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banjax451's review against another edition
medium-paced
2.75
This just wasn't for me. It isn't a bad book by any measure - there were large parts of it that I liked. But I feel that this is a classic case of an author coming up with a killer concept that they cannot quite execute. It suffers from the first two thirds of the novel being amazing and the last third being a mess.
Much of the book can be described that way. The world building is amazing - even with a day to think on it before I wrote this, I was thinking that I may have only appreciated part of it. There's so much bizarre description and throw away stuff that it comes across like a fever dream. But that's a drawback, because as Cooper wanders the City Unspoken, it allows the author to endulge in this instead of moving the plot or characters in any real direction. By the end I was simply exhausted by the whole thing - with all the myriad plotlines and hidden characters and things that didn't add up. And then I no longer cared and just wanted to get a resolution - and even that was only partially fulfilling.
A maddening book in a lot of ways. I'm both glad I read it and wish I'd read something else?
Much of the book can be described that way. The world building is amazing - even with a day to think on it before I wrote this, I was thinking that I may have only appreciated part of it. There's so much bizarre description and throw away stuff that it comes across like a fever dream. But that's a drawback, because as Cooper wanders the City Unspoken, it allows the author to endulge in this instead of moving the plot or characters in any real direction. By the end I was simply exhausted by the whole thing - with all the myriad plotlines and hidden characters and things that didn't add up. And then I no longer cared and just wanted to get a resolution - and even that was only partially fulfilling.
A maddening book in a lot of ways. I'm both glad I read it and wish I'd read something else?
gbaty's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
phaeri's review against another edition
5.0
There is a beautiful madness in this book.
Cooper is a fat gay New Yorker who wakes up somehow in the City Unspoken, a city where mortals and gods come to die. A concept which will leave you amazed once you grasp the meaning of it. The plot is difficult to understand if you are of the impatient kind. But once you do you will feel the need to continue.
The end of death is coming and everyone will drown in their own madness. The true plot here is a deeper one on life and death, the way each character face this and their immortality. This leads us to complex characters from which even those appearing in one mere scene have you wishing to know more about them. The phase is constant and the views constantly change. Much like movie scenes.
I truly enjoyed this book. Is my kind of book and I am certain it is not everyone's kind. It is not a mainstream read, nor is it meant for you to connect on a personal level to anyone but the worlds. But these kind of stories are what I consider forsaken and underestimated jewels. I never marked a book so much with so many flags and sticky notes. I would not have minded if it was 600 pages long.
Original Review
Cooper is a fat gay New Yorker who wakes up somehow in the City Unspoken, a city where mortals and gods come to die. A concept which will leave you amazed once you grasp the meaning of it. The plot is difficult to understand if you are of the impatient kind. But once you do you will feel the need to continue.
The end of death is coming and everyone will drown in their own madness. The true plot here is a deeper one on life and death, the way each character face this and their immortality. This leads us to complex characters from which even those appearing in one mere scene have you wishing to know more about them. The phase is constant and the views constantly change. Much like movie scenes.
I truly enjoyed this book. Is my kind of book and I am certain it is not everyone's kind. It is not a mainstream read, nor is it meant for you to connect on a personal level to anyone but the worlds. But these kind of stories are what I consider forsaken and underestimated jewels. I never marked a book so much with so many flags and sticky notes. I would not have minded if it was 600 pages long.
Original Review
mehitabels's review against another edition
3.0
Well, the reviewers were right. The book is excellent in many ways, but the last third failed to hold my attention. It was worth it, however, because the first two-thirds were amazing.
So I review the first 2/3 and leave the rest to someone else.
The plot is simple and stunning. All those believers who talk about life after death were right. Just not right about what kind of life. And no, it's not a zombie book or something equally faddish and ridiculous. Instead it is a sci-fi, fantasy, steam-punk, alternate reality that just grabs and pulls. A wide cast of characters that meet all the common stereotypes, but just twisted enough to keep them appealing.
It was chapter 11 when my attention drifted, and kept drifting, until I had to give up. Oh, I skimmed the rest of the book, and it ends it a typically suitable fashion, but it felt either too familiar or too much like dentist office fare.
I give kudos to the author, however, for the start of something amazing. I look forward to his future novels.
So I review the first 2/3 and leave the rest to someone else.
The plot is simple and stunning. All those believers who talk about life after death were right. Just not right about what kind of life. And no, it's not a zombie book or something equally faddish and ridiculous. Instead it is a sci-fi, fantasy, steam-punk, alternate reality that just grabs and pulls. A wide cast of characters that meet all the common stereotypes, but just twisted enough to keep them appealing.
It was chapter 11 when my attention drifted, and kept drifting, until I had to give up. Oh, I skimmed the rest of the book, and it ends it a typically suitable fashion, but it felt either too familiar or too much like dentist office fare.
I give kudos to the author, however, for the start of something amazing. I look forward to his future novels.
_b_a_l_'s review against another edition
1.0
I've decided to stop trying to read this, I didn't get very far. Its a bit like one of Clive Barker's fantasy books (Imagica, GASS, Everville) which I loved - but its just such a mission to read. Every single scene is filled with so much imagery and weirdness that it takes more concentration than I'm prepared to give. I don't know if its because I've gotten old and lazy - but there are too many books in the world - so I'm going to stop struggling.
dave_white's review against another edition
5.0
One of the most beautifully written and funny books I have read in a while.
mzdeb's review against another edition
2.0
What you’ve already read here: An unremarkable man named Cooper wakes up in the City Unspoken, the place where reincarnated beings come to finally die. Only its residents aren’t meeting their True Death. Instead they’re clogging the city’s towers, streets and alleyways, adding their numbers to the imprisoned bloodthirsty nobility, and mischievous gods trapped in human flesh, both parties already driven somewhat mad eons ago by their immortality.
But someone sees Cooper as a shaman--despite arriving after one death, as his intact navel suggests--and as someone who could ultimately save this metaverse from going completely mad and destroying itself.
I found the plot intriguing, but agree with some reviewers (here? Or Amazon?) that it appeared the author bit off more than he could chew. The world-building is meticulous, then as I tried to get through the rest of the book I found it downright exhausting. Describing Cooper's endless wanderings through the City Unspoken--thereby continuously world-building--does not a plot progression make. And there are so many characters with their subplots that I didn’t connect with any of them--not even with Cooper, who’s the protagonist, for crying out loud. More than halfway through the book I still couldn’t tell if or how they were all going to connect with each other. All the while the almost synesthetic details started wearing me down. When I finally found the crucial identities and connections of some characters, I no longer cared. I’m sure there are sci fi fans who love such dense wordplay, but it wasn’t for me.
But someone sees Cooper as a shaman--despite arriving after one death, as his intact navel suggests--and as someone who could ultimately save this metaverse from going completely mad and destroying itself.
I found the plot intriguing, but agree with some reviewers (here? Or Amazon?) that it appeared the author bit off more than he could chew. The world-building is meticulous, then as I tried to get through the rest of the book I found it downright exhausting. Describing Cooper's endless wanderings through the City Unspoken--thereby continuously world-building--does not a plot progression make. And there are so many characters with their subplots that I didn’t connect with any of them--not even with Cooper, who’s the protagonist, for crying out loud. More than halfway through the book I still couldn’t tell if or how they were all going to connect with each other. All the while the almost synesthetic details started wearing me down. When I finally found the crucial identities and connections of some characters, I no longer cared. I’m sure there are sci fi fans who love such dense wordplay, but it wasn’t for me.
tmikerx's review against another edition
4.0
I'd really give this more like a 3.5, but I'll round up because of how novel it was.
I really dislike Cooper. He's like the Bella of this world - absolutely flat with very little personality to speak of. I have no idea who he is or what's driving him to keep moving forward. Sesstri and Asher on the other hand were very fluid, 3-dimensional characters who evolved throughout the story, with motives and extensive backstory. Even Nixon, a relatively minor character, had more personality than Cooper. I'm just not sure what the author was going for in making the main character so boring.
The world(s) and the setting were really fascinating. I just want to learn more about the universe that Edison has created.
I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future works from Edison.
I really dislike Cooper. He's like the Bella of this world - absolutely flat with very little personality to speak of. I have no idea who he is or what's driving him to keep moving forward. Sesstri and Asher on the other hand were very fluid, 3-dimensional characters who evolved throughout the story, with motives and extensive backstory. Even Nixon, a relatively minor character, had more personality than Cooper. I'm just not sure what the author was going for in making the main character so boring.
The world(s) and the setting were really fascinating. I just want to learn more about the universe that Edison has created.
I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future works from Edison.
_dkerr's review against another edition
2.0
Wooo, friends, this one hurt. And it hurt because, good Lord, this is a book I should have loved.
Queer main character, combined with an original idea, intricate world-building, and a plethora of characters with cool backstories, and a shit ton of historical/mythological references, all in a sci-fi/fantasy setting: sign me the fuck up.
But unfortunately, The Waking Engine fell short in every way possible.
The story is extremely atmospheric, which is hella weird for a sci-fi/fantasy. Usually there is an importance placed upon setting as it is usually a completely new world, but in TWE there are pages--literal pages--in the middle of scenes dedicated to describing every aspect of the City Unspoken. I would forget what was happening in the scene that's how long these descriptions lasted. And yeah, it sounded cool as hell but I couldn't care about how cool the setting was when I could not keep track of what was happening.
Speaking of: what a disappointing plot. Just flat disappointing. It was building up to be potentially cool and then it fell back into a dues ex machina fix to the problem so the story could wrap up in under 400 pages.
The characters had such potential but instead were paper doll cut-outs of each other. Awesome back stories and usually unused archetypes but when it came to fleshing them out Edison just didn't. They were all *super smart* and *super sarcastic* and *not here for your idiocy* even though NO ONE KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING. Legit. The whole book is a series of scenes of the characters going: you're a moron because you don't know what's happening. Wait, what's happening?
Cooper had such potential as a main character--a chubby gay guy from New York who should not be anyone's hero. But instead of having a personality he's just a vessel to drive us through the City Unspoken while Sesstri condescends to chase after him. Also, all of the female characters were the same (beautiful beyond compare, hella smart, and bitchy). ALL OF THE FEMALE CHARACTERS except for NiNi and NoNo (easily the best characters in the book because they were different). I am all for smart, take no shit female characters, but when all of them are the exact same--even their speech patterns--it becomes difficult to tell them apart.
Also, everyone is borderline crazy because of the svarning. Which is fine. I would have loved for everyone to jump off the deep end at the midpoint of the book. The problem is that everyone is nuts from page one so there is no gauge for us to judge the strength of the svarning.
Edison is a talented writer. He can create beautiful imagery and some very witty dialogue. BUT he can also write nonsense sentences. Actual nonsense sentences that no matter how many times I re-read them, made no sense. I'm always here for some lyrical metaphors but holy shit, dude.
One of the tallest hurdles of this book though is the way Edison names everything. In an attempt to make the City Unspoken feel like a city like no other and from all time periods and the whole metaverse, he mashed everything together. EVERYTHING. And then he just made shit up. There is too much to learn and then keep track of, to keep it all straight and to care about it. The pacing is break-neck from the jump and the breathing beats are tucked so tightly together that you then get a lagging middle and then a nonsensical sprint for the last 150 pages.
I think Edison has a lot of really great ideas and is a really talented writer, he just needs an editor that will sit down and give him tough love.
Skip this one unless you have an overabundance of attention to pay to a world where not much makes sense.
Queer main character, combined with an original idea, intricate world-building, and a plethora of characters with cool backstories, and a shit ton of historical/mythological references, all in a sci-fi/fantasy setting: sign me the fuck up.
But unfortunately, The Waking Engine fell short in every way possible.
The story is extremely atmospheric, which is hella weird for a sci-fi/fantasy. Usually there is an importance placed upon setting as it is usually a completely new world, but in TWE there are pages--literal pages--in the middle of scenes dedicated to describing every aspect of the City Unspoken. I would forget what was happening in the scene that's how long these descriptions lasted. And yeah, it sounded cool as hell but I couldn't care about how cool the setting was when I could not keep track of what was happening.
Speaking of: what a disappointing plot. Just flat disappointing. It was building up to be potentially cool and then it fell back into a dues ex machina fix to the problem so the story could wrap up in under 400 pages.
The characters had such potential but instead were paper doll cut-outs of each other. Awesome back stories and usually unused archetypes but when it came to fleshing them out Edison just didn't. They were all *super smart* and *super sarcastic* and *not here for your idiocy* even though NO ONE KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING. Legit. The whole book is a series of scenes of the characters going: you're a moron because you don't know what's happening. Wait, what's happening?
Cooper had such potential as a main character--a chubby gay guy from New York who should not be anyone's hero. But instead of having a personality he's just a vessel to drive us through the City Unspoken while Sesstri condescends to chase after him. Also, all of the female characters were the same (beautiful beyond compare, hella smart, and bitchy). ALL OF THE FEMALE CHARACTERS except for NiNi and NoNo (easily the best characters in the book because they were different). I am all for smart, take no shit female characters, but when all of them are the exact same--even their speech patterns--it becomes difficult to tell them apart.
Also, everyone is borderline crazy because of the svarning. Which is fine. I would have loved for everyone to jump off the deep end at the midpoint of the book. The problem is that everyone is nuts from page one so there is no gauge for us to judge the strength of the svarning.
Edison is a talented writer. He can create beautiful imagery and some very witty dialogue. BUT he can also write nonsense sentences. Actual nonsense sentences that no matter how many times I re-read them, made no sense. I'm always here for some lyrical metaphors but holy shit, dude.
One of the tallest hurdles of this book though is the way Edison names everything. In an attempt to make the City Unspoken feel like a city like no other and from all time periods and the whole metaverse, he mashed everything together. EVERYTHING. And then he just made shit up. There is too much to learn and then keep track of, to keep it all straight and to care about it. The pacing is break-neck from the jump and the breathing beats are tucked so tightly together that you then get a lagging middle and then a nonsensical sprint for the last 150 pages.
I think Edison has a lot of really great ideas and is a really talented writer, he just needs an editor that will sit down and give him tough love.
Skip this one unless you have an overabundance of attention to pay to a world where not much makes sense.