Orca-riding badass warrior fighting the mush

 

Cool book cover.

Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller

The word is potential. This book has plenty and I find it hopeful that more stories could be set in the same world. From my very comfortable chair, I think it was a bit all over the place. The city as a character itself, that is nice, I liked it a lot in other books before; here it is a little off and that is the perception I had all along. Don’t get me wrong, the worldbuilding is very good, the city is interesting but at its core it isn’t anything new, a lot of aspects are very simply translated to modern contra parts, which is not bad in itself, it just doesn’t go beyond and it kind of pulls off the excitement that begins to build.

The story shares a similar dynamic. It starts very slow in a way, not for lack of action or perspectives, but it feels all over the place too. It has promising characters, but again, not solid, they are competing a lot with the city as a character, a vehicle for it to take form, making them less defined, not that it should be one way or another. Halfway it gives a very good grip, the flow starts to pull and takes shape, the story and characters have consistency and a firm ground, to lose it again at the end, the characters turning into a complete mush, very frustrating here.

All that said, it is important to say that the characters are awesome. A lesbian warrior riding an orca? They sure are! Interesting and exciting, I wish they were more developed, I would love to read more about them, there is a lot of promise here.

In my very subjective opinion, I just like more characterization than flashy stunts. No need to go very deep, just more solid and consistent.