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Thunderer #1
La Cité des Dieux
Ararat, la cité des dieux.
Arjun, venu de l’autre bout du monde, est à la recherche de la Voix, la divinité disparue de son peuple.
Mais ses déambulations au cœur de cette ville fantastique vont l’amener à faire de bien étranges rencontres, tour à tour terribles ou merveilleuses.
La révolte gronde, sourde et amère. Mais les citoyens d’Ararat ne sont pas les seuls à être en colère.
Un dieu s’est mis en chasse.
Arjun, venu de l’autre bout du monde, est à la recherche de la Voix, la divinité disparue de son peuple.
Mais ses déambulations au cœur de cette ville fantastique vont l’amener à faire de bien étranges rencontres, tour à tour terribles ou merveilleuses.
La révolte gronde, sourde et amère. Mais les citoyens d’Ararat ne sont pas les seuls à être en colère.
Un dieu s’est mis en chasse.
640 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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1504 people want to read
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April 5, 2013
If it hadn’t already been appropriated by novels about punk-rock elves and brazen private eyes that have sex with werewolves then “Urban Fantasy” would be a perfect designation for Felix Gilman’s debut novel _Thunderer_. Of course this type of story isn’t new. Writers have been examining the rot and corruption (as well as the fascination and glory) they see at the heart of our urban civilization at least since the days of Rome, the great archetype of the City in western culture. The conflict between the mob and the establishment seems to have been present from the beginning, a continual war and contention for rulership of the people and places that make up our urban centres. This isn’t new in the realm of genre fantasy either, from Brian Aldiss’ The Malacia Tapestry, to more recent works by the likes of Mieville and VanderMeer, the city and its constant dance between progress and corruption have been a favourite subject. I was already a fan of Gilman’s prior to reading this, but _Thunderer_ really impressed me given that it was the first novel he had published. His writing style, as I noted in my review of The Half-Made World, is very fluid. It goes beyond mere ‘transparency’, but isn’t showy or laboured either; it easily carries the reader along with his tale and makes a high page count seem to fly by in no time at all. I imagine that no matter how large a book of his was it would never be plodding.
Gilman’s tale in this book mainly centres on three characters: Arjun, the chorister and semi-scholar from a far-flung mountain monastery searching for his lost god and hoping that it can be found in the god-haunted confines of the archetypal city of Ararat; Arlandes, soldier and captain of the forces of the Countess (one of the many civil authorities vying for power and glory in the great city) who has suffered a tragic loss and become a symbol by turns both beloved and hated by the citizenry; and Jack Silk, a young boy who manages to escape from his imprisonment in a workhouse with the help of one of the city’s gods and who is granted an ambiguous gift by its passing. All three of these characters are somehow connected to the figure of Doctor Holbach, a man who could be considered scientist, wizard and priest in equal measure. Holbach is, like Arlandes, a member of the Countess’ court and ultimately is the creator of the great flying ship the Thunderer which becomes a symbol for all that is both right and wrong with the city. He is also the centre of the Atlas, a project that has been driven underground by the powers that be, but which continues to gather to itself the many discontented artists, scientists and intelligentsia of Ararat in the monumental effort to map out the city in its entirety. This is a prospect that is not as simple as it might seem on the surface, for Ararat is a city infested by gods (though some might call them haunts or demons) and the gods shape the city through their interaction with it, moulding and changing the landscape according to their whim. As one character notes: “The gods are the city. The city is us.” Yet the Atlas-makers persist in their hopes of creating the Grand Unified Theory of Ararat; a theory that might let them control and shape the many wild forces that control and shape their world. This is, of course, anathema and heresy to the political and religious powers that be, though even they are unaware of the real danger that such researches into the nature of the gods and the city might bring about in the wrong hands.
One could really argue, however, that the true main character of _Thunderer_ is Ararat itself. It is the greatest of all possible cities, it *is* all possible cities. Its sheer size encompasses more than simply space, but time and meaning as well. It is the ever-changing City that seems to exist in all dimensions and none, that crosses through all times and encompasses all of what we mean when we say the word: City. The city itself is not medieval or renaissance, Victorian or modern, but it seems to have aspects of all of these, growing and changing in a way that has little or nothing to do with linear progress.
The plot itself, however, revolves around the three protagonists already mentioned and their interactions with the City and each other. The opening of the book, and the catalyst for the action of the novel, is ultimately centred on the arrival of one of Ararat’s long-absent gods, the Bird, whose appearance heralds both the rise of Jack Silk and the creation of the titular Thunderer, a great flying warship that, through Hollbach’s magical science (or scientific magic), has also harnessed some of the Bird’s power. Arjun is on a quest to find the lost and gentle god of his people, known only as the Voice. It is a god of song and quiet harmony that would seem out of place with many of the gods he encounters in Ararat; the City’s gods are strong and uncompromising, gods of power, control, death and rebirth and Arjun soon becomes lost in the tangled streets these gods create, hoping against hope to find his lost purpose. Jack becomes a folk-hero, a child granted powers by the god of speed, freedom and flight and becomes a wild Peter Pan (there is even a neat homage to Peter Pan vs. the Pirates), gathering to himself all of the lost children of Ararat, breaking them out of prisons and workhouses and fighting the temporal and religious powers that sent them there. Both Jack and Arjun are touched directly by the gods of the City, one in power and joy, the other in choking darkness and despair. They become fey and strange to those around them, obsessed with their own altered perceptions and often viewed as mad. They have been changed by their experiences and can no longer comfortably live a life of normalcy for they stand outside of the range of normal human understanding, though many try to share vicariously in their god-touched experience. Arlandes is touched by a god too, though not in the direct metaphysical way that Jack and Arjun are. He is plunged into despair and anger by loss, through a seemingly unintentional sacrifice to the same god that granted Jack his great abilities during the process that created the great engine of destruction that shall become his emblem: the Thunderer. In following all of these characters, and the gods that empower them and their City, the story examines the birth of legends, the ways they change and, ultimately, how they die.
The ambiguity of the characters Gilman has created is refreshing. Is Jack a revolutionary messiah, bringing freedom and justice to the oppressed, or is he a vicious, deluded child living out a boy’s violent fantasies in the name of his god and only ostensibly for the people? Is Arlandes the tragic and romantic hero of the great ship which protects the people, or is he a violent and angry thug doling out retribution against the world? Is Arjun an enlightened and peaceful seeker of the truth, or a deluded weakling looking for something outside of himself to fill up his life? The answer, in all cases, seems to be both. Ultimately as each of the characters fulfills the role the City seems to have selected for them things begin to unexpectedly change, and even spin out of control, for it is not only the Atlas-makers that are trying to learn the secrets of the City. It appears there are others with arcane knowledge that they use for less selfless purposes and we soon find that the gods and their ways are not to be tampered with. It was always known to its inhabitants that Ararat had a cycle of life and death, good and bad, and things always turned on this eternal wheel. The gods would inevitably change the City, but these changes were somewhat understood, at least at a gut level, by the people of the City, but what happens when someone dares to change the nature of the gods themselves? It is this danger that proves to be the ultimate conflict into which the characters find themselves drawn. The conclusion of the novel is somewhat open-ended, but I still found it to be satisfying and since there is a sequel I look forward to further following the winding streets of Ararat.
Dan: I definitely recommend it.
Also posted on Shelf Inflicted
Gilman’s tale in this book mainly centres on three characters: Arjun, the chorister and semi-scholar from a far-flung mountain monastery searching for his lost god and hoping that it can be found in the god-haunted confines of the archetypal city of Ararat; Arlandes, soldier and captain of the forces of the Countess (one of the many civil authorities vying for power and glory in the great city) who has suffered a tragic loss and become a symbol by turns both beloved and hated by the citizenry; and Jack Silk, a young boy who manages to escape from his imprisonment in a workhouse with the help of one of the city’s gods and who is granted an ambiguous gift by its passing. All three of these characters are somehow connected to the figure of Doctor Holbach, a man who could be considered scientist, wizard and priest in equal measure. Holbach is, like Arlandes, a member of the Countess’ court and ultimately is the creator of the great flying ship the Thunderer which becomes a symbol for all that is both right and wrong with the city. He is also the centre of the Atlas, a project that has been driven underground by the powers that be, but which continues to gather to itself the many discontented artists, scientists and intelligentsia of Ararat in the monumental effort to map out the city in its entirety. This is a prospect that is not as simple as it might seem on the surface, for Ararat is a city infested by gods (though some might call them haunts or demons) and the gods shape the city through their interaction with it, moulding and changing the landscape according to their whim. As one character notes: “The gods are the city. The city is us.” Yet the Atlas-makers persist in their hopes of creating the Grand Unified Theory of Ararat; a theory that might let them control and shape the many wild forces that control and shape their world. This is, of course, anathema and heresy to the political and religious powers that be, though even they are unaware of the real danger that such researches into the nature of the gods and the city might bring about in the wrong hands.
One could really argue, however, that the true main character of _Thunderer_ is Ararat itself. It is the greatest of all possible cities, it *is* all possible cities. Its sheer size encompasses more than simply space, but time and meaning as well. It is the ever-changing City that seems to exist in all dimensions and none, that crosses through all times and encompasses all of what we mean when we say the word: City. The city itself is not medieval or renaissance, Victorian or modern, but it seems to have aspects of all of these, growing and changing in a way that has little or nothing to do with linear progress.
The plot itself, however, revolves around the three protagonists already mentioned and their interactions with the City and each other. The opening of the book, and the catalyst for the action of the novel, is ultimately centred on the arrival of one of Ararat’s long-absent gods, the Bird, whose appearance heralds both the rise of Jack Silk and the creation of the titular Thunderer, a great flying warship that, through Hollbach’s magical science (or scientific magic), has also harnessed some of the Bird’s power. Arjun is on a quest to find the lost and gentle god of his people, known only as the Voice. It is a god of song and quiet harmony that would seem out of place with many of the gods he encounters in Ararat; the City’s gods are strong and uncompromising, gods of power, control, death and rebirth and Arjun soon becomes lost in the tangled streets these gods create, hoping against hope to find his lost purpose. Jack becomes a folk-hero, a child granted powers by the god of speed, freedom and flight and becomes a wild Peter Pan (there is even a neat homage to Peter Pan vs. the Pirates), gathering to himself all of the lost children of Ararat, breaking them out of prisons and workhouses and fighting the temporal and religious powers that sent them there. Both Jack and Arjun are touched directly by the gods of the City, one in power and joy, the other in choking darkness and despair. They become fey and strange to those around them, obsessed with their own altered perceptions and often viewed as mad. They have been changed by their experiences and can no longer comfortably live a life of normalcy for they stand outside of the range of normal human understanding, though many try to share vicariously in their god-touched experience. Arlandes is touched by a god too, though not in the direct metaphysical way that Jack and Arjun are. He is plunged into despair and anger by loss, through a seemingly unintentional sacrifice to the same god that granted Jack his great abilities during the process that created the great engine of destruction that shall become his emblem: the Thunderer. In following all of these characters, and the gods that empower them and their City, the story examines the birth of legends, the ways they change and, ultimately, how they die.
The ambiguity of the characters Gilman has created is refreshing. Is Jack a revolutionary messiah, bringing freedom and justice to the oppressed, or is he a vicious, deluded child living out a boy’s violent fantasies in the name of his god and only ostensibly for the people? Is Arlandes the tragic and romantic hero of the great ship which protects the people, or is he a violent and angry thug doling out retribution against the world? Is Arjun an enlightened and peaceful seeker of the truth, or a deluded weakling looking for something outside of himself to fill up his life? The answer, in all cases, seems to be both. Ultimately as each of the characters fulfills the role the City seems to have selected for them things begin to unexpectedly change, and even spin out of control, for it is not only the Atlas-makers that are trying to learn the secrets of the City. It appears there are others with arcane knowledge that they use for less selfless purposes and we soon find that the gods and their ways are not to be tampered with. It was always known to its inhabitants that Ararat had a cycle of life and death, good and bad, and things always turned on this eternal wheel. The gods would inevitably change the City, but these changes were somewhat understood, at least at a gut level, by the people of the City, but what happens when someone dares to change the nature of the gods themselves? It is this danger that proves to be the ultimate conflict into which the characters find themselves drawn. The conclusion of the novel is somewhat open-ended, but I still found it to be satisfying and since there is a sequel I look forward to further following the winding streets of Ararat.
Dan: I definitely recommend it.
Also posted on Shelf Inflicted
March 14, 2017
Like a storm, it's full of "sound and fury", but ultimately it fails because like the tale of the idiot it "signifies nothing".
I've mentioned in some other reviews that I would far prefer a story teller to tell a good story badly than I would read a bad story told well. Felix Gilman’s writing sentence for sentence and paragraph for paragraph is quite good, and he obviously has the talent to be a great writer. His voice is great. It’s just he sends is characters off on meaningless tales that never really get anywhere interesting.
The problem is not just a matter of not knowing how to end the story – personally I think making both of his protagonists into super powered superheroes right down to the multi-colored cape in one case was not the best way to go with this. It’s that he never seemed particularly clear on what his conflict was or what was driving the story. It ended up being neither plot driven nor character driven. Characters did things, often for no clear reason, often without overriding antagonists, with little clear reason why we should care. I said “both protagonists” earlier, but in fact there are three viewpoint characters, but the Arlandes chapters are as ultimately pointless as anything I’ve ever read.
There was a brief moment half way into the story where I thought we might finally be getting a philosophical arc that might matter, but it was dropped, the climax of that arc was brief to the point of anti-climax, and we got nothing but another quarter to a third of the book of muddled motion on unrelated themes.
Oh, and zombies. What is the fascination with zombies lately? Can we get through a story without having zombies in it?
Finally, I hope he outgrows trying to imitate China Miéville, whose work seems to be peering over our shoulder as we read the whole time. Granted, Felix is nowhere nearly as pretentious as China, and it’s welcome to hear less pretentious of a voice in the writing, but at least China has his whole Marxist class consciousness thing going on that suggests why he wants to write and why he wants to write about cities in particular. I may not agree with it, but at least it is a point. Felix on the other hand seems fascinated by cities, but has nothing interesting to say about his mythic city.
I've mentioned in some other reviews that I would far prefer a story teller to tell a good story badly than I would read a bad story told well. Felix Gilman’s writing sentence for sentence and paragraph for paragraph is quite good, and he obviously has the talent to be a great writer. His voice is great. It’s just he sends is characters off on meaningless tales that never really get anywhere interesting.
The problem is not just a matter of not knowing how to end the story – personally I think making both of his protagonists into super powered superheroes right down to the multi-colored cape in one case was not the best way to go with this. It’s that he never seemed particularly clear on what his conflict was or what was driving the story. It ended up being neither plot driven nor character driven. Characters did things, often for no clear reason, often without overriding antagonists, with little clear reason why we should care. I said “both protagonists” earlier, but in fact there are three viewpoint characters, but the Arlandes chapters are as ultimately pointless as anything I’ve ever read.
There was a brief moment half way into the story where I thought we might finally be getting a philosophical arc that might matter, but it was dropped, the climax of that arc was brief to the point of anti-climax, and we got nothing but another quarter to a third of the book of muddled motion on unrelated themes.
Oh, and zombies. What is the fascination with zombies lately? Can we get through a story without having zombies in it?
Finally, I hope he outgrows trying to imitate China Miéville, whose work seems to be peering over our shoulder as we read the whole time. Granted, Felix is nowhere nearly as pretentious as China, and it’s welcome to hear less pretentious of a voice in the writing, but at least China has his whole Marxist class consciousness thing going on that suggests why he wants to write and why he wants to write about cities in particular. I may not agree with it, but at least it is a point. Felix on the other hand seems fascinated by cities, but has nothing interesting to say about his mythic city.
September 21, 2011
I enjoyed Gilman’s Half Made World and I am happy to report that I found his sensibilities fully formed on his debut novel. Much stock has been made of the author admitting in an interview that he was inspired to write by China Mieville, but anyone expecting to dismiss Gilman as a rip off or wanting carbon copy cloning of Mieville will be disappointed as Gilman is a writer with a more varied palate. While his inspiration channels horror, science fiction, pulp, and surrealism into baroque monstrosities, Gilman writes in clear headed and fluent prose that resembles magic realism. This isn’t to say he is more adult and more boring, for darkness and weirdness is very much present alongside sense of wonder fantasy constructs and surreal set pieces. I found the darker moments more so as Gilman makes his characters live and breathe increasing the stakes. Gilman writes mythic fabulism with smart narrative turns and an amazingly assured voice for a first time author. The final third plays with reality in similar way to vintage Moorcock and Borges and gets me excited for the sequel, even though this book feels beautifully self-contained.
January 29, 2021
Mega-city Ararat is a city reputed to be home to many mysterious gods; no one knows why they haunt the ancient worn districts or even if the magical beings are sentient or simply forces of energy.
The aristocratic Estates, the powerful business owners, the various religious organizations and the impoverished people who struggle to survive in the labyrinth of dirty streets are all waiting for the arrival of the god they call The Bird, which as it passes overhead somehow sends a powerful magic down below its path over Ararat, affecting those brave enough to stand directly under its winds. The Bird’s visitations are uncertain and unpredictable, and so is its magic; nonetheless, the scientist Holbach has deciphered certain omens and he has accurately predicted The Bird’s coming. In expectant celebration, the Countess Ilona, has engaged Holbach to re-design a river ship, named the Thunderer, captained by Arlandes, to be flown into the skies under a giant balloon which hopefully will be inflated by catching some of the god’s flying magic. Another balloon will be released at the same moment, with a single passenger, Arlandes’ young bride Lucia, both ritual ornaments for the unruly crowds of Ararat.
Arjun, a famous composer, is looking for a runaway god - a specific, real god - that his people call the Voice. One day the music-worshiping people of his town woke up and discovered the Voice had gone, and the disappearance devastated them. Without the magic aura of the Voice, Arjun’s people had no purpose. Without purpose, they self-destructed. Arjun discovers a purpose after all; he will find the Voice. Ararat is the only single possible place he knows where he might pick up some clue as to why the Voice left, or died. As it happens, he arrives during the festivities surrounding The Bird’s arrival.
Jack Sheppard is 15 or 16 years old (he doesn’t know), and he is officially an orphaned ward of a workhouse, Barbotin House. However, Jack is plotting an escape. Barbotin House is in reality a prison for poor children, who are cruelly worked to skin and bones laboring without surcease until they turn 18, after which they are turned out into the mean streets of Ararat without a penny. The business of Barbotin is running silk mills, and Jack has many scars and a missing finger from the work he has been forced to do in Barbotin’s service. Now, he has arranged to join the laundry detail, part of which involves working on the roof of the workhouse. It so happens the detail will be on the roof at the same time The Bird will be overhead - hopefully. Jack is willing to take the risk. He has stolen a sheet and prepared it with silken threads of various colors. When The Bird passes overhead, Jack plans to jump off of the roof, planning on The Bird’s magic which should give him temporarily the power of flight - and freedom.
This is a marvelous book of Jungian-like archetypes (my opinion) in a fantastic alternative world which mirrors our Middle Ages but with genuine magic and many gods. Ancient world myths are alive in this universe, but disguised and transformed. The prose is excellent and despite the usual irrationality of the gods’ interference in the usual politics, business and spiritual seeking of the various sectors of civilization, I did not notice a wrong-footed plot direction or a jarring misplaced word.
I don’t know why this author and particularly this two-book series has not garnered more attention. The story opens very slowly into an interesting novel which I suspect may be part of the difficulty for many readers who only choose to continue reading a book after trying the first 50 pages (a rule many readers follow - read the first 50 pages to decide if the novel is interesting enough to finish). There are several character threads which at first do not appear to have much cohesion or purpose or value to the reader to explore further, but eventually they all twine together in a satisfactory intersection, if not in an ultimate ending of success or meaning. Adult readers who enjoy a literary fantasy will like this book, but others who may enjoy more simplistic action and a defined good cop/bad cop/justice done sequence will be disappointed by the questionable success of the violence, deaths and outcomes.
I liked it. However, I do not want to speak too much about the plot or the characters, other than to say those of us who have read many urban fantasy classics of the last 50 years will find no originality in the author’s imagined medieval city landscape or in the stable of included archetypes. However, most of the personalities are well-defined, warm and likable, and most are suitable for hero status. I know everyone who picks up this book will find a character that most appeals to them because s/he reminds them of their better selves - as well as of their imperfections, illogical decisions, neediness, self-involvement and in being somewhat lost even though trying to move forward. These are very realistic ‘heroes’, with clay feet (except perhaps Jack, a remarkable teenager who was my personal favorite). But there also is a filmy dark veil between the reader and the novel, unresolved meanings, and, given the nature of everything being archetypical, leans the story towards a noir fairy-tale, rather than something precautionary or uplifting.
The aristocratic Estates, the powerful business owners, the various religious organizations and the impoverished people who struggle to survive in the labyrinth of dirty streets are all waiting for the arrival of the god they call The Bird, which as it passes overhead somehow sends a powerful magic down below its path over Ararat, affecting those brave enough to stand directly under its winds. The Bird’s visitations are uncertain and unpredictable, and so is its magic; nonetheless, the scientist Holbach has deciphered certain omens and he has accurately predicted The Bird’s coming. In expectant celebration, the Countess Ilona, has engaged Holbach to re-design a river ship, named the Thunderer, captained by Arlandes, to be flown into the skies under a giant balloon which hopefully will be inflated by catching some of the god’s flying magic. Another balloon will be released at the same moment, with a single passenger, Arlandes’ young bride Lucia, both ritual ornaments for the unruly crowds of Ararat.
Arjun, a famous composer, is looking for a runaway god - a specific, real god - that his people call the Voice. One day the music-worshiping people of his town woke up and discovered the Voice had gone, and the disappearance devastated them. Without the magic aura of the Voice, Arjun’s people had no purpose. Without purpose, they self-destructed. Arjun discovers a purpose after all; he will find the Voice. Ararat is the only single possible place he knows where he might pick up some clue as to why the Voice left, or died. As it happens, he arrives during the festivities surrounding The Bird’s arrival.
Jack Sheppard is 15 or 16 years old (he doesn’t know), and he is officially an orphaned ward of a workhouse, Barbotin House. However, Jack is plotting an escape. Barbotin House is in reality a prison for poor children, who are cruelly worked to skin and bones laboring without surcease until they turn 18, after which they are turned out into the mean streets of Ararat without a penny. The business of Barbotin is running silk mills, and Jack has many scars and a missing finger from the work he has been forced to do in Barbotin’s service. Now, he has arranged to join the laundry detail, part of which involves working on the roof of the workhouse. It so happens the detail will be on the roof at the same time The Bird will be overhead - hopefully. Jack is willing to take the risk. He has stolen a sheet and prepared it with silken threads of various colors. When The Bird passes overhead, Jack plans to jump off of the roof, planning on The Bird’s magic which should give him temporarily the power of flight - and freedom.
This is a marvelous book of Jungian-like archetypes (my opinion) in a fantastic alternative world which mirrors our Middle Ages but with genuine magic and many gods. Ancient world myths are alive in this universe, but disguised and transformed. The prose is excellent and despite the usual irrationality of the gods’ interference in the usual politics, business and spiritual seeking of the various sectors of civilization, I did not notice a wrong-footed plot direction or a jarring misplaced word.
I don’t know why this author and particularly this two-book series has not garnered more attention. The story opens very slowly into an interesting novel which I suspect may be part of the difficulty for many readers who only choose to continue reading a book after trying the first 50 pages (a rule many readers follow - read the first 50 pages to decide if the novel is interesting enough to finish). There are several character threads which at first do not appear to have much cohesion or purpose or value to the reader to explore further, but eventually they all twine together in a satisfactory intersection, if not in an ultimate ending of success or meaning. Adult readers who enjoy a literary fantasy will like this book, but others who may enjoy more simplistic action and a defined good cop/bad cop/justice done sequence will be disappointed by the questionable success of the violence, deaths and outcomes.
I liked it. However, I do not want to speak too much about the plot or the characters, other than to say those of us who have read many urban fantasy classics of the last 50 years will find no originality in the author’s imagined medieval city landscape or in the stable of included archetypes. However, most of the personalities are well-defined, warm and likable, and most are suitable for hero status. I know everyone who picks up this book will find a character that most appeals to them because s/he reminds them of their better selves - as well as of their imperfections, illogical decisions, neediness, self-involvement and in being somewhat lost even though trying to move forward. These are very realistic ‘heroes’, with clay feet (except perhaps Jack, a remarkable teenager who was my personal favorite). But there also is a filmy dark veil between the reader and the novel, unresolved meanings, and, given the nature of everything being archetypical, leans the story towards a noir fairy-tale, rather than something precautionary or uplifting.
March 7, 2025
O (παντελώς άγνωστος στην Ελλάδα) Felix Gilman κάνει την είσοδό του στα λογοτεχνικά σαλόνια με αυτό το εξαιρετικό “new weird / fantasy / steampunk” μυθιστόρημα, σε έναν όμορφο και πολύ προσεκτικά φτιαγμένο κόσμο (το worldbuilding του είναι πάντα εκπληκτικό, βλ. και “The Half Made World” & “ The Rise of Ransom City”) που παραπέμπει ευθέως σε ντικενσιανό Λονδίνο μέσα από steampunk γυαλιά. Κι αν μερικές φορές η πλοκή μοιάζει να χάνεται μέσα στην ίδια την κοσμοπλασία, για μένα δεν είναι ψεγάδι του βιβλίου, αλλά κέρδος για τον αναγνώστη και μια όμορφη (και τίμια) επένδυση του συγγραφέα στον κόσμο που δημιούργησε.
Ένας άνδρας αναζητά τον χαμένο θεό του λαού του…
Ο Αρτζούν φτάνει στην Αραράτ ακριβώς τη στιγμή που ένα μεγαλοπρεπές, φτερωτό πλάσμα πετά πάνω από την πόλη. Είναι η ημέρα της επιστροφής του πολυαναμενόμενου, απρόβλεπτου και μυστηριώδους Μεγάλου Πουλιού. Μα έρχεται για καλό ή για κακό; Και στην υπηρεσία ποιου θεού; Όποιος κι αν είναι ο σκοπός του, για έναν κάτοικο της πόλης, το Πουλί πυροδοτεί μια ξεχασμένη φιλοδοξία: να χαρτογραφήσει την αχαρτογράφητη πόλη και να απελευθερώσει τις μάζες της με τη δύναμη της γνώσης. Η δύναμη του Πουλιού παγιδεύεται—μέσα στο κύτος ενός ιπτάμενου πολεμικού πλοίου που ονομάζεται Thunderer (εκπληκτικό και πρωτοφανές πλέον) όπλο καθιστώντας το πλοίο «ζωντανό ναό προς τιμήν του Πουλιού», δώρο προς όφελος όλης της Αραράτ. Αμ, πώς.
Ο Αρτζούν, ΕΝΤΕΛΩΣ ΑΚΟΥΣΙΑ θα εξαπολύσει μια εξαιρετικά ισχυρή σκοτεινή δύναμη και θα μπλεχτεί σε ένα επικίνδυνο υπόγειο κίνημα που θα αλλάξει την Αραράτ για πάντα. Καθώς το χάος κυριεύει τους δρόμους, ο Αρτζούν τολμά να δοκιμάσει τα… κινούμενα σύνορα της πόλης. Σε αυτήν την πόλη των θεών, ήρθε για να τους αναζητήσει, όχι για να κρυφτεί…
Η αινιγματική πόλη δεσπόζει στο βιβλίου. Μια ζωντανή πόλη (όχι επειδή έχει αρκετά μπαράκια ανοιχτά μετά τις 12), μοιάζει να αλλάζει διαρκώς, σαν ένας οργανισμός που εξελίσσεται και δημιουργεί νέες δομές, παραδόσεις και νόμους. Οι ίδιοι της οι θεοί είναι… υδραργυρικοί, ρευστοί και ασταθείς, εμφανίζονται, εξαφανίζονται, αφήνουν κενά εξουσίας. Η γεωγραφία της είναι… αχαρτογράφητη. Τα όριά της ασαφή, το κέντρο της… αναζητήσιμο, το δε διοικητικό της επίκεντρο εντελώς αφαφές: Οι πολιτικές δυνάμεις που κυριαρχούν εντός της είναι από όλο το ευρύ φάσμα της fantasy εμπειρίας μυστικές κοινωνίες, αιρέσεις, στρατιωτικοί άρχοντες και φράξιες που προσπαθούν να ελέγξουν το άναρχο τοπίο.
Η αφήγηση ακολουθεί δύο βασικούς χαρακτήρες:
Τον νεαρό μοναχό Άρτζεντ, που προέρχεται από έναν μακρινό πολιτισμό και αναζητώντας τον θεό του (που έχει εγκαταλείψει τον τόπο του) περιφέρεται σε αυτή την απρόβλεπτη πόλη και τον Τζακ Σέλιτον, ο νεαρός επαναστάτης με το σκοτεινό παρελθόν, που ζει στους δρόμους και αναζητά τρόπους να εκμεταλλευτεί τις κοσμογονικές αλλαγές προς όφελός του. Ωστόσο, η γραμμικότητα της πλοκής δεν πρέπει να θεωρειται δεδομένη, καθώς η αφήγηση λειτουργεί σπονδυλωτά, με τους χαρακτήρες να περιπλανώνται στην πόλη και να εμπλέκονται σε πολιτικές ίντριγκες, μυστικιστικές αναζητήσεις και φανταστικά γεγονότα που μοιάζουν με οράματα.
Οι λάτρεις της δράσης θα ανταμειφθούν με εξαιρετικά ζωντανές σκηνές συγκρούσεων και καταδιώξεων μέσα (ή… πάνω από) μια χαοτική πόλη, όπου ο καθένας μπορεί να είναι εχθρός ή σύμμαχος.
Οι λάτρεις του «υπόβαθρου» θα εκτιμήσουν τη σχέση ασταθών & ανίσχυρων θεών και ανθρώπων, ένα πολιτικό πεδίο μάχης με απεγνωσμένες για εξουσία (και επιβίωση) φράξιες και last but not least, την αναζήτηση του απόλυτου, του ανώτερου, είτε πρόκειται για ένα ον υπερφυσικό, είτε για μια ιδέα, είτε για… τη βελτίωση της βιούμενης καθημερινότητας.
Ένα εξαιρετικό, ενδιαφέρον, πολυεπίπεδο μυθιστόρημα του παράξενου και του θαυμαστού, με πυκνή γραφή και πολλύπλοκο κόσμο γεμάτο λεπτομέρειες & αποχρώσεις και με μια πλοκή που ξεφεύγει από κλισέ και γνωστά μοτίβα.
Ένας άνδρας αναζητά τον χαμένο θεό του λαού του…
Ο Αρτζούν φτάνει στην Αραράτ ακριβώς τη στιγμή που ένα μεγαλοπρεπές, φτερωτό πλάσμα πετά πάνω από την πόλη. Είναι η ημέρα της επιστροφής του πολυαναμενόμενου, απρόβλεπτου και μυστηριώδους Μεγάλου Πουλιού. Μα έρχεται για καλό ή για κακό; Και στην υπηρεσία ποιου θεού; Όποιος κι αν είναι ο σκοπός του, για έναν κάτοικο της πόλης, το Πουλί πυροδοτεί μια ξεχασμένη φιλοδοξία: να χαρτογραφήσει την αχαρτογράφητη πόλη και να απελευθερώσει τις μάζες της με τη δύναμη της γνώσης. Η δύναμη του Πουλιού παγιδεύεται—μέσα στο κύτος ενός ιπτάμενου πολεμικού πλοίου που ονομάζεται Thunderer (εκπληκτικό και πρωτοφανές πλέον) όπλο καθιστώντας το πλοίο «ζωντανό ναό προς τιμήν του Πουλιού», δώρο προς όφελος όλης της Αραράτ. Αμ, πώς.
Ο Αρτζούν, ΕΝΤΕΛΩΣ ΑΚΟΥΣΙΑ θα εξαπολύσει μια εξαιρετικά ισχυρή σκοτεινή δύναμη και θα μπλεχτεί σε ένα επικίνδυνο υπόγειο κίνημα που θα αλλάξει την Αραράτ για πάντα. Καθώς το χάος κυριεύει τους δρόμους, ο Αρτζούν τολμά να δοκιμάσει τα… κινούμενα σύνορα της πόλης. Σε αυτήν την πόλη των θεών, ήρθε για να τους αναζητήσει, όχι για να κρυφτεί…
Η αινιγματική πόλη δεσπόζει στο βιβλίου. Μια ζωντανή πόλη (όχι επειδή έχει αρκετά μπαράκια ανοιχτά μετά τις 12), μοιάζει να αλλάζει διαρκώς, σαν ένας οργανισμός που εξελίσσεται και δημιουργεί νέες δομές, παραδόσεις και νόμους. Οι ίδιοι της οι θεοί είναι… υδραργυρικοί, ρευστοί και ασταθείς, εμφανίζονται, εξαφανίζονται, αφήνουν κενά εξουσίας. Η γεωγραφία της είναι… αχαρτογράφητη. Τα όριά της ασαφή, το κέντρο της… αναζητήσιμο, το δε διοικητικό της επίκεντρο εντελώς αφαφές: Οι πολιτικές δυνάμεις που κυριαρχούν εντός της είναι από όλο το ευρύ φάσμα της fantasy εμπειρίας μυστικές κοινωνίες, αιρέσεις, στρατιωτικοί άρχοντες και φράξιες που προσπαθούν να ελέγξουν το άναρχο τοπίο.
Η αφήγηση ακολουθεί δύο βασικούς χαρακτήρες:
Τον νεαρό μοναχό Άρτζεντ, που προέρχεται από έναν μακρινό πολιτισμό και αναζητώντας τον θεό του (που έχει εγκαταλείψει τον τόπο του) περιφέρεται σε αυτή την απρόβλεπτη πόλη και τον Τζακ Σέλιτον, ο νεαρός επαναστάτης με το σκοτεινό παρελθόν, που ζει στους δρόμους και αναζητά τρόπους να εκμεταλλευτεί τις κοσμογονικές αλλαγές προς όφελός του. Ωστόσο, η γραμμικότητα της πλοκής δεν πρέπει να θεωρειται δεδομένη, καθώς η αφήγηση λειτουργεί σπονδυλωτά, με τους χαρακτήρες να περιπλανώνται στην πόλη και να εμπλέκονται σε πολιτικές ίντριγκες, μυστικιστικές αναζητήσεις και φανταστικά γεγονότα που μοιάζουν με οράματα.
Οι λάτρεις της δράσης θα ανταμειφθούν με εξαιρετικά ζωντανές σκηνές συγκρούσεων και καταδιώξεων μέσα (ή… πάνω από) μια χαοτική πόλη, όπου ο καθένας μπορεί να είναι εχθρός ή σύμμαχος.
Οι λάτρεις του «υπόβαθρου» θα εκτιμήσουν τη σχέση ασταθών & ανίσχυρων θεών και ανθρώπων, ένα πολιτικό πεδίο μάχης με απεγνωσμένες για εξουσία (και επιβίωση) φράξιες και last but not least, την αναζήτηση του απόλυτου, του ανώτερου, είτε πρόκειται για ένα ον υπερφυσικό, είτε για μια ιδέα, είτε για… τη βελτίωση της βιούμενης καθημερινότητας.
Ένα εξαιρετικό, ενδιαφέρον, πολυεπίπεδο μυθιστόρημα του παράξενου και του θαυμαστού, με πυκνή γραφή και πολλύπλοκο κόσμο γεμάτο λεπτομέρειες & αποχρώσεις και με μια πλοκή που ξεφεύγει από κλισέ και γνωστά μοτίβα.
April 13, 2011
Sometimes a book comes along and out of the blue it is one of the best stories you've read in a long time. This was that book for me. Loved it.
It is on the same level as the world of Bas-Lag and the city Ambergris and above the level of the Well-Built City imo
It is on the same level as the world of Bas-Lag and the city Ambergris and above the level of the Well-Built City imo
April 14, 2009
Ignore the haters! This was a very cool book! Imagine an unmappable, ever-changing city the size of a small state (is my guestimate) inhabited by gods. Old gods, new gods, nature gods, gods of different emotions, gods of different realms, gods of light, gods of darkness. All have powers. Some have temples and priests and followers. Others have been forgotten and lurk in the shadows. Imagine a street or canal that's there one day, and maybe isn't tomorrow - or maybe goes in a different direction. One god just appears occasionally, like a comet - and when it does - lives are changed. That's the day that we get to enter the city of Ararat, with one of the characters, Arjun.
We follow three characters. Captain Arlandes is a naval captain whose life is tragically changed by the arrival of the above god. Arjun is monk/scholar who has come to Ararat searching for his god that disappeared from his land. The other character is an orphan in a workhouse who longs for a better life. The first 100 pages or so are intro. After that the characters start to run in the same sphere, or interact. The action kicks in and things get a lot more creepy after that.
The cover above is a happy, friendly glimpse of Ararat. Don't be put off by the clownish look of the guy on the cover. I don't like to write spoilers so I won't say more. The cover I have gives you a much better idea how the book really goes.
We follow three characters. Captain Arlandes is a naval captain whose life is tragically changed by the arrival of the above god. Arjun is monk/scholar who has come to Ararat searching for his god that disappeared from his land. The other character is an orphan in a workhouse who longs for a better life. The first 100 pages or so are intro. After that the characters start to run in the same sphere, or interact. The action kicks in and things get a lot more creepy after that.
The cover above is a happy, friendly glimpse of Ararat. Don't be put off by the clownish look of the guy on the cover. I don't like to write spoilers so I won't say more. The cover I have gives you a much better idea how the book really goes.
December 4, 2012
I'm not even sure how to describe Thunderer. For plot details, you can read the summary as well as I can. I guess I can say that the incredibly rich world was utterly immersive, and the city Ararat was as much a character as Arjun or Jack. The depth of feeling given to Ararat reminded me of China Miéville's great city, New Crobuzon. Like New Crobuzon, there is a hint of H. P. Lovecraftian dread, but not nearly so much. Instead, Ararat can be joyous, depressing, wonderful, and workaday.
The other characters in the book are reasonably well realized, and while there were a few tropes, there were also a few real novelties.
Truthfully, the plot is almost secondary to the world-building going on, and while it moved along and was enjoyable, it's probably not what I'll keep coming back to. If you like losing yourself in new worlds, this is the book for you. If, instead, you're looking for deep plot or revealing character studies, then you might want to pass it by.
The other characters in the book are reasonably well realized, and while there were a few tropes, there were also a few real novelties.
Truthfully, the plot is almost secondary to the world-building going on, and while it moved along and was enjoyable, it's probably not what I'll keep coming back to. If you like losing yourself in new worlds, this is the book for you. If, instead, you're looking for deep plot or revealing character studies, then you might want to pass it by.
February 6, 2011
Look past the cover on this one. A great book all around. An accidental discovery in my quest to find a good Steam-Punk novel. "Thunderer" rises above many other books in this dismissive category Steam-Punk and although it apes other books about dystopian megalopolis, it really stands on its own. Me likie.
February 21, 2011
http://www.rantingdragon.com/thundere...
Thunderer is Felix Gilman’s debut novel. Gilman chronicles the quest to understand the divine and the challenges involved, even when the divine is plain to see. One man’s journey to find his God and return Him to his people, with no idea what awaits him in the Holy City of Ararat; one group’s clandestine mission to undertake a work of such staggering hubris and ambition, that their lives are forfeit if the wrong people discover their plan—through these two stories and their surrounding subplots, Gilman shows that anything can happen in the City of the Gods, even the completely unexpected.
A Sweeping Metropolis
The primary action of the novel takes place in the city of Ararat—readers may know of the Turkish mountains of biblical fame—and these kinds of allegories to existing real-world mythology and spirituality are common throughout the novel, adding to the epic sweep and feel of the work. The city of Ararat is so huge that even people who have lived there for years don’t know how large it is. The presence of the divine warps the streets; there are no accurate maps of Ararat. The scope of the city pulls you in and keeps you interested in the ways the various characters move throughout the city and interact. A deep mythology permeates every corner and cranny of the massive space, and the path of discovery taken by several of the characters is fascinating enough to make a novel in itself. For everybody who has read and enjoyed the massive world-building exercises of Jordan or Tolkien, the depth and degree of this city—which is still simply a city and not a world—is staggering. I hope that Gilman turns his elaborate designs to yet larger scales.
Of Gods And Men
The presence of the divine in Gilman’s world colors every aspect of the plot. Our protagonist is a young man who has come to the city in search of his God, completely unprepared for the size and complexity of the geography, the politics, and the philosophy at work in the great city. Traveling there from a small jungle community, for whom the size and sprawl of the city is as much myth as fact, he is overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of Ararat. Trying to fit in while finding the theologians and priests who might help him track his lost Deity, he ends up discovering more than he bargained for. He falls in with a group of men who have undertaken an extremely dangerous and blasphemous project: a comprehensive atlas of the city. In a place where the Gods walk the streets and leave those roadways changed simply by their passage, such an atlas is the height of heresy. Every project is secret, every person brought into the endeavor is an added threat to their safety, and they risk the umbrage of the Gods themselves.
It’s a debut and it shows
As engaging as the storyline is, problems with flow and pacing show this book to be the author’s first. Gilman takes some time to get into the meat of the story, and some of his word choices leave a little to be desired. I came somewhat close to putting it down in the first 50 or 60 pages, but decided to stick it out on the strength of its potential. Gilman finds his rhythm by the mid-point, and from then on, the book becomes much more enjoyable. Still, the novel reads very much like the author is unsure of himself and is experimenting with different writing styles. I have no doubt that once he settles into a consistent style, he’s going to be producing many books with very engaging stories.
Why should you read this book?
While it starts out a little shaky, taking longer than necessary to find its feet and start off running, this is an enjoyable story in which the characters grow increasingly engaging as the novel progresses. Gilman has created a very deep and extensive city—a design that allows for a whole host of later works. I really do hope to see future novels from Gilman that take place in Ararat.
The novel also conveys a lot of interesting ideas about religion and the nature of faith. Those of a more philosophical bent will find that the interactions between the secular and divine inspire intellectual thought. The storyline involving the effects of an atlas of the city especially speaks to the idea of faith as a construct versus faith in beings which are obviously present.
All in all, if you’re willing to suffer through a new author’s inexperience, this is a very enjoyable read, with a great deal of potential for the future.
Thunderer is Felix Gilman’s debut novel. Gilman chronicles the quest to understand the divine and the challenges involved, even when the divine is plain to see. One man’s journey to find his God and return Him to his people, with no idea what awaits him in the Holy City of Ararat; one group’s clandestine mission to undertake a work of such staggering hubris and ambition, that their lives are forfeit if the wrong people discover their plan—through these two stories and their surrounding subplots, Gilman shows that anything can happen in the City of the Gods, even the completely unexpected.
A Sweeping Metropolis
The primary action of the novel takes place in the city of Ararat—readers may know of the Turkish mountains of biblical fame—and these kinds of allegories to existing real-world mythology and spirituality are common throughout the novel, adding to the epic sweep and feel of the work. The city of Ararat is so huge that even people who have lived there for years don’t know how large it is. The presence of the divine warps the streets; there are no accurate maps of Ararat. The scope of the city pulls you in and keeps you interested in the ways the various characters move throughout the city and interact. A deep mythology permeates every corner and cranny of the massive space, and the path of discovery taken by several of the characters is fascinating enough to make a novel in itself. For everybody who has read and enjoyed the massive world-building exercises of Jordan or Tolkien, the depth and degree of this city—which is still simply a city and not a world—is staggering. I hope that Gilman turns his elaborate designs to yet larger scales.
Of Gods And Men
The presence of the divine in Gilman’s world colors every aspect of the plot. Our protagonist is a young man who has come to the city in search of his God, completely unprepared for the size and complexity of the geography, the politics, and the philosophy at work in the great city. Traveling there from a small jungle community, for whom the size and sprawl of the city is as much myth as fact, he is overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of Ararat. Trying to fit in while finding the theologians and priests who might help him track his lost Deity, he ends up discovering more than he bargained for. He falls in with a group of men who have undertaken an extremely dangerous and blasphemous project: a comprehensive atlas of the city. In a place where the Gods walk the streets and leave those roadways changed simply by their passage, such an atlas is the height of heresy. Every project is secret, every person brought into the endeavor is an added threat to their safety, and they risk the umbrage of the Gods themselves.
It’s a debut and it shows
As engaging as the storyline is, problems with flow and pacing show this book to be the author’s first. Gilman takes some time to get into the meat of the story, and some of his word choices leave a little to be desired. I came somewhat close to putting it down in the first 50 or 60 pages, but decided to stick it out on the strength of its potential. Gilman finds his rhythm by the mid-point, and from then on, the book becomes much more enjoyable. Still, the novel reads very much like the author is unsure of himself and is experimenting with different writing styles. I have no doubt that once he settles into a consistent style, he’s going to be producing many books with very engaging stories.
Why should you read this book?
While it starts out a little shaky, taking longer than necessary to find its feet and start off running, this is an enjoyable story in which the characters grow increasingly engaging as the novel progresses. Gilman has created a very deep and extensive city—a design that allows for a whole host of later works. I really do hope to see future novels from Gilman that take place in Ararat.
The novel also conveys a lot of interesting ideas about religion and the nature of faith. Those of a more philosophical bent will find that the interactions between the secular and divine inspire intellectual thought. The storyline involving the effects of an atlas of the city especially speaks to the idea of faith as a construct versus faith in beings which are obviously present.
All in all, if you’re willing to suffer through a new author’s inexperience, this is a very enjoyable read, with a great deal of potential for the future.
February 15, 2011
This is one of the best "first books" I've read. (Perhaps because, if Gilman's unreliable-sounding bio is to be believed, he had written any number of books before this one was actually published.) In any case, this is a dense, intricate, muddy, luminous work that reminds me of nothing so strongly as a cross between China Miéville and Patricia A. McKillip at their best. As unlikely a hybrid as that sounds, that comes closest. But I should warn you: I have read two of Gilman's books thus far and not a single description of either was more than minimally, superficially accurate, so take my comparison (and this review) with a heavy dose of salt.
December 28, 2016
I'm not sure it's possible to describe this book, but it's brilliant. I would give it ten stars if I could. The setting--a vast, intricate, layered city full of gods that manifest and constantly reshape the streets--is AMAZING. It's exactly what I look for in fiction, and I think it would be particularly appealing to fans of Tim Powers and China Mieville.
December 30, 2015
This book is incredibly unique. The setting of a city with infinite possibilities and where gods walk and affect daily life was really intriguing and the author did an incredibly good job of making it feel real and making the characters within it feel alive. Highly recommend this book and its sequel.
August 14, 2009
The first thing that comes to mind to say about this fantastic book is that the author clearly loves the English language. His writing is a wonder to anyone who loves interesting word usage that steps outside the standard limited vocabulary usually seen in novels today. Also, the book could best be described as, "fairly interesting characters very nearly overshadowed by the setting of the story." For me, that's what this story is. The scholarly, quiet, thoughtful Arjun, the almost Peter Pan-like Jack Silk (replete with knife and flying ability!), and the entire rest of the cast, all are fairly well fleshed out, though they do tend to be somewhat wooden and nonsensical at times, usually in their responses to the main characters or each other. However, it felt more "real" as a result, because most people these days listen with their mouths and not their ears so to speak, so the way some of the characters were written, these responses made perfect sense after you came to understand how perenially sidetracked and absent-minded they are. I do feel like the ending was somewhat rushed, but I've just learned that there is a sequel to this story, so perhaps we are given more of a resolution to the overall main plot of this book. I highly recommend this book, and while I picked it up from the library on a whim, I absolutely will be buying this book as it NEEDS to be in my collection. I began visiting the Library again just to find sheer gems like this, and I am glad to say I found this book.
April 14, 2009
Parts of this book were brilliant. I'd really have liked to have given it three and a half stars, but I couldn't bring myself to give it a four. Strangely about fifty pages from the end I was convinced this was a five star book but then it all unravelled for me.
What I liked most about this book was the city itself. Everytime I thought I had a grasp on its size and complexity, it just got bigger and better. The characters paled in comparison to it though and that is not a good thing. I actually think I preferred the minor characters like Olympia and Holboch, to Arjun and Arlandes and Jack.
What disappointed me in the end was the lack of explanation for things I had become intrigued by. How did Shay contain elements of the Gods? How had he created the Typhon or corrupted it? There seemed no clear explanation for it. Even the explanation of how Shay and Arjun weaved their way through the maze of different paths seemed very "handwavium."
Plus, the notion of a God not being able to walk the paths that Arjun and Shay walked seemed fairly unbelievable to me, so therefore I didn't buy how Arjun managed to get the Typhon lost. No one else seems to have this problem with the book though so it must be just me.
Overall though, it was worth the read. I have mixed feelings about whether I'll buy the next book or not. It appears to be about Arjun again, and I just did not fall in love with the little chap. :)
What I liked most about this book was the city itself. Everytime I thought I had a grasp on its size and complexity, it just got bigger and better. The characters paled in comparison to it though and that is not a good thing. I actually think I preferred the minor characters like Olympia and Holboch, to Arjun and Arlandes and Jack.
What disappointed me in the end was the lack of explanation for things I had become intrigued by. How did Shay contain elements of the Gods? How had he created the Typhon or corrupted it? There seemed no clear explanation for it. Even the explanation of how Shay and Arjun weaved their way through the maze of different paths seemed very "handwavium."
Plus, the notion of a God not being able to walk the paths that Arjun and Shay walked seemed fairly unbelievable to me, so therefore I didn't buy how Arjun managed to get the Typhon lost. No one else seems to have this problem with the book though so it must be just me.
Overall though, it was worth the read. I have mixed feelings about whether I'll buy the next book or not. It appears to be about Arjun again, and I just did not fall in love with the little chap. :)
August 25, 2010
This was really a tough one. I ultimately had to give it one star because I put it down and just couldn't pick it back up again. I didn't hate it, or have any sort of violent reaction to it at all, which makes me WANT to give it at least 2 stars, but the fact remains, I just couldn't get interested enough to finish it. Maybe this means I'm finally older and can see the true limited quantity of my remaining time here on earth and have chosen to move on to other, more worthy stories, except that I hardly ever just quit on a book. And I just finished Mercedes Lackey's "The Sleeping Beauty" and that's HARDLY high quality fiction. But I just couldn't find the plot. I think it starts out fine on the surface: magical city of gods, looking for lost god, plucky orphan tie-in...but it just still felt...surfacey about 1/3 of the way in and I kept thinking, "I'm bored. Am I bored? I think I'm not actually paying attention to this." So sorry, Thunderer. Maybe I'll try again later. You seemed like you had some interesting ideas, but that Mercedes Lackey just keeps pumping out the good stuff. You'd better call her and complain.
July 7, 2019
Together with The Etched City, City of Saints and Madmen and Mieville's New Crobuzon one of my favorite of the sadly seemingly short lived New Weird.
These books are everything what Urban fantasy should have been: great, weird stories set in secondary world fantasy cities.
Ararat is a great weird city: unmappable, powered by belief and gods with a Dickensian London feel. I especially loved the work on the Atlas, where a coterie of poets, scientists and dilettantes try to codify and describe the geography and history of the city. Very different in tone than the sequel, this is one of the books I would recommend to people wanting more 'classic' New Weird. While I loved Gilman's Weird West books, this is my favorite of his.
These books are everything what Urban fantasy should have been: great, weird stories set in secondary world fantasy cities.
Ararat is a great weird city: unmappable, powered by belief and gods with a Dickensian London feel. I especially loved the work on the Atlas, where a coterie of poets, scientists and dilettantes try to codify and describe the geography and history of the city. Very different in tone than the sequel, this is one of the books I would recommend to people wanting more 'classic' New Weird. While I loved Gilman's Weird West books, this is my favorite of his.
November 26, 2012
When I first read this book, all I can say was that I was enthralled. We travel with the protagonist as he's sailing into port, the author describing this great, strange city as a giant bird god swoops down and flies over the harbor and the streets, indifferently trailing miracles in its wake. Splendid storytelling. I'm sure this book has its flaws, but honestly, in my eyes it has little to none. Obviously YMMV. In a nutshell then: this is a book I would recommended to the fantasy lover who enjoys a bit of urban fantasy ala Mieville's New Crobuzon books, a bit of horror via King's Dark Tower Series (perhaps a vague link, but I'll stand by it), and a subtle sense of 'realness' that I compare to the Gormenghast books, IMHO. I actually just read the blurbs on the first pages and a lot of people call it 'Dickensian'. That seems right, though it's been awhile since I've read any Dickens. Anyways...Have at you!
February 22, 2009
An okay first novel, which deserves to be read despite its flaws and first novel kinks. And now to list those flaws, because I am a born nitpicker at heart a) there is a tension between the descriptions of the city of Ararat as a kind of unknowable, out of time city like M John Harrisons Viriconium, and the actions of the novel, which make the city seem a pretty comprehensible magical steampunk world b) some main viewpoint characters don't really go anywhere c) swear to god every other fantasy novel I have read recently has a gang of street urchins, that thread in this novel was better done than most, and I know it's from Dickens, but still, cliché d) and kind of weak resolution. However, read this for the description of the main protagonists', Arjun, childhood, and for the very creepy idea of being stalked by a swamp, which reminded me, a good way, of old Vertigo comics.
June 28, 2011
This Dickensian, steampunk fantasy is not for every reader. Its a journey more than a goal. For me its a great refreshment to find fantasy that's not some quest in a feudal, Ren Fair world. Ararat, the city of 'absurd reverence.' reminded me of the crazy quilt that was The Gormenghast Novels: Titus Groan/Gormenghast/Titus Alone castle with a dose of string theory.
"The city was the only constant; the city, and its vast northern Mountain. There was an infinite variety of people, and of gods. In some places, they thought they had only one god, insubstantial and abstract; in others, the gods strode about far more brazenly...
'Why does it work this way?'
'Who gives a shit? Keep your eyes on the path. This way.'" ~Gilman
"The city was the only constant; the city, and its vast northern Mountain. There was an infinite variety of people, and of gods. In some places, they thought they had only one god, insubstantial and abstract; in others, the gods strode about far more brazenly...
'Why does it work this way?'
'Who gives a shit? Keep your eyes on the path. This way.'" ~Gilman
January 13, 2009
The title and the cover make this book seem at first like your typical generic fantasy, yet it manages to avoid the standard tropes you might think it would fall into. The problem with liking a new writer this much is that he doesn't have anything else out to read; luckily the sequel to this one should be out soon.
February 25, 2016
Uneven plot, but wonderfully poetic prose. An enjoyable cousin of Perdido Street Station, featuring some cool speculations about the interrelationships between the gods, the worshipers, and the city.
June 8, 2011
Quite dull, with boring characters and mediocre to decent prose. Some decent ideas, but the plot was a mess overall.
January 26, 2022
Very slightly less interesting perdido street station
January 3, 2022
TL;DR - Ok but I can't recommend it.
I love fantasy but this was a tough read at times. Depending on where I was in the book, I found myself incredibly immersed or not wanting to pick the book back up. I have to give it three stars because of how many times I lost interest and how long it took me to get through it. There were times where I put the book down and didn't pick it back up for weeks.
It's an interesting premise - in a world where gods (all of them seem more like magical creatures or essences) are very much real and present a man leaves his small town to search a massive city for his god that suddenly went missing. The city in which the story takes place is so incredibly vast that it almost seems implausible that there is any world outside of it since no one has ever trekked the city from one end to the other. Gilman's worldbuilding is incredible and I love the idea of the city of Ararat, but at times so much detail is given that it's easy to become lost or disinterested. He constantly throws out street names or tidbits about the city that I was always waiting for to become relevant but they never did.
It's difficult to describe without spoilers but something interesting will happen and then the main characters putz around for several chapters until something else happens. It follows a few story lines that don't connect until the end of the book. I didn't fall in love with any of the main characters and there wasn't character development like I expected to see. The flow of the novel falters at times. For example, the main character is terrified for his life and stays in hiding to the point where he won't leave his room (this goes on for several chapters), then he just gets over it without an explanation. I have a load of questions about things that happened throughout the novel but the end left me with even more questions.
I'm not disappointed that I read the book but I can't say I'd recommend it and I won't read it again. There is a sequel, Gears of the City, that I do intend to read just to see if any of my questions are answered.
Felix Gilman has a lot of potential and once I get through my current pile of books I'll be looking to see what else he's written.
I love fantasy but this was a tough read at times. Depending on where I was in the book, I found myself incredibly immersed or not wanting to pick the book back up. I have to give it three stars because of how many times I lost interest and how long it took me to get through it. There were times where I put the book down and didn't pick it back up for weeks.
It's an interesting premise - in a world where gods (all of them seem more like magical creatures or essences) are very much real and present a man leaves his small town to search a massive city for his god that suddenly went missing. The city in which the story takes place is so incredibly vast that it almost seems implausible that there is any world outside of it since no one has ever trekked the city from one end to the other. Gilman's worldbuilding is incredible and I love the idea of the city of Ararat, but at times so much detail is given that it's easy to become lost or disinterested. He constantly throws out street names or tidbits about the city that I was always waiting for to become relevant but they never did.
It's difficult to describe without spoilers but something interesting will happen and then the main characters putz around for several chapters until something else happens. It follows a few story lines that don't connect until the end of the book. I didn't fall in love with any of the main characters and there wasn't character development like I expected to see. The flow of the novel falters at times. For example, the main character is terrified for his life and stays in hiding to the point where he won't leave his room (this goes on for several chapters), then he just gets over it without an explanation. I have a load of questions about things that happened throughout the novel but the end left me with even more questions.
I'm not disappointed that I read the book but I can't say I'd recommend it and I won't read it again. There is a sequel, Gears of the City, that I do intend to read just to see if any of my questions are answered.
Felix Gilman has a lot of potential and once I get through my current pile of books I'll be looking to see what else he's written.
January 5, 2016
Le premesse per questo libro erano intriganti: la ricerca della divinità perduta di un popolo, una città allo stesso tempo benedetta e maledetta, creature mistiche, una nave che cattura il potere del Dio-uccello ottenendo la facoltà di volare, poteri oscuri… ne avevo anche letto dei pareri favorevoli in America.
L’impatto con il libro invece è stato molto deludente.
Di cosa parla in realtà il libro?
Di quello di cui doveva parlare, certo, ma in toni diversi da quelli che avevo immaginato.
Abbiamo Arjun, una specie di ragazzo-monaco che vive tra le montagne, in un monastero abitato dalla Voce, una sorta di melodia perfetta che venerano come divinità e che parla ai monaci. Quando la Voce scompare, e i monaci cominciano a decadere, Arjun intraprende una lunga e pericolosa ricerca della Voce, una ricerca che noi non vediamo ma di cui osserviamo la fine, l’arrivo ad Ararat, la città ai confini del mondo. Una città ritenuta da alcuni benedetta, da altri infestata.
Infestata da cosa? Dagli Dei. Da decine, centinaia, migliaia di dei. Gli dei vivono nella città, anche se in una sorta di dimensione differente, manifestandosi raramente. Ma vivono in quello spazio. Ne sono attirati.
La città stessa ne risente, in un rapporto di simbiosi misteriosa con le entità soprannaturali.
Così abbiamo una città che sembra infinita, confinante con il mare (da cui giungono i pochi visitatori) e con l’immensa e misteriosa Montagna. Per il resto, una distesa senza fine di quartieri, torri, case. Divisi tra centinaia di signorotti locali, ognuno con il proprio esercito. Le guerre non sono con l’esterno, ma tra questi signori.
E sopratutto, non esistono mappe. Sarebbero un affronto alle divinità.
Perchè la città muta. Il passaggio degli Dei la modifica, i fiumi cambiano il loro corso, le strade mutano, la topografia è sempre differente.
E i cittadini, ciò nonostante, non impazziscono. Anzi, venerano la loro città e le sue molteplici divinità.
Arjun arriva qui alla ricerca della sua Voce, ipotizzando che sia stata attirata dal luogo come in passato sembra sia successo ad altre divinità.
Nel frattempo, avviene il ritorno del Dio-uccello, un volatile bianco e immenso intorno al quale si radunano tutti i volatili della città e sulla cui scia la gente può accogliere frammenti del suo potere, riuscendo a volargli dietro.
Questo momento era atteso da due diverse persone.
Jack è un ragazzo costretto in una prigione minorile, condannato ad anni di lavori forzati lì dentro. Sfrutterà il passaggio dell’uccello per fuggire, ottenendo però -unico caso- definitivamente dei poteri elargiti dall’uccello: poco a poco scoprirà di essere più veloce delle altre persone, più leggero. Di potere volare, di avere una missione riguardante la libertà.
Holbach è un professore, uno studioso. Ha predetto il ritorno dell’uccello leggendo vari segni comparsi in città, e ha trovato il modo di sfruttarlo per itnrappolare parte del suo potere nella Thunderer, la più grande nave da guerra della sua mecenate, la Contessa reggente di quella parte di città.
Le storie di queste tre persone si intrecciano, ovviamente, mentre il Professore continua i suoi studi sognando di mappare l’intera città e di cambiare lo status quo, mentre la Thunderer diviene un’arma poderosa della Contessa, mentre Arjun si imbatte in trafficanti di divinità, mentre Jack diventa una sorta di Peter Pan che guida i suoi ragazzi perduti contro le varie prigioni liberando i loro simili.
I problemi di questo libro sono molteplici, però.
Prima di tutto, manca un vero senso. Per buona parte del libro, la trama sembra quella di Arjun. Che rimane pressochè sullo sfondo, impossibilitato a procedere. E infatti alla fine non avrà fatto un solo passo in avanti verso il ritrovamento della Voce.
Alla fine la vera trama sarà quella del Professore, e magari di Jack. Arjun ha senso solo perchè nella sua ricerca finisce con l’avere una parte importante nel causare la pazzia di una divinità, il Tifone, il Dio del fiume che passa lungo quella parte della città. E il Dio impazzito cercherà i responsabili della sua imperfezione, portando morti ed epidemie nei quartieri della città devastata dalle rivolte.
Per due terzi almeno del libro si respira un’aria di inutilità: dove è il senso del libro?
Il fatto che il senso del libro si trovi solo quando quella che dovrebbe la trama principale arriva a due terzi del libro stesso, mi pare una grande idiozia.
Poi si dà tantissimo spazio al capitano della Thunderer, che sembra sempre sul punto di diventare importante: si alleerà con Arjiun per portarlo alla ricerca della Voce? Con il Professore per mappare? Con Jack per diventare un paladino della libertà?
E invece rimane sempre sullo sfondo (ma con i riflettori puntati addosso) e alla fine la sua morte viene liquidata con una frase semplice semplice. Che senso ha avuto dargli tutto quello spazio, parlare di come era distrutto per la morte della moglie, del suo rapporto con la Contessa, della sua crescente disperazione, se poi è stato liquidato così e non ha avuto alcun ruolo in tutto il libro?
No, non mi ha convinto per niente.
Certo, alcune cose erano interessanti.
Come il misterioso trafficante di divinità che insegna a Arjun i passaggi segreti da aprire per camminare tra le città nella città, nel tempo e nello spazio. O la figura di Jack, in un certo senso. O gli uomini dell’Atlas. O anche la storia del Dio imperfetto.
Ma manca una storia alle spalle; c’è troppa dispersione; troppa luce su personaggi inutili.
Alla fine è stata una delusione.
L’impatto con il libro invece è stato molto deludente.
Di cosa parla in realtà il libro?
Di quello di cui doveva parlare, certo, ma in toni diversi da quelli che avevo immaginato.
Abbiamo Arjun, una specie di ragazzo-monaco che vive tra le montagne, in un monastero abitato dalla Voce, una sorta di melodia perfetta che venerano come divinità e che parla ai monaci. Quando la Voce scompare, e i monaci cominciano a decadere, Arjun intraprende una lunga e pericolosa ricerca della Voce, una ricerca che noi non vediamo ma di cui osserviamo la fine, l’arrivo ad Ararat, la città ai confini del mondo. Una città ritenuta da alcuni benedetta, da altri infestata.
Infestata da cosa? Dagli Dei. Da decine, centinaia, migliaia di dei. Gli dei vivono nella città, anche se in una sorta di dimensione differente, manifestandosi raramente. Ma vivono in quello spazio. Ne sono attirati.
La città stessa ne risente, in un rapporto di simbiosi misteriosa con le entità soprannaturali.
Così abbiamo una città che sembra infinita, confinante con il mare (da cui giungono i pochi visitatori) e con l’immensa e misteriosa Montagna. Per il resto, una distesa senza fine di quartieri, torri, case. Divisi tra centinaia di signorotti locali, ognuno con il proprio esercito. Le guerre non sono con l’esterno, ma tra questi signori.
E sopratutto, non esistono mappe. Sarebbero un affronto alle divinità.
Perchè la città muta. Il passaggio degli Dei la modifica, i fiumi cambiano il loro corso, le strade mutano, la topografia è sempre differente.
E i cittadini, ciò nonostante, non impazziscono. Anzi, venerano la loro città e le sue molteplici divinità.
Arjun arriva qui alla ricerca della sua Voce, ipotizzando che sia stata attirata dal luogo come in passato sembra sia successo ad altre divinità.
Nel frattempo, avviene il ritorno del Dio-uccello, un volatile bianco e immenso intorno al quale si radunano tutti i volatili della città e sulla cui scia la gente può accogliere frammenti del suo potere, riuscendo a volargli dietro.
Questo momento era atteso da due diverse persone.
Jack è un ragazzo costretto in una prigione minorile, condannato ad anni di lavori forzati lì dentro. Sfrutterà il passaggio dell’uccello per fuggire, ottenendo però -unico caso- definitivamente dei poteri elargiti dall’uccello: poco a poco scoprirà di essere più veloce delle altre persone, più leggero. Di potere volare, di avere una missione riguardante la libertà.
Holbach è un professore, uno studioso. Ha predetto il ritorno dell’uccello leggendo vari segni comparsi in città, e ha trovato il modo di sfruttarlo per itnrappolare parte del suo potere nella Thunderer, la più grande nave da guerra della sua mecenate, la Contessa reggente di quella parte di città.
Le storie di queste tre persone si intrecciano, ovviamente, mentre il Professore continua i suoi studi sognando di mappare l’intera città e di cambiare lo status quo, mentre la Thunderer diviene un’arma poderosa della Contessa, mentre Arjun si imbatte in trafficanti di divinità, mentre Jack diventa una sorta di Peter Pan che guida i suoi ragazzi perduti contro le varie prigioni liberando i loro simili.
I problemi di questo libro sono molteplici, però.
Prima di tutto, manca un vero senso. Per buona parte del libro, la trama sembra quella di Arjun. Che rimane pressochè sullo sfondo, impossibilitato a procedere. E infatti alla fine non avrà fatto un solo passo in avanti verso il ritrovamento della Voce.
Alla fine la vera trama sarà quella del Professore, e magari di Jack. Arjun ha senso solo perchè nella sua ricerca finisce con l’avere una parte importante nel causare la pazzia di una divinità, il Tifone, il Dio del fiume che passa lungo quella parte della città. E il Dio impazzito cercherà i responsabili della sua imperfezione, portando morti ed epidemie nei quartieri della città devastata dalle rivolte.
Per due terzi almeno del libro si respira un’aria di inutilità: dove è il senso del libro?
Il fatto che il senso del libro si trovi solo quando quella che dovrebbe la trama principale arriva a due terzi del libro stesso, mi pare una grande idiozia.
Poi si dà tantissimo spazio al capitano della Thunderer, che sembra sempre sul punto di diventare importante: si alleerà con Arjiun per portarlo alla ricerca della Voce? Con il Professore per mappare? Con Jack per diventare un paladino della libertà?
E invece rimane sempre sullo sfondo (ma con i riflettori puntati addosso) e alla fine la sua morte viene liquidata con una frase semplice semplice. Che senso ha avuto dargli tutto quello spazio, parlare di come era distrutto per la morte della moglie, del suo rapporto con la Contessa, della sua crescente disperazione, se poi è stato liquidato così e non ha avuto alcun ruolo in tutto il libro?
No, non mi ha convinto per niente.
Certo, alcune cose erano interessanti.
Come il misterioso trafficante di divinità che insegna a Arjun i passaggi segreti da aprire per camminare tra le città nella città, nel tempo e nello spazio. O la figura di Jack, in un certo senso. O gli uomini dell’Atlas. O anche la storia del Dio imperfetto.
Ma manca una storia alle spalle; c’è troppa dispersione; troppa luce su personaggi inutili.
Alla fine è stata una delusione.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2019
This is a hard book for me to rate. I think the overall story is around a three, but I kept getting drawn in by the way Gilman handles the idea of godhood in this book. The story is at its best when there are unexpected turns in the backstory of the books tricksy villain. There were a few plot points in relation to this history that seemed to get dredged up than abandoned that I was waiting breathlessly for Gilman to address. What is addressed is really interesting.
I still have questions, but there's a sequel, so I'll see if the thoughts/questions I have are resolved.
I still have questions, but there's a sequel, so I'll see if the thoughts/questions I have are resolved.
February 12, 2023
DNF at 70 pages (15%).
As much as the city is cool and an air of mystery about the great god bird, the book lacks a major component: Plot. Nothing is happening and perhaps I didn’t give it enough of a chance but when the book is entirely descriptions, there just isn’t anything of interest. I had expected a lot more out of this book but alas, not my cup of tea.
1/5 Stars ⭐️
As much as the city is cool and an air of mystery about the great god bird, the book lacks a major component: Plot. Nothing is happening and perhaps I didn’t give it enough of a chance but when the book is entirely descriptions, there just isn’t anything of interest. I had expected a lot more out of this book but alas, not my cup of tea.
1/5 Stars ⭐️
May 11, 2023
I read this after The Half-made World. Both I enjoyed since they are very much in the New Weird category but I was hooked by this novel. It reminded me of a lesser version of the New Crobuzon books, especially with its splicing of many different genres.
December 19, 2018
If anyone ever tells you the fantasy genre is dead tell them to read this novel.
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