China Miéville/Bas-Lag megathread

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Hedrigall: Mar 27, 2008; by vyelkin

Here's a lovely diversion:

Dispatches from a Troubled City: Art Inspired by the Works of China Miéville

Featuring posters, drawings, paintings, sculptures and more. Some really really great stuff there.

# ? Aug 3, 2010 01:22

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 17:08

Magnificent Quiver: May 8, 2003

Oasx posted:

About 100 pages into Kraken, liking it so far, but its written in a strange way, makes it a little hard to read.

I've only read about 100 or so pages, but two of the characters in particular never seem to finish their sentences, address subjects other than the current conversation, and in general talk in an awkward, hard-to-read way. I get that there's probably a good reason for it, but it's kind of a pain.

# ? Aug 4, 2010 05:01

Evfedu: Feb 28, 2007

Picked up Looking For Jake from my local library the other day and The Familiar is body horror at it's best. Fantastic. I love his view of our world as something tenuously perched on top of limitless gothic horror and weirdness.

# ? Aug 4, 2010 19:18

Hedrigall: Mar 27, 2008; by vyelkin

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/08/china-mieville-takes-comic-con

Tor.com posted:

The second panel opened with a reading of his short story The Rope is the World. It is a tale about crumbling technology, isolation, and ignorance and how we as a society both perpetuate and rally against these things. The jump quote came from this story; the Rope was one of eleven space elevators built up like spokes on a massive wheel, populated, then left to decay into obsolescence as newer and shinier technology drew away attention. It is not a story of frenetic action, and the only character in any real sense is the Rope, but it is haunting and moving and left me dying to know about the millions of people left to die abandoned and alone thousands of feet above the Earth.

Some newsworthy-ish facts popped out during the Q&A: he’d like to write historical fiction and a military thriller but with science fiction/fantasy elements, as well as something set in Providence, RI as his girlfriend lives in said city and he spends a great deal of time there. Embassytown is set to be published in the summer of 2011, as is an RPG, the short story Looking For Jake is verbatim a dream of his, there is more YA fiction in the pipeline, several of his works have been optioned but nothing is set in stone yet, and his current literary obsession is White Is for Witching by Helen Oyeymi.

# ? Aug 4, 2010 22:39

qwako: Sep 11, 2009

He.. has a girlfriend :cry:

# ? Aug 5, 2010 18:13

Portable Staplefrog: May 21, 2007

I started Kraken the other day despite promising myself I'd finish PSS first. I like it so far, although it's missing some of the bizarreness I was hoping for. I have a feeling that will change soon.

# ? Aug 9, 2010 22:05

SaviourX: Sep 30, 2003; The only true Catwoman is Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether, or Eartha Kitt.

Oh you have no idea.

# ? Aug 11, 2010 03:17

Pompous Rhombus: Mar 11, 2007

SaviourX posted:

Oh you have no idea.

Much love for Goss and Subby.

# ? Aug 11, 2010 03:24

Oasx: Oct 11, 2006; Freshly Squeezed

I just finished Kraken, it does get easier to read once you get past the first part, and really it is mostly Goss and Subby that dont often make sense, which is the point i assume.
I really liked it, but its probably the weakest China Miéville book i have read, it just doesnt seem to "flow" as well as his other books, and doesnt have same feel as with the Bas Lag novels that are impossible to put down once you start.

# ? Aug 11, 2010 07:33

Portable Staplefrog: May 21, 2007

SaviourX posted:

Oh you have no idea.

I made that last post while reading the chapter before Goss and Subby appear. "You ferocious little whatnot," is my new favorite insult.

# ? Aug 11, 2010 21:45

Thug Lessons: Dec 14, 2006; I lust in my heart for as many dead refugees as possible.

Z. Autobahn posted:

More thoughts regarding the ending of Perdido Street Station:

I think the ending is definitely jarring, but in many ways crucial to what the book is trying to say. On a fundamental level, the novel is about justice, or more specifically, injustice, the fallibility of the idea of justice; nearly every page has some form of institutionalized injustice, some perverted understanding of the idea of retribrution, whether it's the Remade or the Garuda understanding or the abuses of the militia or the fact that Motley is allowed to operate with full impunity, etc. It's not just the simple anti-establishment raging of a lot of fantasy; in many ways, I think, Mieville is questioning the very idea of institutionalized "justice" as anything but a means of oppression, and sees collective individual understanding as the only alternative; let's not forget that Mieville is also a fairly prominent Marxist thinker. It's important to remember that just about everything that goes wrong in the book is the direct result of Isaac's actions, whether it's through carelessness (the slakemoth) or moral justification (the sacrifice of the innocent old man). This is not to say that Isaac is a villain, but simply that he is, at the outset of the book, a purely individualistic character, driven by his own pursuits and desires, with little consideration for others; he pays lip service to social justice, but does not really do anything about it. He invents world-changing technologies with little consideration for precisely how they will change the world (just think of what the New Crobuzon authorities would do with his crisis engine once they got their hands on it!). So in a sense, his decision at the end has less to do with the nature of rape (I have no doubt if Yag had said up front "I raped someone", Isaac would've still helped him) or about the trauma that seeing Lin destroyed has had on him (though of course, that was a main part), as it is about Isaac submitting himself to the justice of another, to seeing that it is fundamentally not his place to judge whether Yag should or should not fly, that he is merely one facet of a complex and dangerous social matrix and humbly accepting the limitations of his own judgment and vision. Hence the title, "Perdido Street Station": the nexus of the social matrix of the city.

In short, Mieville's a total commie, and the book is about the end of individualist thinking and the birth of social consciousness and awareness. You might not be crazy about it, but to suggest the ending "comes out of nowhere" misses the central arc of the story.

You're on the right track here, but you're missing a couple of pieces that critically impact the book's message.

Early on in the book, Isaac goes and talks to some knowledge priest to learn more about the garuda. Here, Miéville describes their society as "completely individualistic". What distinguishes their individualism from the individualism of someone like Isaac - or, for that matter, all people in a capitalist society - is that they exist as individuals intimately connected with, and in fact inseparable from, their society. Under capitalism, everyone is alienated from one another as well as from themselves, and individualism takes on a destructive form as demonstrated by Isaac's careless disregard for the lives of those around him or the callous greed of Rudgutter and Motley. So it's not really so simple as conflict between individualism and collectivism, but rather a condemnation of "dog eat dog" selfishness, the garuda's (as well as Marx's) "abstractness", masquerading as genuine individualism.

With that in mind, the ending takes on new meaning. But first, we have to consider Isaac's motivations in refusing to help Yagharek. You see this as him submitting to garuda justice, (and he does in fact consider this in his internal monologue while making the decision,) but ultimately "he could not convince himself" based on this line of reasoning. He chooses to abandon Yagharek because to do otherwise seemed, to him, a tacit endorsement of an intolerable crime.

This is the first wholly individual decision that Isaac makes in the whole novel. He initially decides to aid Yagharek for a number of reasons. It's partly out of his own curiosity, partly out of compassion for someone who he sees as the victim of a savage and unjust punishment, and partly for the greatest sum of gold he's seen in his life. This dominates the first half of the novel, until the escape of the slake moth and Isaac's struggle to rescue the city. Here again, he does not make an individual decision. He feels responsible, (although the argument can be made that the true responsibility lies elsewhere), and is compelled to correct that mistake. He adopts a utilitarian ethic that leads him to ever-increasing sacrifices, culminating with murder and Lin's final violation. This is the final consequence of bourgeois individualism: the exploitation of others, and the ruin of the self.

When Isaac decides that he cannot help Yagharek, he is saying "Enough. I refuse to condone and participate in your brutal system." And in doing so, he frees himself to become a whole man, his own man, rather than a tool to enact the will of others.

It's this that makes Perdido my favorite of Miéville's novels. It has the most substantial, coherent and compelling philosophy, and also one that I happen to share. It's deeply revolutionary, but expresses this sentiment in a personal and compassionate way that's easy to miss in the writings of Marx, Lenin and Mao. It's neither the dispassionate academics of their scholarly works nor the partisan polemics of their agitprop, but rather an examination of the spiritual, human consequences of industrial-driven alienation that too often goes ignored. But you don't have to be a communist to appreciate this, just like you don't have to be a Christian to take inspiration from the Bible. Take what you can from it. You might not agree with the politics, but there's something admirable regardless.

# ? Aug 12, 2010 01:50

Turpitude: Oct 13, 2004; Love love love

be an organ donor; Soiled Meat

That was a really awesome post Thug Lessons, thanks for writing it!

# ? Aug 12, 2010 02:12

priznat: Jul 7, 2009; Let's get drunk and kiss each other all night.

Yeah, that was a great summation of Isaac's motivations. Now I want to read PSS again with that in the back of my head!

Also would like to re-read TC&TC soon.. It's one that I thought about a lot after reading and I want to read it again after just having read Kraken.

# ? Aug 12, 2010 18:57

Magnificent Quiver: May 8, 2003

Oasx posted:

I just finished Kraken, it does get easier to read once you get past the first part, and really it is mostly Goss and Subby that dont often make sense, which is the point i assume.
I really liked it, but its probably the weakest China Miéville book i have read, it just doesnt seem to "flow" as well as his other books, and doesnt have same feel as with the Bas Lag novels that are impossible to put down once you start.

I realize that Mieville excels at developing incredible, surreal worlds for his books and that the character development often suffers, but Kraken was really a bit too much. It wasn't *that* surreal, but I never ended up liking a single character. Billy's "Who? What" What am I doing here? What is - What's th- What's going on? How is this-" act went on for far too god drat long.

# ? Aug 12, 2010 21:54

SaviourX: Sep 30, 2003; The only true Catwoman is Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether, or Eartha Kitt.

^^^^
Which is still better than Neverwhere, when it comes down to it.

Thug Lessons: That's a hell of a reading, but still kind of steeped in Freshman PoliSci. Then again, that's kind of what Mieville inserts into his novels, so I can't blame him.
On the opposite tip, he's conscious of how much collectivism gets hosed over by the man, but he has no sentiment about it, or sympathy to one side or the other. Runagate Rampant still exists, but almost nobody gives a gently caress about it. The Underclasses save New Crobuzon, but they get monumentally hosed up because of it. The government is opressive. Even in IC, when the workers seize the means of production, nothing actually comes of it because there's nothing they can do on a larger scale, and those with power and capital come down on them hard as they can.

I think Mieville's themes are more like dissent is important, and labour needs to be treated as equally as creative or scientific endeavor, but any sort of forceful uprising is always going to be essentially useless and stomped out hard. So, having characters that recognize the importance of individuals vs collective is alright, but anyone that acts in anything more than a small group is only bringing about more upset for little change.

# ? Aug 12, 2010 23:58

Mrs. Badcrumble: Sep 21, 2002

SaviourX posted:

^^^^
Which is still better than Neverwhere, when it comes down to it.

Thug Lessons: That's a hell of a reading, but still kind of steeped in Freshman PoliSci. Then again, that's kind of what Mieville inserts into his novels, so I can't blame him.
On the opposite tip, he's conscious of how much collectivism gets hosed over by the man, but he has no sentiment about it, or sympathy to one side or the other. Runagate Rampant still exists, but almost nobody gives a gently caress about it. The Underclasses save New Crobuzon, but they get monumentally hosed up because of it. The government is opressive. Even in IC, when the workers seize the means of production, nothing actually comes of it because there's nothing they can do on a larger scale, and those with power and capital come down on them hard as they can.

I think Mieville's themes are more like dissent is important, and labour needs to be treated as equally as creative or scientific endeavor, but any sort of forceful uprising is always going to be essentially useless and stomped out hard. So, having characters that recognize the importance of individuals vs collective is alright, but anyone that acts in anything more than a small group is only bringing about more upset for little change.

Er, I think his whole point, especially in Iron Council, is that uprisings and resistance are important and 'useful' even if they do not succeed in overthrowing the entire world power structure. He is precisely sympathetic with the revolutionaries in his books even if he doesn't portray them as perfect Mary Sues.

# ? Aug 13, 2010 14:07

CrimsonGhost: Aug 9, 2003; Who watches The Watcher?

Magnificent Quiver posted:

I realize that Mieville excels at developing incredible, surreal worlds for his books and that the character development often suffers, but Kraken was really a bit too much. It wasn't *that* surreal, but I never ended up liking a single character. Billy's "Who? What" What am I doing here? What is - What's th- What's going on? How is this-" act went on for far too god drat long.

I think this portrayal is perfectly suited to the situation Billy finds himself in. If he were to suddenly just go along with everything crazy thing happening around him it would be unbelievable. His refusal to believe the things around him is just human nature when confronted by the unknown.

I put this behind The Scar and just ahead of PSS in order of favorite novels by China. The fact that it was what Neverwhere could have been just made it all the more enticing.

# ? Aug 14, 2010 02:35

Magnificent Quiver: May 8, 2003

CrimsonGhost posted:

I think this portrayal is perfectly suited to the situation Billy finds himself in. If he were to suddenly just go along with everything crazy thing happening around him it would be unbelievable. His refusal to believe the things around him is just human nature when confronted by the unknown.

No no no, I'm sick of that. He went on with the monosyllables for 200 pages and it turned him into 1) a character I didn't give a poo poo about and 2) a character that's basically an inanimate object. He didn't have to start accepting things, he just had to sound like a human being instead of a plot device. "Well you'd be shocked too if you were in his situation" isn't a satisfying excuse for making a main character that's 5 letters and a syllable every once in a while.

Yet after 200 pages and what, days of time in the story he starts acting like a person with his own motives, desires, and thoughts? It took too long and was too sudden.

Magnificent Quiver fucked around with this message at 06:14 on Aug 14, 2010

# ? Aug 14, 2010 06:11

SaviourX: Sep 30, 2003; The only true Catwoman is Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether, or Eartha Kitt.

Mrs. Badcrumble posted:

Er, I think his whole point, especially in Iron Council, is that uprisings and resistance are important and 'useful' even if they do not succeed in overthrowing the entire world power structure. He is precisely sympathetic with the revolutionaries in his books even if he doesn't portray them as perfect Mary Sues.

So maybe 'useless' was a poor choice, but it looks like we agree for the most part. I just didn't cotton to the 'capitalism is the source of all woes/individualism is Isaac's flaw' reading.

Now that I think about, Judah Low almost fits that position better, but the events of IC don't have that tone to them, either.

# ? Aug 15, 2010 06:56

Thug Lessons: Dec 14, 2006; I lust in my heart for as many dead refugees as possible.

SaviourX posted:

So maybe 'useless' was a poor choice, but it looks like we agree for the most part. I just didn't cotton to the 'capitalism is the source of all woes/individualism is Isaac's flaw' reading.

Well, I doubt he'd express it in such a simplistic fashion, but that's more or less what Miéville believes. He's a Marxist and a member of a revolutionary socialist (Trotskyist) party. You don't have to 'cotton' to it or agree with it, but any honest reading should acknowledge the novel's clearly anti-capitalist strain.

edit: I think there are some reasonable objections to my interpretation. Isaac's reasoning at the end is muddled to say the least, and to an extent he had to decide as he did if Miéville was going to maintain his setting for future novels, (and you could say the same about Iron Council's ending as well). But objecting to a socialist interpretation or claiming Miéville doesn't have Marxist sympathies makes no sense given the text and what we know about the guy. I get the sense that you're letting your own political preferences get in the way of your understanding of the text.

Thug Lessons fucked around with this message at 18:23 on Aug 15, 2010

# ? Aug 15, 2010 17:57

SaviourX: Sep 30, 2003; The only true Catwoman is Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether, or Eartha Kitt.

I wouldn't have read all of his novels if I disagreed with his personal politics. If anything, his work seems to be a bit more nuanced than a straight-forward Capital v Proletariat reading, or dare I say, less focused than some might see it as.

PSS is more adventure/horror than it is political commentary. IC develops those ideas quite a bit more, of course. I just think of giving him credit for not completely having characters and events definitely go one way or another, like other authors might do ~*Goodkind*~

# ? Aug 18, 2010 11:17

Mrs. Badcrumble: Sep 21, 2002

That Capital/the State (with regard to New Crobuzon) are the bad guys is more or less a basic assumption of Mieville's Bas-Lag books, and that's not the core message of them because it'd be a pretty boring core message to put forward; it's just a truth that is present in the background as a part of the general world.

I feel as though Iron Council is a good example of how his messages tend to be more about exploring certain themes and ideas within revolutionary thought rather than simply saying that revolution is necessary. The golems that Judah Low makes (especially the one made out of corpses), Spiral Jacobs' attempt to make the whole city into a sort of monster, the hauntings-from-the-future, the stiltspear, the puppet theatre, Jack Half-a-Prayer, Toro's revanchism and Ori's transformation into the new Toro, and certainly the end(?) of the Iron Council all play into very specific notions and criticisms of different types of revolutionary thinking and what revolutions mean within a historical context. Mieville's not interested in saying 'revolutions are necessary' because that's a boring, trite, and (to him and to most Marxist/leftist readers) obvious point to make.

# ? Aug 18, 2010 15:48

Hedrigall: Mar 27, 2008; by vyelkin

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/08/storyboard-china-mievelle/

Podcast interview with China. Embassytown was finished years ago, he's editing it now, it'll be out next year. A return to the atmosphere of TC&TC after the comedy of Kraken, but in space with aliens and zap guns. That's all he says about it.

# ? Aug 24, 2010 03:48

Mrs. Badcrumble: Sep 21, 2002

Hedrigall posted:

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/08/storyboard-china-mievelle/

Podcast interview with China. Embassytown was finished years ago, he's editing it now, it'll be out next year. A return to the atmosphere of TC&TC after the comedy of Kraken, but in space with aliens and zap guns. That's all he says about it.

So if he (basically) finished Embassytown and TC&TC and Kraken all before he turned in TC&TC and Kraken to his editor on the same day... what the gently caress has he been working on since then, apart from 'The Rope is the World' (which I still need to find and read)? Good grief.

# ? Aug 24, 2010 21:22

taser rates: Mar 30, 2010

I just found it myself actually, after reading a description of it. The magazine it was published in rather nicely has it on their site.

http://www.iconeye.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4274:china-mieville-the-rope-is-the-world

# ? Aug 24, 2010 22:18

Hedrigall: Mar 27, 2008; by vyelkin

Mrs. Badcrumble posted:

So if he (basically) finished Embassytown and TC&TC and Kraken all before he turned in TC&TC and Kraken to his editor on the same day... what the gently caress has he been working on since then, apart from 'The Rope is the World' (which I still need to find and read)? Good grief.

He's said before in interviews that he's already started work on another young adult thing. He probably also has other short stories in the works. Maybe even another novel? He wrote the first few issues of that Swamp Thing comic before it got cancelled. He's also been helping write the Bas-Lag RPG. Don't forget he's also a full time professor. He's a busy dude.

taser rates posted:

I just found it myself actually, after reading a description of it. The magazine it was published in rather nicely has it on their site.

http://www.iconeye.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4274:china-mieville-the-rope-is-the-world

Holy poo poo that story was hosed up and amazing. Bring on more sci-fi, China!

I wonder if the story is connected to Embassytown in any way.

Hedrigall fucked around with this message at 23:37 on Aug 24, 2010

# ? Aug 24, 2010 23:22

Mrs. Badcrumble: Sep 21, 2002

I wrote to him a week ago about the notion of ghosts as economic externalities and he never got back to me :qq:

# ? Aug 27, 2010 14:07

Hedrigall: Mar 27, 2008; by vyelkin

Embassytown has been added to Amazon.com!

No blurb yet. Just a date and a page count.

Amazon posted:

Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Del Rey (May 17, 2011)

WHAT. 208 pages?? Where is our next 800 page epic CHINA??

# ? Aug 29, 2010 12:40

Hedrigall: Mar 27, 2008; by vyelkin

I just saw China's talk in Sydney. I was in the front row, right in the middle, with my friend Jess. He read the Wati backstory from Kraken, then fielded questions.

I asked him about how, as an atheist, he gets into the head of a character like Vardy, who is an atheist but is resentful of that fact. China gave a really intelligent, fascinating answer. Most of the other questions from the crowd were great. In future book news, he hinted at not one but three books that he's working on.

Then the talk ended and China signed books. I was near the front of the queue, and when it was my turn, I thanked him for coming to Sydney and told him I was looking forward to Embassytown. Then I asked about the alien species mentioned in "The Rope Is The World", whether it is a hint towards Embassytown, and he got all coy, asking if I really wanted him to spoil it for me. I said I'll be good and wait for Embassytown to come out. He signed my copies of Iron Council and Kraken:

The "awesome t-shirt" is referring to the theme-appropriate one I wore to meet him, as pictured below:

When my friend got her book signed, she asked for and got a kiss on the cheek. Super jealous right now.

It was such a great evening. I am just so happy right now.

# ? Aug 31, 2010 14:14

Sexpansion: Mar 22, 2003; DELETED

A question for Mievill-ists:

If I didn't like Perdido Street Station, should I still read Kraken? It's definitely peaking my interest.

# ? Aug 31, 2010 18:37

withak: Jan 15, 2003; Fun Shoe

Sexpansion posted:

If I didn't like Perdido Street Station, should I still read Kraken? It's definitely peaking my interest.

Yes, they are different. Also it is piquing your interest.

# ? Aug 31, 2010 19:02

Captain_Indigo: Jul 29, 2007; "ThatÃ¢Â€Â™s cheating! You know the rules: once you sacrifice something here, you donÃ¢Â€Â™t get it back!"

They are very different books. It really depends on what it was that you didn't like about PSS. If it was the use of language, you might want to give Kraken a miss because although it is done very differently, the language is still stylised.

# ? Aug 31, 2010 19:02

Sexpansion: Mar 22, 2003; DELETED

withak posted:

Yes, they are different. Also it is piquing your interest.

No, my interest is reaching its peak. Soon it will drop off.

(Thanks for the correction

)

quote:

They are very different books. It really depends on what it was that you didn't like about PSS. If it was the use of language, you might want to give Kraken a miss because although it is done very differently, the language is still stylised.

I definitely was not a fan of Mieville as a stylist, but I think I can get past that if Kraken is interesting enough and it seems like it might be.

# ? Aug 31, 2010 20:59

SaviourX: Sep 30, 2003; The only true Catwoman is Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether, or Eartha Kitt.

That, and the style is different enough that when coupled with the first 60 pages of setup, it can be off-putting. But then Goss and Subby show up.

# ? Aug 31, 2010 21:03

V for Vegas: Sep 1, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER

Hedrigall posted:

I just saw China's talk in Sydney. I was in the front row, right in the middle, with my friend Jess. He read the Wati backstory from Kraken, then fielded questions.

Haha, I was there too. I asked the question on humour.

Sexpansion posted:

If I didn't like Perdido Street Station, should I still read Kraken? It's definitely peaking my interest.

China replied to my question that he wrote Kraken as a 'romp' and was meant to be a bit of fun, but his next book would not be funny, or the one after that, or the one after that.

His answers to questions were really articulate and funny, I was very impressed.

# ? Sep 1, 2010 02:28

Oasx: Oct 11, 2006; Freshly Squeezed

Embassytown sounds interesting, but i really want him to make more Bas-Lag books

# ? Sep 1, 2010 07:28

Hedrigall: Mar 27, 2008; by vyelkin

V for Vegas posted:

Haha, I was there too. I asked the question on humour.

China replied to my question that he wrote Kraken as a 'romp' and was meant to be a bit of fun, but his next book would not be funny, or the one after that, or the one after that.

His answers to questions were really articulate and funny, I was very impressed.

Awesome! I liked how you said you couldn't remember laughing in any of his previous books. Yours was one o the better questions. I heard several people groan when that one woman was like "Me and my friend here are writers, what advice do you have?"

What books did you get signed and what did he write in them?

# ? Sep 1, 2010 08:43

V for Vegas: Sep 1, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER

He signed The City and The City "Noir + Weird = Noird"

Despite the stupid questions 'would you write a Star Wars book?' :rolleyes:

he turned them around and came back with some great responses. Great night.

# ? Sep 1, 2010 13:37

Hedrigall: Mar 27, 2008; by vyelkin

http://www.salonfutura.net/2010/09/interview-china-mieville/

A nice video interview with China. He answers the usual questions about cities in fantasy and politics in fantasy, but as always, in an interesting way. Then he mentions Embassytown again, and a second upcoming book which he's nearly finished the first draft of.

I love how prolific my favourite author is. Suck it, GRRM fans :allears:

# ? Sep 2, 2010 15:31

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 17:08

Skutter: Apr 8, 2007; Well you can fuck that sky high!

I'm about 200 pages into the Kraken and finding some of the characters' dialogue hard to read, like someone else previously mentioned. It's not a bad book, and there's interesting things, but not much has really happened and I'm about 1/3 of the way through it. I have two more Mieville books on my list (Un Lun Dun and Rat King) and I'm still waiting for another Bas Lag book. I will probably get poo poo on for this, but I didn't like TC&TC all that much. Inspector Borlu was a very well-written character, but I didn't like much else.

# ? Sep 2, 2010 20:38

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