Railsea

[Ningauble]

Amazon is listing a forthcoming YA novel called Railsea, to be published in 2012. No more information at the moment.

[Stephen Palmer]

If it's as fantastic as Un Lun Dun, I shall be a happy man.

[Ningauble]

From Amazon UK:

On board the moletrain Medes, Sham Yes ap Soorap watches in awe as he witnesses his first moldywarpe hunt: the giant mole bursting from the earth, the harpoonists targeting their prey, the battle resulting in one’s death and the other’s glory. But no matter how spectacular it is, Sham can’t shake the sense that there is more to life than traveling the endless rails of the railsea—even if his captain can think only of the hunt for the ivory-colored mole she’s been chasing since it took her arm all those years ago. When they come across a wrecked train, at first it’s a welcome distraction. But what Sham finds in the derelict—a kind of treasure map indicating a mythical place untouched by iron rails—leads to considerably more than he’d bargained for. Soon he’s hunted on all sides, by pirates, trainsfolk, monsters, and salvage-scrabblers. And it might not be just Sham’s life that’s about to change. It could be the whole of the railsea.

Here is a novel for readers of all ages, a gripping and brilliantly imagined take on Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick that confirms China Miéville’s status as “the most original and talented voice to appear in several years” (Science Fiction Chronicle).

[kopfarm]

Read this a few weeks ago. Took me a while to get into it but once I did it was typical Meiville, you get drawn into the universe he creates. I won't tell you the ending but as usual it leaves things open for further development. Good book, he is definitely one of the most talented writers around at the moment in any genre

[Stephen Palmer]

Looking forward to the pb of this...

[Daezarkian]

I wasn't sure about this one going in, but Railsea wound up being a fantastic read. A bit long-winded at times, but I love how he's always able to milk the most of the worlds he creates. Terrific stuff.