DNF at 10%. I simply couldn't force myself to read any more tormented, hypermasculine wartime antics. Very disappointed considering I love both China Mieville and Keanu Reeves.

This was a very interesting book, I'll be honest. Overall I didn't love it. I was bored for half of it, and like the whole God aspect sometimes had me confused. I also felt sometimes it had too many characters I had to keep up with. Like I said, I didn't love it, I didn't hate it either.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you for the ARC!! I loved this book and thought the characters and story were well written. I will be recommending this to others.

Thank you Net galley for the free ARC. I was really looking forward to this, having loved the City and the City and Railsea. Unfortunately,this was beyond me. I think it might have helped.if I had some knowledge of the BZRKR comic,.oh well.

This book was awesome! I wasn't sure at first as the prose is very poetic and difficult to understand at times but I found when I would go back and re read things later I would understand it much better. You need to wait sometimes to understand what had been happening in tge story, and I enjoyed that. The character B was well done. What would a man be like after being Alive for 80k years? Very patient, good at what he does and has lived so many different lives. There would be side stories told by people who had met him during his life which were really my favorite parts. What other people saw in this immortal man during his life. Some were lovers, some enemies, and everything in between. The character felt fleshed out and three dimensional. I would highly recommend this book to fans of the comic and action films. There is a lot of mystery and I hope they do more with the character in the future. The voices of the writers mesh well together, and I found myself thinking about this book quite a bit after I wad finished.

I enjoyed this, but I’m worried it’s not going to find the right readers who will love it. I’m worried Keanu Reeves movies fans are going to pick this up, and it’s not the most accessible speculative fiction work. And then on the other hand, China Miéville fans might pick it up, and especially at the beginning, the premise seems super pedestrian (a supersoldier who is pretty much invincible is part of a team with regular, mortal soldiers). So you start out the book with a fairly lowbrow story but with highbrow writing, and I think lots of folks will abandon this after the first chapter or two.

I do think this is worth sticking with for weird lit lovers: the story grows much more complex over time, and when you’re about a quarter of the way through, it really gets interesting with lots of smaller narratives weaving into the story of Unute. There is very little telling and lots and lots of showing, and the authors haven’t made this one easy to digest. But I think it’s worth it, and I’ve found myself telling kind of a lot of people about this book even if I’m not sure they’ll love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House!

"The Book of Elsewhere" is a compelling blend of action and philosophy that stands out in the sci-fi genre. Reeves and Miéville have created a unique story that explores immortality and its consequences.

The writing is vivid and engaging, balancing intense action sequences with thoughtful introspection. B's character is well-developed, and his struggle with eternal life is both fascinating and relatable.

While the plot can be challenging to follow at times, patient readers will find it rewarding. The novel raises intriguing questions about existence and mortality that linger after the last page.

For fans of unconventional sci-fi and thought-provoking narratives, "The Book of Elsewhere" is a must-read. It's a fresh take on immortality that keeps you guessing until the end.

This book has been a challenging read for me. On a positive note, I did enjoy the story and characters enough to read the entire book. On the downside, the writing style changes so much throughout the novel. It begins with the simplest of prose that would offend even the youngest reader but halfway through transitions to the dryness of a nonfiction science book. I was left with reading whiplash after the changes in tone and character view points that were poorly called out. The book is worth reading, but unfortunately it was such a chore to read the book once that I do not think I will ever do so again.

The Book of Elsewhere was a fantastic sci-fi book, and it was definitely not an easy read. I had to pause while reading multiple times just to stare at a wall and process everything, but ended the book absolutely obsessed with it. I desperately need this made into a movie that stars Keanu Reeves as Unute.

Thank you for the opportunity of an eARC, and I am leaving this review willingly.

"The watcher glimpsed spine through the burned cave where the man’s chest had been. Saw the motion of innards, like fish troubled by light."

I am a HUGE China Miéville fan. When I heard about this novelization of Keanu's BRZRKR I screamed with joy. China Miéville is the perfect co-author for this project. Reading his work is like written anime. His writing is a lifeform apart from the story. For example, if Aeon Flux or Kill Bill vibe could be showcased by a artist verbally that would be a bland comparison to Miéville's style. Frankly I feel bad even trying to make a comparison because there is nothing that truly compares to his writing. He is the king of top-shelf weird, a complex verbal wordsmith. He's a mad linguistic genius. If you cannot visualize what you're reading or if you just plainly want the story then this author won't be for you. He is a master of verbiage. You have to be able to slowly read, think and savor his words. You cannot rely solely on reviews to decide whether you will read this or not either. It's a whole experience and not every reader will "get it".

The Book of Elsewhere is, in short, an intelligent, challenging, magnificent display of gore with a thought provoking journey attached. It's an instant cult classic in my opinion. I could not have asked for better. I am the target audience for this book and it hit it's mark. Bravo gentlemen. I've already bought tickets to an event, a signed copy and a Waterstones exclusive edition. This was a joy to read and a nice break from other basic books.

“I kill and kill and kill again,” he said. “And the truth is, I would like to rest or, and, to do something other, other than kill that is, or at least to have the choice so to do, but no, the killing always comes back and overtakes me. And sometimes, not frequently but many times over the course of my life, I die. And it hurts. And it is a bloody business. And I feel every blow. Every cut through flesh. I feel the scorch and blast of every bomb. “And then I come back."

It's rare that I find a book that I struggle to get into as much as I did with this one. It is written more like a movie than a book and would be much easier to see than to read and try to picture in your mind.

The concept was interesting enough to keep me reading but it feels like a mini-series saga that was condensed to a 90 minute screening.

The end of the story didn't feel like a conclusion ... and due to the premise ... maybe it can never really end. Tough to recommend this one unless you are a huge Keanu Reeves fan.

The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Mieville is a sci-fi, fantasy, speculative, epic tale of huge proportions. It was dense and challenging in many ways- emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. An immortal warrior called Unute and now known as “B” reminded me a bit of John Wick and I love John Wick. While working in US black ops and harboring a desire to die, he has lived too long but is written creatively and brilliantly. I felt like I was not quite smart enough to really grasp all the intricate pieces but I was fascinated by and propelled forward. By the end, I was so completely engrossed that I really didn’t care how it ended. This book was spectacular.
5 stars – Pub. Date: 7-23-24
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Del Ray for the eARC and the opportunity to read and review The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Mieville.

Throughout history books, plays & movies have been written involving a human seeking immortality. In these, the human isn’t necessarily seeking other God-like powers, just the ability to avoid death and live forever.

The Book Of Elsewhere asks the previously unasked question: What would the life of an otherwise (mostly) normal human look like if they were immortal? And had been for as long as man has walked the earth.

A fascinating question indeed, and worthy of speculating on. And this book does a (mostly) worthy job of it.
I’ll admit that around 30% of the way into it, I struggled a bit; something about the pacing, the story, or the way the story was being told had me dreading needing to finish this book. (Since I’m reviewing an Advance Review Copy supplied to me, I feel an obligation to finish). But either because I buckled down and cleared my schedule & lifted my own reading pace, or it simply got better, my feelings about it dragging diminished.

Only as the book approaches its ending does it finally incorporate a little philosophical rumination, but when it does it asks, and speculates on a few good points. Such as “Do you not know that someone who attempts to kill death will not do well out of it?” Or, simply immersing the reader in a moment where the sheer relentlessness of immortality can lead one’s mind to near-insanity, or moments of despair. Or the sheer loneliness of thinking one is the only immortal, ever. Might that one want to eventually be mortal, want to be at risk of dying?

As a Christian, I guess I wouldn’t recommend this book to someone who has built their Christian theological castle on sand. I’d want to be confident they are on solid ground, and their faith is not threatened by a fictional story of an immortal non-God.

Why not a five-star book?,because my rating scale reserves those for books that I crave to read again, so I can get even more from them. I didn’t crave picking up this book to read it - especially in that slow time I mentioned above. So it deserves a good score, just not my best. Four (+) stars.

THE BOOK OF ELSEWHERE, by Keanu Reeves and China Mieville, is the story of B, a seemingly immortal being who is ready to die. B has lived thousands of years and has died many times, but has always mystically come back to life. Above all else, B is tired of living and seems to go through his never-ending life with a sense of begrudging obligation. B has been supporting a black-ops group for years, which in return the group is trying to find out more about him and maybe how to help him end his long life. Their research uncovers secrets that B either never knew or completely forgot about and those secrets provide clues to what B is. Who else knows about him is a much bigger conspiracy than anyone knew. Will B get his wish or will he be doomed to never leave this earth?
I appreciate the uniqueness of this story because while there is a little Highlander vibe to it, there is so much more going on and, quite frankly, more interesting to me. B is a reluctant anti-hero who seems to operate with a weariness but still a strong purpose to help humanity where he can. The plot moves in jolts, like its in stop and go traffic, which can be jarring and hard to keep up with. The main characters, aside from B, are interested and three dimensional, but most all of the supportive people are forgettable and just seem like generic placeholders to progress the story. What the book has going for it, though, is when the plot really gets going in the last third or so of the book, things get exciting and the surprising reveals start coming fast and furious.
While THE BOOK OF ELSEWHERE wasn't my favorite book and it had its issues, I did enjoy it and I would recommend this book to action, sci-fi, and thriller readers.

3.5/5 stars

This was a wild ride of a book. I think since this book was inspired by the world of BRZRKR, that took away from the book for me. But this was such in interesting story that twisted and turned.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book and opportunity to read it before release!

It feels wrong to rate a Keanu Reeves’ book as 1 star, but this book was a serious slog to get through. The narrative is unnecessarily unfocused and confusing, and I usually appreciate beautiful, wordy prose even if the story is slow.

Unfortunately, I could not finish this book, as it seemed to go nowhere. I would say look elsewhere for your next pick, even if you are a Keanu Reeves’ fan (which I still am!).

Thanks, NetGalley for providing an ARC for review.

Another difficult one to rate. This was not an easy book to read. Tbh I see many DNF because many don’t really want to put the work in to not just read but absorb and connect a twisting, disjointed narrative. So, while this was a challenging read I still enjoyed it. The story is super jumpy to the point where it’s difficult to always understand if what’s happening is current or not.

The interludes were some of my favorite parts. It’s a bit hard connecting to the main narrative at time, but still they brought a really interesting element.

The characters were well written and didn’t feel cliche. I would definitely be willing to read more by this duo moving forward, but I hope they can make it a bit more accessible to reach a wider audience.

Recommended to those who don’t mind a book that takes some work to digest. I definitely had to do some re-reading of passages at times.

I haven't read any of the comics that led to this book, but the plot summary sounded like weird, chaotic fun - and it was! I initially was a little lost, but I trusted the process and was pleasantly surprised by this story. The book never slowed down, and I loved how action-packed it was. Even though this isn't a typical genre that I read, I enjoyed reading something wildly different.

3.5 stars
I occasionally read science fiction although it is not my bread and butter. I have read a book by China Miéville which I enjoyed. My son has been reading the comic series by Keanu Reeves, which he has enjoyed and we read a lot of the same or similar books. That being said, I decided to give it a try. I found the book a bit difficult to get into in the beginning. And the long run on sentence, stream of consciousness, threw me off and also irritated me. As I got further into the book, I started to enjoy it more. The story of Unute , AKA B , was interesting. A man who dies and is reborn again and again. He is currently working with a Black Ops type of group that is trying to figure him out. The story was interesting but I was not enamored with it. For those with a stronger affection for science fiction, this might be a better fit. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read it!

This started out as a really interesting read, but the further I progressed, the less I understood what was going on. Overall, a good start, but I just didn't understand it.