Reviews

City Of Saints And Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer

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larrikindyke's review against another edition

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3.0

DNF.
Love Jeff VanderMeer, just don't have the headspace for this level of fantasy world building.

masonanddixon's review against another edition

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4.0

Haven't been able to read much due to life choices, but finally managed to get my hands on and finish this. Having only read the Area X trilogy I was a little shocked to discover that this was more of an art object than a short story collection. Nonetheless, a whole lot of weird fiction is inherently metafictional (blame Lovecraft's use of secondhand narrators), so seeing something so fully embrace the conceit was exhilarating. This isn't much of a story on the surface, but as both a deeply funny satire of academic squabbles, and a looping portrayal of art as psychosis it is compelling. There are also extremely creepy mushroom people. They're great.

hannah_greendale's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

aryaxo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

itkovian_books's review against another edition

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3.0

One enters a Jeff Vandermeer book knowing that things are going to be weird. Although I enjoyed learning about the strange world of Ambergris, I'm afraid the format of this novel (story collection?), as well as the prose, weren't quite to my taste. The final story tied everything together in an interesting way, and I enjoyed several moments throughout the book (particularly the humorous history section of the book) but my overall experience was middling. There are two more books set in this world, but I'm not sure if I'll end up reading them. That said, if you've read and enjoyed other Vandermeer books, this is worth checking out.

Rating: 5/10