Helpful Score: 1
The Kraken, a giant preserved squid, is stolen from London's Natural History Museum while Billy Harrow is giving a tour. The disappearance pulls Billy into a London much darker and more magical than he has ever known. Worse, Billy is at the center of this dark London. The Fundamentalist and Sect-Related Crime Unit, the ruthless Tattoo, a pair called Goss and Subby, and a Kraken cult are all after Billy for their own reasons. And poor Billy doesn't have a clue what's going on.
Well, there's been a lot of author buzz going this year and the same names pop up every time. Although I most often talk (or cheer on) Paolo Bacigalupi, I was no less aware of the fellow authors also generating buzz. One of these names in particular I had been meaning to read for awhile, but had managed to put off despite hearing great things from friends and reviews: China Miéville. I thought that The City & The City was going to be my first Miéville novel, but somehow it got shoved to the side even as the nominations and awards came rolling in. (The City & The City won the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the British Science Fiction Award. It was also shortlisted for the Nebula and Hugo.)
When I chanced into getting a copy of KRAKEN, I was thrilled. I wanted to read Miéville and the hardcover was dark, beautiful in my hands with that moody cover.
Really, that covers the feel of KRAKEN very story, too: beautiful, dark, and moody. And clever, let's not forget clever. Miéville is maybe too smart (and cool) for his own good. He mixes cocktail words with pop culture references with envious ease. As an example, I've never seen the word "exegesis" before outside of a literature classroom and yet Miéville finds a perfectly plausible, perfectly apt way to fit the word in--and this is just pages after a discussion on Tribbles and STAR TREK! (His teasing descriptions of nerd culture are spot on and enjoyable.) However, Miéville's cleverness extends to more than his diction and allusions. Sometimes I'd come across some prose so strange that I initially would want to hate it, but end up loving it desperately:
"There was a hubbub in Billy's head all night. He would hardly call so raging and discombobulated a torrent of images a dream. Call it vomit, call it a gush." [p250]
I'm not even quite sure how Miéville forces this grudging respect. Perhaps it's the overall feel of dark comedy jittering through the pages. Perhaps it's the strange balance that let's the plot be both absurd and menacing. Yet some of these choices dance that fine edge between being enjoyable and just being convoluted. It's hard to bring just the right amount of chaos into a story and at times KRAKEN can be a little overwhelming.
First of all, the cast is huge. The factions are numerous. The plot threads swirl and intertwine out like the tentacles of a kraken with only poor Billy as the anchor. (Yes, the mariner puns are intentional, but I'll try to restrain myself.) The only real issue I have with this book is that I liked Billy's relative normalcy, but he didn't function well enough as an anchor for the story for me. My mind felt like it was bobbing along these plotlines like waves and sometimes it was very difficult to breathe with the waves crashing down on me. I was drifting without my anchor, because Billy just couldn't compete with characters like Collingswood (who, like her or hate her, easily had the best voice in the book) and Dane. My brain just wanted to follow them off the page sometimes.
Despite any trouble I had with the book, I loved it. There's something too clever and too bold, to not love despite the moody pace. From the dialogue, to the vividly drawn cast, to the tangled story... Well, actually I'm rendered fairly incoherent. To say anything is to spoil it, because Miéville says it in such a specific way.
I can easily see how this tale will rub some people the wrong way: there's a unapologetic cleverness that almost seems 'too clever,' but I love KRAKEN all the more for its lack of apology. Not to mention the sheer artistry.
Well, there's been a lot of author buzz going this year and the same names pop up every time. Although I most often talk (or cheer on) Paolo Bacigalupi, I was no less aware of the fellow authors also generating buzz. One of these names in particular I had been meaning to read for awhile, but had managed to put off despite hearing great things from friends and reviews: China Miéville. I thought that The City & The City was going to be my first Miéville novel, but somehow it got shoved to the side even as the nominations and awards came rolling in. (The City & The City won the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the British Science Fiction Award. It was also shortlisted for the Nebula and Hugo.)
When I chanced into getting a copy of KRAKEN, I was thrilled. I wanted to read Miéville and the hardcover was dark, beautiful in my hands with that moody cover.
Really, that covers the feel of KRAKEN very story, too: beautiful, dark, and moody. And clever, let's not forget clever. Miéville is maybe too smart (and cool) for his own good. He mixes cocktail words with pop culture references with envious ease. As an example, I've never seen the word "exegesis" before outside of a literature classroom and yet Miéville finds a perfectly plausible, perfectly apt way to fit the word in--and this is just pages after a discussion on Tribbles and STAR TREK! (His teasing descriptions of nerd culture are spot on and enjoyable.) However, Miéville's cleverness extends to more than his diction and allusions. Sometimes I'd come across some prose so strange that I initially would want to hate it, but end up loving it desperately:
"There was a hubbub in Billy's head all night. He would hardly call so raging and discombobulated a torrent of images a dream. Call it vomit, call it a gush." [p250]
I'm not even quite sure how Miéville forces this grudging respect. Perhaps it's the overall feel of dark comedy jittering through the pages. Perhaps it's the strange balance that let's the plot be both absurd and menacing. Yet some of these choices dance that fine edge between being enjoyable and just being convoluted. It's hard to bring just the right amount of chaos into a story and at times KRAKEN can be a little overwhelming.
First of all, the cast is huge. The factions are numerous. The plot threads swirl and intertwine out like the tentacles of a kraken with only poor Billy as the anchor. (Yes, the mariner puns are intentional, but I'll try to restrain myself.) The only real issue I have with this book is that I liked Billy's relative normalcy, but he didn't function well enough as an anchor for the story for me. My mind felt like it was bobbing along these plotlines like waves and sometimes it was very difficult to breathe with the waves crashing down on me. I was drifting without my anchor, because Billy just couldn't compete with characters like Collingswood (who, like her or hate her, easily had the best voice in the book) and Dane. My brain just wanted to follow them off the page sometimes.
Despite any trouble I had with the book, I loved it. There's something too clever and too bold, to not love despite the moody pace. From the dialogue, to the vividly drawn cast, to the tangled story... Well, actually I'm rendered fairly incoherent. To say anything is to spoil it, because Miéville says it in such a specific way.
I can easily see how this tale will rub some people the wrong way: there's a unapologetic cleverness that almost seems 'too clever,' but I love KRAKEN all the more for its lack of apology. Not to mention the sheer artistry.
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