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A review by barb4ry1
String City by Graham Edwards
3.0
ARC through NetGalley
This book left me perplexed. I loved a mind-bending world-building but didn’t warm up to characters.
String City is a hard-boiled, interdimensional detective romp. An inter-dimensional city full of gods, titans, living concepts and weirder things stands out as a character in its own right.
Story’s protagonist, an unnamed gumshoe who can move between realities investigates an explosion at the Titan’s casino. It turns out the event connects to a mysterious member of the Runefolk trapped outside of existence. As he tries to unravel the mystery, he meets and confronts unique cast of characters - a sentient Sewer, the Spider Queen, a god who manipulates the weather. With the help of Zephyr and Scrutator (a mechanical entity), he must question and even battle the fabric of existence.
I loved String City’s world-building. You can easily picture the city, feel it and smell it. It’s one of the most fascinating cities pictured in literary fiction. Add to this Edwards’ excellent and rich prose and immerse in the world. That said, a casual reader may struggle with the world-building involving interdimensional travel, quantum tornadoes and string theory.
Here’s the thing, though. It’s not a String City guide. The book has also a plot and characters. The plot hooked me early on, the characters not so much. I didn’t care about them at all. And while I appreciate Edwards’ amazing imagination and excellent world-building, I can’t rate the book higher because of this. For me, it lacked a genuine emotion and relatable characters.
Fascinating, intellectually stimulating <.>world-building overshadowed characters and their narratives. I may change my opinion after re-reading the book but I’m just not sure if I’ll do it anytime soon.
Absolutely worth the read, though. Nowadays, it’s rare to find truly unique books and String City delivers unforgettable, mind-bending moments.
This book left me perplexed. I loved a mind-bending world-building but didn’t warm up to characters.
String City is a hard-boiled, interdimensional detective romp. An inter-dimensional city full of gods, titans, living concepts and weirder things stands out as a character in its own right.
Story’s protagonist, an unnamed gumshoe who can move between realities investigates an explosion at the Titan’s casino. It turns out the event connects to a mysterious member of the Runefolk trapped outside of existence. As he tries to unravel the mystery, he meets and confronts unique cast of characters - a sentient Sewer, the Spider Queen, a god who manipulates the weather. With the help of Zephyr and Scrutator (a mechanical entity), he must question and even battle the fabric of existence.
I loved String City’s world-building. You can easily picture the city, feel it and smell it. It’s one of the most fascinating cities pictured in literary fiction. Add to this Edwards’ excellent and rich prose and immerse in the world. That said, a casual reader may struggle with the world-building involving interdimensional travel, quantum tornadoes and string theory.
Here’s the thing, though. It’s not a String City guide. The book has also a plot and characters. The plot hooked me early on, the characters not so much. I didn’t care about them at all. And while I appreciate Edwards’ amazing imagination and excellent world-building, I can’t rate the book higher because of this. For me, it lacked a genuine emotion and relatable characters.
Fascinating, intellectually stimulating <.>world-building overshadowed characters and their narratives. I may change my opinion after re-reading the book but I’m just not sure if I’ll do it anytime soon.
Absolutely worth the read, though. Nowadays, it’s rare to find truly unique books and String City delivers unforgettable, mind-bending moments.