Steampunk High Literature . . . It exists! A China Mieville thread
6 replies, posted
I'm hear to tell you about this book called Perdido Street Station and why you might want to read it.
[IMG]http://aidanmoher.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/perdido-street-station-by-china-mieville.jpg[/IMG]
This book fucking rocks, and I'll tell you why.
First of all, it isn't your typical fantasy, though it has many fantasy elements. It is more of a "black" fantasy.
[LIST]
[*]There is a quest of sorts. The hero's journey is loosely followed.
[*]There is a sort of magic system.
[*]It's got monsters.
[*]It's got a variety of peoples and races, from the Garuda (7ft. tall proud and barbaric bird people), Vodyanoi (frog like people skilled in watercraft), Khepri (bug people who are skilled artists that make sculptures with their "spit"), to name a few.
[/LIST]
Second of all, it isn't your typical sci-fi, either, though it has many sci-fi elements.
[LIST]
[*]There is a lot of theoretical science. Physics, maths, computer engineering.
[*]The main character, Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin is a [B]renegade scientist[/B]. He's outcast because he deals with unpopular theories. He's big, burly, fat, and smart. And he fucking rocks.
[/LIST]
Thirdly, it is a steam punk novel that is written very, very well. I thought that steam punk mainly existed in amine, comics, and in Lego. But here it lives, breathes, and bellows steam in novel form.
[LIST]
[*]There are dirigibles and airships everywhere.
[*]There are "remade," people that have had machine elements grafted onto them that run on clockwork and steam engines.
[*]The weapons and vehicles are antiquated futuristic. There are flintlocks, but there is also the aforementioned remade.
[*]The computers run off of punch cards.
[*]The city and setting of New Chrobuzon is dirty, polluted. Even the names are full of filth, the rivers Tar, Canker, and Gross Tar, and the neighborhoods Brock Marsh, Echomire, and Griss Twist, to name a few.
[/LIST]
Finally, the story is gripping. Mieville's style is super descriptive and unrelenting in beauty and violence. The city of New Crobuzon lives on the page in vivid descriptions. The ideas that Mieville populates the city with will keep you turning the page, wondering what will happen next. The characters are super awesome and well rounded. You'll root for some and despise others. And although the ending has a twist that comes suddenly and abruptly, it makes sense if you think about it. And the ending is rather brutal and unapologetic. It will stay with you, and you'll want to talk about it.
Also, if you don't want to read a 600 page book, or if you can't find it (in the US it is Mieville is not popular, yet), then I highly suggest listening to the [B]audiobook.[/B] The reader does an excellent job of casting the character different voices. The audiobook can be found wherever you buy and/or download mp3s.
[B]Still with me? Next, I'll give a brief plot summary. Do not go on if you don't like any sort of spoilers whatsoever. I had no clue what the story was about, and was very surprised. So stop now if your interest is peaked.[/B]
[B]
Brief plot summary. (I'll do my best to be spoiler free, though spoiler is so subjective.)
[/B]The main story is about this Garuda, Yagharek, that has had his wings cut off for committing a crime. Because Garudas travel and hunt by flying, Yag seeks the scientist Isaac to help him fly again. Isaac, ever the renegade, helps Yag and sets out to try and solve his problem. But when he gathers (by seedy means) all manner of flying things to try and understand the physics of flight, he inadvertently unleashes a horrific monster onto the city of New Crobuzon. Isaac, Yag, and his friends need to try and kill the monsters while hiding and dodging the cities oppressive and militaristic government and a psychotic, megalomaniac drug lord.
And that's just the main story. There are a lot of other things going on, too, that all interconnect.
Right now, I'm reading [U]Scar[/U], which is equally awesome. In there first few pages a He-cray uses his hunting squid to catch fish. How fucking awesome is that!
What are you talking about, there's loads of steampunk books, steampunk was born from novels
No one does steampunk right.
Is that the author of Un Lun Dun? It was a really good book. I like how everything came together, and the Alice in Wonderland meets Neil Gaiman for tea feel.
It's not as much that no one does it right, is that it's there's so many variations to it
I recommend the Mortal Engines series
[editline]09:15PM[/editline]
fff ninja'd
Notice as said in the title, steam punk [B]high literature.
[/B]Anyway, who effing cares if there is a lot of steam punk out there. This isn't about that, nor about me. Its about the awesomeness of Perdido Street Station.
Stay on topic, assholes.
no discussion allowed in this thread, guys
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