grantl99's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
jubaju's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
An improvement compared to the first one but still not that great. I don't like the author's writing style and the way he develops his plots. Nyquist was less annoying here but I don't like his character and I didn't care about what happened to him. I'll be reading the next instalments in the hopes that they get progressively better but I won't be looking for more from this author.
An improvement compared to the first one but still not that great. I don't like the author's writing style and the way he develops his plots. Nyquist was less annoying here but I don't like his character and I didn't care about what happened to him. I'll be reading the next instalments in the hopes that they get progressively better but I won't be looking for more from this author.
joosty's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
John Niquist, a P.I., is our protagonist, but this is not a real detective story (although it features two murders). It's not so much about who did the murders, but about a much bigger mystery.
The weird setting of this book (the city of Storyville where everything is framed as a story) contributes in a big part to what makes this book interesting.
Someboy more literary-minded may get a bit more out of the reflections on fiction vs. non-fiction, the narrative of our lives, or the relation between an author and his stories, but I didn't feel that the book was about these things primarily. To me these seemed more like narrative hooks that interact with, but don't define, the solving of the mystery.
If you liked A Man of Shadows, you'll be fine with this.
The weird setting of this book (the city of Storyville where everything is framed as a story) contributes in a big part to what makes this book interesting.
Someboy more literary-minded may get a bit more out of the reflections on fiction vs. non-fiction, the narrative of our lives, or the relation between an author and his stories, but I didn't feel that the book was about these things primarily. To me these seemed more like narrative hooks that interact with, but don't define, the solving of the mystery.
If you liked A Man of Shadows, you'll be fine with this.
keary's review against another edition
2.0
A book with style but no substance. Nicely written in that it kept on being readable but there was no real story.
erikbail's review against another edition
2.0
Underwhelming. Why am I still reading these? Let's see if book 3 is better
weesam_nz's review against another edition
4.0
Even better than the first book. Why did I wait so long to read Jeff Noon? Heading off to see what I can find of his back catalogue.
boxcar's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5