Thanks for all the interesting replies! Given the response, I decided to make a whole community around this, hope you’ll consider joining!
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If I love “unreliable shifting cities” narratives, like Dark City, Fallen London and the City of Saints and Madmen books, what similar kinds of settings might I like?
I’m not familiar with those, so this might be a bad suggestion, but the short description makes me think this may still fit, have you read The City & the City by China Miéville?
It’s set in two overlapping cities, whose inhabitants diligently disregard the other city’s until they formally cross the borders, and it’s a crime to do otherwise. It’s a pretty compelling read imo!
I haven’t but it sounds like I should. Thanks for the rec!
Kraken, also by Mièville, is also somewhat of a match; as well as Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.
There was an okay-ish TV adaptation, it’s on Britbox or freevee with ads.
I stumbled across this the other week while trying to find the name of the book invisible cities and gave it a watch because the trailer reminded me of Disco Elysium.
Without knowing the original novel, I thought it was really compelling and entertaining, with my only major critique being the pacing of the final episode, but equally 4 episodes is such an easy commitment that I’d absolutely recommend the show if you aren’t in the mood to pick up a book.
If an unreliable shifting house would work, House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. The writing is very much love it or hate it for a lot of people, but the idea fits.
Edit: Oh! And House of Windows by John Langan. No relation despite the similar titles.
I did love House of Leaves!
Dark City is amazing, I recommend that movie whenever I get the chance.
Hell yes. Man, the 90s even into the early 2000s we had some freakin great wierd movies. 1999 might be the best year ever for movies.
I don’t think we will ever see an era like that again.
Maybe Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente? Her Orphan’s Tales have some interesting cities too, but that’s a bit of a stretch.
Again, not just one city, but take a look at Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino - it was a direct inspiration for Fallen London.
China Miéville might be worth checking out - go for either the City and the City or for Perdido Street Station.
Not a city but Cube
perhaps too literal though.
Have you tried Neverwhere [tv series, novel, comic] by Neil Gaiman?
Just the novel, but yes, it is great! Is the TV series good?
I saw the tv series first (the book came later) and really enjoyed it. I think some of the special effects are dated and … I’m not sure but, like, when I read the book, the tv characters had already been established in my brain as canonical, so I saw and heard those characters as I read the book. In cases where I’ve read the book first, sometimes I have my own version of canonical characters in my brain and it can be hard for me to accept those characters if I really loved the book and the on-screen depiction is very different. And the opportunity for a disconnect (and disappointment) between versions just increases when you’re dealing with a world that varies (yet is so dependent) on our own.
tl;dr: you might find it disappointing because it doesn’t ‘match’ the world you read, or because of some of the effects. But I absolutely loved the series, both at the time and still now - I watched it again just over the summer.
Such a good point about accepting the character in TV and movie adaptation. It can really increase the risk of not liking the adaptation
There was a pilot of a series that was never developed, called Parallels. People travelling in parallel versions of earth through a building. Obviously it ends up on a cliffhanger, but I loved it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallels_(film)
Trying to find some other suggestions, maybe the movie Vivarium?
Was sure somewhere in the back of my mind I had something that fit exactly
I had never heard of it before, but I just looked it up and the setting sounds perfect. Thanks!
Neverwhere, the book I think you would like.
Maybe Labyrinth or Time Bandits. They both had some 4D changing terrain.
Hazy memory that Clive Barkers NightBreed had similar too.