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City Imperishable #1
Trial of Flowers
The City Imperishable's secret master and heir to the long-vacant throne has vanished from a locked room, as politics have turned deadly in a bid to revive the city's long-vanished empire. The city's dwarfs, stunted from spending their childhoods in confining boxes, are restive. Bijaz the Dwarf, leader of the Sewn faction among the dwarfs, fights their persecution. Jason the Factor, friend and apprentice to the missing master, works to maintain stability in the absence of a guiding hand. Imago of Lockwood struggles to revive the office of Lord Mayor in a bid to turn the City Imperishable away from the path of destruction. These three must contend with one another as they race to resolve the threats to the city.
Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
263 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2006
About the author
Jay Lake
238 books252 followersJay Lake lived in Portland, Oregon, where he worked on multiple writing and editing projects. His 2007 book Mainspring received a starred review in Booklist. His short fiction appeared regularly in literary and genre markets worldwide. Jay won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, Endeavour Award, and was a multiple nominee for the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
July 25, 2013
This week, Saturday the 27th, Jay Lake will hold the Jay Wake. It's the best idea I've ever heard, hosting your own funeral! Think of all the things you've said at the funeral of a friend, things you wish you'd had the chance, and the permission, to say while they were yet breathing. Well, here it is. Opportunity meeting motivation. I've gotten motivated to say my piece about the reading pleasure I've found in Lake's books.
I've reviewed TRIAL OF FLOWERS at Shelf Inflicted, the group blog. It's a fantasy novel.
I read a fantasy novel.
There, I said it.
I not only read it, I enjoyed it. BUT DON'T FOR GAWD'S SAKE TELL ANYONE. I will swear an oath that you're lying and that you must be the one who hacked my account and wrote a glowing heap of praise for a book with dwarves, an ancient city declining under an empty throne, a reluctant hero...well, you see my predicament. I can't admit out loud that I liked this kind of guff. "The city is," runs the motto Lake gives the City Imperishable. Yeeesh, really?
Really. And really worth your time.
I've reviewed TRIAL OF FLOWERS at Shelf Inflicted, the group blog. It's a fantasy novel.
I read a fantasy novel.
There, I said it.
I not only read it, I enjoyed it. BUT DON'T FOR GAWD'S SAKE TELL ANYONE. I will swear an oath that you're lying and that you must be the one who hacked my account and wrote a glowing heap of praise for a book with dwarves, an ancient city declining under an empty throne, a reluctant hero...well, you see my predicament. I can't admit out loud that I liked this kind of guff. "The city is," runs the motto Lake gives the City Imperishable. Yeeesh, really?
Really. And really worth your time.
March 20, 2022
I'm not as active here as on r/fantasy, but I thought I'd post this review here too, as I couldn't find posts about it and it deserves love from the lovers of Weird.
The Old Gods seek to return, noumenal attacks terrorize the night, armies are closing in on the walls, and inept at best and malicious at worst politicians persecute the population and bungle administration in the mysterious absence of their tempering counterpart...
Trial of Flowers is a fantastic lesser-known New Weird novel. We follow three characters closely, Jason the Factor, Bijaz the Dwarf, and Imago of Lockwood as they attempt to save the city (or themselves) in the face of a myriad of threats. Bijaz the Dwarf, who is the leader of the Sewn traditionalist faction of the city's dwarfs, tries to fight their persecution by the council of Burgesses and keep their values alive by playing the adjudicator and petitioning on their behalf. Jason the Factor, apprentice to Ignatius of Redwood, missing counselor, magician, and likely unacknowledged heir to the empire, attempts to maintain stability and solve the mystery of his master's disappearance. Imago of Lockwood seeks to revive the office of Lord Mayor to save his own skin from debt collectors "for the good of the people of the city."
The City Imperishable, our setting, is a decadent, semi-magic semi-industrial setting, full of it's idiosyncrasies and weirdness. The city's dwarfs, confined in boxes as they grow up and tutored in numbers and bureaucracy, are stunted in growth and have partially sewn together lips. Armed mummers ride around the city on the backs of giraffescamelopards, trees burst aflame and translucent monsters of teeth and void ravage the populace in the night, and Bacchanals are thrown in the streets in lip service to the ghosts of Gods. The book starts out relatively weird, beyond your normal fantasy, but there's a point roughly halfway where the weirdness dial gets kicked up a notch or two into the properly weird realm.
Trial of Flowers fits neatly into the "Weird City" genre of secondary world fantasy. It fits comfortably into the family alongside Perdido Street Station, The Etched City, Viriconium, and Ambergris, without being the same as any. It isn't derivative, though it has its small homages, but it picks and mixes from many of the elements these books used in their story too. The city has the good combination of pseudo-sciency and magic-y and the focus of setting of Perdido and Ambergris. It has the closer, character-following perspective of Viriconium Nights and The Etched City. It has a more straightforward, less flowery prose style as in Ambergris, while still having it's beautiful sentences and having its "ten dollar vocabularly words" here and there.
Trial of Flowers isn't quite perfect, but it knows where it came from, where it belongs, and does what it wants. The biggest flaw, I think, which isn't so much a flaw as a point in which it suffers in comparison to its bedfellows, is that focusing so much on the city, the rest of the world around it feels a little thin. The city itself has close to the depth of New Crobuzon or Ankh-Morpork in the depths of Fantasy Cities, but the surroundings feel forgotten- though, for all that, they don't really feature either. In terms of knowing where it comes from, as well as fitting in comfortably with it's sibling works, Trial of Flowers contains little nods to it's compatriots- there are references to "freshwater squid invading from the DerMeer spring" for Ambergris, and Bijaz the Dwarf has a brother named Tomb, for Viriconium.
I referenced often Perdido, Viriconium, Ambergris, and The Etched City often in this review, and that's with purpose. While it the bears comparison and contrast well, being related without being a copy, there's another reason- Trial of Flowers only has ~260 ratings on GoodReads, compared to much more for those others. While it isn't my favourite of the 5, it stands proud and holds its own ground among them too! It definitely deserves to be up there among them in the Weird, "fucked up city" genre of fantasy.
Perdido Street Station, Viriconium, Ambergris, and The Etched City: you like them, you'll like this.
The Old Gods seek to return, noumenal attacks terrorize the night, armies are closing in on the walls, and inept at best and malicious at worst politicians persecute the population and bungle administration in the mysterious absence of their tempering counterpart...
Trial of Flowers is a fantastic lesser-known New Weird novel. We follow three characters closely, Jason the Factor, Bijaz the Dwarf, and Imago of Lockwood as they attempt to save the city (or themselves) in the face of a myriad of threats. Bijaz the Dwarf, who is the leader of the Sewn traditionalist faction of the city's dwarfs, tries to fight their persecution by the council of Burgesses and keep their values alive by playing the adjudicator and petitioning on their behalf. Jason the Factor, apprentice to Ignatius of Redwood, missing counselor, magician, and likely unacknowledged heir to the empire, attempts to maintain stability and solve the mystery of his master's disappearance. Imago of Lockwood seeks to revive the office of Lord Mayor to save his own skin from debt collectors "for the good of the people of the city."
The City Imperishable, our setting, is a decadent, semi-magic semi-industrial setting, full of it's idiosyncrasies and weirdness. The city's dwarfs, confined in boxes as they grow up and tutored in numbers and bureaucracy, are stunted in growth and have partially sewn together lips. Armed mummers ride around the city on the backs of giraffescamelopards, trees burst aflame and translucent monsters of teeth and void ravage the populace in the night, and Bacchanals are thrown in the streets in lip service to the ghosts of Gods. The book starts out relatively weird, beyond your normal fantasy, but there's a point roughly halfway where the weirdness dial gets kicked up a notch or two into the properly weird realm.
Trial of Flowers fits neatly into the "Weird City" genre of secondary world fantasy. It fits comfortably into the family alongside Perdido Street Station, The Etched City, Viriconium, and Ambergris, without being the same as any. It isn't derivative, though it has its small homages, but it picks and mixes from many of the elements these books used in their story too. The city has the good combination of pseudo-sciency and magic-y and the focus of setting of Perdido and Ambergris. It has the closer, character-following perspective of Viriconium Nights and The Etched City. It has a more straightforward, less flowery prose style as in Ambergris, while still having it's beautiful sentences and having its "ten dollar vocabularly words" here and there.
Trial of Flowers isn't quite perfect, but it knows where it came from, where it belongs, and does what it wants. The biggest flaw, I think, which isn't so much a flaw as a point in which it suffers in comparison to its bedfellows, is that focusing so much on the city, the rest of the world around it feels a little thin. The city itself has close to the depth of New Crobuzon or Ankh-Morpork in the depths of Fantasy Cities, but the surroundings feel forgotten- though, for all that, they don't really feature either. In terms of knowing where it comes from, as well as fitting in comfortably with it's sibling works, Trial of Flowers contains little nods to it's compatriots- there are references to "freshwater squid invading from the DerMeer spring" for Ambergris, and Bijaz the Dwarf has a brother named Tomb, for Viriconium.
I referenced often Perdido, Viriconium, Ambergris, and The Etched City often in this review, and that's with purpose. While it the bears comparison and contrast well, being related without being a copy, there's another reason- Trial of Flowers only has ~260 ratings on GoodReads, compared to much more for those others. While it isn't my favourite of the 5, it stands proud and holds its own ground among them too! It definitely deserves to be up there among them in the Weird, "fucked up city" genre of fantasy.
Perdido Street Station, Viriconium, Ambergris, and The Etched City: you like them, you'll like this.
March 1, 2008
The book is advertised as "decadent urban fantasy in the tradition of Perdido Street Station. Quite frankly, China Meiville did it better. And with less blatant decadence.
The story centers around three characters:
Jason the Factor, who is a dock manager by day, secret agent for one of the City's Councilors by night.
Bijaz the Dwarf, who is a clerk extraordinare. He's a Dwarf by upbringing, his growth stunted by being locked in a box during his childhood. And his lips are sewn shut. And he was a friend of Jason's but not any more as the story begins.
Imago of Lockwood, a debtor who's looking to cheat the system and the courts by becoming the Lord Mayor of the City Imperishable.
The whole of the story takes place inside the City Imperishable -- yes that is it's name -- which is suffering attacks of a magical (aka noumenal) nature while it's secret defender (Jason's boss, the wizard Ignatius) is missing. Plus there's an air of fear/paranoia as rumors of invasion fill the streets.
Rather than traditional chapters, the book is divided into two acts, with POV shifting between the three protagonists. Each POV is announced with a scene break with the character's name afterwards, and it's a technique that annoys me, because you can get the same effect from a simple scene break followed by a few select words.
People (and Dwarves) are fleeing the city, and the Burgesses mutter and bicker amongst each other. There's some sort of schism among the Dwarves, represented in two factions: the Sewn and the Slashed, which refers to the traditional stitching of the lips. Other than that, we know little about why these two groups exist and what they stand for. But we get the picture that the Dwarves are generally held in disdain (although it's never revealed why normal people get shoved in boxes to become Dwarves), and the Burgess plan on taxing the hell out of these second class citizens in order to raise funds for an army. And Bijaz is going to be the collector.
Meanwhile Jason is trying to find his master so the Burgesses can focus on the threat to the city. And Imago dodges the Law (because he owe a ton of money) while he tries to find supporters for his mad bid. You see, waaaay back in the day when the City Imperishable was the capital for some great Empire, the last Emperor razed the temples of the Old Gods before marching off to war and proclaiming that elections for a Lord Mayor were treason or some such. But Imago has legal precedence and plans on getting the courts to recognize it. Assuming they don't send him to Debtor's prison first.
Or kill him.
The first act revolves around Imago's bid for Lord Mayor, and how Bijaz and Jason involve themselves in this risky venture. The noumenal attacks plague Bijaz mostly, and damage him more than once. Then he gets assaulted in a scene which I felt was gratuitous and unnecessary -- it seemed more for the sake of telling us how "decadent" this city was than for any real plot-based reason. Imago gets hit by magic as well, right before falling in with the Tribade, an organization of women with no known agenda or goals -- save for getting Imago into the office.
Part of this whole bid is staging the titular "Trial of Flowers." So they set up this elaborate procession to serve as the Trial, including a mock joust where Imago proves himself worthy. However, the night before Bijaz goes out for a night service with a god monger (whatever that is, we find out after the first meeting he's also a Dwarf) and receives this horrible vision and reasons out that this Trial of Flowers is a bad thing. What makes it a bad thing is that it becomes a focal point of both power and belief -- which had been diffused among the Burgesses and the various and sundry temples for centuries. Now all this psychological power is focused in one event, and at the climax of the Trial, all hell breaks loose, and the Old Gods return along with the missing Ignatius who declares himself as the Imperator's Heir.
Thus endeth part the first.
Part the second revolves around the incoming army that's going to attack the City and getting rid of Ignatius, who is not the man he once was. The City is slowly falling into this oppressive state starting with the seat of government and spreading out into the city proper. Jason is a turncoat after seeing some these atrocities in the palace (and telling us about them), Bijaz turns Slashed so he can fellate people for drug money, and Imago learns that being Lord Mayor is a pretty craptastic position in the government bureaucracy.
Each goes their own way in trying to stop the invasion, as it will only further the hopes of the ubiquitous evil/Old Gods in restoring the empire. Although who exactly is interested in doing such is never made clear.
Jason goes out to meet the incoming army to help them get in so one of the Burgesses can get a shot at killing Ignatius. And he dies. And comes back. For no real reason, save some vague prophecy.
Bijaz goes through rehab, and in some bizarre casino scene reminiscent of the Twilight Zone, becomes the "luck of the city." He becomes invigorated and sallies forth to set things right, by arranging a huge parade of the temple gods.
Imago, meanwhile, goes beneath the city to find where the Old Gods were entombed to try to calm them down and get things back to normal.
And things fall apart. Not the protagonist's plans mind you, but the story itself. Things just suddenly blur back to normal, and the City is somehow saved. But how it all comes together and happens is so muddled I'm not sure what exactly happened. The best way to describe in the context of the novel as a whole is that the story just shits all over itself.
The greatest problem I have with this novel is that it seems that Lake is trying too hard to be like Meiville and it doesn't work. I wouldn't call New Corbuzon "decadent" although it may give that air -- though I blame the smog. The difference is in the context. Meiville's work is rich with it. Flowers doesn't have it. When you hear of a faction or concept in Perdido you learn things about it. We don't know anything the Tribade, the godmongers (until late in the book), Krewes, or Slashed or the Sewn. We don't know why the Dwarves are made as they are, but the Remade (from Perdido are a different story altogether.
And as I said before the decadence is too blatant in Flowers. I point to Bijaz with his rape scene and his fall to prostitution as the main culprit, but I also have to add that there's a scene where he pleases himself to what is, in all due respects, a snuff stage play. It makes Bijaz so unsympathetic it's a wonder how he and Jason (who we're told has his own little S&M dungeon for his personal amusement) ever became friends in the first place. And in my mind it's all unnecessary. There's better ways to show decadence than just sexual deviancy. At least with Isaac (again, referring to Perdido) while his relationship breaks taboos, there's a certain amount of acceptance, and the relationship between the two is fairly genuine. And where is the crowd? Where is the density of industry that we see in New Corbuzon? Most of what we get from the City Imperishable is told, rather than shown. History is dumped in more than one spot.
And while Lake's writing is fairly solid, Meiville is much more delightful to read. The latter shows a love for language and plays with it. I mean, the phrase "puissant weapon" has such a ring to it.
I think only die hard Jay Lake fans would hold an interest in this book. But if you like Meiville, in all honesty, this can go back on the shelf.
The story centers around three characters:
Jason the Factor, who is a dock manager by day, secret agent for one of the City's Councilors by night.
Bijaz the Dwarf, who is a clerk extraordinare. He's a Dwarf by upbringing, his growth stunted by being locked in a box during his childhood. And his lips are sewn shut. And he was a friend of Jason's but not any more as the story begins.
Imago of Lockwood, a debtor who's looking to cheat the system and the courts by becoming the Lord Mayor of the City Imperishable.
The whole of the story takes place inside the City Imperishable -- yes that is it's name -- which is suffering attacks of a magical (aka noumenal) nature while it's secret defender (Jason's boss, the wizard Ignatius) is missing. Plus there's an air of fear/paranoia as rumors of invasion fill the streets.
Rather than traditional chapters, the book is divided into two acts, with POV shifting between the three protagonists. Each POV is announced with a scene break with the character's name afterwards, and it's a technique that annoys me, because you can get the same effect from a simple scene break followed by a few select words.
People (and Dwarves) are fleeing the city, and the Burgesses mutter and bicker amongst each other. There's some sort of schism among the Dwarves, represented in two factions: the Sewn and the Slashed, which refers to the traditional stitching of the lips. Other than that, we know little about why these two groups exist and what they stand for. But we get the picture that the Dwarves are generally held in disdain (although it's never revealed why normal people get shoved in boxes to become Dwarves), and the Burgess plan on taxing the hell out of these second class citizens in order to raise funds for an army. And Bijaz is going to be the collector.
Meanwhile Jason is trying to find his master so the Burgesses can focus on the threat to the city. And Imago dodges the Law (because he owe a ton of money) while he tries to find supporters for his mad bid. You see, waaaay back in the day when the City Imperishable was the capital for some great Empire, the last Emperor razed the temples of the Old Gods before marching off to war and proclaiming that elections for a Lord Mayor were treason or some such. But Imago has legal precedence and plans on getting the courts to recognize it. Assuming they don't send him to Debtor's prison first.
Or kill him.
The first act revolves around Imago's bid for Lord Mayor, and how Bijaz and Jason involve themselves in this risky venture. The noumenal attacks plague Bijaz mostly, and damage him more than once. Then he gets assaulted in a scene which I felt was gratuitous and unnecessary -- it seemed more for the sake of telling us how "decadent" this city was than for any real plot-based reason. Imago gets hit by magic as well, right before falling in with the Tribade, an organization of women with no known agenda or goals -- save for getting Imago into the office.
Part of this whole bid is staging the titular "Trial of Flowers." So they set up this elaborate procession to serve as the Trial, including a mock joust where Imago proves himself worthy. However, the night before Bijaz goes out for a night service with a god monger (whatever that is, we find out after the first meeting he's also a Dwarf) and receives this horrible vision and reasons out that this Trial of Flowers is a bad thing. What makes it a bad thing is that it becomes a focal point of both power and belief -- which had been diffused among the Burgesses and the various and sundry temples for centuries. Now all this psychological power is focused in one event, and at the climax of the Trial, all hell breaks loose, and the Old Gods return along with the missing Ignatius who declares himself as the Imperator's Heir.
Thus endeth part the first.
Part the second revolves around the incoming army that's going to attack the City and getting rid of Ignatius, who is not the man he once was. The City is slowly falling into this oppressive state starting with the seat of government and spreading out into the city proper. Jason is a turncoat after seeing some these atrocities in the palace (and telling us about them), Bijaz turns Slashed so he can fellate people for drug money, and Imago learns that being Lord Mayor is a pretty craptastic position in the government bureaucracy.
Each goes their own way in trying to stop the invasion, as it will only further the hopes of the ubiquitous evil/Old Gods in restoring the empire. Although who exactly is interested in doing such is never made clear.
Jason goes out to meet the incoming army to help them get in so one of the Burgesses can get a shot at killing Ignatius. And he dies. And comes back. For no real reason, save some vague prophecy.
Bijaz goes through rehab, and in some bizarre casino scene reminiscent of the Twilight Zone, becomes the "luck of the city." He becomes invigorated and sallies forth to set things right, by arranging a huge parade of the temple gods.
Imago, meanwhile, goes beneath the city to find where the Old Gods were entombed to try to calm them down and get things back to normal.
And things fall apart. Not the protagonist's plans mind you, but the story itself. Things just suddenly blur back to normal, and the City is somehow saved. But how it all comes together and happens is so muddled I'm not sure what exactly happened. The best way to describe in the context of the novel as a whole is that the story just shits all over itself.
The greatest problem I have with this novel is that it seems that Lake is trying too hard to be like Meiville and it doesn't work. I wouldn't call New Corbuzon "decadent" although it may give that air -- though I blame the smog. The difference is in the context. Meiville's work is rich with it. Flowers doesn't have it. When you hear of a faction or concept in Perdido you learn things about it. We don't know anything the Tribade, the godmongers (until late in the book), Krewes, or Slashed or the Sewn. We don't know why the Dwarves are made as they are, but the Remade (from Perdido are a different story altogether.
And as I said before the decadence is too blatant in Flowers. I point to Bijaz with his rape scene and his fall to prostitution as the main culprit, but I also have to add that there's a scene where he pleases himself to what is, in all due respects, a snuff stage play. It makes Bijaz so unsympathetic it's a wonder how he and Jason (who we're told has his own little S&M dungeon for his personal amusement) ever became friends in the first place. And in my mind it's all unnecessary. There's better ways to show decadence than just sexual deviancy. At least with Isaac (again, referring to Perdido) while his relationship breaks taboos, there's a certain amount of acceptance, and the relationship between the two is fairly genuine. And where is the crowd? Where is the density of industry that we see in New Corbuzon? Most of what we get from the City Imperishable is told, rather than shown. History is dumped in more than one spot.
And while Lake's writing is fairly solid, Meiville is much more delightful to read. The latter shows a love for language and plays with it. I mean, the phrase "puissant weapon" has such a ring to it.
I think only die hard Jay Lake fans would hold an interest in this book. But if you like Meiville, in all honesty, this can go back on the shelf.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2011
Trial of Flowers is one of those new books in the "steampunk and decadence" genre that seems to have become popular since the emergence of China Mieville's Perdido Street Station. Trial follows the adventures of three men: Jason the Factor, Imago of Lockwood, and Bijaz the Dwarf, as the three of them face the rising old and corrupt gods and their magick that threatens to either overwhelm their beloved City Imperishable, or attract the attention of neighboring nations determined to raze the City to the ground before the gods can gather their full strength. The City is a place of "eletricks" and "hedge mages," of "poor magicks" and "boxed dwarves," of steam and iron. It might be New Orleans, or Casablanca, or Shanghai, with the last magics and the first difference engines vying for attention.
Jason is a mercantile agent who works for the city's most powerful mage and who has a secret torture chamber under his warehouse, Imago a shifty lawyer who's lost one case too many and owes money to legbreakers, and Bijaz is a "made dwarf," his body artificially stunted in its growth, trained as an accountant, with a taste for snuff theatre. These three don't necessarily get along as they each fumble their way toward saving themselves, and maybe the city as well.
As I mentioned, the inevitable comparison to China Mieville is there, but if there's one thing Jay Lake does better than China, it's this: Jay does not flinch. Not for a second. Heck, Steven R. Donaldson, once hailed as the modern master of characters wallowing in their own degradation, was never quite as skilled at not flinching the way Jay does not flinch. Thomas Covenant's self-loathing was never quite as pointed or tangible as Bijaz's.
That said, the issues involved do make it hard to care about Jason, Bijaz and, to a lesser extent, Imago. These aren't nice people, and the scatological hells through which Jay metaphorically and literally drags them, often face-down, is tough reading. The expected redemptions aren't as rewarding as we might hope. This ain't no book for the beach. But they're all done so well and so artfully that once you're into the book, once you've accepted the humane ugliness that Jay has decided to show you, you'll be hooked.
Trial of Flowers isn't a perfect book. There's a sense of isolation to the City Imperishable; its presence on a world full of people never quite feels right. Even Moorcock's Melnibone' felt more attached to its wider world than the City Imperishable, and I sensed that discordance more than once. But the wider world isn't what the book is about, so once you've stepped into the City Imperishable, there really is only one way out. You'll just have to travel through the city's sewers, pursued by eyeless, frog-tongued children and accompanied by two mad dwarves, each insane in his own way, to get there.
Jason is a mercantile agent who works for the city's most powerful mage and who has a secret torture chamber under his warehouse, Imago a shifty lawyer who's lost one case too many and owes money to legbreakers, and Bijaz is a "made dwarf," his body artificially stunted in its growth, trained as an accountant, with a taste for snuff theatre. These three don't necessarily get along as they each fumble their way toward saving themselves, and maybe the city as well.
As I mentioned, the inevitable comparison to China Mieville is there, but if there's one thing Jay Lake does better than China, it's this: Jay does not flinch. Not for a second. Heck, Steven R. Donaldson, once hailed as the modern master of characters wallowing in their own degradation, was never quite as skilled at not flinching the way Jay does not flinch. Thomas Covenant's self-loathing was never quite as pointed or tangible as Bijaz's.
That said, the issues involved do make it hard to care about Jason, Bijaz and, to a lesser extent, Imago. These aren't nice people, and the scatological hells through which Jay metaphorically and literally drags them, often face-down, is tough reading. The expected redemptions aren't as rewarding as we might hope. This ain't no book for the beach. But they're all done so well and so artfully that once you're into the book, once you've accepted the humane ugliness that Jay has decided to show you, you'll be hooked.
Trial of Flowers isn't a perfect book. There's a sense of isolation to the City Imperishable; its presence on a world full of people never quite feels right. Even Moorcock's Melnibone' felt more attached to its wider world than the City Imperishable, and I sensed that discordance more than once. But the wider world isn't what the book is about, so once you've stepped into the City Imperishable, there really is only one way out. You'll just have to travel through the city's sewers, pursued by eyeless, frog-tongued children and accompanied by two mad dwarves, each insane in his own way, to get there.
January 4, 2009
They are all on the book jacket, but I'll throw out a few names for you here -- Mieville, Van DeMeer, Bishop. If your reaction is "Oooooh -- cool!" then you will love this book. Lake has his own style and his own uniquely disturbing world, but if you like the dark, "new-weird" authors, Lake fits firmly and very competently in their midsts.
If the above paragraph means nothing to you, a short review -- Trial of Flowers is a very dark, very disturbing fantasy set in the ancient, crumbling, bureaucracy -ridden City Imperishable. Amid the plotting of sadistic dwarves and power-hungry burgesses, armies of mummers and ancient, cthonic gods are all part of planned and accidental rites that will leave the city stepped in blood, flowers, and hopefully a better future. At times squirm-inducingly violent, the end moves like a thriller with the occult power that most Lovecraft stories promise but fail to deliver. A great read for fans of dark, dark fantastic-lit.
If the above paragraph means nothing to you, a short review -- Trial of Flowers is a very dark, very disturbing fantasy set in the ancient, crumbling, bureaucracy -ridden City Imperishable. Amid the plotting of sadistic dwarves and power-hungry burgesses, armies of mummers and ancient, cthonic gods are all part of planned and accidental rites that will leave the city stepped in blood, flowers, and hopefully a better future. At times squirm-inducingly violent, the end moves like a thriller with the occult power that most Lovecraft stories promise but fail to deliver. A great read for fans of dark, dark fantastic-lit.
September 11, 2009
This was another attempt by my brother-in-law and I to do a "read-and-discuss" thing. That last two have ended with one of us giving up on the book halfway through. I am not sure if he finished reading this one, but it was mostly due to his schedule. This book caught a while back when it showed up on my recommendations on Amazon. And for a description, I go to the one that I saw from Publishers Weekly via Amazon.Com:
As I mentioned, this caught my eye. Somewhere along the line this was a recommendation from Amazon. It sounded bizarre, which equals good in my book (no pun intended). On the back cover it claims to be along the lines of books like "Perdido Street Station" by China Mieville, "The Etched City" by K. J. Bishop, and "City of Saints and Madmen" by Jeff Vandermeer. I have read two of the three mentioned and would say that, yes, they are similar (as well as another book by the third author that can be said to be similar as well). They have what is referred to as "steampunk" qualities, plus the grittiness factor of the story, surroundings, and characters.
This book though had qualities about it that I didn't expect. I figured it would be more shrouded. Not sure if that is the right word, but it's what comes to mind. Maybe more cerebral. I expected something that came with thick prose and would take time to figure out how the characters stood up, and what was happening around them. Much like I found in "Last Dragon". But the book started right out of the gate with being rather straight forward. The lives of the characters, what made them tick, and how they interacted and why, was right there, plain as day. I didn't mind this at all. It just wasn't expected.
Lake does a great job in creating this world. His descriptions are very well placed, very lyrical, and I thought not overdone. You can get a lot of our what he is describing; the smell, the lay of the land, the details of the characters appearance, the city's appearance, and all around them. But again, it's enough to give you want you need without lingering too long.
Some of the events that happen aren't for the faint of heart. There is some holding back, though that may not be the best description either. Maybe saying there was a limit that Lake set. Or just instinctively knew that he only needed enough to make his point. It can be brutal though.
I found myself having a problem getting through the book however. The grittiness and/or brutal scenes didn't bother me. The dark nature of the book in general wasn't he problem. Overall is seemed inconsistent. As I mentioned, at the start I got a lot out of what I read. Getting to know where things stood. But as the story went on I felt that some explanations were missing. There were many references to what was called the noumenal, but it was never explained. Even after looking it up, I was no closer to understanding what it was about and it's effect on the story. The mystery bothered me. Also, most of what was happening was leading up to a big battle. Yet the sides were never clearly defined. In some respects, I am OK with that. Black and white is not always a good thing when reading a story. Shades of gray enhance the story, make it more interesting. But it went beyond just knowing who was on what side. I had a hard time discerning why anyone was on what side they were on. Well, other then Bijaz originally. It made for some muddy plot issues in my opinion, and brought about a feeling that I needed to finish the book just to finish it.
Lake has gotten much praise for his writing. Though I had problems with this book, I still can see why many would enjoy it and other works written by him. He has talent was a writer. And many like the mystery of dissecting just what is making a character tick. Personally I like things laid out in the open more. Just a matter of taste.
The ancient and decadent City Imperishable teeters on the verge of obliteration in this inventive fantasy from the prolific Lake, if not from the armies marching toward its gates, then from the dark, bloodthirsty gods reawakening within its walls. Three haunted and imperfect men must stand against the destruction of everything they know: Jason the Factor, a businessman and sometime civil servant who's in love with pain; Imago of Lockwood, a feckless lawyer who puts himself forward as a candidate for the centuries-dead position of Lord Mayor; and Bijaz the Dwarf, an embittered and self-hating half-man whose lips have been sewn shut. As random supernatural assaults are perpetrated on innocent citizens, these three must uncover the City Imperishable's blackest secrets, not knowing whether or not their actions will save what they hold dear.
As I mentioned, this caught my eye. Somewhere along the line this was a recommendation from Amazon. It sounded bizarre, which equals good in my book (no pun intended). On the back cover it claims to be along the lines of books like "Perdido Street Station" by China Mieville, "The Etched City" by K. J. Bishop, and "City of Saints and Madmen" by Jeff Vandermeer. I have read two of the three mentioned and would say that, yes, they are similar (as well as another book by the third author that can be said to be similar as well). They have what is referred to as "steampunk" qualities, plus the grittiness factor of the story, surroundings, and characters.
This book though had qualities about it that I didn't expect. I figured it would be more shrouded. Not sure if that is the right word, but it's what comes to mind. Maybe more cerebral. I expected something that came with thick prose and would take time to figure out how the characters stood up, and what was happening around them. Much like I found in "Last Dragon". But the book started right out of the gate with being rather straight forward. The lives of the characters, what made them tick, and how they interacted and why, was right there, plain as day. I didn't mind this at all. It just wasn't expected.
Lake does a great job in creating this world. His descriptions are very well placed, very lyrical, and I thought not overdone. You can get a lot of our what he is describing; the smell, the lay of the land, the details of the characters appearance, the city's appearance, and all around them. But again, it's enough to give you want you need without lingering too long.
Some of the events that happen aren't for the faint of heart. There is some holding back, though that may not be the best description either. Maybe saying there was a limit that Lake set. Or just instinctively knew that he only needed enough to make his point. It can be brutal though.
I found myself having a problem getting through the book however. The grittiness and/or brutal scenes didn't bother me. The dark nature of the book in general wasn't he problem. Overall is seemed inconsistent. As I mentioned, at the start I got a lot out of what I read. Getting to know where things stood. But as the story went on I felt that some explanations were missing. There were many references to what was called the noumenal, but it was never explained. Even after looking it up, I was no closer to understanding what it was about and it's effect on the story. The mystery bothered me. Also, most of what was happening was leading up to a big battle. Yet the sides were never clearly defined. In some respects, I am OK with that. Black and white is not always a good thing when reading a story. Shades of gray enhance the story, make it more interesting. But it went beyond just knowing who was on what side. I had a hard time discerning why anyone was on what side they were on. Well, other then Bijaz originally. It made for some muddy plot issues in my opinion, and brought about a feeling that I needed to finish the book just to finish it.
Lake has gotten much praise for his writing. Though I had problems with this book, I still can see why many would enjoy it and other works written by him. He has talent was a writer. And many like the mystery of dissecting just what is making a character tick. Personally I like things laid out in the open more. Just a matter of taste.
June 11, 2013
I liked this for the most part, but the insistence on the macabre / graphically violent / gross-out, and especially the constant links between sex and violence put me off. I'm not entirely adverse to a little violence when it helps to tell a tale, but in this case it sometimes seemed to actively hurt the story, and most of the rest of time seemed irrelevant. Yes, your characters are messed up by the society they grew up in, but if you make them _too_ horrible as a result of that, you risk my not caring at all when horrible things happen to them in return.
July 31, 2013
Can I say it was a good read but I didn't like it?
Dark, dark and in places too gritty for some readers.
A bit weird in places, and occasionally I think Lake reached too far with that.
I loved Perdido Street Station, and I am no stranger to dark, weird books. I like Jay's other works, and I wish him the best in his current health challenges.
There's some good world-building here, but as others have noted many details remain un-drawn.
A plus for the florid language, perhaps a tribute to Wolfe and others, and appropriate for the genre.
The cover suggests, and some of the text supports, that the camelopard riders wear 20th-century business suits and white shirts. Say what?
It seems excessively odd that this other-world city should have krewes that build floats for annual parades. Yet there is no mention of a large river. I can't think why Lake would lift a real-world thing so cleanly to place in his otherwise-far-out world.
Enero and his people are to be annoying in a way that is being reminiscent of Jar Jar Binks. It was to be annoyed by his constant "to be" - some of which were reasonably placed and some of which just stopped the reading flow dead. I am to be remembering seeing this style of speech many years ago, too, in a work by one of the long-gone great authors. It was to be annoying then. That one was implemented more smoothly too; for example, a character might ask someone "To be opening the door please."
Near the end I had a bit of "oh no, not the old trip through the sewers again" but it was OK because the dunny diver is a great character.
Finally, though, I was left disappointed because most of the plot revolves around characters moving dull-wittedly ahead and then suddenly knowing what they had to do, however weird it might be. Archer's role in the conclusion was particularly pulled out of thin air, and needed some setup.
This could have been a four-star book, but it isn't.
Dark, dark and in places too gritty for some readers.
A bit weird in places, and occasionally I think Lake reached too far with that.
I loved Perdido Street Station, and I am no stranger to dark, weird books. I like Jay's other works, and I wish him the best in his current health challenges.
There's some good world-building here, but as others have noted many details remain un-drawn.
A plus for the florid language, perhaps a tribute to Wolfe and others, and appropriate for the genre.
The cover suggests, and some of the text supports, that the camelopard riders wear 20th-century business suits and white shirts. Say what?
It seems excessively odd that this other-world city should have krewes that build floats for annual parades. Yet there is no mention of a large river. I can't think why Lake would lift a real-world thing so cleanly to place in his otherwise-far-out world.
Enero and his people are to be annoying in a way that is being reminiscent of Jar Jar Binks. It was to be annoyed by his constant "to be" - some of which were reasonably placed and some of which just stopped the reading flow dead. I am to be remembering seeing this style of speech many years ago, too, in a work by one of the long-gone great authors. It was to be annoying then. That one was implemented more smoothly too; for example, a character might ask someone "To be opening the door please."
Near the end I had a bit of "oh no, not the old trip through the sewers again" but it was OK because the dunny diver is a great character.
Finally, though, I was left disappointed because most of the plot revolves around characters moving dull-wittedly ahead and then suddenly knowing what they had to do, however weird it might be. Archer's role in the conclusion was particularly pulled out of thin air, and needed some setup.
This could have been a four-star book, but it isn't.
October 15, 2011
I read this a few years back after reading a recommendation elsewhere and really enjoyed it. Finally got the sequel Madness of Flowers recently so I had to re-read ToF to refresh my memory. Just didn't have time to read much lately due to work otherwise I would have plowed through it much faster.
Really enjoyed it even more this time around - The plot at the heart of it all isn't incredibly groundbreaking but Lake's inventive spin on the usual genre trappings and the interesting trio of main characters (Jason, Imago and Bijaz) plus the above-average prose and solid pacing keeps it compelling all the way through.
As a huge fan of Wolfe's Book of the New Sun - I enjoyed the intentional homage to Wolfe (the names like "The City Imperishable" and obscure words like "fiacre" borrowed from BotNS) as well as the sense that Lake's City Imperishable is much like Wolfe's Urth - a once-mighty power now fallen far into decadence from the glory days of the past. Lake also clearly owes a debt to Jeff VanderMeer and M. John Harrison and acknowledges that with a few references thrown in here and there for the sharp-eyed reader - plus you can't go wrong with VanderMeer himself plugging the book on the jacket.
Really enjoyed it even more this time around - The plot at the heart of it all isn't incredibly groundbreaking but Lake's inventive spin on the usual genre trappings and the interesting trio of main characters (Jason, Imago and Bijaz) plus the above-average prose and solid pacing keeps it compelling all the way through.
As a huge fan of Wolfe's Book of the New Sun - I enjoyed the intentional homage to Wolfe (the names like "The City Imperishable" and obscure words like "fiacre" borrowed from BotNS) as well as the sense that Lake's City Imperishable is much like Wolfe's Urth - a once-mighty power now fallen far into decadence from the glory days of the past. Lake also clearly owes a debt to Jeff VanderMeer and M. John Harrison and acknowledges that with a few references thrown in here and there for the sharp-eyed reader - plus you can't go wrong with VanderMeer himself plugging the book on the jacket.
July 16, 2013
I could not get into this book it was disgusting and at many points I felt like throwing up. I will give the author props for being able to write and come up with some of that stuff. It is an incredibly imaginative book with tons of detail. The author really puts you into the book on the other hand it is not a place that I want to ever go again and it is not a place I feel comfortable in. I understand that everyone has their own point of view and plenty of people will love this book. I personally feel that it crossed a line for me and some of it has been burned into my mind so that I will never forget the images that it conjured. I would suggest that only adults read this book.
December 25, 2008
Disappointing. Tepid, stiff prose, with a special award for some of the least necessary sex scenes I've had the misfortune to come across. After a hundred and thirty pages or so, I decided to give it up and spend my time on better things.
March 30, 2008
Fucking awesome. really strange and dreamy. oh so sad and tragic, but redemptive and beautiful. not for the light hearted.
January 15, 2023
I'm trying to be better at writing reviews this year so I'll try with this one.
I picked Jay Lake's Trial of Flowers because of its association with China Miéville's Perdido Street Station,M. John Harrison'sViriconium,, K.J Bishop'sThe Etched City, and Jeff VanderMeer's Ambergris series. In other words, books about a fantastical city. I've enjoyed all of the above and so I was eager to find something similar. There were a lot of things I liked in Trial of Flowers but also a lot of things I disliked.
The Good:
-I really liked all that had to do with the old gods, particularly the scenes of or
-The events drumming up to Trial of Flowers were also quite interesting and I enjoyed learning more about the political issues of the city imperishable, which is something I don't particularly enjoy much normally.
-I liked the scenes where Jason searched for his master's whereabouts.
-The Cameleopards were very awesome and I wish we saw more of them.
-"The city is."
The less good:
-I felt the POV characters could have been a little bit more diverse. Jason and Imago felt very interchangeable to me and their fates felts also very similar with both of them having to Similarly both Jason and Bijaz had some sort of a hidden secret that showed their violent side that also felt very similar. I wished we could have followed other characters, maybe a member of any of the other factions running around. A woman's character POV would also have been nice.
-The use of the phrase "the city imperishable" is highly overused. It might be a nitpick but I felt it appeared on each pages. I liked how Viriconium is often called "the pastel city" to vary the vocabulary used in Harrison's stories and I felt I could have used in a similar way here too.
-The city itself felt a bit underdeveloped. I felt that Lake's story shined when we got to learn about the city imperishable's history: what happened to the previous ruler, the way the boxed dwarves were treated, the past history of the lord mayor, the populations outside of the city, the different factions among them etc. But these could have been developed a bit more to really make the city its own character. The boxed dwarves were shown as essential to the history of the city, with different factions and the way they were essential to some businesses and groups. But we didn't learn more about them as people despite Bijaz being one of the POV character.
-I didn't really enjoy the ending either because it felt a bit rushed.
-At the half-way point there was also a very violent that felt unnecessary.
I might pick up the sequel at some point.
I picked Jay Lake's Trial of Flowers because of its association with China Miéville's Perdido Street Station,M. John Harrison'sViriconium,, K.J Bishop'sThe Etched City, and Jeff VanderMeer's Ambergris series. In other words, books about a fantastical city. I've enjoyed all of the above and so I was eager to find something similar. There were a lot of things I liked in Trial of Flowers but also a lot of things I disliked.
The Good:
-I really liked all that had to do with the old gods, particularly the scenes of or
-The events drumming up to Trial of Flowers were also quite interesting and I enjoyed learning more about the political issues of the city imperishable, which is something I don't particularly enjoy much normally.
-I liked the scenes where Jason searched for his master's whereabouts.
-The Cameleopards were very awesome and I wish we saw more of them.
-"The city is."
The less good:
-I felt the POV characters could have been a little bit more diverse. Jason and Imago felt very interchangeable to me and their fates felts also very similar with both of them having to Similarly both Jason and Bijaz had some sort of a hidden secret that showed their violent side that also felt very similar. I wished we could have followed other characters, maybe a member of any of the other factions running around. A woman's character POV would also have been nice.
-The use of the phrase "the city imperishable" is highly overused. It might be a nitpick but I felt it appeared on each pages. I liked how Viriconium is often called "the pastel city" to vary the vocabulary used in Harrison's stories and I felt I could have used in a similar way here too.
-The city itself felt a bit underdeveloped. I felt that Lake's story shined when we got to learn about the city imperishable's history: what happened to the previous ruler, the way the boxed dwarves were treated, the past history of the lord mayor, the populations outside of the city, the different factions among them etc. But these could have been developed a bit more to really make the city its own character. The boxed dwarves were shown as essential to the history of the city, with different factions and the way they were essential to some businesses and groups. But we didn't learn more about them as people despite Bijaz being one of the POV character.
-I didn't really enjoy the ending either because it felt a bit rushed.
-At the half-way point there was also a very violent that felt unnecessary.
I might pick up the sequel at some point.
August 8, 2022
*Discussion of SA and general sexual nastiness. Spoilers too, I guess*
Dude. I-
Where do I even start with this review??
The summary on the back of the book made it sound like a simple fantasy political drama; Jason is searching for his superior to help with the magical issues plaguing his own city, and Bijaz and Imago tag along to help save the day. What it failed to mention was the snuff scene, not even 50 pages in, as well as the numerous sexual assaults littered throughout the book. Just messed up. If you need your character to be SA'ed in order to have character development, I think you need to go back to the drawing board. A lot of the scenes with action/violence were almost always paired with someone in the book getting sexual gratification, which just felt so nauseating, and so, SO unnecessary. And it's a shame because this novel did have some haunting imagery, but all of that good horror was just rendered trashy because of the constant focus on sex. For example, the scene with the child sacrifices coming back as monsters was horrifying UNTIL we had a sentence focused on describing the children's naked bodies, which made it horrifying for a completely different reason. I just felt so gross throughout this whole experience, and wish that I hadn't picked it up. The main story itself had the potential to be a really entertaining read, but the perverted-ness that infected it left this novel vile and lackluster. I don't see how anyone could read past all of that and give it a higher rating. Just gross.
Dude. I-
Where do I even start with this review??
The summary on the back of the book made it sound like a simple fantasy political drama; Jason is searching for his superior to help with the magical issues plaguing his own city, and Bijaz and Imago tag along to help save the day. What it failed to mention was the snuff scene, not even 50 pages in, as well as the numerous sexual assaults littered throughout the book. Just messed up. If you need your character to be SA'ed in order to have character development, I think you need to go back to the drawing board. A lot of the scenes with action/violence were almost always paired with someone in the book getting sexual gratification, which just felt so nauseating, and so, SO unnecessary. And it's a shame because this novel did have some haunting imagery, but all of that good horror was just rendered trashy because of the constant focus on sex. For example, the scene with the child sacrifices coming back as monsters was horrifying UNTIL we had a sentence focused on describing the children's naked bodies, which made it horrifying for a completely different reason. I just felt so gross throughout this whole experience, and wish that I hadn't picked it up. The main story itself had the potential to be a really entertaining read, but the perverted-ness that infected it left this novel vile and lackluster. I don't see how anyone could read past all of that and give it a higher rating. Just gross.
January 14, 2017
Jay Lake a castigat in 2004 a premiului John W. Campbell pentru cel mai bun Scriitor debutant in science-fiction. A mai aparut in publicatii ca Realms of Fantasy, Interzone, Strange Horizons, Asimov’s Science Fiction, and the Mammoth Book of Best New Horror. Recent m-am lovit de el in doua antologii, odata in antologia “New Weird“-ul publicata la Millennium Press, si apoi in numarul 2 al volumului “The year`s best science fiction“, aparut la Nemira. Impresia buna pe care mi-a lasat-o a fost si motivul principal pentru care m-am hotarat sa abordez o carte de-a lui. Dar si informatiile de pe Amazon au jucat un rol important. Se spunea acolo ca este o carte numai buna de abordat pentru cei ce au ramas pentru totdeauna marcati de fantasy-ul urban a lui China Miéville si Jeff VanderMeer.
Romanul este impartit in doua, Autumn of the City Imperishable si Old Gods Dance in Winter, si desi eu am crezut ca sunt doua povestiri distincte din acelasi univers, de fapt ele sunt doua capitole ale cartii.
Intreaga actiune este concentrata in jurul orasului nemuritor si urmareste destinele a trei personaje, ce reusesc de multe ori sa se intalneasca si sa porneasca in quest-uri parca inspirate din universul dungeons& dragons.
Avem un fel de contabil, Jason the Factor, un avocat decazut cu datorii in urma jocurilor de noroc, Imago of Lockwood, si pe Bijaz the Dwarf, conducatorul uneia dintre factiunile piticeşti ale orasului. Am spus uneia pentru ca orasul e macinat de conflictele dintre cei cu buzele sigilate, Sewn, condusi de Bijaz, si care au invatat sa vorbeasca printr-un limbaj special al semnelor si Slashed, cei ce au ales sa nu-si ingradeasca limbajul.
Si istoria acestor dwarfi, folositi mai ales la contabilitate deoarece erau considerati a fi foarte buni cu cifrele, este mai complicata, unii dintre ei fiind nascuti oameni normali pentru ca apoi sa fie inchisi in niste cutii speciale pentru a li se inhiba cresterea sau sunt supusi pur si simplu unor interventii chirurgicale repetate. Motivatia din spatele acestor actiuni nu este suficient de detaliata de autor asa ca nici eu nu pot intra in mai multe amanunte.
In lipsa regelui Terminus, plecat la razboi, orasul este condus de o fractiune de functionari, Burgess, intr-un mod in care nu fericeste pe multa lume. Romanul incepe cu disparitia patronului lui Jason the Factor, cel care i-a si tinut loc de tata in ultimii ani si cel putin teoretic, ar trebui sa se continue cu o intriga care sa creasca pe masura ce ne afundam in lectura.
Din pacate cartea pare ca stagneaza destul de mult, nu se intampla multe lucruri (supranaturale), doar niste atacuri la inceput, avem si zvonul unei armate ce se indreapta spre oras ( ramas la nivel de zvon cel putin in prima parte), ceva fiinte dintr-o alta lume, in rest subiectul este dominat de necesitatea lui Jason de a afla ce s-a intamplat cu Ignatius din RedTower.
Necesitate care nu concluzioneaza prea bine pentru cititor, disparitia lui Ignatius nefiind explicata mai in amanunt si ramanand multe necunoscute, romanul accentuand mai mult nevoia cetatenilor de a se sacrifica pentru a-si salva orasul si pericolul revenirii la vechile obiceiuri si odata cu acestea, Vechii Zei sa fie treziti la viata.
Trebuie avut in vedere ca nu este o carte care as recomanda-o celor mai tineri, pentru ca, in primul rand, cuprinde o serie de ritualuri si sacrificii singeroase, dublate de ceva scene explicite de viol (si nu neaparat asupra sexului frumos), si se merge chiar un pic si mai departe, accentuandu-se din plin decadenta umana.
Din punctul meu de vedere, scriitorul nu reuseste sa creeze aceeasi atmosfera fantastica, la care sa salivezi continuu, sa-ti vina sa nu mai lasi cartea din mina, pe care o gasesti in Perdido Street Station cel putin, sau in scrierile lui Jeff VanderMeer.
Personajele au farmecul lor si reusesc sa te atraga in plasa evenimentelor, insa acest lucru se intampla abia dupa ce ai patruns adanc in carte, si la un moment dat, lipsit de unele revelatii necesare, recunosc ca am ajuns sa cam stramb din nas. (de ex. cand dispare Ignatius, Jason ii gaseste o parte din ureche intr-un din camerele sale, iar pina la final, chiar daca acesta apare intr-adevar fara fragmentul respectiv nu suntem luminati despre “ce” si “cum” s-a intamplat).
Pare ca lipseste ceva, o anumita consistenta a evenimentelor, si probabil ca ar fi fost mai interesant daca s-ar fi acordat o mai mare atentie a detaliilor. Parca nici paza orasului nu e mai breaza, din denumirea scriitorului si din modul cum sunt ei descrisi par mai mult niste argati de curte boiereasca, decat o politie bine organizata si pusa la punct.
Romanul este structurat pe urmarirea separata a actiunilor fiecaruia dintre cele trei personaje principale, capitolele purtand numele acestora, multe din momentele de incheiere fiind bine dozate, facand loc unei doze suficiente de suspans pentru a te sili sa continui.
Destul de subtire mi s-a parut si momentul in care Imago, ajuns un fel de cartofor cu datorii la multi, haituit de bailiffi ( am gasit tradus ca vatafi), organul de ordine al conducerii despre care am vorbit mai sus, are parte de o “revelatie” si isi doreste cu orice pret sa devina primarul orasului, descoperindu-si subit iubirea fata de semeni si oras.
Unele personaje mi s-au parut insuficient exploatate cum ar fi grupul armat format din camelo-leoparzii calariti de arlechini, specia zburatoare Alate ce survoleaza orasul sau fiintele supranaturale care au atacat locuitorii noaptea, alaturi de alte cateva evenimente ramase cu un semn de intrebare.
Per total este o lectura fantasy mai neobisnuita si mai singeroasa decat de obicei, cu momente in care reuseste sa te captiveze dar apoi parca totul se sparge, fie ca autorul nu mai pune accent pe explicatii fie nu dezvolta destul de mult subiectul.
Totusi este o lume ce merita vizitata chiar daca comparativ cu Viriconium, Perdido Street Station, Veniss Underground, The Etched City, iese un pic mai sifonata, dovedind ca fantasy-ul a reusit sa evolueze de la povestile clasice si chiar sa-si depaseasca conditia de gen ingradit doar de anumite coordonate.
Romanul este impartit in doua, Autumn of the City Imperishable si Old Gods Dance in Winter, si desi eu am crezut ca sunt doua povestiri distincte din acelasi univers, de fapt ele sunt doua capitole ale cartii.
Intreaga actiune este concentrata in jurul orasului nemuritor si urmareste destinele a trei personaje, ce reusesc de multe ori sa se intalneasca si sa porneasca in quest-uri parca inspirate din universul dungeons& dragons.
Avem un fel de contabil, Jason the Factor, un avocat decazut cu datorii in urma jocurilor de noroc, Imago of Lockwood, si pe Bijaz the Dwarf, conducatorul uneia dintre factiunile piticeşti ale orasului. Am spus uneia pentru ca orasul e macinat de conflictele dintre cei cu buzele sigilate, Sewn, condusi de Bijaz, si care au invatat sa vorbeasca printr-un limbaj special al semnelor si Slashed, cei ce au ales sa nu-si ingradeasca limbajul.
Si istoria acestor dwarfi, folositi mai ales la contabilitate deoarece erau considerati a fi foarte buni cu cifrele, este mai complicata, unii dintre ei fiind nascuti oameni normali pentru ca apoi sa fie inchisi in niste cutii speciale pentru a li se inhiba cresterea sau sunt supusi pur si simplu unor interventii chirurgicale repetate. Motivatia din spatele acestor actiuni nu este suficient de detaliata de autor asa ca nici eu nu pot intra in mai multe amanunte.
In lipsa regelui Terminus, plecat la razboi, orasul este condus de o fractiune de functionari, Burgess, intr-un mod in care nu fericeste pe multa lume. Romanul incepe cu disparitia patronului lui Jason the Factor, cel care i-a si tinut loc de tata in ultimii ani si cel putin teoretic, ar trebui sa se continue cu o intriga care sa creasca pe masura ce ne afundam in lectura.
Din pacate cartea pare ca stagneaza destul de mult, nu se intampla multe lucruri (supranaturale), doar niste atacuri la inceput, avem si zvonul unei armate ce se indreapta spre oras ( ramas la nivel de zvon cel putin in prima parte), ceva fiinte dintr-o alta lume, in rest subiectul este dominat de necesitatea lui Jason de a afla ce s-a intamplat cu Ignatius din RedTower.
Necesitate care nu concluzioneaza prea bine pentru cititor, disparitia lui Ignatius nefiind explicata mai in amanunt si ramanand multe necunoscute, romanul accentuand mai mult nevoia cetatenilor de a se sacrifica pentru a-si salva orasul si pericolul revenirii la vechile obiceiuri si odata cu acestea, Vechii Zei sa fie treziti la viata.
Trebuie avut in vedere ca nu este o carte care as recomanda-o celor mai tineri, pentru ca, in primul rand, cuprinde o serie de ritualuri si sacrificii singeroase, dublate de ceva scene explicite de viol (si nu neaparat asupra sexului frumos), si se merge chiar un pic si mai departe, accentuandu-se din plin decadenta umana.
Din punctul meu de vedere, scriitorul nu reuseste sa creeze aceeasi atmosfera fantastica, la care sa salivezi continuu, sa-ti vina sa nu mai lasi cartea din mina, pe care o gasesti in Perdido Street Station cel putin, sau in scrierile lui Jeff VanderMeer.
Personajele au farmecul lor si reusesc sa te atraga in plasa evenimentelor, insa acest lucru se intampla abia dupa ce ai patruns adanc in carte, si la un moment dat, lipsit de unele revelatii necesare, recunosc ca am ajuns sa cam stramb din nas. (de ex. cand dispare Ignatius, Jason ii gaseste o parte din ureche intr-un din camerele sale, iar pina la final, chiar daca acesta apare intr-adevar fara fragmentul respectiv nu suntem luminati despre “ce” si “cum” s-a intamplat).
Pare ca lipseste ceva, o anumita consistenta a evenimentelor, si probabil ca ar fi fost mai interesant daca s-ar fi acordat o mai mare atentie a detaliilor. Parca nici paza orasului nu e mai breaza, din denumirea scriitorului si din modul cum sunt ei descrisi par mai mult niste argati de curte boiereasca, decat o politie bine organizata si pusa la punct.
Romanul este structurat pe urmarirea separata a actiunilor fiecaruia dintre cele trei personaje principale, capitolele purtand numele acestora, multe din momentele de incheiere fiind bine dozate, facand loc unei doze suficiente de suspans pentru a te sili sa continui.
Destul de subtire mi s-a parut si momentul in care Imago, ajuns un fel de cartofor cu datorii la multi, haituit de bailiffi ( am gasit tradus ca vatafi), organul de ordine al conducerii despre care am vorbit mai sus, are parte de o “revelatie” si isi doreste cu orice pret sa devina primarul orasului, descoperindu-si subit iubirea fata de semeni si oras.
Unele personaje mi s-au parut insuficient exploatate cum ar fi grupul armat format din camelo-leoparzii calariti de arlechini, specia zburatoare Alate ce survoleaza orasul sau fiintele supranaturale care au atacat locuitorii noaptea, alaturi de alte cateva evenimente ramase cu un semn de intrebare.
Per total este o lectura fantasy mai neobisnuita si mai singeroasa decat de obicei, cu momente in care reuseste sa te captiveze dar apoi parca totul se sparge, fie ca autorul nu mai pune accent pe explicatii fie nu dezvolta destul de mult subiectul.
Totusi este o lume ce merita vizitata chiar daca comparativ cu Viriconium, Perdido Street Station, Veniss Underground, The Etched City, iese un pic mai sifonata, dovedind ca fantasy-ul a reusit sa evolueze de la povestile clasice si chiar sa-si depaseasca conditia de gen ingradit doar de anumite coordonate.
May 7, 2024
Jay Lake måste - han gick bort i cancer 2014 - ha varit ett fan av både Mievillé, Vandermeer och Harrison. Perdido Street Station, Veniss Underground och A Storm of Wings vilar tungt över den miljö som Lake beskriver, om än att han inte har samma språkliga briljans som höjer de tre tidigare nämnda författarna över så många andra. Men han får till stämningen bra.
Intrigen börjar hyfsat enkel men blir mer och mer intrasslad ju längre man läser och ju mer fantastik som introduceras; politik, annalkande arméer och något magiskt som blir allt mer och mer påtagligt, och mer och mer farligt. Tempot är lite udda då det börjar sakta för att bygga upp den groteska värld som karaktärerna bebor men sedan, ungefär tre fjärdedelar in, går plötsligt allt mycket fortare. Det gör det snårigt att hänga med. Men det har aldrig hindrat mig från att njuta av en bok, i alla fall.
Om man gillar de tre författare som nämndes i början så är det värt att läsa även denna, men om inte så skippa.
Intrigen börjar hyfsat enkel men blir mer och mer intrasslad ju längre man läser och ju mer fantastik som introduceras; politik, annalkande arméer och något magiskt som blir allt mer och mer påtagligt, och mer och mer farligt. Tempot är lite udda då det börjar sakta för att bygga upp den groteska värld som karaktärerna bebor men sedan, ungefär tre fjärdedelar in, går plötsligt allt mycket fortare. Det gör det snårigt att hänga med. Men det har aldrig hindrat mig från att njuta av en bok, i alla fall.
Om man gillar de tre författare som nämndes i början så är det värt att läsa även denna, men om inte så skippa.
December 16, 2011
Francuski filozof, dramaturg, eseista i powieściopisarz Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt dał się poznać polskiemu odbiorcy za sprawą licznych publikacji, w tym form dłuższych i krótszych, na czele z uznanym na całym świecie „Oskarem i Panią Różą”. Choć zdania o jego twórczości są wśród czytelników podzielone, a sam autor, w sposób dość krzywdzący, często porównywany jest do Paulo Coelho, warto podjąć ryzyko i samemu przekonać się, na ile podziela się wrażliwość tego twórcy i sposób postrzegania przez niego rzeczywistości. Idealną okazją do zapoznania się z piórem Schmitta jest sięgnięcie po wznowiony przez wydawnictwo Znak zbiór „Marzycielka z Ostendy”, prezentujący pięć opowiadań skoncentrowanych wokół ludzkich marzeń i lęków. Oraz wokół miłości.
Choć opowiadania są tematycznie zbliżone do siebie, każde z nich podejmuje zagadnienie marzeń w inny sposób, każde potrafi czytelnika zaskoczyć i oczarować. Wszystkie próbują przekazać jakąś myśl, której – nawet jeśli wydaje się dość oczywista – trudno odmówić ważkości. Opowiadane historie zmuszają do tego, by w nawale codziennych obowiązków przystanąć i chwilę zastanowić się nad tym, co od zawsze tkwiło gdzieś w głębi duszy. Pisarz nie popada przy tym w tanie moralizatorstwo ani zbytnią egzaltację; przesłania są proste i przejrzyste, a przy tym chwytające za serce, zaś wnioski trzeba wysnuć samemu – zależnie od własnych przeżyć i doświadczeń.
Pod względem narracyjnym i stylistycznym Schmitt zachowuje różnorodność. Niektóre utwory zostały napisane w pierwszej, inne w trzeciej osobie. Styl bywa a to bardziej oszczędny, a to bardziej poetycki. Autor poradził sobie także z opowiadaniem, w które wplótł elementy napięcia i grozy. Środki przekazu dostosowuje do tego, co pragnie czytelnikowi przekazać – wie, jak i kiedy być przejmującym, wzruszającym, budzącym strach albo nadzieję.
„Próba kwiatów”, jeśliby chcieć określić ją w możliwie najzwięźlejszy sposób, to książka niezwykle dziwna. Łączy w sobie specyficzny niepokój i duszną atmosferę new weird z domieszką urban fantasy, aż po naleciałości literatury modernistycznej czy naturalistycznej, momentami wręcz turpistycznej. Czy taka mieszkanka może w ogóle okazać się strawna? Jay Lake udowadnia, że jak najbardziej – o ile czytelnik dysponuje silną psychiką i mocnym żołądkiem.
Powieść zaczyna się dość niewinnie – oto bowiem mamy trzech bohaterów, dwóch mężczyzn i jednego karła, a łączy ich jedno – troska o Nieprzemijające Miasto, w którym sytuacja nie wygląda najlepiej. O Imperatorze dawno temu słuch zaginął, a władzę sprawuje skorumpowane i zbiurokratyzowane Zgromadzenie Obywateli. Narasta panika związana z plotkami o zbliżającej się wrogiej armii, ponadto nasilają się noumenalne ataki. Miasto nie cieszy się już przychylnością Starych Bóstw, a miast skupić się na obronie przed zewnętrznym zagrożeniem, musi wpierw stawić czoła konfliktom wewnętrznym – sporom między dwoma frakcjami karłów, Zaszytymi i Rozciętymi. Na domiar złego, na scenę wkracza kandydat na burmistrza – mimo że od wieków nikt nie sprawował tego stanowiska – i powołując się na dawny precedens, żąda przeprowadzenia próby kwiatów.
Trzech protagonistów robi, co tylko w ich stanie, by działać dla dobra miasta, nie oznacza to jednak, że kierują nimi szlachetne pobudki lub że wyróżniają ich nieskazitelne postawy. Jest wręcz przeciwnie. Postaci bohaterów są odrażające, nie budzą w czytelniku sympatii i – choć powinno się im kibicować – trudno przychodzi sympatyzowanie z dłużnikiem, zdrajcą lub sadystą. Te obmierzłe charaktery pasują jak ulał do Nieprzemijającego Miasta – miejsca brudnego, plugawego, skażonego najgorszymi wadami ludzkimi.
Przytłaczający, duszny klimat metropolii tworzy nastrój całej powieści. Momentami trzeba się zmuszać do dalszej lektury, bowiem obrazy, które kreuje Lake, nie należą do przyjemnych dla wyobraźni. Ludzkie słabości, okrucieństwo, najbardziej wstydliwe pragnienia – wszystko to przedstawione zostało na kartach utworu. Autor nie ucieka przed dosadnymi, naturalistycznymi opisami budzącymi obrzydzenie. Można takiego zabiegu nie polubić, trzeba jednak docenić fakt, jak wspaniale udaje się Lake’owi grać na emocjach czytelnika, oddziaływać nie na jego intelekt, a na zmysły i pierwotne odruchy.
Na tym tle kuleje nieco fabuła. Wydarzenia zbyt często biegną przypadkowym torem, a kolejne poczynania bohaterów nie trzymają w napięciu. Często dochodzi do niepotrzebnych zwolnień tempa akcji. Jeśli zaś odrzemy powieść z jej zatęchłego klimatu, a postaci z negatywnych emocji, jakie wzbudzają w czytelniku – otrzymamy prostą i mało wciągającą opowieść, w której zbyt często wydarzenia rozwiązuje deus ex machina. Co gorsza, wiele elementów konstrukcji tego interesującego świata pozostaje niewyjaśnionych, a szkoda. Oliwy do ognia dolewają też błędy, które można odnaleźć na kartach „Próby kwiatów”. Już na pierwszej stronie razi w oczy brakujący przecinek, a i w dalszej części książki nie brakuje wpadek; trafił się nawet wyjątkowo paskudny błąd ortograficzny.
Warto jednak dać szansę powieści Jaya Lake’a, pozwolić porwać się wykreowanemu przez niego Nieprzemijającemu Miastu. Metropolii, która nie jest tak właściwie usytuowana w żadnej konkretnej przestrzeni, w żadnym miejscu czy czasie – a mroczne żądze i zepsute charaktery jej mieszkańców wpisują się nie tylko w ramy fantastyki. Jeśli ktoś poszukuje dekadenckiego klimatu, a nie razi go epatowanie brzydotą i okrucieństwem, powinien po „Próbę kwiatów” czym prędzej sięgnąć.
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Zarówno tę recenzję, jak i wiele innych tekstów znajdziecie na moim blogu: http://oceansoul.waw.pl/ Serdecznie zapraszam!
Choć opowiadania są tematycznie zbliżone do siebie, każde z nich podejmuje zagadnienie marzeń w inny sposób, każde potrafi czytelnika zaskoczyć i oczarować. Wszystkie próbują przekazać jakąś myśl, której – nawet jeśli wydaje się dość oczywista – trudno odmówić ważkości. Opowiadane historie zmuszają do tego, by w nawale codziennych obowiązków przystanąć i chwilę zastanowić się nad tym, co od zawsze tkwiło gdzieś w głębi duszy. Pisarz nie popada przy tym w tanie moralizatorstwo ani zbytnią egzaltację; przesłania są proste i przejrzyste, a przy tym chwytające za serce, zaś wnioski trzeba wysnuć samemu – zależnie od własnych przeżyć i doświadczeń.
Pod względem narracyjnym i stylistycznym Schmitt zachowuje różnorodność. Niektóre utwory zostały napisane w pierwszej, inne w trzeciej osobie. Styl bywa a to bardziej oszczędny, a to bardziej poetycki. Autor poradził sobie także z opowiadaniem, w które wplótł elementy napięcia i grozy. Środki przekazu dostosowuje do tego, co pragnie czytelnikowi przekazać – wie, jak i kiedy być przejmującym, wzruszającym, budzącym strach albo nadzieję.
„Próba kwiatów”, jeśliby chcieć określić ją w możliwie najzwięźlejszy sposób, to książka niezwykle dziwna. Łączy w sobie specyficzny niepokój i duszną atmosferę new weird z domieszką urban fantasy, aż po naleciałości literatury modernistycznej czy naturalistycznej, momentami wręcz turpistycznej. Czy taka mieszkanka może w ogóle okazać się strawna? Jay Lake udowadnia, że jak najbardziej – o ile czytelnik dysponuje silną psychiką i mocnym żołądkiem.
Powieść zaczyna się dość niewinnie – oto bowiem mamy trzech bohaterów, dwóch mężczyzn i jednego karła, a łączy ich jedno – troska o Nieprzemijające Miasto, w którym sytuacja nie wygląda najlepiej. O Imperatorze dawno temu słuch zaginął, a władzę sprawuje skorumpowane i zbiurokratyzowane Zgromadzenie Obywateli. Narasta panika związana z plotkami o zbliżającej się wrogiej armii, ponadto nasilają się noumenalne ataki. Miasto nie cieszy się już przychylnością Starych Bóstw, a miast skupić się na obronie przed zewnętrznym zagrożeniem, musi wpierw stawić czoła konfliktom wewnętrznym – sporom między dwoma frakcjami karłów, Zaszytymi i Rozciętymi. Na domiar złego, na scenę wkracza kandydat na burmistrza – mimo że od wieków nikt nie sprawował tego stanowiska – i powołując się na dawny precedens, żąda przeprowadzenia próby kwiatów.
Trzech protagonistów robi, co tylko w ich stanie, by działać dla dobra miasta, nie oznacza to jednak, że kierują nimi szlachetne pobudki lub że wyróżniają ich nieskazitelne postawy. Jest wręcz przeciwnie. Postaci bohaterów są odrażające, nie budzą w czytelniku sympatii i – choć powinno się im kibicować – trudno przychodzi sympatyzowanie z dłużnikiem, zdrajcą lub sadystą. Te obmierzłe charaktery pasują jak ulał do Nieprzemijającego Miasta – miejsca brudnego, plugawego, skażonego najgorszymi wadami ludzkimi.
Przytłaczający, duszny klimat metropolii tworzy nastrój całej powieści. Momentami trzeba się zmuszać do dalszej lektury, bowiem obrazy, które kreuje Lake, nie należą do przyjemnych dla wyobraźni. Ludzkie słabości, okrucieństwo, najbardziej wstydliwe pragnienia – wszystko to przedstawione zostało na kartach utworu. Autor nie ucieka przed dosadnymi, naturalistycznymi opisami budzącymi obrzydzenie. Można takiego zabiegu nie polubić, trzeba jednak docenić fakt, jak wspaniale udaje się Lake’owi grać na emocjach czytelnika, oddziaływać nie na jego intelekt, a na zmysły i pierwotne odruchy.
Na tym tle kuleje nieco fabuła. Wydarzenia zbyt często biegną przypadkowym torem, a kolejne poczynania bohaterów nie trzymają w napięciu. Często dochodzi do niepotrzebnych zwolnień tempa akcji. Jeśli zaś odrzemy powieść z jej zatęchłego klimatu, a postaci z negatywnych emocji, jakie wzbudzają w czytelniku – otrzymamy prostą i mało wciągającą opowieść, w której zbyt często wydarzenia rozwiązuje deus ex machina. Co gorsza, wiele elementów konstrukcji tego interesującego świata pozostaje niewyjaśnionych, a szkoda. Oliwy do ognia dolewają też błędy, które można odnaleźć na kartach „Próby kwiatów”. Już na pierwszej stronie razi w oczy brakujący przecinek, a i w dalszej części książki nie brakuje wpadek; trafił się nawet wyjątkowo paskudny błąd ortograficzny.
Warto jednak dać szansę powieści Jaya Lake’a, pozwolić porwać się wykreowanemu przez niego Nieprzemijającemu Miastu. Metropolii, która nie jest tak właściwie usytuowana w żadnej konkretnej przestrzeni, w żadnym miejscu czy czasie – a mroczne żądze i zepsute charaktery jej mieszkańców wpisują się nie tylko w ramy fantastyki. Jeśli ktoś poszukuje dekadenckiego klimatu, a nie razi go epatowanie brzydotą i okrucieństwem, powinien po „Próbę kwiatów” czym prędzej sięgnąć.
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Zarówno tę recenzję, jak i wiele innych tekstów znajdziecie na moim blogu: http://oceansoul.waw.pl/ Serdecznie zapraszam!
October 16, 2017
The Trail Of Flowers is a very, how to nicely say overly complicated book. Which light weight disappointed me cause I've heard this author's other works are really good. The plot line drags and doesn't ever really pick up. The world that has been developed here is intriguing but had that been fleshed out more than the intrigue I would have been more satisfied and also interested. Again it's unfortunate cause there was a lot of room for a great story in here. Also there are zero reoccurring woman characters, which is honestly also boring.
July 13, 2021
Just say no to torture porn.
I feel like there should be a warning label on books like this. There was no hint that the first 20 pages would include a dwarf masturbating while watching a young man being tortured to death - in detail.
It's too bad too, because I thought the writing was good and the story might have been interesting.
This is my 2nd 1 star book from Jay Lake, so I'm moving on.
I feel like there should be a warning label on books like this. There was no hint that the first 20 pages would include a dwarf masturbating while watching a young man being tortured to death - in detail.
It's too bad too, because I thought the writing was good and the story might have been interesting.
This is my 2nd 1 star book from Jay Lake, so I'm moving on.
May 29, 2023
I got hold of this book as part of my mission to read as many New Weird era dark fantasy books as I can and it didn’t disappoint. Strange, dark, and, of course, weird, I can understand why this book is whispered about in the same shadowy nooks as The Etched City and Perdido Street Station. I really enjoyed it.
September 3, 2021
I couldn't get past the S&M spectacle early in the book. Sigh.
January 4, 2023
Well written but a bit too much perversity for me.
July 17, 2014
The City Imperishable is the seat of a decadent former empire. The Empire is gone but the City remains ruled by an assemblage of Burgesses, an inner Counselors and a elephantine bureaucracy. Recently however, it has been plagued from without by threats of invasion from an allegedly approaching army and from within by terrifying magical attacks and the potential reemergence of long vanished Gods. Three men of the City work together to try to put things right; Jason the Factor, a businessman and servant to the City's most important and powerful Counselor, trying to discover the mystery of his friend and master's disappearance while attempting to rally the City to defend itself; Imago of Lockwood, a dissolute lawyer from a formerly noble family, struggling to revive the long vacant position of Lord Mayor of the City for himself by using a long forgotten ritual known as the Trial of Flowers, so that he can keep one step ahead of his creditors and the City's bailiffs; and Bijaz, the embittered and self-loathing leader of the City's dwarf community, sewn faction (I'll let you discover what that is if you read the book), attempting to protect both the City that he loves and which abuses he and his fellow Dwarfs. Add into the mix dark Gods, fierce tribesman, mercenaries riding what are essentially giraffes and of course the living breathing entity that is the City itself and you've got an enjoyable weird fantasy in the same vein as China Mieville. I'd add a half star because it was well written and the goings on in and around the City were tantalizingly strange. Recommended
June 18, 2009
This book has been called "urban fantasy". I wasn't sure what that was at first, and I'm still not entirely certain. Here the magic (what little there is of it) and gods (as rarely seen as they may be) are tied to the ancient sweat, blood, and legend of the countless masses who have lived and died within the city walls. Old court halls are majestic, the poorer districts smell of sewage, and dark alleys echo with the scritching of rat claws on cobble stones. There's little to be found when it comes to forests, fields, and gleaming white cities on the mountain top.
Amidst the dark, dirty setting, Lake has crafted characters I care about. I want to see them succeed, despite their (sometimes despicable) flaws. Some people won't appreciate the grim, grisly, detailed (and sometimes sexual) violence scattered throughout. This is not a book for the squeamish or easily disturbed or offended. People suffer, people hate, people are depraved (even good people). That is part of this book.
If you're at all interested in a strange, living, vivid (and dark) urban fantasy setting, I can't imagine a better place to start than with this book (although it's the first and only of its kind I've yet to read). I would quickly and happily pick up a sequel, as Lake has created a fantasy world I'd be happy to return to.
Amidst the dark, dirty setting, Lake has crafted characters I care about. I want to see them succeed, despite their (sometimes despicable) flaws. Some people won't appreciate the grim, grisly, detailed (and sometimes sexual) violence scattered throughout. This is not a book for the squeamish or easily disturbed or offended. People suffer, people hate, people are depraved (even good people). That is part of this book.
If you're at all interested in a strange, living, vivid (and dark) urban fantasy setting, I can't imagine a better place to start than with this book (although it's the first and only of its kind I've yet to read). I would quickly and happily pick up a sequel, as Lake has created a fantasy world I'd be happy to return to.
March 23, 2010
Jay Lake's Trial of Flowers starts slow, and the various viewpoints can be a bit confusing at first, but once it picks up and you get used to it things get very involving. In an ancient city besieged by mysterious and deadly magical attacks and threats of invasion, a few people try to save the city's people. This isn't your usual fantasy environment, though. Out of tradition some children are boxed to stunt their growth and altered to make them dwarfs, who seem to be made for administrative purposes but there's actually an older reason for the practice. There are two factions of them, the Sewn and the Slashed. The Sewn are the conservative, traditional faction, who keep their lips sewn mostly shut out of... crazyass tradition, I guess. Eyeless dead orphan children with long slavering tongues wander the streets literally sniffing out rebels. Mercenaries dressed as clowns ride strange mounts through the street. In one blurb Walter Jon Williams says, "Jay Lake is more inventive than a hive of meth-addicted weasels," and I have to agree. The City Imperishable feels like it has a vast history. The plot unfolds, gradually revealing the truth of what's going on. The section spent in the sewers in particular is very vivid and interesting to me.
I recommend the book, but there's some rape and sexual torture alluded to that some readers might find triggery.
I recommend the book, but there's some rape and sexual torture alluded to that some readers might find triggery.
November 3, 2016
It was okay, almost impossible to read. The city Imperishable?? More like a city I'd like to sack and burn to the ground. Honestly, this book could have been written 100000X better. It took way too long to get to the crux of the story, and when you were there you were too involved. I find that Jay Lake was too ambitious in his writing. Almost as if he wanted so much more in the book than what he had given space for. There was a lot of faffing about by characters, and descriptions that were too far fetched/hard to imagine happening. I almost wanted picture references of certain types of people in the book to help me along. However, that ending captured me. 10 pages and he had concluded the book. It took 10 pages to have me reeling and wondering what the hell I had spent a month and a half reading. Although, the camelopards (giraffes) made everything a little better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 9, 2020
Been over 10 years since I read this one. Jay Lake has a habit of being exactly up my alley, except for...well in this case it's all the rape and kinks of the main characters. I see why they're there, but, also seems kinda dated.
Other than that, so much I like.
Despite its flaws, still bumping this up from 3 stars to 4. The City Imperishable is among my favorite settings to come out of the New Weird. I look forward to finally getting around to reading the sequel, and still sad that Mr. Lake isn't around to write more.
Other than that, so much I like.
Despite its flaws, still bumping this up from 3 stars to 4. The City Imperishable is among my favorite settings to come out of the New Weird. I look forward to finally getting around to reading the sequel, and still sad that Mr. Lake isn't around to write more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2010
Interesting read. Don't know if I like it as well as the books it's compared to (Mieville and Van DeMeer for example) but very interesting indeed. This took me a long time to get into, but once I did it was excelent. I see a book title, Madness of Flowers, that I will have to investigate. I might give this 3 1/2 stars if I could, but decided to round up.
September 1, 2011
I got this out because I couldn't find mainspring :P
I liked it, kind of reminded me of China Mieville. I didn't like the torture porn though, though it did make sense in terms of the story.
Other than that, it was pretty cool, the descriptions aren't as elaborate as other writers, and you don't get as much background description, but it is good read with a solid story.
I liked it, kind of reminded me of China Mieville. I didn't like the torture porn though, though it did make sense in terms of the story.
Other than that, it was pretty cool, the descriptions aren't as elaborate as other writers, and you don't get as much background description, but it is good read with a solid story.
March 23, 2008
A book with boxed dwarves, cameleopards, debauchery, nuemenal phenomena, torture and other dark sado-mascistic acts, monsters, a matriarchal organized crime family, black sorcery, and old, cthunonic gods-- what's not to like?
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