Fantasist’s Scroll

I finished Iron Council by China Mi�ville last week.

It was good, but not quite as good as his last two.
This one dealt with an attempt to run a transcontinental railroad across Bas Lag, home of New Crobuzon. Something goes wrong and the people building the railroad rebel and become their own, moving, city. While the idea is interesting, and the descriptions of magic and struggle are compelling, the book focuses elsewhere. Specifically, it seems as if Mr. Mi�ville has a social message to impart to us. A rather anti-capitalist, socialist message.
While there’s nothing wrong with that, per se, it does take away from the story in this case. The book seems less about exploring the world of Bas Lag than either Perdido Street Station or The Scar . It is not, by any means, his best effort.
However, it was a good book. I certainly enjoyed the previous two more, but I was not sorry that I bought Iron Council and read it.

If you’re already a fan, Iron Council will be worth it. But, if you’re new to China Mi�ville, it would be better to start with either Perdido Street Station or The Scar .

Okay, now here’s a couple that I’m looking forward to getting…

The first two are game books: Serpent Kingdoms, which is a D&D supplement about reptilian races and D20 Future, which is, well, a D20 supplement for futuristic gaming. I’m looking forward to that second one, in particular, for all the cool Star Frontiers information that they’ve included. Star Frontiers was a great little science-fiction game that TSR put out back in the 80′s. It was smart, slick space-opera and it was really, really fun. So, back a couple of weeks ago when I read that Wizards of the Coast was putting all that info into the new D20 game, was really excited. Too bad that it isn’t due out until September! Luckily, Serpent Kingdoms is due out later this month.
So is my third reading list book, Iron Council, which is the third book set in the world of New Crobuzon. A very different and innovative fantasy series by an acclaimed author. It’s really a very interesting world filled with magical creatures, but not any elves! (Hooray!) This one seems to be set back in the city of New Crobuzon itself and promises to be a good one. (Okay, who am I kidding? I’m a drooling fanboy who would worship almost anything China Miéville would put out. There, are you happy?)

So, it looks like I’ll have more reading to do!