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 .

I just finished reading The Scar by China Mieville this weekend.

It was quite as satisfying as his last book, Perdido Street Station. Quite different in character, though. In fact, The Scar, despite its name, was a bit more upbeat than Perdido Street Station. One odd thing, though… The cover mentioned a character from Perdido Street Station, namely Issac Grimnebulin, but he never shows up in the book at all, except as on off-hand reference. But, that aside, it was quite good. And, now, with spoilers in place, here’s a run down of the plot.
The Scar opens with one Bellis Coldwine, a linguist, waiting for her ship to dock. She’s a linguist in the sense of being a polyglot as well as someone who studies languages. In fact, she uses a kind of trance and magic to learn languages much more quickly than a normal person would. This, actually, was one of many interesting concepts thrown out.
Very quickly, though, our heroine is thrown into turmoil as her ship is hijacked by pirates and she, and her fellow crewmates, are press-ganged into a floating, pirate city called Armada. Then, the plot takes a definate turn. It gets ever more fantastic from here on. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.
Our heroine is not very pleased at being assimilated into this free-booter’s city, especially since her only other option is death. There is no going home for her. And, in part as rebellion against that death sentence, she gets involved in a plot. A plot, she thinks, that is meant to save her city, the New Crobuzon of Perdido Street Station, from terrible water demons, the near-mythical grindylow. Along the way, her linguistic talents are used to summon up a mythical sea-beast which is meant to pull Armada through the sea. Of course, things don’t work out like anyone plans.

It’s a rolling, rollicking fun-filled adventure with pirates on the high-seas! Okay, not really. It’s dark, morose and about illusions shattered by soulless agents of the government in their merciless quest for a little more power and money. Very gritty. Very realistic. Very good.

I finished Perdido Street Station this week.

My earlier appraisal of it’s literary merit has been born out. This is possibly the most interesting fantasy book I’ve read in the past five years. I guess that’s why it’s won awards, eh?
Now, I’m going to talk plot, so if you’d like to avoid any spoilers, just skip this until later.

The book starts off with quite a lot of wandering around New Crobuzon, where the story takes place. But, there is plenty of action to keep the reader interested, so I didn’t really mind, even though it went on for almost 200 pages. The entire book, after all, is over 700 pages, so 200 setting up the story isn’t really that bad. And, in that 200 pages, China Mieville sets up several plots and sub-plots. But, it’s a bit further before the reader figures out which one is the main plot.
The first of the two dueling sub-plots involve a flightless bird-man, called garudas, named Yagharek. He’s had his wings sawed off as a punishment by his tribe for some unknown crime. He’s come seeking a rogue scientist named Issac Grimnebulin who can help him fly again. Or, so he hopes.
The second sub-plot, which becomes the main thrust of the action, is a result of Issac’s “reasearch” into flight for Yagharek. He accidentally acquires a very deadly moth in it’s caterpillar phase. He raises the moth, mainly out of curiosity, and accidentally releases it on the city.
These two plots continue through out the book, constantly intertwined to a greater or lesser degree. Issac and Yagharek are joined by a motley crew of compatriots and temporary allies as they try to solve both the problem of flight and the destruction of a deadly, mind-stealing moth. Along the way, they make numerous discoveries, meet with tragedy, and find renewed hope.

It’s a very interesting and thought provoking book. And worth every last page of the 710.

Interesting fiction.

I’m currently reading Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. So far, it’s living up to the fabulous reviews. The novel is set in a very different setting, especially for fantasy. I don’t think I’ve ever read a good fantasy novel set in an industrial city setting before. And, I have to say, that he handles the setting very, very well. Which is why he’s won awards, I guess, eh?
In any case, I’m about half-way through and loving every minute of it. I was a little intimidated by the heft of the book, but it’s really been a pleasure to read and has gone fast. In fact, I’m hard pressed to remember the last time I really looked forward to reading this much.

Stay tuned for a full review when I’m done.