Book Review: THE BOOK OF ELSEWHERE

THE BOOK OF ELSEWHERE by Keanu Reeves and China Mieville (Del Rey Books, July 23, 2024) Hardcover, 352 pages ISBN # 9780593446591  

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .

The legendary Keanu Reeves and inimitable writer China Miéville team up on this genre-bending epic of ancient powers, modern war, and an outcast who cannot die.

A mind-blowing epic from Keanu Reeves and China Miéville, unlike anything these two genre-bending pioneers have created before, inspired by the world of the BRZRKR comic books

She said, We needed a tool. So I asked the gods.

There have always been whispers. Legends. The warrior who cannot be killed. Who’s seen a thousand civilizations rise and fall. He has had many names: Unute, Child of Lightning, Death himself. These days, he’s known simply as “B.”

And he wants to be able to die.

In the present day, a U.S. black-ops group has promised him they can help with that. And all he needs to do is help them in return. But when an all-too-mortal soldier comes back to life, the impossible event ultimately points toward a force even more mysterious than B himself. One at least as strong. And one with a plan all its own.

In a collaboration that combines Miéville’s singular style and creativity with Reeves’s haunting and soul-stirring narrative, these two inimitable artists have created something utterly unique, sure to delight existing fans and to create scores of new ones.

My Two-Star Rating on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     I admire and like both Keanu Reeves and China Mieville so I'll try to be as kind as possible. This is so disappointing, similar to the disappointment I felt after reading Volume One of the BRZRKR graphic novel, the series which this novel is based on. I gave the graphic novel a two-and-a-half star rating - so this is a step down.

     This is just one of those novels that fails to rise to the level of its ambitions. I'm sure the intentions were good and the premise had promise. The flashbacks to different time lines in the history of Unute (or B) the immortal god, were told from different observers’ point of view, although some were written in second person (when they featured B) which became annoying. Most were interesting, but too many were inserted at critical moments in the main story, which served to pull me back out.

     I never fully engaged with this novel and felt at many times that it might be better to shelve it as DNF (did not finish) but I persisted. If you're a fan of the BRZKR comics (I'm not) you may appreciate this more than I did as it fleshes out Unute's character and history but still leaves some essential details a mystery.

     I remember reading Mieville's PERDIDO STREET STATION, his debut novel, when it first came out and being impressed enough to consider him a future voice of science fiction. Now, I'm not so sure.