Best China Mieville book?

[Sabalos]

I thought Embassytown was stunning, having just picked it up because it was one of the few sci fi/fantasy books in the English-language section of the store I was in at the time and I badly needed a read.

When I finished it I excitedly went online and excitedly ordered The City and the City, and was rather disappointed with it. Then I didn't read any more of his books. So, Embassytown, I guess is what I am saying.

 

[AuntyAlias]

I realised that I still haven't read anything by China Mieville, and this is something I should rectify.

Any suggestions as to the best book to introduce me to his writing?

I began reading China Mieville's books in the order they were written. King Rat was written when he was 26 and he was going to a lot of bass and drum clubs, therefore music plays a big role in the story. Perdido Street Station when he was 28, when he was in his "gritty gritty" stage. His writing changes as he matures. The Bas-Lag trilogy: Perdido Street Station, The Scar, and The Iron Council are tied together by environment. Be prepared after that for each book to be in a different genre: Detective, Youth, Outer Space, an homage to Moby Dick, but all in a weird fiction universe. To read his works out of order deprives the reader of watching him evolve as a writer. Not all of his works are going to appeal to every one of his fans because he is always experimenting. I enjoy all of his works and am along for the long haul ride.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

It's better to experiment than to keep all your fans all of the time.

 

[tylenol4000]

Embassytown.

 

[Toke]

Sometime ago, in a book-bying craze, I bought nearly all Mieville's books. Couple of weeks ago I read my first one, The City and the City. I usually find something to like about in almost every book I read but his book was so shitty I even got a little upset. I wanted to like it but... Now I have a pile of other Mieville books to read. I read that the City and the City is an exception in his style. Is this correct?

 

[The Judge]

What in particular didn't you like about The City...? I actually liked the writing style and the characterisation, though the premise of the plot didn't fully engage me, but as I understand it his writing isn't usually so restrained, and certainly it was very different in style and, well, everything from Kraken which is the only other novel of his I've read.

If you like things which are weirder, then certainly Kraken might fit the bill, both in writing and the insanely exuberant ideas (if you've not see my earlier post, I've given a brief run through of it there). If you hate weird, then it may well be he isn't the writer for you.

It might be worth dipping into the first pages of the other books, to see if the style of any one of them appeals to you.

 

[Toke]

Thanks for replying. The main character was a little flat and didn't have any drives in his life. I couldn't relate to him at all, he was so neutral. The setting was probably the biggest reason I didn't like this book. It somehow didn't seem plausible and was - in search for a better term - stupid. The dialogue and character encounters didn't resonate in my mind at all, must be because of the previous reasons I wrote.

Kraken might very well be the next one. Or the Embassytown. The Bas-Lag-series would require a bit more commitment than I'd be ready to yield at this moment.

 

[The Judge]

Yes, I can see that it might read as too restrained and subdued, and I can certainly appreciate what you mean by the setting not being plausible -- it was more allegory than reality to my mind. But I don't think plausibility and realism are his strong suits! I'd be interested in hearing how you get on with the others. Good luck with them!

 

[althea]

A good storyteller can write a story that has you gripped all the way through,then only after you've finished it,you realise it was a totally preposterous plot.
That has happened to me with a couple of Dean Koontz books.
If the story seems absurd at the beginning,I can't read it.

 

[cyberpunkdreams]

Funny how tastes differ -- I've read quite a lot of his work, and I thought The City & The City was the best by far. Not that the others were bad . Kraken did feel a bit long and got a bit silly, and Perdido Street Station could have done with an ideas filter. I'm reading The Scar at the moment and enjoying it more.

Just a note about Bas Lag -- they're not really a series. They're more one-off books set in a shared world.

 

[zlogdan]

I have not read Kraken/Un Lu Dun/Iron Council/King Rat. Out all the remaining ones my favorite is The City And City followed closely by Perdido Street Station.

 

[Ursa major]

Kraken might very well be the next one. Or the Embassytown. The Bas-Lag-series would require a bit more commitment than I'd be ready to yield at this moment.

Speaking as someone who didn't really like Kraken and stopped reading Embassytown only a few chapters in, I would say that the commitment required to read, say, Perdido Street Station would be a lot smaller, except purely in terms of the number of pages to be read.


However, given that I enjoyed The City and the City, I would understand, though be saddened, if you decided to take my view with a pinch of salt.

 

[Toke]

Hah. Well, it seems obvious that the books are quite different. Better try them all.

 

[sinister42]

It's probably my fave CM book. I'm in the minority though, although it is regarded well by the author.

Iron Council is my favorite Mieville book because I'm a dirty commie and the ending is bloody inspirational as all get out. But definitely read PSS and The Scar before reading Iron Council.

Any thoughts on his newest one, The Census Taker, or last year's short story collection? He's got a new book coming out that, like, was written specifically for me, I feel. It pushes all of my buttons: surrealism, France, revolution. Yeah. Can't wait to devour it.

 

[E.Maree]

I'm reading Perdido Street Station right now. It's very good, but oh god, it is so, so so long. SO LONG. And frustrating, as interesting as the story is, a lot of the length should have been left on the cutting room floor.

I absolutely adore the world but ye gods, man, can you stop describing the exact choreography of police weapons and get back to the exciting shoot-out please. People are dying! Stop going into the detailed history of Khepri stingboxes!

I've been told The Scar is much tighter, so I'm pushing forward in hope of that.

Tried Railsea and Un Lun Dun before and really didn't care for either of them. Railsea was trying too hard, Un Lun Dun was trying too little. But that's just my tastes. Perdido feels much stronger than either of those.

 

[cyberpunkdreams]

The Scar is much tighter for sure. I get the impression with CM that he just has millions of ideas, and with PSS no one told him what to leave out. There's something new and bonkers every chapter, not to mention all the unnecessary detail in the middle of the action, as you say. The Scar does go that way a little bit at times, but not to the same extent. That said, it's still bloody long!

 

[Caliban]

He does say that with PSS looking back he wouldn't cut it because the people who do like the book often like it because it's so florid and meandering and he wouldn't take that away from them, even though he acknowledges he wouldn't take that approach now.

If I remember rightly the Scar is much tighter. Yet I think it keeps the good aspects of PSS. I prefer the cast in TS as well.

 

[sinister42]

He does say that with PSS looking back he wouldn't cut it because the people who do like the book often like it because it's so florid and meandering and he wouldn't take that away from them, even though he acknowledges he wouldn't take that approach now.

I wouldn't change a word of PSS. Not a syllable.

Well, I say that, but I mean...yeah, there are bits where it gets bogged down a little - the segments with the construct council, for example - but even those...Mieville's use of language is like nothing else, and I can't get enough of it.

Well, I say that, but This Census Taker was a little uneven, and I did skip a few of the short stories in his latest collection.

So bottom line - I love China Mieville in ways that are not appropriate to discuss here. Ahem.

 

[Caliban]

I wouldn't change a word of PSS. Not a syllable.

Well, I say that, but I mean...yeah, there are bits where it gets bogged down a little - the segments with the construct council, for example - but even those...Mieville's use of language is like nothing else, and I can't get enough of it.

Well, I say that, but This Census Taker was a little uneven, and I did skip a few of the short stories in his latest collection.

So bottom line - I love China Mieville in ways that are not appropriate to discuss here. Ahem.

I'd say he was probably my fave living author.

I enjoyed This Census Taker. There were bits of it were I was reminded of Bas Lag and then I found some people online who spotted the same stuff so it could be set there.

 

[E.Maree]

Ooohh, it's really encouraging to hear Mr Mieville is both listening to criticism of his work and is aware of it. I completely appreciate that he wouldn't change it -- that's wonderfully self-aware of his writing and his readership. He sounds like an excellent bloke.