Hardcover
English language
Published July 23, 2024 by Random House Worlds.
The legendary Keanu Reeves and inimitable writer China Miéville team up on this genre-bending epic of ancient powers, modern war, and an outcast who cannot die.
Many books suffer from having greater than one author. This story runs well, doesn't take itself too seriously and throws out some plot puzzles with some depth while avoiding descent into schlocky action bluster. I hope there is more of this to come.
Content warning Here there be spoilers!
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I did not know about the comic it is based off of before I picked it up. I wasn't sure what role Keanu Reeves had vs. China Miéville. This book has some of the dense prose that I would expect from a Miéville book, but also is a bit toned down in that regard as it compares to some of his other work I've read. In other words, there were less bits where I was just going WTF? and trying to get through it to figure out what the hell was going on.
So you have a guy who can't die? What does that really look like? I thought the explanations for how that has effected B (or Unute, our protagonist) very well thought out. There are sections of the book where he just seems like Bill Murray in Groundhog day, just doing whatever the fuck he wants and not caring about what comes from it. There are sections where he's found a "regular" human to spend some time with. You can tell that he still feels for the people around him, even if he knows they are temporary and he'll encounter countless others in the future.
I liked that the philosophical aspects are not quite front and center. I liked that the story was a mystery within other mysteries. The ending was good, but kind of unsatisfying? It left room for more stories, which I would happily read if they write them.
All in all, this was a good read and I'll check out the comics too. The intro implies that this story isn't like those, which intrigues me.
The writing is waaaaay too obtuse. The story takes a cool concept (an ancient, immortal being seeks mortality) and puts a very new coat of paint on it. Unfortunately, it tries to be too thinky about it.
I would very much like to know more about what China Mieville and Keanu Reeves both brought to the table.
They created something indeed. Still in Miéville's vibe, but a slow compilation of voices which suddenly comes together.
