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Aerox posted:I really liked it, but I remember when it came out it got criticized because it's fairly fluffy and light. It's been a few years since I've read it but if I'm remembering it correctly it's really more of a fun comedic adventure story than his normal stuff. It doesn't have the unsettling creepy vibe most of his books have, and there isn't really a strong underlying social message.
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Sep 21, 2015 22:24
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Honestly, my favorite idea out of the whole thing are the mnemophylaxes. Don't tell me you never heard inexplicable sounds in a huge, empty building - and museum exposits can get extremely creepy and if you don't see any other visitors it can get scary as gently caress between all those bones and corpses. When I first read it I was like "hell yes, the local museum definitely has one of these, how come I never reaized".
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Sep 21, 2015 22:30
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It's Embassytown. Read Embassytown next.
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Sep 24, 2015 00:27
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Hard Clumping posted:It's Embassytown. Read Embassytown next. This. Embassytown is one of the few hardcovers I've bought in years. I love that book and I hope he revisits that universe soon.
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Sep 24, 2015 02:21
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I now own a copy of Embassytown! So that'll be my next Miéville~
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Sep 25, 2015 02:36
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Embassytown is insanely good. Best thing he's written since The Scar.
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Sep 27, 2015 01:30
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That chart thing that was posted in here was real dumb and the answer is read at least the first two Bas Lags in order (for better or worse, they're a fantastic introduction to Mieville) then Embassytown, then read synopses of other books and read what you think will be interesting.
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Sep 29, 2015 23:12
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Hard Clumping posted:That chart thing that was posted in here was real dumb and the answer is read at least the first two Bas Lags in order (for better or worse, they're a fantastic introduction to Mieville) then Embassytown, then read synopses of other books and read what you think will be interesting. It's ok, we all think your opinion is dumb too. You weren't even smart enough to put it in chart form.
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Sep 30, 2015 02:48
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If the thread can't remain civil when discussing reading books in certain orders, there's no way it's going to survive fan-casting the City & the City miniseries. Nobody suggest a former Doctor Who actor or oh God will gloves come off.
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Sep 30, 2015 06:55
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Kim Bodnia as Borlu  
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Sep 30, 2015 07:24
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I know some people don't like Iron Council as much as the other Bas Lag books, but if you have read the other two for the first time, then you really should read it. Having re-read them all recently, I actually think Iron Council is better than The Scar, and it follows up on the things that happened in Perdido Street Station.
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Sep 30, 2015 08:41
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I actually reread it recently; flashback parts still brilliant, ending still rear end and cacotopic everything still massively disappointing.
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Sep 30, 2015 10:16
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anilEhilated posted:I actually reread it recently; flashback parts still brilliant, ending still rear end and cacotopic everything still massively disappointing. Seconded. Rereading Perdido Street Station also made me realize the fourth fifth of the book really drags. It's the part where we get a 60 page description of how the main characters are setting up their final confrontation with the villains. Can we just spoil at this point? I'll play it safe.
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Sep 30, 2015 16:15
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anilEhilated posted:I actually reread it recently; flashback parts still brilliant, ending still rear end and cacotopic everything still massively disappointing. The ending owns, though. I mean whether you like it depends on whether you agree with the point he's making (that Judah is acting with tremendous arrogance by treating the anger, hope, and revolutionary spirit of the Iron Council as if it were his to preserve) but regardless of that it just does such a deft job of taking an abstract, even academic concept and transforming it into literal terms.
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Sep 30, 2015 16:57
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I read it more like a revolution defeating itself, as they're bound to. The thing is, I know Miéville can do anticlimax in a satisfying way - The Scar ends on one, most of the stories in Three Moments just fade out - but it's just missing something. Like, am I supposed to go "OMFG TIME GOLEM"? I don't mind the way the story ends, it's been building up to a glorious defeat all along: but it's just missing something, a reveal, a wonder, something with flair; Scar did it, for example, with the canal reveal - a huge anticlimax to the plotline but catching you completely unaware, yet making so much sense. IC's ending just feels underwhelming - not for what it does but for the way it does it.
anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 17:20 on Sep 30, 2015 |
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Sep 30, 2015 17:18
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anilEhilated posted:I read it more like a revolution defeating itself, as they're bound to. The thing is, I know Miéville can do anticlimax in a satisfying way - The Scar ends on one, most of the stories in Three Moments just fade out - but it's just missing something. Like, am I supposed to go "OMFG TIME GOLEM"? I don't mind the way the story ends, it's been building up to a glorious defeat all along: but it's just missing something, a reveal, a wonder, something with flair; Scar did it, for example, with the canal reveal - a huge anticlimax to the plotline but catching you completely unaware, yet making so much sense. IC's ending just feels underwhelming - not for what it does but for the way it does it. The fact that it builds up to a presumed "glorious defeat" which is then arbitrarily snatched away -- to say nothing of denying the possibility that they might have succeeded, or at least inspired others to act -- is the whole point. I actually don't recall liking the anti-climax in The Scar (although there might be a similar justification that I overlooked in that case) but it works perfectly here. It's not really outside the narrative; you should be angry at Judah, who was so obsessed with preserving a moment that he would deny it its outcome or consequences, rather than the text.
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Sep 30, 2015 17:45
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Eh, I generally dislike books telling me what I "should" think. I mean, yeah, Judah's ego is a huge part of the story but he ends up giving the city a monument that inspires more new dissidents; I don't really read that as the act portrayed in a negative way. Not to mention it's fairly easy to empathise with him there - he doesn't want his second adopted tribe to be destroyed like the first one.
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Sep 30, 2015 17:53
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anilEhilated posted:Eh, I generally dislike books telling me what I "should" think. I mean, yeah, Judah's ego is a huge part of the story but he ends up giving the city a monument that inspires more new dissidents; I don't really read that as the act portrayed in a negative way. It's been a while since I read Iron Council but I thought it was portrayed negatively; the survivors who weren't caught in the time golem are furious with him, and the protests that sprung up in New Crobuzon because they knew the Iron Council was coming sputter out and the existing regime continues. There are still dissidents, but they're back in the same position they were in PSS if not worse off. I might just be remembering wrong, though. In either case, every book tells you what you "should" think; there's no such thing as apolitical fiction. Mieville is particularly conscious of this fact as an author and doubtless works it in on purpose, but that's only a matter of degrees.
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Sep 30, 2015 18:02
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Lunchmeat Larry posted:Embassytown is insanely good. Best thing he's written since The Scar. It's the best thing he's written ever IMO.
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Sep 30, 2015 18:13
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I think I'm just going to reread all of his work in order of publication after I finish my reread of Looking for Jake.
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Sep 30, 2015 18:22
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Tuxedo Catfish posted:It's been a while since I read Iron Council but I thought it was portrayed negatively; the survivors who weren't caught in the time golem are furious with him, and the protests that sprung up in New Crobuzon because they knew the Iron Council was coming sputter out and the existing regime continues. There are still dissidents, but they're back in the same position they were in PSS if not worse off. I might just be remembering wrong, though. Anyway I'm aware of authorial intent but insist on being able to interpret independently of it.
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Sep 30, 2015 18:51
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anilEhilated posted:It's made pretty clear that the revolution would be crushed with or without the Council which got the entire army/militia waiting for it; it's either remove it entirely or watch them all get shot. This way, he's preserving hope. Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to suggest you weren't; I'm just trying to separate ideological disagreement with criticism of how it was written, and see which you were talking about (or both?)
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Sep 30, 2015 19:02
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anilEhilated posted:It's made pretty clear that the revolution would be crushed with or without the Council which got the entire army/militia waiting for it; it's either remove it entirely or watch them all get shot. This way, he's preserving hope. No doubt the revolution would be crushed, the question is if they were willing to die did Judah have the right to prevent them from doing it? I think I'm inclined to agree with Judah on this, their death now would serve no purpose and this way they'll be a daily reminder to the people of New Crobuzon that they aren't alone, that others all around them hate the government even if they have to keep their heads down for now. The revolution lives still. A revolution must be about what is most effective, not bourgeois notions of romantic sacrifice. 
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Sep 30, 2015 20:29
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MeLKoR posted:No doubt the revolution would be crushed, the question is if they were willing to die did Judah have the right to prevent them from doing it? I think I'm inclined to agree with Judah on this, their death now would serve no purpose and this way they'll be a daily reminder to the people of New Crobuzon that they aren't alone, that others all around them hate the government even if they have to keep their heads down for now. The revolution lives still.
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Oct 1, 2015 18:20
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Hi, uh, I just started listening to Perdido Street Station, read by an Englishman who sounds like he's in a "chamber" wearing a suit with something red and poofy between his lapels. Loving it so far. Didn't expect him to start going on about Isaac's cock in my office's parking lot  So the people whose females have bugs for heads and the males are just bugs, that's exactly a race in Dungeons in Dragons. Did they get that from him?
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Nov 2, 2015 18:56
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Stinky_Pete posted:So the people whose females have bugs for heads and the males are just bugs, that's exactly a race in Dungeons in Dragons. Did they get that from him?
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Nov 2, 2015 19:28
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Stinky_Pete posted:Hi, uh, I just started listening to Perdido Street Station, read by an Englishman who sounds like he's in a "chamber" wearing a suit with something red and poofy between his lapels. Loving it so far. Didn't expect him to start going on about Isaac's cock in my office's parking lot John Lee does an amazing job.
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Nov 3, 2015 09:47
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Stinky_Pete posted:
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Nov 4, 2015 18:28
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I don't recognize that D&D race, so it is probably relatively new, after Mieville stopped playing.
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Nov 4, 2015 18:48
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MeLKoR posted:John Lee does an amazing job. Yes. His voice has just the right texture to match how he describes the city. Forgall posted:Probably the other way around. Although ultimately they got it from ancient Egyptians. Thank you. The trouble with listening to audiobooks is that I have no clue how poo poo is spelled so I can't look it up. And according to this, they DID get it from him! That's awesome.
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Nov 4, 2015 19:20
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There are ARCs of This Census-Taker being sent out but I've emailed the publishers in Aus, UK and US with no luck. I don't know how I was lucky enough to get that Embassytown one.
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Nov 4, 2015 23:28
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Finally somebody out there has reviewed This Census-Taker, describing the style and setting of the book a bit more. Has some minor spoilers about the setting and sci-fi/fantasy elements of the story: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1438092948 I'm looking forward to it 
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Nov 14, 2015 06:14
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Sounds like a pretty good endorsement. I can always appreciate the more non-Hollywood, Gilliam-like tack he takes on every new novel.
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Nov 16, 2015 08:03
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Kirkus Reviews: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/china-mieville/this-census-taker/ Sounds very... literary.
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Nov 20, 2015 01:26
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UK cover art: Snooze.
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Dec 2, 2015 02:24
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Hedrigall posted:UK cover art: Welcome to America... er.... you get it.
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Dec 2, 2015 05:51
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 Limited edition. Much more interesting.
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Dec 2, 2015 23:37
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Aaaaaand Kindle edition? I think? It's on Amazon, anyway.
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Dec 3, 2015 03:43
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More Miéville goodness: the newest Story Bundle is curated by the VanderMeers, and includes Ann VanderMeer's newest anthology The Bestiary, which has an exclusive China Miéville short story! $15 USD to unlock every book. Available until the end of December. https://storybundle.com/fiction
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Dec 3, 2015 22:35
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It's funny, when I first saw that book I was like "no way that Mieville doesn't have a story in this", got to the end, wondered where he was, then re-read it and of course he's the one with the invisible letter. I also actually like the UK cover art a bit more, since the limited edition one feels a bit...disjointed? for lack of a better word.
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Dec 3, 2015 22:39
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