Dylan > Recent Status Updates

The background slaughter got so bad that the main characters are starting to drop. Theon’s left appear to be fueled solely by trauma and rage at this point…

Crown this man! My notes will be thicc so I’m dumping thoughts early. Miéville’s New Weird fusion of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror in industrial New Crobuzon is wild: magic as energy-science, brain-eating moths, extradimensional spiders, Hellkin terrified of both, jellyfish riot cops, and coincidences that somehow feel organic. (Note: this was a much larger rant brutally cut for space; await my review!)

Yes yes yes yes YES

When you receive a very strange slug, which you can’t identify, with apparent empathic powers that subsists only on a very powerfully psychoactive drug? Do. NOT. Feed. It! Like, bro, what a dumb idea he’s gonna get eaten, I swear.

And the lore drops are so INTERESTING but very, intentionally crumb-like? Like, tell me more about this genocide of the khepri no one remembers about????

Yes, yes I get that the relationships are importsnt and profound to the story — and I see the web being woven. But also? A little soapy with the romance arc? Like, yes it adds some stake and profundity and a little more oomf to what I can already assume will be a vicious murder or other catalyst. Or maybe not; who knows lol!

I… reallyyyyy like this prose! It is dense, but incredibly rich. Mieville paints the epic, vile sprawl of New Crobuzon in all five senses, and with a vocabulary that puts most modern authors to shame. Though, admittedly, palimpsest has appeared more frequently that strictly necessary…

In Dylan speak: big words good! This guy has seen some stuff, no doubt. Also story is good so haha that too

I was right. Weird vibes off the bat! Behold the khepri! Humans with a beetle for a head. Classic, definitely not the expectation I had going into thispolluted hellscape of a world. Also? The three rivers are named Tar, Gross Tar, and Canker. Healthy ecosystems all, I’m sure. Definitely going to keep reading.

“I rather doubt you can just go about knocking on doors and stumble upon some squirrely fucker with a big trunk of costumes and wigs.”

Ahhh, RJB, your dialogue strikes again.

Ok getting tired of the word ‘analogue’?? Just name and describe the alien creatures instead of “yeah it’s an alien pig thing we’re going to call a pigeons, that’s all the information you get about it too!”

The US became a Christian theocracy and then they, the Chinese, and the Brazilians nuked the world (the Brazilians actually started bombarding cities with asteroids from orbits but…) so yeah, classic humans. Who’s betting on this prediction for 2030?

He died. Rip

So it’s all very well written, but I’ll admit I was hoping for more monster stories. Most of these revolve around abuse, which is dark too, I suppose. Lotttttttt of child/domestic abuse in here

This is peak cozy. Also a lot of cute lil ideas on identity and purpose

Noooooooooooooooo not again

Ah lawd. It’s comin’. The end of all things. Gawd dahmnit

I can’t believe this is going to be my last book of the year smh

Well… this is some discworld shit. Completely different would with completely different systems and environments every book so far… and, no, I don’t mean planets. Hecking meh but also entertaining enough plot-wise so

Getting all kinds of spicy now. First time I’ve seen a sexual assault performed via smell…?? Weird weird weird

RJB neee ceases to surprise me. Excellently, fantastically alchemical and unhinged to boot. “Oh, that dead fucker?” Will remain my shining star of introductions

Well well! Color me intrigued

Awkwardly YA-like for Sanderson but also still pretty damned good so far