Black Man vs City: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Genetic Engineering, Science Fiction, Fiction
Black Man
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Winner of the 2008 Arthur C. Clarke Award Published as Black Man in the UK and Thirteen in North America Carl Marsalis is a traitor, a bringer of death, a genetic freak and an unwelcome reminder of all that is dark in…
City
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[Comment by John Clute][1]: We know better now, of course. But they still entrance us, the old page-turners from the glory days of American SF, half a century or so ago, when the world was full of futures we were never…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate City highest: City 4.0 · Black Man 3.7.
- City is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 11 for Black Man.
- Black Man has the widest readership — 106 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Black Man | City | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 3.7 (106) | 3.9 (87) |
| Google Books | 5.0 (1) | — |
| Apple Books | — | 4.0 (86) |
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Reception
| Black Man | City | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 106 | 87 |
| Editions | 5 | 50 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Wikipedia attention | 941 | 1268 |
| Pages | 642 | 256 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Black Man or City?
City has the higher combined reader rating across sources (City 4.0/5, Black Man 3.7/5).
Which is shorter to read: Black Man or City?
City is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: City (256 pages, ≈ 4 h 44 m); Black Man (642 pages, ≈ 11 h 53 m).
Which is harder to read: Black Man or City?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Black Man: Moderate; City: Moderate.