City Of The Iron Fish (Simon Ings)
29 July 2015
Only a fool would question the strange magics that maintain the cool haven of the City of the Iron Fish in the middle of an inferno of scorching heat and splintered rock, for the well-watered streets of the city hide secrets in their shadows.
Thomas Kemp is just such a fool ...
And embarks on a journey that will take him to the limits of reality. It may kill him, worse, that may not be enough. Especially as it is his only friend, Blythe, who may discover the secret of the city's isolation.
Average Rating:
Graham MacDonald (1 August 2015 18:53)
A difficult one this, I could see what the author was trying to do (I think) but agree that it just didn't really make for an enjoyable read. The concept of the book made up of other books making the world anew (if that indeed is what it was) was clever and I did enjoy this at points and it did make for a good discussion but I think in the end I can't really give it more than three stars.
Sinclair Manson (31 July 2015 12:45)
So, if I understand this correctly and can be as obnoxious as to boil it down to one line, it's saying that life is meaningless but the search through art for meaning sustains life. That's fine but I'm afraid I didn't enjoy reading this much. A narrator so passive that he is largely disengaged from the main plot was interesting to start with but became quite frustrating. The climactic confrontation didn't surprise me, in fact it seemed deliberately spoiled in some ways. I think I would have enjoyed this book a bit more, if it was a bit less self-conscious about being fictional.
Sean Aaron (31 July 2015 08:55)
At the beginning and the end this book seems like it's trying to be about something: ennui, the quest for meaning, whatever; but the middle is so much dead air and the writing style isn't engaging enough to make the "journey" worthwhile. A vicious slashing to 200 pages would have made for a more engaging, if still unsatisfactory read, but it's not the worst thing I've read.