This ARC was provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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What a refreshing read! The blurb alone was very well-written (a more uncommon feat than you'd think) and the first chapter pulled me the rest of the way in. This book is an excellent mix of my favourite mythologies, science fiction, steampunk elements and a lot of some good old mystery. As far as experimenting with genres goes, this novel has certainly succeeded in that regard.

There are very few complaints I had with this one, so I'll mention those points first. There were a couple of instances where I felt the plot lacked, but for some reason, those moments never bothered me too much. The storytelling is very well done in this and could be the reason for my disregard. I also thought the romance was a bit overdone with the gumshoe and Zephyr, however, it did not matter to me to the point that it ruined the story itself.

There were a plethora of positive points. Let's start with the pacing. I read this relatively medium-length novel in 4-5 hours, spread out over a week. Despite taking a week to read this, it never felt as if the pace had slowed down. Even in the instances when the characters themselves were resting, it never felt that way since the buildup was constant and very well written.

The main character is never named. I had finished the book when I realised how that subtracted absolutely nothing from the story and the novel as a whole.

Lastly, the characters were very well developed. The individual plot points of each separate case were well-executed and it was interesting to see how they all connected to each other.

Overall, an excellent novel that I think a lot of people will enjoy.

Overall rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Short review on Litsy

ARC provided by NetGalley and publisher.

This novel was a refreshingly great mix of genres! With memorable characters, incredible world-building and an engaging fast-paced plot, this is one that readers with different interests will enjoy.

The only complaints I had were with the romance aspect and certain plot points that could have been executed better.

Overall, an excellent read!
Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A detective noir/cyberpunk/magic/mythic mashup novel - Graham Edwards is a brilliant writer. So impressed by the "just right" touch he has with the various elements, never over-explaining but expecting the reader to keep up. His inventions and combinations are convincing, and the mix of plot and description perfect. Only let down is the stylized private investigator dialogue and 2d romantic interactions.
Having read alot of noir/sci-fi books this is the best of the lot for a long time. Look forward to reading more Edwards, will explore his back cases...

Some books you like from the first sentence, some take longer. This one I sort of had to lean to enjoy and it wasn’t until probably 50% in where I finally got used to the world of String City. Because frankly it’s a weird, weird city. Populated by Titans, deities, zombie angels, robots and all manner of creatures, mythical and otherwise coexisting kind of sort of not really because the city is on the brink of apocalypse. Only one intrepid PI stands in the way of complete chaos. Just a man, his fancy coat (seriously, I swear, I just recently read something where the main character had a magic coat like that) and his armor plated fedora and his associates, a random girl and a super awesome robot. Once again, the robot steals the show. But ok…that sounds fun, doesn’t it? So why wasn’t it a love at first chapter? Because the author overloaded the book, literally, he crammed so much into it that it just positively overwhelmed most of the time instead of, say, wowed. Plus I don’t particularly love the supernatural noir PI stories, but that’s neither here nor there. The main thing with this book was its cornucopic (let’s pretend that’s a word) kaleidoscopic maddening world building. All tied up with quantum strings no less. In fact so much string that some of it got tangled up and created a city, hence the title. It’s all very imaginative and in the end I’ve come to appreciate that aspect above all others in this book, but it’s so freaking much. Too much. It’s like if you went to a circus and every act came out at the same time on the same stage and performed simultaneously. I mean this plot rides a unicycle while juggling on a trampoline that’s spinning around while a magician is making it disappear. If an author with a wildly active imagination was given a chance to write one book and one book only, the result might be something like this. Genre wise it’s also a mash up, neo noir detective story with science fiction with fantasy. So it’s a mess, but kind of a hot mess and kind of in a good way once you get used to it. In its own way it’s very entertaining. There are a lot of original aspects, creative spins and amusing inventions. And if you are a fan of quantum physics and string theory, there are some very interesting take on that too. It didn’t quite work for me, too frenetic possibly, mixed bag of a reading experience, but it certainly had its moments. Plus there was a great robot character, which always, always elevates the story. Thanks Netgalley.

String City is billed as a mish mash of hardboiled detective and science fiction. It is, however, a Fantastic melding of far more than that as it is filled with fantasy, horror, philosophies, and horror. Like a weird western, this book is a genre-busting behemoth. It’s sort of like a giant funhouse with something new and different around every corner. It’s lots of fun if you just go along for the ride.

It’s far more Hitchhiker’s Guide than Dashiell Hammett. A bit irreverent, quirky, different. You have magic cloaks, dimension-changing dies, titans who run casinos, mindless cyclops, giant spiders,sentient sewage, reality-jumping strings, centaurs, weather-controlling robots, Thor, Zeus, games of Chance, a girl named Zephyr, half-dead giant angels, and the End of the World. In short, everything but the bloody kitchen sink.

Don’t expect everything to fit together neatly or for things not to jump around. Don’t expect answers to all your questions. Just get ready for some entertainment.

String City by Graham Edwards, a Novel way of looking at the multiverse. Felt a tad disjointed in the writing but pulled together quickly, and read like a series of interconnected short stories.

This is another science fiction private eye story (sci fi pri eye?), which is a cross-genre that has really played out for me. Nonetheless, I jumped in need on the description of a city where multiple dimensions meet and it did meet my test of having more than one idea. In fact, there were three on the first page! But it ended up being more fantasy than science fiction and I'm not fan. If we could've just had aliens instead of Greek gods, I would've been ok. Don't let that stop you, of course. This is just a matter of preference on my part.