City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeerMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
The star “I like it” is perfect for my review of of Saints and Madmen by Jeff Vandermeer' rating it right in the middle.
And to be honest I only read the four parts before the appendix. Those being 1. Dradin in Love. 2. The Early History of the City of Ambergris. 3. The Transformation of Martin Lake and The Strange Case of X.
I have to confess a reader's weakness for avoiding footnotes, end-notes and appendices. I try but more often than not, especially in fiction, it feels like the author didn't feel like the info merited a story so they throw it in to not be wasteful. But this case like others, I just could not get into it, even though the author making the appendix report was kind of interesting. There is just something about the dry reporter's format that bores me.
I read this because of a review of The Domino Men I read on Amazon mentioned this as being in a similar vein. I guess so, it is odd, and The Domino Men was odd, but while I felt a connection with the characters in this story it had a slightly academic feel, just a shade to distant, too objective.
Still, interesting characters, nice story telling atmosphere plus a bit of Twilight Zone thrown in at the end. A solid 3 stars.
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