thisotherbookaccount's review against another edition
3.0
Short stories are tricky. While the restriction on word count is a good exercise for writers, the reader is often the one being tossed into stories in medias res. That is not to mention the fact that you never quite have enough time to acquaint yourself with the characters on the page before the story draws to a close. So short stories have the tough job of drawing the readers in quickly and making them enjoy the short stay — kind of like a theme park ride.
And just like theme park rides, not all of them are going to be runaway hits. Even in the hands of someone like China Mieville, one of my favourite authors of all time, some stories will ultimately turn out to be duds. However, since they are mostly so short, they never overstay their welcome.
Going into this book, I knew that I was going to like certain stories and disregard the rest — that's just the way short story collections are. Here are some highlights from the read:
1. Looking for Jake: I actually quite like this one, even though Goodreads users seem to disagree. I like how it feels like an analogy or critic on our obsession with the digital age. I'm not sure if the fact that the story is set on the fifth of November has any political significance but, since it is Mieville, I wouldn't put it pass the guy.
2. Foundation: One of the standouts in this collection. It's the idea that every empire is built on the corpses of others, and how that analogy translates literally to this short horror story. Even more disconcerting is the fact that it is somewhat based on a true story.
3. The Ball Room: Who knew that Mieville can write a Stephen King-esque horror story? A lot of IT vibes in this one.
4. Entry Taken from a Medical Encyclopaedia: An especially potent story in our current socio-political climate. If I had the chance to ask Mieville some questions, I would ask him what the "second word" is.
5. Go Between: Again, who knew that Mieville can write a Philip K Dick-esque horror story?
6. Different Skies: One of my favourites in this one, with Mieville channeling a lot of Lovecraft but without the Eldritch horror.
7. 'Tis the Season: I really like the core concept of Christmas being corporatised. Also, a surprisingly sweet/tender ending to the short story too.
8. Tain: While the execution isn't great in my opinion, the core concept is pure Mieville. In fact, just last night, it made be look at my reflection in the mirror differently. You know a story has gotten to you when it spills over into real life.
And just like theme park rides, not all of them are going to be runaway hits. Even in the hands of someone like China Mieville, one of my favourite authors of all time, some stories will ultimately turn out to be duds. However, since they are mostly so short, they never overstay their welcome.
Going into this book, I knew that I was going to like certain stories and disregard the rest — that's just the way short story collections are. Here are some highlights from the read:
1. Looking for Jake: I actually quite like this one, even though Goodreads users seem to disagree. I like how it feels like an analogy or critic on our obsession with the digital age. I'm not sure if the fact that the story is set on the fifth of November has any political significance but, since it is Mieville, I wouldn't put it pass the guy.
2. Foundation: One of the standouts in this collection. It's the idea that every empire is built on the corpses of others, and how that analogy translates literally to this short horror story. Even more disconcerting is the fact that it is somewhat based on a true story.
3. The Ball Room: Who knew that Mieville can write a Stephen King-esque horror story? A lot of IT vibes in this one.
4. Entry Taken from a Medical Encyclopaedia: An especially potent story in our current socio-political climate. If I had the chance to ask Mieville some questions, I would ask him what the "second word" is.
5. Go Between: Again, who knew that Mieville can write a Philip K Dick-esque horror story?
6. Different Skies: One of my favourites in this one, with Mieville channeling a lot of Lovecraft but without the Eldritch horror.
7. 'Tis the Season: I really like the core concept of Christmas being corporatised. Also, a surprisingly sweet/tender ending to the short story too.
8. Tain: While the execution isn't great in my opinion, the core concept is pure Mieville. In fact, just last night, it made be look at my reflection in the mirror differently. You know a story has gotten to you when it spills over into real life.
tacochelle's review against another edition
4.0
I had read China Mieville's book Un Lun Dun before this, and I felt that not all 14 stories were necessarily good. He does stretch the concept of fantasy in many, and I like his ideas, but with stories like "Reports of Certain Events in London", "Go Between", and "An End to Hunger", it felt like it was in the wrong format or point of view or something like that. My favorites were " 'Tis the Season", "The Tain", and "Details". 'Tis the Season is a look into life where Christmas and things associated with it are copyrighted, so things like having a Christmas party is illegal unless you've bought their stuff. It was funny and an innovative way to show what Christmas is all about. The Tain is based off a entry in Jorge Luis Borges' "The Book of Imaginary Beings" about the Fauna of Mirrors. This was the longest story in the book, it felt like a mini novel, even with 'chapters'. It was hard to read because I wanted to support the humans, but both sides are really the victims. Details was very creepy, but very relatable. It was interesting to read it in the view of a little boy (I assume), and his reactions seem very realistic. Overall, the book was okay. I want to read more of Mieville's stuff because I know I'd have never heard of anything like them.
dorisxdw's review against another edition
3.0
This short story is definitely one of the weirder ones I've read. I'm also not sure if I really understood it or how to even rate it tbh
cnapple's review against another edition
3.0
Bought this for "The Tain" after reading some great reviews, so I'm starting there. So far it's promising. As always Mr. Mieville is a master of his words painting a vivid portrait of apocalyptic London, with some sinister and deliciously weird mystery at hand.
stucifer_'s review against another edition
4.0
The first story made me a little nervous about this anthology, because while I found the concepts compelling, I found it a bit hard to get into, and unsatisfying in its resolution. And there are a couple more stories throughout like that for me. But the majority of them were really delightful, be they Miéville writing funny satire (a new tone from him!) in "'Tis the Season" to absolutely chilling my bones with terror in "The Ball Room," and many points in between. There is some formal experimentation here; one metatextual, somewhat epistolary story, that I was really interested in but not sure if the form served it, for instance. There's also a brief comic story, which is beautiful, although the narrative was not satisfying for me. But on the whole, this was great. Snippets of Miéville's weird, terrifying, brilliant, analytical mind.
elleye's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
scotts's review against another edition
2.0
This was a mixed bag. The premises are mostly interesting, but the stories feel unfinished. It's like Miéville churned out first drafts and didn't finish molding them into complete tales.
The stories dealing with barely comprehensible supernatural apocalypses were good: "Looking for Jake" and "The Tain." The latter is a novella inspired by the Borges story "Fauna of Mirrors."
The other stories I found memorable were effective at cultivating a sense of horror and dread: "Details," "The Ball Room," and "Different Skies."
Stories with interesting ideas that fell short in execution: "Familiar," "Reports of Certain Events in London," "Entry Taken from a Medical Encyclopedia."
The stories dealing with barely comprehensible supernatural apocalypses were good: "Looking for Jake" and "The Tain." The latter is a novella inspired by the Borges story "Fauna of Mirrors."
The other stories I found memorable were effective at cultivating a sense of horror and dread: "Details," "The Ball Room," and "Different Skies."
Stories with interesting ideas that fell short in execution: "Familiar," "Reports of Certain Events in London," "Entry Taken from a Medical Encyclopedia."
jonmhansen's review against another edition
3.0
It's a pretty good collection. Some are better than others, as to be expected. I will say, a lot of these stories feel more like internal monologues in a way, with little dialogue. These don't work nearly as well for me. May just be me, however.