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Noricae posted:Do you have any more info/a link for this? I'm curious as to which cities. Looks like New York, Washington, DC, Boston, Seattle, and Portland. I'm thinking about a roadtrip up the northeast this summer, so I may go see him if it's not out of my way.
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Apr 3, 2011 17:59
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I am looking forward to the new book, I like this guy's writing and that he id branching out into different kinds of stories.
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Apr 3, 2011 19:10
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Yeah, those are the cities. I'll post actual dates once I get them from his publicist, hopefully next week, but I already know he'll be in NYC June 1st. It's a ticketed event sponsored by WORD bookstore. http://www.wordbrooklyn.com/event/china-mieville Tickets are $25, but you get a copy of Embassytown included, signing to follow. Kind of odd to have a reading at a club, but Mieville's a rock star, so it fits. Hedrigall- I'm jealous of your ARC! Del Rey's is really plain with just the logo on the front. So I'm probably going to end up getting the UK edition anyway because the cover is superior to the American one. I love my U.K. first edition of Kraken. ETA: If you've never seen him read, you really should. I've been to every NY reading since PSS and he's just extremely charming and funny and so well-spoken. He takes all of the questions about Bas-Lag in stride, even though he gets asked the same ones every drat tour. He just seems really appreciative of his fans. I've been in publishing a long time and know who has a bad reputation. No one has ever, ever had a single bad thing to say about him. It's pretty astounding. nixar55 fucked around with this message at 20:31 on Apr 3, 2011 |
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Apr 3, 2011 20:23
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nixar55 posted:Yeah, those are the cities. I'll post actual dates once I get them from his publicist, hopefully next week, but I already know he'll be in NYC June 1st. It's a ticketed event sponsored by WORD bookstore. I've seen him live once, for Kraken, because he doesn't often come out to Australia. My brother saw him read when the Scar was released, I'm pretty jealous. And yeah he's amazing with crowds, makes them laugh and always has interesting things to say even to questions he's been asked hundreds of times before. Anyway, I should keep my blog thing up so I can wheedle an ARC out of the publishers for his next book, in 2012  Edit: what do you do in publishing? Do you work for Random House? If so, got any Mieville scoops to share? 
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Apr 4, 2011 01:54
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Thanks for the info! Tempted to go back to my family in NY this summer now  Ticketed event? I didn't even know they did that for writers at signings. It sounds like they got mobbed with demand. I've been meaning to read Lev Grossman's Magicians sometime too. Noricae fucked around with this message at 12:00 on Apr 4, 2011 |
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Apr 4, 2011 11:56
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Yeah, I've seen ticketed events for authors before, but usually really huge ones like Jonathan Franzen or Michael Chabon. My guess is because WORD's a smaller bookstore and couldn't hold a Mieville-sized audience. Don't know why an indie would get him instead of a B&N. But it should be interesting. Apparently the bar will have a specialty cocktail and a dance party afterward. Which fills my boyfriend with dread. But makes me excited because China loves dancing! I will just dance with China instead. I work for Tor, who published King Rat. So I can say I've really been a fan of his before he got all famous. His first editor pulled me into her office and said I had to read him. I've seen his audience grow with every book. I remember the reading he did for The Scar had about 80 people, tops. The only scoop I feel comfortable sharing is that I think the was invented for him.
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Apr 4, 2011 17:18
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The cocktail will be 2 parts vodka, 1 part molasses, heated up and with just enough motor oil to give it that glossy sheen.
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Apr 4, 2011 21:14
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RoboCicero posted:The cocktail will be 2 parts vodka, 1 part molasses, heated up and with just enough motor oil to give it that glossy sheen. Huh? http://indielitawards.wordpress.com/speculative-fiction/ - interview When asked what to expect from Embassytown, China says "some, but not all, of the following hints about what’s in Embassytown are lies: language; aliens; the politics of glass; metropole-periphery interaction; disguised unicorn riffs; cameras that act like wasps; cameras that act like bones; Spinozan astrophysics; comic poetry; shenanigans." Oh China 
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Apr 5, 2011 04:12
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When I saw him speak last year there were tons of nerds asking the same Bas-Lag questions, etc etc. In this big crowd there was one little kid there that said Un Lun Dun was his favorite book. China took about 5 minutes out of his Q&A to talk to the kid about the book and his favorite parts, gave him recommendations on other kids books he likes and ask him what kind of stories he likes to write. Classy dude. You could tell he was really excited to have young fans and he said he was definitely going to do more YA down the road, so that might be one of the ones he's been working on. I see a lot of authors speak and he was easily one of the most entertaining. He told a story about drawing an octopus while on the phone at his mom's house and she laughed at him for drawing the same stuff now that he did when he was a kid. Later on she found an old notepad from when he was young with a drawing of an octopus in a space helmet, to which his reaction was "Oh man an octopus astronaut, that's genius!" and started drawing it again. ShutteredIn fucked around with this message at 10:14 on Apr 5, 2011 |
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Apr 5, 2011 09:56
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ShutteredIn posted:When I saw him speak last year there were tons of nerds asking the same Bas-Lag questions, etc etc. In this big crowd there was one little kid there that said Un Lun Dun was his favorite book. China took about 5 minutes out of his Q&A to talk to the kid about the book and his favorite parts, gave him recommendations on other kids books he likes and ask him what kind of stories he likes to write. Classy dude. Yeah, I met him briefly at the Nebulas last year and he was all about the tween/teenage girls that showed up to ask him questions  (n a non-creepy way.)
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Apr 5, 2011 11:37
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He's pretty much the anti-GRRM: - fit - attractive - very prolific writer - doesn't molest young girls
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Apr 5, 2011 12:28
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I am 25 years old, male, and I enjoyed Un Lun Dun most out of everything he's written. Honestly, as much as I can insinuate deeper levels of meaning into a round walrus-man enthusiastically loving a beetle-headed humanoid, at the end of the day I really just want to read about umbrellas.
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Apr 5, 2011 13:47
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nixar55 posted:Don't know why an indie would get him instead of a B&N. Consider China Miéville, now think about that sentance.
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Apr 6, 2011 02:56
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Hedrigall posted:He's pretty much the anti-GRRM: The very act of writing is anti-GRRM. Thus all writers are anti-GRRM.
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Apr 6, 2011 03:25
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Calico Noose posted:Consider China Miéville, now think about that sentance. Well, there's that, but he's read at a progressively larger B&N every other time he's come to NY. They're just able to hold a bigger audience. Authors don't get a huge choice in where their publicists pitch them for a national tour. I don't believe he was hoping his NY fans would have to pay $25 to see him read. I like thinking of him as the anti-GRRM. It's weird to have gone from reading A Feast for Crows to Embassytown. There needs to be some sort of literary palette cleanser. My head nearly blew up. A lot of fantasy writers have reputations for being creepy towards female fans. I think it's because without their fame, they'd be getting a lot less feminine attention and they know it. Or they're just plain awkward. So, yeah, China is neither of those things, so... good reputation!
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Apr 6, 2011 04:39
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nixar55 posted:A lot of fantasy writers have reputations for being creepy towards female fans. I think it's because without their fame, they'd be getting a lot less feminine attention and they know it. Or they're just plain awkward. So, yeah, China is neither of those things, so... good reputation! My best friend managed to get a kiss on the cheek out of him when he came to Sydney for Kraken. I was super jealous. She's a bit of a cool-fantasy-author/illustrator slut, having been kissed by China, Neil Gaiman and Shaun Tan.
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Apr 6, 2011 04:48
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Has this been posted? Because it's hilarious:quote:
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Apr 6, 2011 05:18
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Hedrigall posted:My best friend managed to get a kiss on the cheek out of him when he came to Sydney for Kraken. I was super jealous. She's a bit of a cool-fantasy-author/illustrator slut, having been kissed by China, Neil Gaiman and Shaun Tan. Neil Gaiman has a reputation for being free with his kisses. Very free. China doesn't kiss everyone's cheeks. She should be flattered. (My friend didn't get one while other people I know got kissed on both cheeks.) I don't know about Shaun. Just that it's awesome he's got an Oscar now. I love the Facebook letter. I think he's one of the few authors without a Twitter account. It'd be cool if he had one, but his blog is interesting. Wish he talked a bit more about his writing process in it. That's the stuff I find most interesting.
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Apr 6, 2011 06:16
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Does anybody know if Embassytown is going to be out on kindle or an ebook store on release day?
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Apr 6, 2011 16:26
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Paragon8 posted:Does anybody know if Embassytown is going to be out on kindle or an ebook store on release day? Random House's ebook and audiobook come out the same day as their hardcover (May 17th) but that's 11 days after the UK release date. http://www.randomhouse.com/book/206876/embassytown-by-china-mieville/9780345524492/ & on Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004J4WLU0 AFAIK Macmillan doesn't do ebooks of China's stuff. You'll probably have to wait the extra 11 days!
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Apr 6, 2011 16:45
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Hedrigall posted:Random House's ebook and audiobook come out the same day as their hardcover (May 17th) but that's 11 days after the UK release date. Great, thanks! I am sort of tempted to get the hardcover on release day and gift it to someone after I'm done and replace it with an ebook down the road.
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Apr 6, 2011 18:05
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So, did Facebook take down the fake profiles? I NEED CLOSURE ON THIS ANECDOTE (and I can't login to Facebook at work)
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Apr 7, 2011 00:51
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There are a couple fan pages but I'm not sure if that's what he was talking about.
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Apr 7, 2011 03:41
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http://deannahoak.com/2010/10/18/fake-facebook-profiles-featuring-china-mieville/ According to his copyeditor, Facebook did take them down eventually.
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Apr 7, 2011 05:40
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Another great review! http://totalscifionline.com/reviews/6309-embassytown Total Sci-Fi posted:Embassytown is not a wham-bam bang-for-your buck sci-fi tale that’s just waiting to be repurposed for the multiplex. It is a deeply considered and meticulously crafted story about the words we use and how they drive our thinking. This much is evident in the way Miéville eschews rigorous description, instead favouring evocative yet ambiguous language, never telling readers much directly, but letting them conjure their own version of Arieka and the Hosts. Goddamnit I want all you guys to read this book. Hurry up May! Edit: Oh and check out China's latest blog post. I cannot tell if it's a joke or not, but it's basically a pitch to Marvel for a Marxist super hero, with a goddamn hilarious punchline. Hedrigall fucked around with this message at 14:06 on Apr 7, 2011 |
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Apr 7, 2011 13:05
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IIRC he WAS pitching something to Marvel, so it's likely real. Between the Swamp Thing problem and this, he's probably not feeling so hot about the comic book industry.
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Apr 8, 2011 01:32
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Mrs. Badcrumble posted:IIRC he WAS pitching something to Marvel, so it's likely real. Between the Swamp Thing problem and this, he's probably not feeling so hot about the comic book industry. There is no way that particular blog post is not a joke. He could have been pitching something else, had THAT rejected, and done this partly because of it, but no way was he pitching Scrap Iron Man (or even something else with that same sset-up but a less goofy name). Annnd... new interview! http://onlythebestscifi.blogspot.com/2011/04/interview-china-mieville.html
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Apr 8, 2011 01:55
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 GOOD NEWS Embassytown's UK release date has been pushed forward to 28th of April (formerly 6th of May)! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Embassytown-China-Mieville/dp/0230750761/
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Apr 8, 2011 14:19
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Hedrigall posted:
I literally just said "FUYAH!", some hyper-speed version of gently caress Yeah! I have never had an uncontrollable verbal response to something on the internet before. This has made my day, thanks for the heads-up dude!
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Apr 8, 2011 14:34
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Slightly odd, but great news!
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Apr 8, 2011 18:05
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I just pre-ordered Embassytown on my Kindle, any possibility the US date will get moved up? That'd be pretty cool Also with the talk of Mieville getting into comics, I immediately thought "wow, a Bas-Lag graphic novel would be pretty awesome". However, I don't know if I'd want my mental picture of the characters/races and locations to be compromised, so I'm torn.
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Apr 8, 2011 19:05
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nixar55 posted:Yeah, those are the cities. I'll post actual dates once I get them from his publicist, hopefully next week, but I already know he'll be in NYC June 1st. It's a ticketed event sponsored by WORD bookstore. Thanks for the heads-up on this. I might try to check this out if I can make it out of work and run up to Brooklyn in time.
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Apr 11, 2011 19:48
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This thread is just great. I've been reading through it alongside the books. I read Perdido Street Station in January (first book of the year) and found it very fun. I sympathised with Yagharek the most. I liked the ending too because, for some disturbing reason, I love stories with crushingly sad endings. Jack Half-a-Prayer was kind of a deus ex machina, right? Well I didn't mind. In fact, his brief appearances were kind of a highlight for me in the book. Well, now I'm blasting through Un Lun Dun as fast as I can because The Scar and Iron Council arrived this week and I'm super excited to start on them. To return to New Crobuzon is going to be so much fun, especially given the comments here along the lines of 'I wish I could read the Bas Lag books for the first time again.' Whichever I choose to read first tomorrow morning, I'll be taking my time with it. I get the impression that Iron Council is politics-heavy, which I don't mind at all, though I'm not learned enough on politics to understand a lot of the points being made. I feel I'm getting into China Mieville's work at a great time. There's still much for me to read and Embassytown is being released this month!
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Apr 11, 2011 23:32
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Beige posted:Well I didn't mind. In fact, his brief appearances were kind of a highlight for me in the book. You will love the start of Iron Council then Go with either first. The Scar is for most people the better book, but it hardly features New Crobuzon at all. Iron Council is half set in New Crobuzon and features more call-backs to PSS, but for some reason it's harder for people to get into. Personally I love them both. Whichever you read next, expect a stylistic shift of some kind. If you truly love depressing endings then you'll probably love Iron Council's  edit: People are complaining pussies, the politics of Iron Council are not that heavy. They boil down to "cut off the head, the masses revolt" etc etc. You do not need a degree in politics to read it. Maybe a degree in English :P Hedrigall fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Apr 11, 2011 |
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Apr 11, 2011 23:41
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I don't think any of the complaints stemmed from the opaque themes. More that the politics came at the expense of the plot. Anyway. I read TC&TC as a Mieville virgin about two weeks ago, and have since finished everything he's written save for Embassytown and the short stories. I have, as you might divine, a lot of downtime at work. First impressions: -Un Lun Dun was my favorite, followed perhaps by Iron Council. I despised Kraken. I really, really wanted to like TC&TC. I invariably did whenever he described thing that were, and invariably didn't when he described things that happened. -Bas-Lag was kind of hit or miss. I liked the world. Less so the people in it. I found the humans less relatable to than any of the xenians, oddly. -On Mieville proper, I submit to you that his characterization is pretty bad. Everyone, from Isaac to Uther Doul to Bellis, to loving Billy, have their own gimmick, but are otherwise slaves to plot points and convenience. I thought "hey, that's neat" about them a lot, but I was never invested in their personalities (rather than their physicality) at all. Invested either through empathy or revulsion, whichever. He also has no flair for endings whatever. PSS and The Scar are most victimized by this, but most books end with deus ex machina. I like his writing style, though. "Baroque" is a good word for it, though it's one everyone seems to trot out for him. I don't find his prose flows as easily as, say, Guy Gavriel Kay, but as a wordsmith he's top-notch. -The Weaver(s) need their own book, and possibly their own graphic novel series. -This kind of comes off as overly critical, but I really enjoyed Mieville in all. Certainly enough to read what he publishes, as it's published. Also he seems to avoid the curse of fantasy/sci fi where the writers, in the flesh, tend to be really socially maladjusted or weird. So that's nice. tirinal fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Apr 12, 2011 |
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Apr 12, 2011 00:30
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tirinal posted:-On Mieville proper, I submit to you that his characterization is pretty bad. Everyone, from Isaac to Uther Doul to Bellis, to loving Billy, have their own gimmick, but are otherwise slaves to plot points and convenience. I thought "hey, that's neat" about them a lot, but I was never invested in their personalities (rather than their physicality) at all. Invested either through empathy or revulsion, whichever. It helps if you sort of see his characters, especially in the Bas-Lag novels, as just parts in the massive Rube Goldberg machine of the plots. They're almost incidental to the story apart from the fact that they set off a few of the events in motion, and then just stick around to witness the result. This can be said of PSS, The Scar, Ori in Iron Council, Billy in Kraken and Avice in Embassytown. I really don't mind because the plots are so loving good, and plus he generally includes a more loveable side character or two (Yag, Derkhan, Shekel, etc) As for the ending of The Scar, there is no other way it could have ended. The ending is perfect, and leaves a lasting puzzle in your mind. I love it 
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Apr 12, 2011 01:21
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See, I hated The Scar's ending even more than PSS', like most people do. Mostly I suppose because everything of consequence is styled as the machinations of Uther Doul, which is fine and all, but as a character he's utterly flat. I don't mind the godlike badass-ness, but it's not a case of his motivations being arcane and mysterious. You can sell readers on that. But they're stated explicitly. They're just utterly untenable. Here is a man who barters his service and his loyalty for coin. Coin as in base currency, no less. He is fanatically, suicidally devoted, except when he isn't, as in the case of him outing the Lovers' plans first to the Brucolac and then sabotaging them outright with Bellis and the bedchamber spying. Plans that he solely instigated by educating his masters on the Scar, purposely and almost certainly knowing of the consequences. He risks the city for the plans and is quite prepared to butcher the mutineers (as in, everyone) if given the command to, when confronted by Tanner at the end. Despite this he's genuinely devoted to Armada (refers to them as "my people"; the only time he gets visibly pissed off and resorts to profanity is when Bellis smuggles out the compass). And it's not like real control, or power, is anathema. He enjoys showing off and at the end of the book is ruler in all but name as he whispers commands to the remaining Lover. There's no puzzle, because there's no solution with sense. Mysteries stem from having multiple readings of an event vying for dominance. Here there's just a bunch on incongruous events engineered by an incongruous man. It felt like a cop-out to real plot.
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Apr 12, 2011 01:46
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tirinal posted:I despised Kraken. Curious here: why? That book just struck me as so incredibly likable, with so much readerly pleasure involved. Billy wasn't particularly compelling for at least 200 pages, but other than that basically it was 500 pages of fun stuff. So I could see thinking it was inconsequential, but not sure what makes it worthy of despising.
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Apr 12, 2011 03:03
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I think I had so much fun reading Kraken because it felt like Mieville had so much fun writing it.
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Apr 12, 2011 03:15
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Aesthetics, perhaps. I cut my teeth on traditional scifi as a wee lad huddled under a blanket with a flashlight but I enjoy New Weird, which is basically about taking the preposterous and constructing breathing, sustainable worlds around it. Humanoids with scarabs for heads and so forth. Kraken was like a meta-New Weird in that it took the absurd, made it serious, and then made that absurd. I don't like books that are an inside joke to the reader. Also I really, really hated Billy.
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Apr 12, 2011 03:16
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