Reviews

Ambergris: City of Saints and Madmen; Shriek: An Afterword; Finch, by Jeff VanderMeer

inkstained's review against another edition

An AMBERGRIS anthology??????!!!!! Be still my heart

oak_the_brewer's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

erat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

5.0

Amazing.

micahcastle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

smograth's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.5

absolute banger thank you jeff

josimmmmmjsjsjssmmssm's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

alisonburnis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Reading three books in one omnibus edition is a delight. The world of Ambergris, a city formed on a genocide and rocked by constant strife, is told through a set of novellas in City of Saints and Madmen, followed by the story of two siblings and their tangle with the history of Ambergris in Shriek: An Afterward, and finally, the chaotic and deadly Ambergris after civil war and the rise of grey caps, mushroom-like creatures in Finch. 

Ambergris was founded on the site of a city created by the grey caps, who lived peacefully until a whaler arrived and drove them underground. The next seven hundred years detail the fear of the people of the grey caps, strange happenings from the world underneath them, the collapse of their government and a civil war driven by two merchant companies. In the middle of this war, the grey caps Rise, coming to the surface and taking back Ambergris. 

This was an incredibly rich world, populated by a lot of fungi and a lot of violence. I think I enjoyed the novellas the most, as I didn’t have a strong a picture of what was going on, and it made it that much more gripping and spooky. VanderMeer plays with romance, metafiction, mysteries, crime, and dystopia in these works, creating a truly unique Weird fiction universe. It’s ponderous and very very deep, but absolutely magnificent. I’m going to be thinking about this for a while. And will probably side-eye mushrooms for a bit. 

kmac07's review against another edition

5.0

Oh my lord the second part is like a fungal Frankenstein and the third part would be a fantastic film! Read it!

verbamatic's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

thebookishaustin's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced