[alt146]

Sorry if there's already a topic like this somewhere in the bowels of the forum, I couldnt find one.

After seeing China Meivelle's name popping up in various threads throughout the forum I decided to check them out.  Having read through all of the New Crobuzon series, I have to say I am very impressed.

His writing is very strong, he creates great atmosphere and the ending of Perdido Street Station was like being punched in the chest.  

Spoiler

The scene were Lin tries to create art after being attacked by the Slake Moth was heartbreaking and the final scene with the Garuda standing on the ledge ended the book off really well.

 His ideas are very original and interesting - the world of Bas-Lag is very cool and I hope he writes more set in the universe.  I liked the that the books are very subtley linked together while still being stand-alone.  I also liked the fact that he actually explains a lot of the world's history and the events that caused it to be the way it is without ever giving an info-dump.

The characters were also good, especially those in The Scar - Uthor Doul was great and Bellis is one of the strongest lead female characters I've ever read.

My only complaint is the same as many of the others - Iron Council was much weaker than the first two, mainly because the ending just didnt go anywhere.  Compared to the endings of the first two books it was a big let down, and the characters werent as engaging. Still a decent read, but it pales in comparison to the first two.

This post has been edited by alt146: 23 June 2009 - 10:12 AM

[Aptorian]

Maybe you should spoiler some of the stuff from Perdido, Alt? there's other people who haven't read the books.

I loved the first two and agree that Iron Council was shit. It was like he had so and so many notes on the world lying around and just decided to take all the things he'd been hinting at in the other books and just cram them in the third one. It really didn't suit the book for most of it to be about the life of that gay elementalist.

[alt146]

Well I did warn there would be spoilers, but sure.

I dont think Iron Council was a bad book, I was just frustrated by the ending, it didnt feel like there was any sort of resolution to the story. I got the point the author was makiing above symbols, history and revolution; but just

Spoiler

freezing the train

and saying "I guess now we'll never know" really irritated me. He did something similar at the end of The Scar where

Spoiler

Bellis knows she'll never know if everything was chance or Doul's manipulations

, but that was clever and fit the book. It also more of a closing thought than the actual conclusion which is the problem with Iron Council.

There's some really strong stuff in Iron Council when

Spoiler

they steal the train and escape the militia

was very cool. If the last 100 pages or so had been different it could have been as good as the others I think. Jonah wasnt a bad character, but the other characters obsession with him was a little irritating.

[Dolorous Menhir]

Amazing that you can praise the world of Bas-Lag, and not mention the Weaver, Jack-half-a-Prayer, the ambassador from Hell, the Remade, the Cactaci...the list goes on.

[alt146]

Dolorous Menhir, on Jun 23 2009, 01:06 PM, said:

Amazing that you can praise the world of Bas-Lag, and not mention the Weaver, Jack-half-a-Prayer, the ambassador from Hell, the Remade, the Cactaci...the list goes on.

Yeah, there's tons of great stuff, mentioning it all in one post would have me sounding like a rambling fanboy

[Abyss]

THE SCAR remains one of my favourite books ever.

I liked these books and the world CM created. New Crobuzon is especially awesome, with its alien neighborhoods and a monster skeleton sitting in the middle of it.

While i agree IC wasn't as good as the previous two books, i still enjoyed it and i thought it did an amazing job of developing the world around the stories.

- Abyss, did giggle every time he read 'grindylou'...

[stone monkey]

Which shows how we're a broad church, I guess; because Iron Council is actually my favourite of the three.

[masan's saddle]

Hmmm, I read Perdido Street station on holiday a few years back and was mightily impressed, I mean I was on HOLIDAY but I primarily remember reading the book !!! sad I know.

I thought the Slake Moth was one of the best creations of recent fantasy literature and combine this with his world building, characterizations, different species....,
enough.

I'm a fan.

[alt146]

Something that you guys may not have noticed, but Meivelle maked use of a fair number of South African words, veldt and tsotsi being two that I remember off hand. Are words like that a part of the lingo overseas?

[Aptorian]

I still occasionally flip open Perdido Street Station just to read the parts where the mayor visits the Weaver and the Ambassador of Hell.

[Nakorite]

Aptorian, on Jun 24 2009, 11:46 AM, said:

I still occasionally flip open Perdido Street Station just to read the parts where the mayor visits the Weaver and the Ambassador of Hell.

Does the Weaver appear in the other books?

[Aptorian]

I can't actually remember. I think some info on their background is mentioned in the other books.

[amphibian]

The Scar is one of the finest books I've ever read.

I recall reading Iron Council and hating every inch of it. I'll borrow it from the library again (own the other two Crobuzon books) and see if there's any Weaver info.

[polishgenius]

There's a brief cameo from a Weaver in Iron Council iirc.

[alt146]

That is true, but his appearance seemed kind of pointless, unless I missed what its brief presence caused. Although it was awesome in Perdido, the battle in the skies between the handlingers, the weaver and the slake moths was damn cool.

[Abyss]

polishgenius, on Jun 24 2009, 03:37 AM, said:

There's a brief cameo from a Weaver in Iron Council iirc.

extra fake rep points for using 'A' Weaver rather than 'the'.

- Abyss, caught that.

[stone monkey]

alt146, on Jun 23 2009, 10:45 PM, said:

Something that you guys may not have noticed, but Meivelle maked use of a fair number of South African words, veldt and tsotsi being two that I remember off hand. Are words like that a part of the lingo overseas?

Oh yes. "veldt" certainly. One of the joys of the English language is its slutty nature; it'll have any word going...

[caladanbrood]

My favourite is actually The Scar, rather than PSS... Mieville's weakness is his endings though, I think... they really let him down, especially in PSS.

[Grief]

Hmm, is there any particular order they need read in?

I have perdido street station(unread atm i'm afraid) but not any of the others. Will it make a difference, or can I go start it now?

[Aptorian]

The order goes Perdido Street Station, Scar, Iron Council.

The first and the second one can be read interchangably, all though there are some small references to the first book in the second. The third, Iron Council should, how ever, be the last book you read. Both because it suck, but also because it ties up lots of loose ends from the other two.

Still, they are written in the order they are supposed to be read in.