Book of Elsewhere

Stephen reviewed The Book of Elsewhere by China Miéville

Yet another book about an immortal

3 stars

I liked this book, but I don't know why. Coming to summarise the book I get to "this book proves the ennui of the immortal by saying literally nothing new". It's very readable, but the lore doesn't really go anywhere, and I finished the book and a spoiler-free summary of the plot is "it just kinda stops".

It's also all just very over the top as well. There's a lot of description of gore and violence that just seemed to be a cartoon version of "this person suffered a lot".

I liked this book, but I don't know why. Coming to summarise the book I get to "this book proves the ennui of the immortal by saying literally nothing new". It's very readable, but the lore doesn't really go anywhere, and I finished the book and a spoiler-free summary of the plot is "it just kinda stops".

It's also all just very over the top as well. There's a lot of description of gore and violence that just seemed to be a cartoon version of "this person suffered a lot".

tivasyk reviewed The Book of Elsewhere by China Miéville

phylosophical scifi

3 stars

a pretentiously written, barely readable phylosophical scifi that rewards by several good stories hidden among mediocre text, and a rather strong final farewel.

stozzer@ramblingreaders.org reviewed The Book of Elsewhere by China Miéville

Successful collaboration

4 stars

Many books suffer from having greater than one author. This story runs well, doesn't take itself too seriously and throws out some plot puzzles with some depth while avoiding descent into schlocky action bluster. I hope there is more of this to come.

eve massacre reviewed The Book of Elsewhere by China Miéville

None

3 stars

I enjoyed the writing but the story is, well, it might be more at home in the graphic novel or a game.

Courts reviewed The Book of Elsewhere by China Miéville

A Lot to Unpack

5 stars

If you have not read anything by Mieville yet, be warned: His style is an aquired taste. But after reading Perdido Street Station and knowing about it, I had a sense of what is coming for me. In typical Mieville fashion, the prose is a complicated, stream-of-conciousness mess sometimes.

I think it really helped that I read the BRZRKR comics before the book, although it is by no means a requirement.

Phil in SF reviewed The Book of Elsewhere by China Miéville

Obtuse

2 stars

The writing is waaaaay too obtuse. The story takes a cool concept (an ancient, immortal being seeks mortality) and puts a very new coat of paint on it. Unfortunately, it tries to be too thinky about it.

joachim@lire.boitam.eu reviewed The Book of Elsewhere by China Miéville

Oddly entertaining

4 stars

I would very much like to know more about what China Mieville and Keanu Reeves both brought to the table.

Marek reviewed The Book of Elsewhere by China Miéville

Making something oddly new from a pastiche of old ideas

4 stars

I haven't written reviews for the three volumes of comics that precede this and set the world for it - the BRZRKR limited run that introduces and sets out the tone and background for this fascinating collaboration between Reeves and Miéville (who is one of my favourite writers).

The comics are better than I would have expected, given that they are really a mish-mash of things that have come before - part Highlander, part Wolverine/Weapon X, part Interview with the Vampire, to name just a few obvious points of reference. The character work elevated it above the (often literally) pulp ideas.

Miéville and Reeves take that a step further here. The world and the characters get richer, and the storytelling more surreal. You can see a host of new references showing up (Octavia Butler being a crucial one). While I wouldn't rate it quite as highly as I …

I haven't written reviews for the three volumes of comics that precede this and set the world for it - the BRZRKR limited run that introduces and sets out the tone and background for this fascinating collaboration between Reeves and Miéville (who is one of my favourite writers).

The comics are better than I would have expected, given that they are really a mish-mash of things that have come before - part Highlander, part Wolverine/Weapon X, part Interview with the Vampire, to name just a few obvious points of reference. The character work elevated it above the (often literally) pulp ideas.

Miéville and Reeves take that a step further here. The world and the characters get richer, and the storytelling more surreal. You can see a host of new references showing up (Octavia Butler being a crucial one). While I wouldn't rate it quite as highly as I would most of Miéville's other work, I think this is well worth a read, and richer than you might expect it to be in some ways.

Aimee Gunther reviewed The Book of Elsewhere by China Miéville

I have to respect what China Miéville did with Keanu Reeves

4 stars

They created something indeed. Still in Miéville's vibe, but a slow compilation of voices which suddenly comes together.

Dav reviewed The Book of Elsewhere by China Miéville

None

5 stars

I was sent a pre-release of this book via NetGalley and the publisher.

In short, a very interesting Sci-Fi narrative picking apart the idea of immortality, as presented in the figure of Unute, the main protagonist. The core of the story takes place in a Government facility, but regular flashbacks and side narratives allow exploration of the character’s journey to this point.

It took a minute to get into, probably as a result of the comic-book approach to scenes (one panel at a time), but both the writing style and the idea for the story are superb. I would heartily recommend.