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daja57's review against another edition
2.0
Set in a world which is divided into Dayzone (permanently light), Nocturna (permanently dark) and Dusk, and in which different places and institutions and even people have their own timelines, necessitating a constant readjustment of watches, this science fiction thriller follows a somewhat hapless stereotypical private investigator as he tracks down and repeatedly loses a teenager who may or may not be linked with Quicksilver, a serial killer who kills unseen despite being in full view.
The plot is straightforward thriller and the characters are straight from the thriller stockroom. The narrative and the prose are straightforward; it is easy to read. But since this is science fiction, there is a huge emphasis on world-building and this is where the book has some claim to originality. In particular, the idea that we all dwell within our individual time frames, an idea perhaps derived from the 'frames of reference' of Einstein's Theory of Special relativity which catty the consequence that time travels at different speeds for different observers: "It was like being on your own personal timeline, one that no one else can ever travel on ... Time is still passing for you, and you can act within it, but you're outside of other people's time frame." (Part Two)
The plot is straightforward thriller and the characters are straight from the thriller stockroom. The narrative and the prose are straightforward; it is easy to read. But since this is science fiction, there is a huge emphasis on world-building and this is where the book has some claim to originality. In particular, the idea that we all dwell within our individual time frames, an idea perhaps derived from the 'frames of reference' of Einstein's Theory of Special relativity which catty the consequence that time travels at different speeds for different observers: "It was like being on your own personal timeline, one that no one else can ever travel on ... Time is still passing for you, and you can act within it, but you're outside of other people's time frame." (Part Two)
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
2.0
I thought I’d love this book. I loved the premise. I love a good mystery. I love noir fiction. I love a quirky read. By the time I reached the middle I was slogging and trudging every time I picked this book up. Ultimately I didn’t not like it, which would merit one star, but I certainly didn’t think it was any better than just okay.
joshhall13's review against another edition
5.0
The first 3/4 was a 5 star read. The last 1/4 kept slipping lower. Still an amazingly unique read from one of my favorite authors in while in college in the late 90's.
alv1nn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
batmite51's review against another edition
2.0
A Man of Shadows by Jeff Noon is a novel about a private detective searching for a missing girl and two cities. One city is full of light and the other always dark. There's also a serial killer I think? The book tries to merge the sci-fi and noir genres but never really can commit to what it's doing. Things are never fully explained and there are many plots that never really amount to much. The writing and dialogue seems clunky and frankly, just plain bad. I feel like there were some great ideas but none were ever executed well enough for a good story.
beeare's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
realityczar's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
forthirtydollarsnameawoman's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
3.5
booksnpunks's review against another edition
3.0
This was a really interesting piece of science-fiction meets existential noir. It reminded me a lot of The City and the City by China Mieville which I just read as it's essentially the same sort of themes and plot lines. I particularly enjoyed the world building of this novel and the setting was something I found really fascinating and wanted to know a lot more about. I also really liked the characters although I wish they were a little more developed as a lot of the dialogue in the first half of the book was really forced. Apart from this, a very innovative piece of weird fiction that takes after the likes of Mieville and Kafka although the writing and ideas are nowhere near as developed.
obnorthrup's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting setting, but the characters were like shadow puppets, which made it difficult to get into the narrative.