This book is such a weird combination of "boots on the ground, politically-inflected urban fantasy" and "gonzo avant garde borderline surrealist weirdo stuff", and it's fascinating. New Crobuzon is one of my favourite settings because of its incredible ratio of grounded stuff to bananas stuff. Like, they have beetle headed people, but there are still workers' strikes.
@LightningRaven42
2 жыл бұрын
Like Jim Butcher says in many of his interviews about writing fantasy, for every new fantastical element you should add at least two grounded elements in the story. This book seems to be my jam, I'll definitely give it a go.
@Severian1
2 жыл бұрын
Ah, the New Weird. Some of the most distinct Worldbuilding ever, uniting SciFi, fantasy and horror. And the political messaging gets more intense particularly in Iron Council. Love these books.
@frostburnwoof
2 жыл бұрын
Iron Council’s political stance really rubs it to your nose. Awesome book though.
@jacobmendonca8571
2 жыл бұрын
I read the TV tropes page it sounds intense.
@Severian1
2 жыл бұрын
@@slothrob I think that is changing though. Although a lot of fantasy back in the day had themes I think now it's coming to the forefront. I for one love that and the New Weird has that in spades.
@Severian1
2 жыл бұрын
@@frostburnwoof oh yes. Iron Council doesn't hold back at all.
@Dackad
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah, both Iron Council and Mieville's earlier, urban fantasy novel are both, uh, pretty on the nose with their political messaging. All the subtlety of a Remade with a steam jackhammer arm. Good books though, if you can get past that.
@ladyhoratia1709
2 жыл бұрын
it says a lot that one of the major influences for Disco Elysium was China Mellvile
@lactarius7781
2 жыл бұрын
Ooooo, that makes me want to read it even more. I absolutely love the melancholic post-soviet atmosphere of Revachol
@bangboom123
2 жыл бұрын
@@lactarius7781 If you like Disco Elysium you gotta check out Miéville. He's not as playful / humorous as that game, but he cares just as much about figuring out how people from different political spheres can live in the same space.
@lactarius7781
2 жыл бұрын
@@bangboom123 I mean that's what I said lol
@bangboom123
2 жыл бұрын
@@lactarius7781 I'm sorry. I'm just emphatically agreeing because I'm a huge fan of both ':D
@lactarius7781
2 жыл бұрын
@@bangboom123 understandable ;)
@TLBainter
2 жыл бұрын
Dang, this sounds like a really compelling read; not the sort of thing I'd ordinarily pick up on a whim, but after this review I'm thinking I might have to grab it. No spoiler section for me, yet!
@sitichybrid
2 жыл бұрын
Melville really is outstanding in mixing very personal, immediate character stories with very unique worlds and settings, and layering in his philosophy . Not always very subtle, but it's always so meaty. And it's always so interesting that most of his stories- however large the stakes may get, are very 'person on the ground who may get tangentially involved', but of the ones i've read- it's never a chosen one, it's never the person actually with power. The Scar is filled with characters with very complex backstories, amazing abilities... and our main characters are a criminal/laborer, and a linguist fleeing her government.
@MetalBurger
2 жыл бұрын
Perdido Street Station was my introduction to Mieville as well! It was such an engrossing read that I went down the Mieville rabbit hole and pretty much read everything else he had available at that point (which was about 8 years ago, I believe). In retrospect, The City and The City would have been an easier introduction to his brand of weird fiction, and I can definitely recommend that one!
@LowestofheDead
Жыл бұрын
After reading most of his books, The City & The City is still my favourite and I agree completely that it's the best introduction to a new reader.
@TheTomTracey
2 жыл бұрын
My freshman year of college, I took a fantasy class taught by a very political teacher. The class was supposed to explore themes and stories from different fantasy perspectives. Included in the class was the "New Caprica" storyline in BSG and this book. I was a terrible student and ended up not reading most of the books in the curriculum, but I think it's time I get to this book.
@SpideyDee
2 жыл бұрын
I'm a Political Scientist. I read Fantasy and Sci Fi to get a break, a retreat so to speak, from my day to day job which is why I was always quite hesitant to give this one a shot. But after your review, I think I'll give it a try.
@resetphone6142
2 жыл бұрын
What political scientist do
@mohammadadil456
2 жыл бұрын
@@resetphone6142 I too want to know
@orangeVikingfirefly
2 жыл бұрын
@@resetphone6142 they study human interaction (how it is, how it should be, how it was, how it could be), specifically those interactions that have something to do with power or social rules (mostly all of them)
@TheMrNukeman
2 жыл бұрын
@@resetphone6142 Really dumb people that think they are smart because the word science was forced into their major
@TheMrNukeman
2 жыл бұрын
@Jae Deuce Political Science is a complete joke. That is all. Not sure what you're trying to go on about...?
@TerrificRallyMaestro
2 жыл бұрын
Perdido Street Station is a huge inspiration for me as far as making a place -- New Crobuzon -- truly a character in and of itself. The author's depiction of more abstract/philosophical concepts (like a clockwork machine undergoing a particular repair process) is also a fantastic treat. I am surprised though you didn't mention the really surprising twist of the story (SPOILERS): It wasn't a worker's uprising plot, it was a monster horror story all along! The moths are genuinely one of the most unnerving species I've encountered in a long time. This story is a blast all around, definitely one of my favorites now.
@johnnydsnarkangel
2 жыл бұрын
Right!? The main plot comes out of NOWHERE and suddenly it's a whole different kind of story, but all the political and interpersonal threads that have been built up so far don't just go away. It's an interesting structure, and Perdido Street Station is one of my favourite books because of it.
@ThePurpleBookWyrm
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah I'm surprised there was zero mention of the eldritch horror of the slake moths and the Weaver!
@davidraveh5966
2 жыл бұрын
Hey, Daniel, hope you're doing well!
@bangboom123
2 жыл бұрын
It's worth noting that Miéville nowadays has a somewhat self-deprecating position on Perdido Street Station. He's called it a young man's book and laughed at it for being so gritty. So if that aspect was a bit much, I would recommend checking out later Miéville works. I personally found it refreshing, even though I read it years after its publication.
@saulcervantes1975
2 жыл бұрын
But also super weird, and the world-building is amazing. Honestly, I really loved this book
@ItalianStallionBDM
2 жыл бұрын
Mieville is a super interesting & thoughtful guy. He's joked before about being a bit embarrassed by how gritty and angsty he was trying to be with Perdido. Definitely recommend checking out his other books like the Scar or Kraken
@russellmlfranklin
2 жыл бұрын
CM's prose is just phenomenal. Iron Council in particular just blew me away on a sentence by sentence basis. Makes The Name of the Wind look like The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar.
@ethansdroid
2 жыл бұрын
Thems fightin words round these parts
@jidofole
9 ай бұрын
Very Hungry
@user-xd5ze1je3s
2 жыл бұрын
I have found your channel a maybe a few months from today now after I found myself returning to my healthy obsession of books, and now I noticed how excited I get when getting notifications that you posted a new video. Basically, you made my days a little better throughout it, and I love how genuine you seem in all your video! Thank you for that!
@rhopper564
2 жыл бұрын
As someone who mostly loved this book, I’m continually torn by the ending (especially what happens to Lin-who was a character I really adored and sits out most of the back half of the book and by the end is just…yeah). I mostly come down on the side of ‘totally getting what he was trying to do and appreciating it’ while also thinking he goes too far/plays into some bad tropes in a few places. Otherwise, I loved this book. The prouse, the unique worldbuilding, the political content, everything. I think he’s such an amazing writer with such a wild imagination-daring to do things few other SFF authors would. Stuff like the Weaver, Mr Motley, the Slaker moths, the emissary of hell all just seared themselves into my brain and have never left though I read this book like a year ago. I especially love how he handles race/racism. He’s definitely someone with a deep understanding of sociology, social dynamics, and social oppression which means that-while he does indulge in fantasy race-related tropes I’m generally speaking not a fan of-those elements feel so much more thoughtfully implemented and true to life than they usually do. Would personally recommend either the city and the city (his take on detective noir) or Embassytown (his take on a Le Guin style politically and linguistically motivated sci-fi thing) next, or the next book in the Bas-Lag series the scar if you were to go further. Really enjoyed the review and treasure this author a lot.
@SaintSanic
2 жыл бұрын
This book was hugely influential for me as a young adult. PSS is an intense multisensory experience. strange, uncomfortable at times and fueled by drug use, revolutionary verve, and deep weird fiction roots. His writing comes from a very lived in place. Gritty, urban, aggressive, and philosophical in equal parts. When I read someone I can infer and intuit their life experience. Many fantasy authors are very sheltered people, and that comes through in their writing; their characters, the underlying morality of the story and it's philosophy. Mieville is the real deal, and has seen some shit. Cannot believe PSS is over 20 years old. No one has made a city like New Crobuzon since. His writing gets more sophisticated as his career goes on, though the prose heaviness of PSS is unmatched. Embassytown -- his language based scifi - is rewarding.
@krisweigum6834
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for reading China Meivle. He generally doesn't have happy endings. I do love all his works, though I think his second book in the same world Scar is his best.
@stuartmathers7384
2 жыл бұрын
Ah see I was really let down with Scar after reading Perdido St, but glad to see it get love, out of interest what did you prefer with Scar (been years since I read them so considering giving them ago again)
@scottmartin5990
2 жыл бұрын
While Perdido Street was a wonderfully over-the-top phantasmagoria, the Scar was much more tightly plotted. It still had tons of weirdness, but more of it tied together. And the ending, while just as thought- provoking, was less dour than either PSS or Iron Council.
@stuartmathers7384
2 жыл бұрын
@@scottmartin5990 cheers scott
@frostburnwoof
2 жыл бұрын
I believe it’s New Weird. This was the first book that blew my mind in terms of world building, executing so much ideas and just making it work. His other Bas-Lags books, Scar and Iron Council, have different writing styles and if you felt this way with Perdido, well, there is no joy in those books as well. Even his weakest book, Kraken, which sounded absurd introduced some disturbing ideas (which I feel Rick and Morty borrowed). Mieville’s happiest book is Un Lun Dun. Railsea was pretty good too, but the use ampersands kinda annoyed me. I think Mieville’s greatest achievement so far is The City and The City. Great stuff.
@eXyliad
2 жыл бұрын
The City and the City is the first CM book I recommend everyone that wants to start diving into him. I found it the most accesible.
@adamparisi745
2 жыл бұрын
I actually found Kraken to be hugely entertaining in its weirdness.
@GOCRAZY3
2 жыл бұрын
I think it's wrong to say that there's no joy in The Scar or Iron Council. There's plenty of feel good shit, though, admittedly, a lot of it is there only to make you hurt by its disintegration later on. And while the note the series ends on can inspire pretty different reactions, I definitely think Mieville would say that he was going for an inspiring/hopeful ending. At least he would say so, if he wasn't completely opposed to talking about his own books.
@frostburnwoof
2 жыл бұрын
@@adamparisi745 It certainly was entertaining. I love the beam up theory. It’s both hilarious and disturbing. Reminds me of the movie Prestige.
@frostburnwoof
2 жыл бұрын
@@eXyliad I agree. It’s the book I talk more about. I want my friends to read the Bas-Lags books but only one of them appreciated it. Apparently it’s too much of a sensory overload for them. lol
@Banchetph
2 жыл бұрын
“The Scar” is my favorite of the bos lag books. You want pirates we got pirates. You want mosquito and cactus people we got that. You want steam punk we got that. You want a little lovecraftian we got that. Amazing book. Yes there is politics but it just makes you feel part of the world. If you are going to read any other of his books read this one.
@bmoneybby
2 жыл бұрын
yes
@karlforshaw
2 жыл бұрын
And Uther Doul.
@aaronsande
2 жыл бұрын
You should read "The City and the City" by him! It's so unique!
@Zetamen7
2 жыл бұрын
Starting the year right with some sff that twists the good ol'brain Edit: Must a book leave joy? Can it not just expose misery? In that it is very akin to Russian literature, the epitome of "Hey, life's fucked up". And in the age of Squeecore we probably need to put stories of this caliber more on the limelight
@gigangreg7837
2 жыл бұрын
I kinda disagree, cuz; man, everyone knows life sucks. Everyone's living it!
@James--Parker
2 жыл бұрын
When it comes to politics in books I tend to ask these questions 1: Do the politics realistically reflect the world they're in. For exsample if you're writing about a different world. Whose people have completely different cultures, histories and even genetics to our own. Then their politics should be widely different. And there should be lots of exsamples of blue and orange morality. And political struggles that feel detacted and seperate from out own. 2: Are the characters just proxies for the authors political views. Or are their politics a natural extension of who they are the world they find themselves in. Essentially do they have organic political views or does it feel like I am having a one sided argument with the author.
@ciaranharman2
2 жыл бұрын
If you're willing to take the plunge into more CM, I'd recommend Embassytown, mainly for the themes it explores. It is probably closer to scifi, but still quite hard to categorize. It explores language and identity, but in directions completely unlike what you would expect.
@ErikJohanssen-px7gg
Жыл бұрын
The one I absolutely love is The City & the City. Books can take you to another world, and the world in the cities is operating on such a different baseline that you can't make sense of the first couple of dozen pages. It's gibberish, but as you read on you learn about it and can see the rules and logic behind it all. You can go back and read the first parts, and now makes total sense. My favourite type of literature!
@alexmontrose8004
2 жыл бұрын
When I saw that Phillip K. Dick quote, I knew I was in for a wild ride with this book. I do think China Meville overuses certain words.
@hoidtakesopioids
2 жыл бұрын
PALIMPSEST
@aniketsanyal5586
2 жыл бұрын
KLAXON
@GOCRAZY3
2 жыл бұрын
Did someone say "puissant"? No? thank fucking god
@eXyliad
2 жыл бұрын
I
@josepheasterly8132
2 жыл бұрын
Hey, Daniel! Hope all is well. Perdido Street Station may be my least favorite Mieville. I urge you to read more. The stand-alone Kraken is fantastic!
@atharvadeshpande4749
2 жыл бұрын
Damn that summary is wild. Oh and Congrats on 400k by the way.
@xyznightwing
2 жыл бұрын
I've never heard of this author before, so I clicked on the video thinking that Daniel was going to talk about Wuxia
@pootsydoodle2326
2 жыл бұрын
Currently pitching for a Creative Writing PhD, with the critical component looking at Revolution in the works of Terry Pratchett, Naomi Novik, and China Miéville. I haven’t read this book yet, I’ll admit to being a bit intimidated by it, but your review has me excited to get started. I will say, Miéville’s academic insights into Marxist theory when he’s written academically and how it applies to fantasy is fascinating.
@drummerofawe
2 жыл бұрын
I haven't read a ton of Mieville's books but the other novel of his I'd recommend in a heartbeat is The City and the City. It started off a bit slow but then sucked me into its world like a black hole, and had enough intrigue to keep me hooked till the last page.
@davidrhodes5120
2 жыл бұрын
King Rat is probably his most accessible book. For everything else, his best strength is his worldbuilding. His skill that you admired in PSS is consistent in his work.
@batmanphone
2 жыл бұрын
I really suggest not giving up on this author. PSS left me with a sour taste in the end but The Scar, The City and The City, and Embassytown are wonderfully fantastic
@skellumfh
2 жыл бұрын
What struck me about Mieville is that he seems to have double an average writer's vocabulary. Haven't read his fiction books yet though "perdido street station" is lying on my pile of shame, know him from "October, an history of the Months between the February- and October Revolution.
@bangboom123
2 жыл бұрын
Finally! This channel needs more Miéville
@bryceroyball9864
2 жыл бұрын
I would highly recommend reading another one of his books Embassytown. It is more science fiction than fantasy but it is absolutely fascinating and in it he creates an extremely unique system of language that made me just as excited to learn more about as any Sanderson magic system.
@Morfeusm
2 жыл бұрын
I have been waiting for this video since I joined book tube community in circa 2017. I am in tears.
@JPGamesF
2 жыл бұрын
You should read the sequel, The Scar. Same world, some time after, different people. But it's set in this sea setting that's inherently more beautiful and romantic than New Crobuzon, so it's a lot less grueling an experience than Perdido. I'd say The Scar is probably the best of the three Bas-Lag novels.
@thevacuumofcomments2946
2 жыл бұрын
I'm all for outspoken political storytelling. We live in an age that doesn't deserve subtlety. So this went to the top of my list of books I need to read.
@ThePurpleBookWyrm
2 жыл бұрын
Please try something by Jeff VanderMeer (Annihilation is a good one to start with) as well, he's another big name in the New Weird movement, and another favourite author of mine alongside Miéville and Le Guin. As for my favourite Miéville, it'd definitely be Embassytown: some of the cleverest, most beautifully imaginative (weird) science-fiction ever imo. Kraken is probably my second favourite: just insane amounts of urban fantasy fun with clever concepts and loads of references to SFF culture, mythology and folklore.
@frostbite3897
2 жыл бұрын
I had to get used to China Miéville for a while before I could enjoy him more. I was reading his "Three Moments of an Explosion" short story collection, and I would go back and forth between hating and loving him. I'll admit that there are not many authors that have such a strong impact like that for me, so I did finally finish it and also read his novella "A New Day in Paris" (which is a fantastic, surrealist WWII work of art). I haven't read Perdido yet, but I do agree that it takes me a little time to handle his punchy and bleak style, so I'll get around to that when I can.
@alexisdumas84
2 жыл бұрын
What a coincidence! I finally made the commitment to get into the New Weird after buying an Ambergris omnibus at a bookstore, and just bought Perdido Street Station a few days ago!
@Alverant
2 жыл бұрын
I get the logic behind reading books by others of different political viewpoints. But when those different viewpoints include the idea, "These 'people' do not deserve the same rights as me because they are my lesser." I find it hard to follow that logic. I'm not saying China Miéville has those beliefs. Not at all. But there are some authors who do and I will avoid them.
@thetalantonx
2 жыл бұрын
3:20 - Preach it, brother. I've had my mind changed by people who understood the points I was making better than I did and refuted them
@Nasser851000
2 жыл бұрын
Is this the first China Melville book on the channel?
@Morfeusm
2 жыл бұрын
As an review yes, he physically showed Mieville book previously on segment please don’t be a 💣.
@BeautifulNight
2 жыл бұрын
I really really recommend The City & The City. It's really thought-provoking on the subject of identity and balkanization. The BBC made a valient stab at adapting it but you should really really read the book.
@theferalcollection
2 жыл бұрын
The final revelation left such a bad taste in my mouth that I actually negatively recast the entire book, but I think I want to reread it because I did enjoy it while I was reading it and maybe knowing the final twist will leave me if not happy, at least satisfied. All that aside, my favorite Mieville so far is The City & The City. I would definitely recommend giving it a read.
@Morfeusm
2 жыл бұрын
I bought it for him, hopefully he still has it
@hypatia4754
2 жыл бұрын
So finally a writer has the balls to say what they really think. Sorry it makes you so embarrassed.
@CompanionPrism
2 жыл бұрын
I also shared your unease with a named character's ending, and frankly I do the dishonest reader strategy of imagining an alternative page or two at the end for that character specifically. But throughout Isaac is one of my favorite protagonists in fiction.
@Aigra
2 жыл бұрын
I usually recommend "The city and the city" as the first China Mieville book to read. It's kind of like "1984" meets noir detective story. The setting is weird - of course - but I think it's a bit easier to get into than his other fiction writings. With the exception of the short stories collection maybe. The series is good too.
@ArcticonComp
2 жыл бұрын
King Rat is quite different, halting but awesome in its own way. As a maritime historian I always enjoyed The Scar also. The Iron Council was a bit too much though, despite having grown in a leftist family in Finland. Mieville is well worth another read, but you did recognize the issues as well.
@OverlyAverageBen
2 жыл бұрын
Oh man, I do love seeing a dedicated book review from the Goblin and I almostttt bought this book a month ago... Now regretting it
@Friniskee
2 жыл бұрын
China Mieville is one of my favorite authors. He's so good.
@itsaUSBline
2 жыл бұрын
So, a lot of his books vary wildly in terms of prose and tone. I'd give The City & The City a shot if Perdido Street Station wasn't so much your jam. It's more of a riff on detective novel tropes and has some really fascinating concepts, set in a modernized city in our world (kind of). It still deals a lot with themes of othering (in a very interesting and surprisingly literal way), but reads very differently from PSS.
@viennacircle1
2 жыл бұрын
I went through most of Mieville last summer. Perdido is imo one of his rougher around the edges books but also pretty great. The rest of New Crobuzon is great. My personal favorites are Kraken (basically just a completely wild action adventure comedy story) and Embassytown
@ianthereader
2 жыл бұрын
This book has been sitting on my shelf for ages! I am very intrigued!
@someokiedude9549
2 жыл бұрын
I pronounce it Me-ay-ville. But great review as always. This is the next book I'm reading after I finish either Conan or Black Leopard, Red Wolf. Can't wait to dive in.
@albionharrison-naish3329
2 жыл бұрын
Haven't read it in close to 20 years but I still consider it one of the best books I've ever read. You should totally read at least the other two books set in the same world. They are not the same characters at all but are also really fascinating in many ways. The Scar has some concepts/locations in it that are the only things to ever inspire me to want to write any fan fic. You say there's no joy in it, and fair enough but for me the main joy was the pleasure of the writing, and the energy in all the ideas constantly buzzing around you. I remember that he would often change his stylistic approach really effectively depending on what was going on. So as you point out, it is mostly quite dense and intricate language, but it can shift. One example I will always remember was there was a section where Isaac is babbling on to someone about a whole lot of high concept science stuff and it goes for bloody ages, but Mieville switches to a very plain writing style that has the pace of what used to be called Airport novels. That ability to change his approach to suit the moment was so consistently enlivening to me as a reader. Also for anyone interested in the politics side of it, Mielville is a marxist economist by training and is one of the founding editors of the radical journal Salvage. Anyhow, sorry to the slight rant, love this book so much.
@kristasherian8794
2 жыл бұрын
I couldn't continue this book because the body horror was just to triggering for me, but light I loved his prose and the story. So glad to see this review of it and the spoilers for the 2nd half.
@CompanionPrism
2 жыл бұрын
The Weaver is the inspiration for a number of screen names and discussions amongst my friend group. That character is a true delight!
@dougiethompson2822
2 жыл бұрын
5:57 I'm guessing that was a corrupted graphic?
@PonyOfWar
2 жыл бұрын
Really loved this book, thick atmosphere and interesting themes. I also read the other Bas-Lag novels afterwards but I think Perdido Street Station remains my favorite.
@thefriesofLockeLamora
2 жыл бұрын
Oh this was recently recommended to me. How serendipitous.
@geologyjohnson7700
2 жыл бұрын
I've only read Kraken by Mieville. I enjoyed the ideas and world building but didn't really dig the writing style and thought it was too long by half. Friends have encouraged me to read more of his work but I just don't think I can commit to books of that size that I'm not gonna super enjoy.
@zipperzee
2 жыл бұрын
I couldn't finish it. I read Un lun dun first and wasn't a fan of that either. I'm at the point that I think giving an author two attempts is fair. I'd really have to be convinced to give him another shot.
@kilgour22
2 жыл бұрын
If you were a fan of Mieville's prose, then definitely consider checking out Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast novels, if you haven't already!
@bpj
2 жыл бұрын
Glad your arms better :)
@TheInkblot101
7 ай бұрын
Okay I know I'm late on this one but *genuinely* read The Scar. It's the next one in the series and it's my favourite of the three. The ending is nowhere near as bleak and it is *just* as beautifully horrifically fascinating.
@ragnhildknezevic8564
2 жыл бұрын
I would have liked to see the cover, though. The title is a bit difficult to remember, so seeing the cover would have made it easier for me to recognise it in a bookstore.
@FreakyLynx
2 жыл бұрын
I will say I really enjoyed Perdido Street Station, even with the really downer ending. I tried getting a roommate at the time to read it because I felt it would be something he’d enjoy; instead he told me he had already tried and hated how it was written. It took me moment to remember the book started with Yagharek’s internal monologue which is pretty alien and difficult to get through. I tried explaining if he made it past the first ten pages the book completely changes… I don’t think he bothered to give it another chance. I’ve been meaning to read more of the Bad Lag trilogy but never got around to it (it didn’t help hearing the other two books had almost no connection to Perdido). I have read Un Lun Dun and would highly recommend that. I hope it’s not spoiling it to say you won’t get the angst you got from Perdido. The closest I might compare it to is The Thief of Always.
@raving_mangostand
2 жыл бұрын
I read The Scar before Perdido Street Station, and I read it again after. The Scar is one of my favorites!
@clarkbayles9795
Жыл бұрын
Thats why he calls his genre "Weird Fiction"
@BDS-ACAB
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for FINALLY giving Mieville his due. The best out there and an innovator in the Weird fiction genre
@CheeseToastOfDeath
2 жыл бұрын
I read this novel. I am glad I read this novel. Perdido Street Station grabbed me by the throat, and used its unique prose to conjure up perhaps the most vividly bizarre and captivating world that I've ever read. And yet, the ending left such a bad taste in my mouth that I couldn't finish The Scar, because I knew full-well that everything was setting itself up to go to shit in the most tragic way possible, and I found that to be wearying. That's probably just me, though.
@Nr4747
2 жыл бұрын
Fun fact: I only know of this book because we played through the Dungeons and Dragons adventure "The Styes" (published in "Ghosts of Saltmarsh") in an only D&D Adventurers League. The adventure was appearently *heavily* influenced by some of the themes and the atmosphere of Perdido Street Station and the DM told us afterwards that he highly recommends reading the book in order to understand the themes of what we had just played through better (and because it's a great book in his opinion, of course).
@justingibbs4480
2 жыл бұрын
Really happy to see a book review again!
@Catlady49
2 жыл бұрын
My brain really dropped the r in angry and I thought for sure you but Angy in your title…welp. My brain.
@sarafina1263
2 жыл бұрын
So happy to see you back and you doing book reviews. I get book reviews do not get any many hits, so I just want to engage and say that I am very thankful to see them. It is because of your reviews that I have found so many great books (hello Greenbone!)
@kohhna
2 жыл бұрын
Even if you don't read any of his other genre works you should read the books he did on The Paris Commune and the October Revolution. All the story telling techniques and firey urgent prose but deployed on narrative accounts of actual history.
@GOCRAZY3
2 жыл бұрын
I actually checked out October after seeing a youtube Stalinist call it "full of bourgeois propaganda", which made it a pretty instant recommendation for me lol. It's pretty thoroughly colored by his Trotskyism, and as someone who is assuredly not a Trot I still found it pretty fun and informative. He's also hardly a typical Trot or even Leninist, dude is way more critical of the Bolsheviks than any Leninist I've ever seen.
@emmanuelboakye1124
2 жыл бұрын
Good to see your doing better👍👍
@Bob_games103
2 жыл бұрын
Read the scar, it's got a 'flower' sword, and iron council for golems!
@fabiangiesen306
2 жыл бұрын
Mieville at his most political and possibly angriest is Iron Council. Absolutely not for everyone but I read it shortly after it came out and still think about it regularly to this day, so it sure left an impression. (I should re-read it.) I think his most accessible book (that I've read anyway), and one of the most fascinating, is The City & the City. Definitely worth a read.
@tedarcher9120
2 жыл бұрын
Daniel, did you read anything by K.J Parker, aka Tom Holt? I think he has one of the most uniuqes author voices and styles out there, and the worldbuilding is completely insane
@sebastienmenkes-author6889
2 жыл бұрын
SO glad you reviewed this! One of the best books I've had the pleasure of reading. Mieville has such an incredible imagination. I'd take something overtly political and psychedelic like this over something video gamey like Stormlight any day of the week. Hope you read The Scar next. It's even better!
@rickpasley6961
2 жыл бұрын
Dude, don't give up on China over this book. This is a great book but a tough read in my opinion, but China Mieville is so much more than a slipstream writer with way too much imagination! Go give Un-Lun-Dun a try, or The City and The City. Both are fantastic, much more approachable, and each wildly different from Perdido Street and from each other! China is one of my favs and I hate to see anyone give up on his books after getting through a book many people have not gotten through.
@orkosubmarine
2 жыл бұрын
I just love how many different ways you found to say this man's last name lol MYEville, MEHville, MAY-EYE-ville, so good
@superjazzzz
2 жыл бұрын
I am so happy you finally reviewed this. Please, as much more new weird as you can stomach!
@monkeymox2544
2 жыл бұрын
I think the reason that this book stands out in fantasy is that it is overtly left-wing. A lot of fantasy is no less political, but as inheritors of Tolkien's legacy their overt conservatism is just seen as part of the genre. Even non-conservative writers often can't help but reproduce the political presuppositions behind LOTR. This isn't me bashing Tolkien, btw. As a writer, he is one of my favourite fantasy authors. I just don't like the political messages behind his work.
@greenjudy
2 жыл бұрын
I enjoyed your review, Daniel. My favorite Miéville, tho it is more a sci fi than a fantasy read, is _The City and the City_, which has big Kafka/Orson Welles "The Trial" vibes and lays in a nifty police procedural. A lot of wrestling with large, implacable systems, but IMO a little more nuanced in its messaging. At any rate, I get a big kick out of your assessments. Cheers!
@zipperzee
2 жыл бұрын
I've read Un Lun Dun and dnf'd Kraken. I'm not a fan of Mieville's writing. Another Brit who writes similar genres is Chris Wooding and I adore his writing style.
@AlyriaLaserBitch
2 жыл бұрын
I love the style of this video, and the openness to understanding and being compassionate about someone with aggressive views.
@k-majik
2 жыл бұрын
Glad to see you going on a bit of a speculative, weird fic kick in some recent reviews. This book is mad, in both senses of the word - it's fantastic!!
@ThunderhawkVeronicaLazerwolf
Жыл бұрын
They are unique enough for me to read 3. The Scar is probably my favorite and it lives in the same world as Perdido. It has some of the wildest weapon ideas I've ever seen, and I've been reading SFF for my whole life, and I'm 40. Iron Council was like poetically weird, unlike the other 2. I think it's important to stretch the boundaries of these genres, and I honestly think he's on the edge of what's to come next.
@aniketsanyal5586
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for reviewing Perdido Street Station! A good spotlight on British New Weird fiction, and a bit (or a lot) of far-left politics in this fantasy New Crobuzon world makes for a really compelling read, even as a 20+ year old book. Your review was excellent!
@kinahthecat
2 жыл бұрын
There is a lot of China Mieville that I read a while ago and I would be curious to re-read, but Perdido Street Station was one of my favorites. I also really enjoyed "The City and the City", which is more of a detective story, but in a weird setting. It was maybe the easiest Mieville read. "Embassytown" was great for its exploration of language and "The Scar" for another heavily political, but this time pirate themed, story. The only one I didn't enjoy much so far was "Kraken". It was a clever story, but I just couldn't get into it. But in general, the China Mieville's books are not where one would go looking for joy. I just kind of like to suffer.
@eXyliad
2 жыл бұрын
Amazing. I agree 100% with every opinion in this comment!
@MichaelWagner-ie9px
Жыл бұрын
Loved it. Am working on the sequel right now and am thoroughly enjoying it as well
@Amy-vg4xt
2 жыл бұрын
I read Perdido Street Station for the first time almost a year ago and have not stopped thinking about it since.
@KitchenSinkSoup
2 жыл бұрын
I'm currently reading China Mieville's non-fiction work on the 1917 Russian Revolutions called October and even there his prose is preposterously good. His descriptions of the key players are exceptional and I'm going to quote his sketch of Stalin here: "Stalin, of course, was not yet _Stalin_ . Today, any account of the revolution is haunted by a ghost from the future, that twinkly-eyed, moustachioed monstrosity, Uncle Joe, the butcher, key architect of a grotesque and crushing despotic state - the -ism that bears his name. There have been decades of debate about the aetiology of Stalinism, volumes of stories about the man's brutality and that of his regime. They cast shadows backwards from what would come. But this was 1917. Stalin had not turned forty. He was, then, _just_ Stalin, Ioseb Jughashvili, known to his comrades as Koba, a Georgian ex-trainee priest and meteorological clerk, and a long-time Bolshevik activist. A capable, if never scintillating, organiser. At best an adequate intellectual, at worst an embarrassing one. He was neither a party left nor a party right per se, but something of a weathervane. The impression he left was one of not leaving much of an impression. Sukhanov would remember him as ‘a grey blur’. There is a rare hint at something more troubling about the man in the assessment of the party’s Russian Bureau in Petrograd, which allowed him to join, but only as advisor, without the right to a vote - because, it said, of ‘certain personal features that are inherent in him’. Would that the rest of Sukhanov’s description had been accurate: that Stalin had remained no more than glimpsed, ‘looming up now and then dimly and without leaving any trace’."
@Twichi
2 жыл бұрын
I would like your thoughts on 'The City and the City'. It is near future scifi and reads like a detective novel. I don't remember it being to depressing. Thanks.
@KibiHofmann
2 жыл бұрын
Agreed. This was my first China Mieville and so far my last. Amazingly written, a great world, I didn't mind that I disagree with a lot of the lecturing - but, it just left me so sad at the end that I had no desire to do that to myself again.
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