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Trish's Reviews > The Book of Elsewhere
The Book of Elsewhere
by
by
This was a blast!
OK ok, I have to admit, I'm a huge Keanu Reeves fan so of course I had to get the book. And no, the BRZRKR comics weren't all that good IMO. Did that stop me? Nope!
Disclaimer: it's not an easy or fast read, it's not "popcorn" fiction. It makes you think and deeply, and if you wanna "get" the story, you need to work for it. However, if you ask me, that is rather glorious and in this case totally worth it.
So what is this about? Well, we know of the BRZRKR (berserker) from the comics, a guy who's lived practically forever and can't seem to die / be completely destroyed. He's the main characters, simply referred to as "B", here.
The book has three main roads it takes readers on:
1) the book's present, which is actually a futuristic world
=> B works for a SpecOps team because the military promised to help him die (he's about 80k years old and kinda sick of living)
2) B's flashbacks
=> these tell of several different encounters and experiences he's made that shaped his character
3) memories of other people
=> encounters of a host of different people with B and how he influenced their lives
How do you keep them apart? Well, the tense in which the stories are written are a giveaway (we have the usual 3rd-person, 2nd-person, and 1st-person narration).
Personally, I liked being disoriented at first. It can be a turn-off, but if done right, it's an absolut blast - which it was thanks to Miéville's writing skills. It kinda made you slowly piece together clues like for a puzzle or a mystery while everything was definiely WEIRD. *lol*
So again, what is this about? Well, life and death.
OK, granted, that sounds pretentious AND could mean ANYTHING. But it's true. It's about life, living (not just having a pulse), what matters in life, how we choose to end our story (if there is an end to it), why there NEEDS to be an end no matter how good a story was.
The book is also about humanity being addicted to negativity and obsessed with death while fearing and hating it in equal measure, mostly because it's something we don't want but need and certainly cannot control (beyond simply killing someone, which is no actual control).
Deep, right? Yep. That's the book: gripping, disorienting, deep, puzzling (a bit bizarre even), demanding, creepy, and yet (or therefore) total fun! I honestly didn't expect it to be THIS good so I am not only very happy now but downright elated!
OK ok, I have to admit, I'm a huge Keanu Reeves fan so of course I had to get the book. And no, the BRZRKR comics weren't all that good IMO. Did that stop me? Nope!
Disclaimer: it's not an easy or fast read, it's not "popcorn" fiction. It makes you think and deeply, and if you wanna "get" the story, you need to work for it. However, if you ask me, that is rather glorious and in this case totally worth it.
So what is this about? Well, we know of the BRZRKR (berserker) from the comics, a guy who's lived practically forever and can't seem to die / be completely destroyed. He's the main characters, simply referred to as "B", here.
The book has three main roads it takes readers on:
1) the book's present, which is actually a futuristic world
=> B works for a SpecOps team because the military promised to help him die (he's about 80k years old and kinda sick of living)
2) B's flashbacks
=> these tell of several different encounters and experiences he's made that shaped his character
3) memories of other people
=> encounters of a host of different people with B and how he influenced their lives
How do you keep them apart? Well, the tense in which the stories are written are a giveaway (we have the usual 3rd-person, 2nd-person, and 1st-person narration).
Personally, I liked being disoriented at first. It can be a turn-off, but if done right, it's an absolut blast - which it was thanks to Miéville's writing skills. It kinda made you slowly piece together clues like for a puzzle or a mystery while everything was definiely WEIRD. *lol*
So again, what is this about? Well, life and death.
OK, granted, that sounds pretentious AND could mean ANYTHING. But it's true. It's about life, living (not just having a pulse), what matters in life, how we choose to end our story (if there is an end to it), why there NEEDS to be an end no matter how good a story was.
The book is also about humanity being addicted to negativity and obsessed with death while fearing and hating it in equal measure, mostly because it's something we don't want but need and certainly cannot control (beyond simply killing someone, which is no actual control).
Deep, right? Yep. That's the book: gripping, disorienting, deep, puzzling (a bit bizarre even), demanding, creepy, and yet (or therefore) total fun! I honestly didn't expect it to be THIS good so I am not only very happy now but downright elated!
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Reading Progress
April 6, 2024
– Shelved
April 6, 2024
– Shelved as:
to-read
July 25, 2024
–
Started Reading
July 25, 2024
–
3.0%
"It might not be good but I can't resist. 😬
Many different narrators for the audio ... I wonder if that means it will be a number of short stories collected about one place.
Doesn't matter, I guess. *listens to "John Wick" swooningly*"
Many different narrators for the audio ... I wonder if that means it will be a number of short stories collected about one place.
Doesn't matter, I guess. *listens to "John Wick" swooningly*"
July 26, 2024
–
84.0%
"I can already tell that many people will hate this book, maybe not even bothering to finish it. A tragedy, in my opinion. It's weird scifi, but so immersive and good! You have to work for it, but it's totally worth the effort."
July 26, 2024
–
Finished Reading
