The City & The City - China Mieville

A strange tale of two cities in one place (1101 words)
by FairyG - written on 22/12/09, updated on 22/12/09 (Very useful, 59 readings)
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The City & The City is a murder mystery set in two fictitious cities, Ul Qoma and Beszel, somewhere in present day Europe. The strange thing about the two cities is that, geographically, they occupy the same space. They are two overlapping cities, with some streets, buildings, parks and squares that belong specifically belong to one city, and some areas that crosshatch , or overlap. The cities have two distinct identities, with different architectural styles, different kinds of food, different vehicles and separate police forces. Citizens can by identified by visual signals such as the style of clothes they wear, their body language and facial characteristics. ...

Iron Council - China Mieville

Renegade Rail Runs Rampant (490 words)
by RedBen - written on 08/01/09 (Very useful, 34 readings)
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Iron Council is China Mieville s third book set in the world of Bas Lag, first introduced to us in cityscape format in Perdido Street Station and then via the sprawling seas of The Scar. And whilst the world might be the same, and whilst we do indeed return to his most luscious of creations, the city of New Crobuzon, this book is on a different level altogether from the previous two. Not necessarily better, but certainly different. Stylistically, Iron Council is Mieville s most plot-centric novel, told through three different narratives, two of which are directly concerned with the peripatetic movements of the eponymous Iron Council, a wondrously inventive train of ...