Kraken

Mieville is great at coming up with fantastical ideas for his worlds and the characters that populate them, but I don't think everything quite worked here. There is so much being introduced in this world at any given time that some of it feels too convenient and could have been seeded better.

The exposition is a little slow and clumsy at first, but when the story gets into full swing it's a great read.

I like that this is a different style for Mieville. It's good when authors do different things instead of just writing the same book over and over, which happens quite often. There is a lot of humor and lightness that I can't recall seeing in his other works.

I really enjoy his imagination, and there are quite a few interesting character concepts in this book, such as Wati, the afterlife familiar who can connect with the world via any statue, figure, or doll; Jason, who can put himself in any environment and convince you that you already know him; and the body-horror-esque sentient Tattoo. My personal favorite is Collingswood, a magic-using cop who behaves with nihilistic swagger you seldom ever see in a female character.

If you're a fan of humorous urban fantasy, then you probably already have read a bunch of books like this. If so, you're looking for something that will add something new to that kind of genre, a different take or an astounding story.

The story of the Kraken could have been a case investigated by Dirk Gently or Peter Grant, or have been something written by Neil Gaiman.

If not adding anything unique to a genre, authors can succeed by giving us characters we can really get involved with so we can care about what's happening on that level rather than because of a unique concept.

I didn't get this from The Kraken . If Gaiman or Adams had written this, there would have been more warmth and charm to it.

As interesting as the Kraken's character concepts are, he never takes them much past their concept into relatable personalities despite their inherent weirdness. He never makes the strange familiar enough for me to care about actions and motives.

The themes about belief and religion aren't anything new either.

The book felt incredibly long to me and three-quarters of the way in, I wanted it to be over. The plot cuts wide rather than deep with various groups running around with their individual investment in the apocalypse or the Kraken. A clean and well-organized plot can certainly bear up under the weight of so many competing character groups, but that wasn't the case here.

Fast-moving can be good but The Kraken was splattered chaos in need of an editor. I'm feeling 2.5-ish about it, but will round up to 3 since it did provide some moments of humor/entertainment.