The Etched City

For such a small and compact book, K.J.Bishop packs a good deal within the pages. It starts off fairly simplistically; the setting is a desert like clime, full of nomads and barren surrounds. Gwynn a killer and Raule a healer meet up in the middle of no where, two fugitives running from a lost war, pursued by its victors.


The setting soon shifts to the city of Asamoil, a breathtaking kaleidoscope of sights and sounds. This is a city comparable to the likes of New Crozubon and Ambergris, Viroconium and any other exotic and surreal cityscape. The book certainly follows in the footsteps of Vandermeer and Mieville, yet it has its own distinctively beautiful voice, which is impossible to ignore.

The central characters of Gwynn and Raule are quite the opposite, shown in the mainstay of their profession, they share only the cause they fought for in the conflict that brought them together, now in Asamoil they have a desire to lead a new life, not on the run. This new life is one chequered by events both surreal and starkly realistic, as the strange and vivid magic of the city becomes ever more entwined with the people who live within.

Weird, magical, artistic and profound, there is something for everyone within the Etched city, as not only does Bishop write convincing and stimulating philosophical debates, but she also provides us with some gripping and bloody encounters. Delirious and often quite mad, if you like Mieville, Vandermeer, Harrison, you will most certainly love this.

The Etched City – 9/10