciousness and thought.
On the other, it didn't work for me in some pretty fundamental ways that I believe were intentionally and artistically chosen. While I usually like slice of life vignettes, putting many of them into a novella of this size caused the narrative to be a bit unaturally disjointed to me. I understand why in terms of the concept it was done this way, it just wasn't my ideal read.
The author is clearly a very skilled writer, æ're just not the one for me personally at least in novella length. If æ put out a full length novel I will need to revisit.
kiiouex's review
3.0
this novella is trying to do a LOT in a very small space of time
I think overall your mileage will vary depending on how much you like stories-within-stories; I found them hit-or-miss, which has left me with an overall feeling of apathy. I liked the main story, which is also the framing device, and my favourite part was Anima telling her own history; I did not like uhh most of the shorts but especially the sports one. Still, it's very queer, it's a unique viewpoint, I think it just wasn't for me personally.
I think overall your mileage will vary depending on how much you like stories-within-stories; I found them hit-or-miss, which has left me with an overall feeling of apathy. I liked the main story, which is also the framing device, and my favourite part was Anima telling her own history; I did not like uhh most of the shorts but especially the sports one. Still, it's very queer, it's a unique viewpoint, I think it just wasn't for me personally.