Kraken : : an Anatomy

Locations
Call Number: Fantasy
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fantasy	4-week checkout	On Shelf

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

The squid apocalypse submitted by pkooger on March 29, 2012, 6:13pm China Mieville has quickly become one of my favorite authors. I started with Embassytown, then moved on to the sublime The City & The City, then tried Kraken. It's odd to say that a book about a squid-worshipping cult, a battle between a talking tattoo and a dead sorceror, and an apocalypse related to a cadaver in a jar is the most realistic of the three books, but there you go. I didn't find Kraken as compulsively readable as the first two. UNTIL. Until about halfway through the book, when "the end" is becoming pretty damn nigh. This book actually reminded me a lot of the TV show Misfits, which is about a bunch of smart-mouthed young offenders in London who get superpowers. Kraken had the same sort of London street-smarts combined with supernatural powers thing. I loved the sassy young cop and her FU attitude. If this is your first Mieville book, start with a different one, but read this afterwards.

Mieville at his best submitted by selkielass on June 16, 2014, 12:50pm China Mieville is one of those all too rare authors whose writing elevates genre fiction to the realm of true literature. "Kraken" is definite proof of this.

This is Mieville writing at his best; his imagery dances between disturbingly haunting and playfully ironic, his well of ideas never runs dry, and his wordplay is profane poetry.
The structure of the story is typical of his writing, full of seemingly disparate tendrils of ideas that eventually wind back on themselves to reveal an elegantly simple core plot. It's a masterfully cultivated illusion, full of small details that prove to be massive turning points further on.

Be warned though, this isn't a book to read in one sitting. It's best to read it over several days, taking time between sections of untangle the threads of what you've read. It'll be well worth it.

Loved it submitted by Vince on July 23, 2018, 9:11am Though I am not as eloquent as the above reviewers, this is hands down one of my favorite Mieville books. Not only is his writing itself great, but the creativity of the story just keeps you addicted. Definitely recommend this one.