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In the last month I've read Embassytown and Snow Crash, and watched the film Pontypool with no idea what any of them were about, having just heard that they were good. How the hell did I manage to read/watch three stories about language-diseases in a row? It can't be a common plot point. Weird. I liked the sneaky George Romero reference in Embassytown. That came out of nowhere.
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Mar 16, 2012 22:35
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Ok, after stopping reading it for like a month because I really disliked the protagonist, I finally finished Kraken. The protagonist was kind of bland throughout but he gets... better, I guess? When he stops being so utterly stupid and more savvy. Which is the point, I suppose, but he is a very unlikeable and uninteresting protagonist all in all. I enjoyed the book overall. The setting is neat, though a whole lot of plot events in it feel just very... convenient and exist more in terms of "the narrative needs this happen, so [this happens]". Which is fine, but it could be a be less obvious with it. The ending worked for me, though again, it operates entirely on narrative convenience rather than following the internal logic.
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Mar 17, 2012 19:52
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Here's some awesome preview artwork from, and an interview with China about, his new comic series Dial H For Hero: http://io9.com/5893904/china-mieville-gives-us-a-sneak-peek-of-dc-comics-weirdest-new-superhero-series The guy with the chimney in his forehead looks like a loving boss 
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Mar 18, 2012 12:10
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Zorak posted:Ok, after stopping reading it for like a month because I really disliked the protagonist, I finally finished Kraken. The protagonist was kind of bland throughout but he gets... better, I guess? When he stops being so utterly stupid and more savvy. Which is the point, I suppose, but he is a very unlikeable and uninteresting protagonist all in all. Maybe I will bite my cheek and finish the last 20% finally. It better be worth it, Zorak.
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Mar 18, 2012 14:26
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Hedrigall posted:Here's some awesome preview artwork from, and an interview with China about, his new comic series Dial H For Hero: http://io9.com/5893904/china-mieville-gives-us-a-sneak-peek-of-dc-comics-weirdest-new-superhero-series I'm getting strong early Vertigo vibes, super excited.
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Mar 19, 2012 00:07
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Zorak posted:The protagonist was kind of bland throughout Thanks for the ARC magazine mention - hadn't even known this was being published, and that's an impressive lineup of short stories.
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Mar 19, 2012 22:57
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Mieville gave a very entertaining talk this weekend in Orlando about taxonomies of the fantastic and how little use they are. I skipped his reading, which apparently was of a new and about 80% complete short story, as well as the roundtable on cognition effect and ideology, which I've discussed in similar events before. In general he's a good guy (and nearly always smiling, except when a camera's around), and thoroughly entertaining to talk with, though it was a bit odd to see him drinking blush wine.
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Mar 26, 2012 11:11
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As always, I'm super late to the game. I just started reading Perdido Street Station and two things have happened: * I want my commute to be longer * I really hate that I'm already halfway through the book At least there's two more books in the series. Maybe one day he'll make another...maybe? 
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Apr 6, 2012 21:59
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fookolt posted:As always, I'm super late to the game. I just started reading Perdido Street Station and two things have happened: The Bas-Lag books aren't so much a series, just set in the same world and with minor links between them. And we're getting 1-2 books a year and a comic book from him anyway. Definitely read the Scar next, though.
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Apr 6, 2012 23:50
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LCQC posted:The Bas-Lag books aren't so much a series, just set in the same world and with minor links between them. And we're getting 1-2 books a year and a comic book from him anyway. Thanks for the clarification (and the recommendation!). I just really love that universe.
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Apr 7, 2012 00:04
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elentar posted:taxonomies of the fantastic and how little use they are. Gonna sound low-brow here, but what does this mean?
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Apr 7, 2012 02:17
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Could be either reference books about imaginary creatures, or else peoples attempts to classify writing similar to his.
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Apr 7, 2012 03:33
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withak posted:Could be either reference books about imaginary creatures, or else peoples attempts to classify writing similar to his. I'm pretty sure it'd be the latter, because he loves the D&D Monster Manual but dislikes people throwing up hard imaginary categorical barriers between "fantasy," "science fiction," and "horror" and so on.
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Apr 7, 2012 21:46
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Mrs. Badcrumble posted:I'm pretty sure it'd be the latter, because he loves the D&D Monster Manual but dislikes people throwing up hard imaginary categorical barriers between "fantasy," "science fiction," and "horror" and so on. Right, it was mostly him setting up a bunch of categories beyond the "uncanny"--the "ab-canny", the "sub-canny", the "meta-canny", so on, as a way of pointing out how ultimately silly most such endeavors are. (Though he still does like "the Weird" as its own category.)
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Apr 8, 2012 04:42
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I'm not sure if everyone knows this but Embassytown is up for a Hugo in Best Novel. http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2012-hugo-awards/ Also I finished Perdido Street Station and I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. It all seemed to wrap up super fast compared to the long buildup. Time for Scar next!
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Apr 11, 2012 01:15
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fookolt posted:I'm not sure if everyone knows this but Embassytown is up for a Hugo in Best Novel. Christ, it'll be a crime if ADWD beats Embassytown.
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Apr 11, 2012 07:59
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fookolt posted:I'm not sure if everyone knows this but Embassytown is up for a Hugo in Best Novel. Yeah, I thought the end of PSS was relly abrupt as well. It felt like he poured ten years of ideas and daydreaming into the book, but all of a sudden got fed up and thought "gently caress it, time to wrap this up!".
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Apr 11, 2012 12:33
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A couple of years ago, I got PSS in a Secret Santa gift and I absolutely loved it. The Scar was quickly bought and I loved that too. I didn't get more than about 50 pages into Iron Council before it ended up on a shelf. There were just something off about it. Perhaps it was just the main character (I can't even remember what he was called, only that he was gay and wanted to have sex) Kraken... Well, at that point I think my enthusiasm for Miéville dropped. From the brief descriptions it sounded really awesome, but I had trouble reading it. Sure, it might be because english is my second language and its prose was odd but mainly I thought it was because it didn't hook me right. And despite claims that this book was funny, I don't remember a single place where I encountered something that made me smile. Perhaps my attitude for this is completely wrong. I liked the world of PSS and the Scar, with the strangeness and everything. Perhaps I'm more of an instant gratification kinda guy. It has to hook from some of the first pages and if the requirement for enjoying the book (or movie for that matter) is that I have to look at themes or real world parallels... Well, that's not for me. That said, I'm still curious about his other books. If you keep in mind that my favorite Miéville is PSS and The Scar, how would you say Embassytown and TC&TC holds up? Much different or what?
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Apr 11, 2012 14:06
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Mrs. Badcrumble posted:Christ, it'll be a crime if ADWD beats Embassytown. Not that I think ADWD deserves to win (it doesn't), but I'd be kinda disappointed if Embassytown did. It wasn't bad, but there's no way it was the best sci-fi/fantasy book that came out last year. I don't think I actually read any other brand new speculative fiction books last year, I'm just saying I'd hope there were better choices. Iacen posted:That said, I'm still curious about his other books. If you keep in mind that my favorite Miéville is PSS and The Scar, how would you say Embassytown and TC&TC holds up? Much different or what? They're both different, in their own ways. Personally, TC&TC is my #2 Mieville book after The Scar, but it's probably the least "weird" and his usual rumbustious prose (which I usually like) is absent. I think I'd probably like Iron Council more if I read it again, but sadly my copy is in a box at my parents house on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. I wasn't particularly crazy about Kraken and I don't think many other people were either, so I wouldn't be dissuaded by that. Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 15:19 on Apr 11, 2012 |
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Apr 11, 2012 15:17
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We could probably argue for ages which of his books are the best, but Kraken seems to be the only one where there is such a split opinion, i would even say that the majority dislike it from the impression i get. My opinion may change after i re-read it, but based on just reading it once i think Embassytown was one of his best novels, i would put it right below PSS.
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Apr 11, 2012 16:01
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Looking For Jake is worth a look if you like short fiction, and it has a range of his styles.
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Apr 12, 2012 10:57
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LCQC posted:Looking For Jake is worth a look if you like short fiction, and it has a range of his styles. Or even if you don't like short fiction - I typically don't like short stories and particularly anthologies of shorts, but Looking for Jake is an exception for me.
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Apr 13, 2012 21:31
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I'm reading Scar and it seems like it's building up super slow. Is that other people's experiences with it?
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Apr 13, 2012 21:38
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Oh precious katana posted:Yeah, I thought the end of PSS was relly abrupt as well. It felt like he poured ten years of ideas and daydreaming into the book, but all of a sudden got fed up and thought "gently caress it, time to wrap this up!". I could read an entire novel of China Mieville characters going about their daily lives in the shadow of New Crobuzon authority. Unfortunately he seems compelled both to transform his books into action hero narratives at some point, and generally isn't as good at it. Of course by Iron Council this is reversed because the characters are not his best (I didn't react to them as negatively as some people in this thread, but I rarely do) while the "action" is loaded with commentary on cultural appropriation, etc. But I enjoyed the first third of Perdido Street Station more than anything else in the Bas-Lag books.
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Apr 14, 2012 07:50
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Iron Council is the best of all Bas-Lag books and I will not hear argument on this, particularly because its structure lets him play away from the crippling weakness of his Stephen King Ending Syndrome. I'm not sure if that's inference spoilers but better safe than sorry.fookolt posted:I'm reading Scar and it seems like it's building up super slow. Is that other people's experiences with it? I think all of Mieville's books start out pretty slow, but with The Scar in particular it's more...an issue of tone, I guess, than of pacing? I don't want to say that the story goes in fits and starts, but the momentum of the narrative kind of has some unusual rhythms, and if it weren't for the inventiveness of what goes into it I would say that it gets tedious at times. It very much ends up working for the book as a whole, considering how it all comes together, but as far as the page-turner segments go they're just distributed in with stuff of about the same urgency as you seem to be reading now. Also, unless I'm messing up my screennames here I'm pretty sure that you suck at videogames.
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Apr 14, 2012 08:09
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Tuxedo Catfish posted:I enjoyed the first third of Perdido Street Station more than anything else in the Bas-Lag books. I was exactly the same and I glad you said this. I find it really baffling when people get bored of the first third of a Mieville book and then go on to enjoy the rest of it. In my opinion the study of society, and particularly Isaac's academic work, is what made PSS amazing. The horror elements that came later on were awesome, but they were the finishing touches for me. He had me at Universal Field Theory.
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Apr 14, 2012 13:45
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Since we are already talking about all his books, it is a bit of a shame that Un Lun Dun never gets much attention, sure it is written for a younger audience, but it still has everything you love about Mieville. Anyone who likes Neil Gaimans writing will love it.
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Apr 14, 2012 13:50
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Oasx posted:Since we are already talking about all his books, it is a bit of a shame that Un Lun Dun never gets much attention... I think Un Lun Dun is one of his strongest works, actually. (I'm not really a Gaiman person - couldn't get into his stuff other than 'American Gods'.) I wonder if the somewhat tighter constraints of the type of story he was trying to write worked in his favor, versus the slightly looser rein he has with the other genres. Of course he subverts the story tropes in his own way, but it works, dammit. TC&TC may also have this in its favor and felt more 'adult' in a 'serious philosophical novel' sort of way. I really, really wanted to love Kraken immediately, but it took me two reads to finish. There's a good novel in there but there's a few too many things going on around it.
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Apr 16, 2012 05:20
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As someone who's either lived in or been researching policy in Eastern Europe for the past 5 years, I thought TC&TC was tremendous. It captured a very distinct Eastern European flavor despite having the somewhat fantastical element within it. It was certainly a little confusing at first, but the reveal of what makes it odd comes pretty early so it's not like you're confused for all but the first few chapters (which is pretty rad - why is it such a big deal that the guy is looking at the poster, for instance?) From what I understand, Mieville's other books are a lot different from TC&TC, right? I have a couple checked out from the library but I haven't started them yet.
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Apr 16, 2012 20:59
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Hey guys, have an extract from Railsea  http://torbooks.co.uk/2012/04/25/first-extract-from-china-mievilles-new-novel-railsea/ I preordered this book and it's likely to arrive mere days after I finish my honours thesis. It'll be the ultimate reward for finally completing my 18-month-long project, to be able to dive right into the new Miéville novel. I can't loving wait! Hedrigall fucked around with this message at 14:55 on Apr 25, 2012 |
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Apr 25, 2012 14:53
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Mrs. Badcrumble posted:Christ, it'll be a crime if ADWD beats Embassytown. Neither book should win. Embassytown was atrocious and didn't deserve to be nominated, in my opinion. ADWD suffered from bloat and a weak ending but was still a good read, but Embassytown is a total mess.
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Apr 25, 2012 16:06
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Well, I just finished Embassytown and really liked it.
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Apr 25, 2012 17:48
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Yeah I really enjoyed Embassytown. Or at least the last 2/3rds. I understand that the back story of the main character's is necessary to set up the human social constructs at play, but I really enjoy books that just drop you right into the action. Still, the last 100 pages I felt were pretty great, and I certainly enjoyed all the bits about Language, as I find alternative means of communication really compelling. It is the only recent piece of Sci-Fi I've read this year so I can't exactly compare it to other recent additions to the genre, as I've been on an older book kick lately (Flowers for Algernon was excellent). Of course I seem like the odd man out since I really enjoyed Kraken and it seems it has a lot of negative reactions.
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Apr 25, 2012 19:31
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It's a little funny just how much Mieville absolutely loves the word "puissance" and all of its forms. I see it like every other page in Scar.
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Apr 25, 2012 21:19
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It's only noticeable because it's an uncommon word that he literally uses to mean 'magic' in the Scar, not because he unconsciously loves it too much. Though he does do that with other words, like inchoate, insalubrious, undulating and others I've forgotten. What I noticed in The Scar is that in that book particularly he uses a ton of words* you usually don't see outside of a biology textbook, like euryhaline, integument, marasmic, brachiating, etc. *when there are more common words without biological connotations available reflir fucked around with this message at 22:07 on Apr 25, 2012 |
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Apr 25, 2012 22:04
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reflir posted:It's only noticeable because it's an uncommon word that he literally uses to mean 'magic' in the Scar, not because he unconsciously loves it too much. I love all that; I thought my vocabulary was decent but it clearly isn't!
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Apr 25, 2012 22:07
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reflir posted:It's only noticeable because it's an uncommon word that he literally uses to mean 'magic' in the Scar, not because he unconsciously loves it too much. Though for the most part he is using it to describe biology. Think there was also a nictitating membrane or two in there. And nacreous. Slo-Tek fucked around with this message at 22:11 on Apr 25, 2012 |
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Apr 25, 2012 22:07
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Nictitating diaphanous membranes, surely.
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Apr 25, 2012 22:09
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AcidCat posted:Well, I just finished Embassytown and really liked it. That was his third strike for me. I found TC&TC to be propped up on an annoying and flimsy narrative gimmick; Kraken was Mieville channeling Gaiman to terrible effect; and Embassytown was a decent idea that went completely off the rails and then wallowed in its own poo poo for about 200 pages. Normally I wouldn't have bothered to read three mediocre-to-terrible books by the same author, but such was the equity Mieville built with his Bas Lag books.
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Apr 26, 2012 02:11
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Argali posted:That was his third strike for me. I found TC&TC to be propped up on an annoying and flimsy narrative gimmick; Kraken was Mieville channeling Gaiman to terrible effect; and Embassytown was a decent idea that went completely off the rails and then wallowed in its own poo poo for about 200 pages. Normally I wouldn't have bothered to read three mediocre-to-terrible books by the same author, but such was the equity Mieville built with his Bas Lag books. I sort of feel the opposite. After reading Embassytown and to a lesser extent Kraken, I am having a hard time reading other authers. I thought embassytown was amazing. Ive never been challenged in a book like that before. It was so alien and bleak and he makes it so hard to imagine the world. Like the theme of language was blended with the way he described seeing an exot for the first time. You feel like you shouldn't be seeing them on an instinctual evel and that sense of never being able to properly imagine anything gives the book such a intimidating but rewarding experience. The city and the city though wasn't up my alley. Kraken was fun to read for me. It started out as this normal crime drama and ended up like King Rat. Also I thinkthe Gaiman comparison isnt that fair as hes invoked legendary characters into novels before. I'm in the minority though as I think Gaiman is overrated. Honestly as he flexes his brain I think his books will get more and more weird. I'm kind of enjoying his evolution as a writer though its a shame hes done with basslag. OgreNoah posted:(Flowers for Algernon was excellent). That's funny you say that, I just randomly read that too this week. It was very good. Umph fucked around with this message at 08:29 on Apr 26, 2012 |
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Apr 26, 2012 08:13
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