Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Books read in 2024: No. 39 -- The City & The City

by China Mieville

Started: August 20
Finished: August 27

Notes: I've heard good things about this speculative author for some years now and I've been meaning to check out his work. I've also had this novel recommended to me, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Mini review: This was an interesting one. In another version of our world, two cities exist in the exact same place and time, separated by a sort of invisible dimensional wall. Unfortunately for the citizens of each city, to look into or hear into the other city is something of a crime punishable by a sort-of overpolice known as the Breach. Yet each city also has its local cops to deal with more mundane crimes. In this novel, a detective in one of the cities finds himself pulled into a conspiracy that involves both cities, Breach, and ... well, to tell the truth, it gets complicated. It's complicated further by no small part of the words used here (especially for locales) are quite fantastic and foreign. That doesn't mean this is a difficult read, but that most readers will have to pause every so often to get their bearings. Is this a good book? Yes. Is it a great book? Not quite, but it's also not far from being one. Readers who enjoy detective fiction with a speculative twist will find much here to enjoy.

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