The Grand Dark
Ratings12
Average rating3.4
This story is creative, with an interesting plot and a decent depth to the cast of characters.
I did not enjoy the characters. I did not have anyone to root for in this book. I could never relate to the POV.
The story is dark.
The ending was tidy but didn't satisfy. What happened to the dog?!
This was a quite surprisingly rich book that reads light and easy to digest. Full review coming soon.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this to me in exchange for my open and honest review.
First off, I want to say that Richard Kadrey is the man and hands down one of my favorite authors. The Sandman Slim saga is a story that has made me cheer for the dark antihero, the fallible Slim. It is dark and twisted, and in my opinion, one of the perfect urban fantasy series out there. It has it all, which is why I did backflips when I got approved. The Grand Dark was my most anticipated release of this year so far. That is why it pains me to DNF this at 50%.
The Grand Dark is not a bad book in any stretch of the word. Kadrey is a master worldbuilder. The world he creates here is rich, lusty, and dark. It has vice and wonder, with just a tinge of steampunk. The pervasive drug use and the bisection of classes add a very interesting visual to an already cool world. What made me stop was the pacing. The pacing is slow, plodding. At times it is so slow that I can't find a plot amidst the rich language and description. The intercuts of the story between chapters would have added a great backstory to a faster-paced book, but in this book, it turns things into a slog. I stopped reading it because I was not the right reader for this type of storytelling, but the correct reader is out there. If you like languid storytelling very much in the vein of Perdido Street Station by China Mieville, this is a good fit for you.
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First half 5/5. Excellent worldbuilding, atmosphere building, characters building. Perfect pace (not at all too slow). Feels like a mixture of “Grand Budapest Hotel” (without the comedy), Kafka and decaying Bioshock (the first 2). Dark, original and fascinating. Somewhat similar to Higgins' Wolfhound Century series, but just in feel (here a German universe, there a Russian one).
Second half 2/5,because it mostly wastes the great worldbuilding in just running around with half-baked, unoriginal action. It feels like the author cannot decide what storyline to go for, so he tries all of them very briefly, not really completing any. It would have been 1/5,but it is somewhat saved by a few good revelations.
So, an average of 3.5. A book I would recommend, but will not read the sequels.