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marmaladereads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
3.5
This book is 50% vibes, set in a dystopian futuristic city that is run by crime syndicates with extreme income inequality and in a post climate catastrophe world where most world governments have collapsed. The book follows 5ish seemingly unrelated characters and their varied perspectives of the city - some are rich, poor, criminals, government workers. Most of the characters are queer, and the book is incredibly queer normative despite taking place with a background of a sexually transmitted and fatal pandemic reminiscent of HIV (which the government ignores). So the setting is incredibly interesting and the vibes and atmosphere established dominate the book.
However the plot is quite thin. It took probably 60% of the book for the plot to truly emerge, and when it did finally all come together, I found it somewhat underwhelming. Characters that were pretty interesting as individuals in earlier chapters kind of fell apart in terms of character depth and personality when they were thrown into group situations in later chapters, and a lot of the relationships lacked the emotional charge that should have come with long awaited reunions and the revelations that came with them. A lot of the big mysteries set up throughout the book also fell kind of flat for me when they were finally revealed.
Overall I would rate this book 5 stars for vibes and 2 stars for plot.
However the plot is quite thin. It took probably 60% of the book for the plot to truly emerge, and when it did finally all come together, I found it somewhat underwhelming. Characters that were pretty interesting as individuals in earlier chapters kind of fell apart in terms of character depth and personality when they were thrown into group situations in later chapters, and a lot of the relationships lacked the emotional charge that should have come with long awaited reunions and the revelations that came with them. A lot of the big mysteries set up throughout the book also fell kind of flat for me when they were finally revealed.
Overall I would rate this book 5 stars for vibes and 2 stars for plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Police brutality, Abandonment, and Deportation
julian7's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
3.0
I liked the concepts in this book (like nanobonding with animals and how the breaks result in sharing memories) a lot more than the actual book. The world-building felt underdeveloped - there were a lot of cool concepts, but perhaps too many to take on in one book, because they were often not explained very well. Also, it took forever for all the different characters and threads to come together. I didn’t feel like I knew what was going on until about a third of the way through, and even then I was still confused about the logistics of some things, like nanobonding and the breaks.
Meanwhile, the anticapitalist messages felt over-explained. Sometimes, I feel like the “message” or moral of the story is too hard to figure out, but with this book I actually felt like it was way too easy because the author would explicitly say it many times throughout the book. That being said, I still really appreciate the anticapitalist messaging. 🫡
Another thing that was underdeveloped was the relationships between the characters. A lot of the characters had potential to feel more interesting and relatable had they been more developed.
All in all, super interesting concepts and a lot of potential for an interesting world and characters, but not enough development and depth, because of the massive amount taken on. Overall, 3/5 score. Also, THE COVER GLOWS IN THE DARK so that’s pretty fucking cool.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
aardwyrm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Climate change dystopia in which horrible things happen endlessly, but the ultimate choice is hope. The world of Blackfish City is a world that has ended and is beginning to make itself again. The book rejects all easy answers but still loops back to the possibility of a better future. Its patchwork of viewpoints and intertwined themes of family and choice are powerfully executed and throw the reader into the City Without a Map.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Murder
sarah984's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is kind of a conflicting one for me to review because I liked the overall story but I didn't really like the book. The setting was interesting, sort of an arctic-themed cyberpunk city run by AI with a few rich human "stakeholders", where organized crime is everywhere and people are on the streets losing their minds to an illness called the breaks that no one in power will deal with because of optics. The story of a strange woman and her entourage of animals sweeping in to turn this upside down is compelling.
I just really didn't like the writing. A few of the plot twists were things that annoy me in any narrative, the language is pretentious and weird, and the author uses the word orgasmic to describe way too many things. It's not inherently a bad book, but it definitely didn't work for me.
I just really didn't like the writing. A few of the plot twists were things that annoy me in any narrative, the language is pretentious and weird, and the author uses the word orgasmic to describe way too many things. It's not inherently a bad book, but it definitely didn't work for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Ableism, Genocide, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit
My rape tag is for a scene where a character feels pressured into sex but technically consents (and sees themselves as having consented later). The perpetrator in this scene also transmits a fatal sexually transmitted infection to the victim without prior disclosure.
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