Ratings48
Average rating3.9
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE SEATTLE TIMES, AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. When a murdered woman is found in the city of Beszel, somewhere at the edge of Europe, it looks to be a routine case for Inspector Tyador Borlú of the Extreme Crime Squad. To investigate, Borlú must travel from the decaying Beszel to its equal, rival, and intimate neighbor, the vibrant city of Ul Qoma. But this is a border crossing like no other, a journey as psychic as it is physical, a seeing of the unseen. With Ul Qoman detective Qussim Dhatt, Borlú is enmeshed in a sordid underworld of nationalists intent on destroying their neighboring city, and unificationists who dream of dissolving the two into one. As the detectives uncover the dead woman’s secrets, they begin to suspect a truth that could cost them more than their lives. What stands against them are murderous powers in Beszel and in Ul Qoma: and, most terrifying of all, that which lies between these two cities. BONUS: This edition contains a The City & The City discussion guide and excerpts from China Miéville's Kraken and Embassytown.
Reviews with the most likes.
One of the rare books that Nigel and I both really liked. He likes sci-fi and I like crime novels, and this was both. We listened to it as we drove across the country and thought the narrator was excellent, too.
Second book by the author I quit after barely starting. His prose is definitely not my style. It only took a few seconds to known I would hate this book.
Beszel
Read 0:48/10:15 8%
The author withholds a lot of information from the reader (information the pov character knows) so you have to “figure out” what's going on. Not a fan. But great world building and a decent plot.
I'm not sure what I read, but I loved it. Was it fantasy, sci-fi, a detective story? A metaphor for class, for truth and fiction? Who cares, it's all good.
In my opinion, one of the most skillful uses of beginning in media res to build curiosity and epiphany as the reader slowly discovers elements of this world that all of the characters find too obvious to comment on.