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On the subject of King Rat, I got it a few days ago and tried to read it, but the entire time I couldn't shake off this feeling that I'd read it before with Gaiman's name on the cover. Only got like half a chapter or so in, though. Does it get better as it goes on?
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Feb 23, 2009 16:15
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Mrs. Badcrumble posted:There's an excellent exchange online between Mieville and someone else talking about Iron Council in the context of Walter Benjamin's theory of history, if you can find it. Lots of stuff about how the historian/storyteller must necessarily do their subject a terrible disservice and erase the individuality and realness of the people involved in the history being recorded. I can't remember where to find it but it was good stuff and bears up well with subsequent readings of the book. Found it! http://crookedtimber.org/2005/01/11/debating-iron-council/ I think.
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Mar 7, 2009 20:40
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Yeah, I'd really like to know about this. Is Miéville gonna pass anywhere near LA? edit: here we go! http://www.suvudu.com/2009/05/china-miville-on-tour.html I don't wanna go to San Diego! Oh gently caress everything it's the day before my French final? Grand Prize Winner fucked around with this message at 05:25 on Jun 8, 2009 |
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Jun 6, 2009 19:16
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What's Shortpages? Google gave me nothing. I'd love to have a copy floating around in case I lend, lose, or destroy my paperback.
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Oct 23, 2009 03:21
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Arglebargle III posted:So I have this theory for what's going on with Bas-Lag, but I'd bet others have come up with the same thing: Does anyone else remember in the Scar, the Ghosthead Empire is mentioned as being extraterrestrial in origin? The Scar itself is supposed to be the physical evidence of the impact of their arrival, but the aliens seem to have been extradimensional or possessing technology that breaks into other dimension. It seems to me that the "torque" he describes is a force that twists things through other dimensions or alternate realities or something. That would explain the bizarre behavior of the potential sword that is identified as their technology. This may come out kinda hazy as I'm a little sleep deprived right now, but I'm certain Doul mentions some degree of difference between torque and whatever tech the Ghostead Empire used. Another thing that just occurred to me: if New Crobuzon Bas-Lag's London, then High Cromlech (the one with the Thanati) is its New York.
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Dec 23, 2009 11:26
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As authors go, Miéville is surprisingly attractive.  And dammit, by the time Kraken comes out in the States, I'll be over in France. Goddammit. Are there any good English-language bookstores in Paris? Would French bookstores carry English fantasy?
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May 16, 2010 07:39
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I read PSS first, but can't see how reading The Scar first would really hurt. I mean sure the main character begins her arc because of something that happened in the other novel, but what exactly that something is is never mentioned beyond "poo poo went down and now I must go blahblahblah" (Mieville writes better than me but you get the idea). Of course, you don't really get a tour of New Crobuzon like you do in Perdido, and that's the important part of Bas-Lag, I think. By the way, have any of you read Joe Abercrombie's books? Their styles are like polar opposites but I love 'em both.
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Jun 3, 2010 07:30
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Yanno, that's weird. I felt the same way about TC&TC, just couldn't get into it. I seem to remember the first half of Embassytown meandering a little bit too much, but don't have a copy handy to give it a glance and see if that memory holds up. At least he isn't saying 'puissance' every other page. edit: Maybe you should try Iron Council. I think it's my favorite of the Bas-Lag books, and not just because of the gay sex. edit again: is that part that I spoilered actually a spoiler? Can't remember.
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Aug 31, 2011 00:07
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Dunno why, but the cover looks YA to me. Is it YA?
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Nov 16, 2011 17:26
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Eh, I'm guessing this is a way of preventing burnout. If King took that long between books then they all might be as good as The Gunslinger.
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Dec 14, 2011 03:04
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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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I'd recommend Kraken or Embassytown, but a lot of folks in this thread disliked them. I was recommended The City & The City and King Rat and liked neither. All that I can tell you with any confidence is that you should try checking them out from your local library or getting them on the cheap as ebooks (if they are cheaper as ebooks?) before you get your own printed copies.
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May 8, 2012 09:09
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Mrs. Badcrumble posted:It's explained later on in the book, yeah. Is it a major spoiler? Would you mind spoiling it for us? Because that minor stylistic choice is almost making me give up on the book.
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May 26, 2012 00:40
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SaviourX posted:Since I read IC first, then The Scar, I pretty much flipped my poo poo when there was a throwaway line about Spiral Jacobs. I think he keeps little things like that in mind now and then, and adopts them into whatever new thing he's working on. Even better is somewhere in Perdido Street Station he mentions a woman who killed her baby and ended up remade with its arms sticking out of her head. Iron Council spoiler and that woman is Toro holy poo poo.
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Aug 29, 2012 17:14
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Where's the Romero reference? I must have missed it.
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Nov 20, 2012 08:43
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Can you post the cover? Bet it looks cool.
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Feb 18, 2013 07:35
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Isn't New Crobuzon basically a magical London, though?
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Feb 21, 2013 09:05
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RoboCicero posted:China Mieville tackles every goon's favorite subject seasteading, probably because he's pissed that such a cool idea ended up so boring. Goons managed to write a book on the subject. Only tangential, I know, but some of it was drat good.
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Jul 28, 2013 08:07
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Oasx posted:I would rate them : Heresy. Iron Council (9/10) Kraken Railsea PSS Looking for Jake (esp. "the tain" and the one about Christmas) The Scar Embassytown So who plays Isaac in the inevitable movie? My bet's on Mos Def in a fatsuit. vv: Could definitely see it. He's the bad guy from Serenity, right? Grand Prize Winner fucked around with this message at 13:37 on Aug 8, 2013 |
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Aug 8, 2013 08:23
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Hedrigall posted:With his pal Bastard John Didn't Bastard John die in the battle with the New Crobuzon navy?
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Aug 12, 2013 05:37
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Cpt. Mahatma Gandhi posted:The one on the left is actually not far removed from how I envisioned her. The one on the right though...what the hell? Wait why does it have two titles with two covers? Is the German version two books long or something?
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Mar 8, 2014 16:47
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^^Why don't you have a cactus-guy avatar?Oasx posted:I don't really understand the comments regarding the Bas Lag map, i gather there is a problem with maps in fantasy novels? Terry Pratchett at least argues (argued? does he still make this claim?) that maps stunt the imagination of the reader in the same way that pictures of characters of scenes or characters do.
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May 15, 2014 04:03
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Junkenstein posted:I love the way it starts off a vaguely Gaiman-esque London with magic around the edges and then Gus and Subby appear and it just gets progressively more bat poo poo from there. I believe you mean Goff and Fubby.
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Sep 4, 2014 02:09
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Twenty bucks says Mieville gets the ampersand.
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Oct 10, 2014 07:36
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I heard somewhere that he was living in Chicago now, though?
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Feb 7, 2015 19:26
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Maybe try putting book titles under each cover? The covers themselves are a little hard to read when they're that small.
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Feb 17, 2015 18:36
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What's the new book called/about? I know I could google this but I'd like to know y'alls opinions.
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Aug 12, 2016 08:08
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Tree Bucket posted:Confused Person Wanders Around Weird City in the Company of Someone Who Is Slightly Less Confused, And The True Enemy is Capitalism. New thread title. Not a joke I really think that encapsulates his work, and this is speaking as a fanboy.
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Sep 6, 2016 02:44
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Didn't some Chicago theatre do a TC&TC adaptation a while back? Really wish I'd gotten to see it.
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Apr 19, 2017 09:54
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Add "cosseted" and the whole thing, unabridged, would run maybe 15 minutes.
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Feb 17, 2018 05:57
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It's a magical musket which if I remember right actually looks like it's barfing out the shot when it gets fired. Yeah, he uses "puissance" frequently in reference to magical stuff. Honestly that bothers me less than "cosseted" which seems to pop out every other chapter in PSS and I can't un-notice it now. Pretty sure I wouldn't have spotted it in the first place if not for this thread, so thanks everyone
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May 13, 2019 10:25
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I just read that scene again the other day and no, Fighter Dude gives it to his wizard boyfriend before he does something dangerous and stupid with Isaac. Fighter dude dies, Wizard Boyfriend goes mad with grief upon hearing of Fighter Dude's death and fires it (a blunderbuss) at far too long a range, missing everything. Wizard Boyfriend then calls upon some truly nasty thaumaturgy to melt like six cactus dudes before getting cut from shoulder to navel by another cactus dude, whose arm explodes from hitting the magic dude. fake edit: I'm wrong, the magic one was Fighter Dude's pistol, which went off to no effect due to being hosed up by a slake-moth grabbing a helmet vvv: yeah Grand Prize Winner fucked around with this message at 20:00 on May 13, 2019 |
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May 13, 2019 18:50
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andrew smash posted:so did I imagine the vodyanoi with the bound water spirit asking whether or not isaac picked up the magic gun or was that actually there? Don't think so, but I have a nasty habit of kinda skimming action sequences to make them go faster (like a movie!); guess you'll just have to re-read it.
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May 13, 2019 22:50
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ah, I stopped for the night at Yag's italic interlude this city is gross also im a sad bird wot ain't got wings no more and a rapist i really want to go and paraphrase PSS paragraph by paragraph in the dumbest possible way now
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May 13, 2019 23:30
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Holy poo poo, he kinda deals with the same theme in Embassytown, doesn't he?
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May 14, 2019 04:41
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scary ghost dog posted:unfortunately all i could think about was normal dudes who have anuses for mouths that's a subcategory on xhamster now not any of the other ones, just xhamster for some reason
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May 17, 2019 01:57
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Quandary posted:I want to watch The Scar filmed and created in the same style as Mad Max Fury Road 
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May 17, 2019 04:42
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pseudanonymous posted:Mieville has been cosseted in the most puissant of dialectical thaumaturgy
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May 23, 2019 09:36
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