The Book of Elsewhere - Keanu Reeves & China Miéville

The Book of Elsewhere

By Keanu Reeves & China Miéville

  • Release Date: 2024-07-23
  • Genre: Action & Adventure
Score: 3.5
3.5
From 27 Ratings

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An “action-packed [and] profoundly stylish” (Los Angeles Times) 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

“[The Book of Elsewhere is] a pulpy, adrenaline-fueled thriller, but it’s also a moody, experimental novel about mortality, the slippery nature of time, and what it means to be human.”—The New York Times

“An exceptionally innovative collaboration from two remarkable minds.”—William Gibson, author of Neuromancer

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.

Reviews

  • Great and creative book that digs deep into the immortal hero.

    5
    By icybubba
    The book had a little bit of a choppy start for me (hard to follow) but I am so glad I stuck with it. Once the story got rolling I couldn’t put the book down. An interesting, creative and entertaining take on this immortal warrior. Loved the story!
  • Had to Read Again I Loved It So Much

    5
    By nowheremanphotos
    While Keanu Reeves gets most people’s attention (and it definitely grabbed me an made me want to read it) this book reads like a China Mieville novel, which is not everyone’s cup of tea. It is dark, weird, and esoteric. The “action” of having an immortal berserking super-soldier gets thrust into the background in favor of a pychological and philosophical mystery about what it means to be immortal and what that does to the body and minds of the people around them. The story takes a very long meandering journey but the characters you encounter throughout time weaves a really rich and full story.
  • Needs an editor!

    3
    By Martholomeow
    I love China Mieville, and i love Keanu Reeves. But they love themselves a bit too much. This book is way too long! I have made it about halfway through, and normally i love an epic tome of a sci-fi novel, but unfortunately this one just goes on way too long without really going anywhere. Entire chapters could and should have been cut, but nope. If it had been edited better, and cut down to half the number of pages it would have been much better. But as it is, i’m not going to continue wasting my life wondering when this will get more interesting.
  • It’s a really cool book!

    5
    By Jays job
    I also bought the because of Keanu’s name attached and I was not disappointed. I don’t understand the negative reviews. Maybe they just didn’t read the whole thing. I didn’t “slog” through any of the book. It was a VERY enjoyable story and written very well. Interesting and thought provoking throughout. I would not hesitate to recommend reading this book. It’s very cool!
  • What is this?

    1
    By DrMcDougall
    Yes bought it because of Keanu - their collaboration feels like it was originally written in another language and then they couldn’t get a decent inverter - words make little sense, words in other languages I guess,sentence structure is horrendous - I try rereading passages and pick up the basics of what I think is going on - like the premise but the story slogs through - I’m trying to make it, but most likely I may end up not caring… don’t buy it, unless you like challenges without hope… save yourself…
  • Oh man… bad. Very very bad

    1
    By MarkWhiteLotus
    The author had me. Super disappointed. The language alone made this a slog and nearly incomprehensible.