Perdido Street Station

[Stephen Palmer]

Originally Posted by Thing

Seriously enjoyable story, this. So many memorable characters, like Isaac, the Weaver (one of my favourite literary creations - a giant multi-dimensional spider who talks in endless poetry and is obsessed with scissors - what's not to like?) and the Khepri. The story is so vivid and complex, and the world of New Crobuzon is the ideal setting for it. Very much recommended, the kind of book that makes you want to go out and buy all of Mieville's others in the hope that they are as brilliant.

Many of them are!

[Ningauble]

I see that Subterranean Press will now do a special illustrated edition of Perdido Street Station. (Night Shade Books were supposed to do it, but decided -- after 5+ years -- not to.)

[J-WO]

Wow. That'll be something, alright.

[GOLLUM]

Might look at getting a copy even....

[Thing]

Originally Posted by Stephen Palmer

Many of them are!

I'm currently torn between King Rat and Iron Council for my next one ... ah well, there's nothing for it, I'll have to get both!

[coolerthanhot]

Originally Posted by Thing

I'm currently torn between King Rat and Iron Council for my next one ... ah well, there's nothing for it, I'll have to get both!

Haven't read King Rat yet but Iron Council is my top pick for sure out of the Bas-Lag books. I found it contained significantly more in terms of philosophy/social commentary than the other two, so if that sounds to be up your ally I would definitely suggest that- I think your plan of getting both is a most excellent choice nontheless! =)

[J-WO]

Just started on Iron Council. Nice to be back in Bas Lag again.

[Vertigo]

But I thought I would copy it to the PPS thread as well. I apologise if I seem to be saying much that has been said before here but I wrote this post elsewhere before reading this thread . It is more or less the same post I put in another thread where I had been bemoaning the string of mediocrity that I seem to have been reading these last couple of months.

Sorry if I come across a bit gushy in what follows, but you must understand that in the last two or three months my reading has been (for me and my tastes I must stress) something of a stream of mediocrity. So to finally find something that totally impresses me, has really lifted my spirits (I was beginning to think it was me just getting jaded ).

Anyway, obviously I'm not far into the book but I just love CM's writing style. Quite extraordinary use of the language and his metaphors are just wild. The whole producing mental images of his world whose clarity I have not enjoyed for a long time. For example:

Sometimes I clamber to the top of the huge, huge towers that teeter like porcupine spines from the city’s hide. Up in the thinner air, the winds lose the melancholy curiosity they have at street level. They abandon their second-floor petulance.

Simply one of the most graphic descriptions of different wind characteristics I have come across in a while.

There are also a few exceptional aspects of the writing for me personally. Firstly I always like to understand everything when I'm reading (call me a control freak or geek or whatever) and initially I really wanted to know how the various weird races came about. But now I'm simply enjoying them too much to worry about it (unheard of for me). Then there is his prose. I am normally not too keen on overly descriptive prose but there is something about CM's that resonates with me; I find myself lingering over and re-reading phrases, sentences or whole paragraphs just to capture the full flavour (again something unheard of for me). The language is almost Shakespearian; one minute elaborate poetic description (if somehwat dark and gothic) and the next down to earth and crude (as in shifting from say King Henry's dialogues to Falstaff's). Another comparison I would make would be to Mervyn Peake and Gormenghast. I normally have a tendency to rush my books - I can't wait to turn the next page - but here I find myself wanting to take it slowly and savour the prose; again almost unheard of for me and something I haven't found since probably reading Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast books or possibly Moorcock's Glorianna (both quite a few years ago).

Finally to return to my original comments on this thread about unusual social orders, I'm not really far enough in to have a very good idea of the overall social structure of New Crobuzon but his wierd races have already given plenty of opportunity for CM to explore just that aspect. In short this book seems to be pushing all my buttons and I'm loving it. I'm going to enjoy the rest of the book and I shall certainly be continuing with more of his stuff!

PS. I only just realised that CM does have a dedication of Mervyn Peake at the beginning of the book!

[J-WO]

I'm glad your liking it. Read on! Read on!

[Tansy]

That sounds like I felt reading it as well Vertigo.

I have Iron Council and king Rat to read next, I started the city and the City but that's not grabbing me so will move on to Iron Council before I pick that back up again

[ravenus]

Iron Council's the least of the Mieville books I've read, although I do like it on the whole. In case you haven't read The Scar pick that up, it's a walloping good book.

[Vertigo]

I'm about half way through now (very slow for me really) but loving it all the way. And, yes, he does maybe get a bit carried away with his descriptions sometimes but, hey, I can do on the fly 'editing' if necessary, though for the most part I enjoy the descriptions as much as the story. My one complaint would be the length and complexity of some of his sentences. The amount of nesting (if that's the right word) of phrases (comma, hyphens(?), brackets etc.) sometimes loses me and I have to go back and very carefully work out what phrase goes with which. Sometimes I would swear that he has got confused himself leaving some convoluted sentences unfinished.

But that's really only a niggle. I would still say that my mental picture of New Crobuzon and it's denizens is sharper and more vivid than with any other author I've read in a long while. It almost feels like I've been watching a film rather than reading a book!

[Tansy]

I enjoyed The Scar but it was more concise in story than PSS and I think I preferred PSS because of that, though it was still a very enjoyable read

And Vertigo when you finish you will be sad, its like saying goodbye to old friends not knowing when you will see them again lol

[Vertigo]

Well I've finished now and I loved it. First new fantasy author I've read in a long time that I have been really taken with. I shall definitely read more!

[Ursa major]

I'm glad you loved it.

If you're like me, you'll find that PSS is one of those books that stays in your mind for quite a while after you've finished it, particular the setting, New Crobuzon (which is one of those places that you enjoy reading about, but you wouldn't want to visit).