Perdido Street Station

[Werthead]

Feeling bored, so I did a review:

Welcome to New Crobuzon. A vast city of skyrails and towers, of elevated railway lines and glasshouses inhabited by sentient cactii-people, a city of squalor and beauty where insects make art and the government dines the ambassadors of hell.

China Mieville’s debut novel takes the reader on dizzying tour of his immense construction, a teeming steampunk metropolis of six million people, the industrial and commercial hub of his painstakingly-constructed fantasy world of Bas-Lag. Rarely has a fictional city been brought to life so vividly, its tastes and smells all but leaping off the page. New Crobuzon immediately joins Viriconium, Ankh-Morpork, Minas Tirith, Amber, Lankhamar and the city-castle Gormenghast as one of the great civic constructions of fantasy literature.

Enough of the backdrop, what about the story? The novel follows the misadventures of a mixed band of heroes and antiheroes, of the ‘rebel’ inventor and scientist Isaac trying to build wings for a flightless bird-man of the desert; of the half-human, half-insectoid artist Lin being called upon to create the most complex piece of art of her life; of a journalist working for a secret newspaper dedicated to bringing down the corrupt government. Combined with the backdrop of civil discord and even robotic rebellion, the stage would be set for a truly great story.

What we get instead is a bug-hunt. Naturally, it’s a very good bug-hunt, tremendously well-written and incredibly tense in places, but it does feel that Mieville, having built one of the most amazing constructions in fantasy history, didn’t know what to do with it, but happily caught a re-run of Aliens on TV and was inspired. The slight mundanity of this plot compared to the amazing backdrop makes for a curious dichotomy. A bit like Tolkien creating Middle-earth and choosing to concentrate on the adventures of Thranduil fighting spiders in Mirkwood rather than on Frodo and Aragorn’s adventures. This lack is offset on a first read by the expectation of the story taking a more radical turn, and the introduction of the sentient, demigod-like Weaver does fulfil this criteria. However, although the Weaver is a fascinating creation and character, it does veer towards deus ex machina, being employed to rescure our heroes from certain death twice in a short space of time.

Despite the slight dampening effect of this, Mieville turns things round for a satisfyingly twisted and melancholy ending. There are some plot elements that are not explained and are presumably being held back for later Bas-Lag novels (the enigmatic character of Jack Half-a-Prayer being one, hopefully), but overall Perdido Street Station emerges as an awesome piece of worldbuilding, with a reasonable and entertaining story tacked on. But you get the feeling Mieville could have done more with his story. And perhaps he will.

I liked this book a lot and was blown away by the imagery, but I must admit the straightforward storyline was a surpise. Was this deliberate? By having such a crazy and fascinating backdrop, Mieville didn't want to have an lunatic storyline as well to drive off readers. I'm also not quite getting all the Weaver-love either. It seemed to turn up to solve our heroes' problems for them and then disappear again. It was Hamilton's Sleeping God or Ambassador Kosh in spider form. I did enjoy its dialogue though. I suspect Mieville spent some time getting that just right.

Knowing I've come late to this particular party, I'd like to get some feeback from the board: how do The Scar, Iron Council and King Rat (which I know isn't a Bas-Lag book) stand up in comparison? Cheers.

[Bellis]

With PSS, I knew I was reading something special. Like you, I was a bit turned off by the bug-hunt, but the ending was ultimately satisfying.

I preferred Scar, as it's more evenly paced.

Iron Council is the same world, the same great quality writing, but missing a bit of oomph, plotwise. It's Mieville's equivalent of AFFC, disappointing, but still better than 95% of the stuff out there.

King Rat is his first book, and while the writing is still great, it's IMO inferior overall. More on a level with Neil Gaiman, reminiscent of Neverwhere or Anansi Boys, so still not bad by any stretch.

[Ixodes]

Just read The Scar and I enjoyed it. I guess I liked PSS a little better because I found the lead characters more interesting. Quality of writing, dialog, and world building were similar.

[The Marquis de Leech]

Agree a hundred percent about the eight-legged deus ex machina, but didn't mind the fairly straight-forward nature of the plotline too much; the believable race-against-time element helped keep the intensity level up.

[Knight of the Wineskin]

I have to agree with you Wert. For the first 200 or so pages, the book is very cool and atmospheric, and then all of a sudden the slake-moths are introduced and the plot takes a sharp left into something that seems like a vehicle for worldbuilding, because it's a conveniant pretext to reveal the demons, the handlingers, and the Weaver.

That said, I do like the Weaver a lot.

[delete this account pls]

Nice coincidence, just started rereading PSS. Agreed that the basic story was a bit of a let down after all the incredible imagery and imagination Mieville injects into New Crobuzon.

IMO, each book gets prgressively better. The Scar is really good, with some great characters, and Iron Council is fantastic. The latter doesn't seem to be a popular opinion though.

[MinDonner]

I enjoyed PSS when I read it, though the setting was clearly a slight ripoff of Viriconium... strangely though, I feel no desire to read it again, or buy any of Mieville's other books - nice, but left me rather cold.

[VarysTheSpider]

Ain’t read King Rat, but the Scar and Iron Council are both very different to PSS, which makes it hard to compare.

The Scar’s structure is more linear, revolving around a woman fleeing from NC just after the end of PSS. It’s good: some bad-ass characters (not least, the heroine, she’s quality), new races, and the same standard of writing.

Iron Council though, that’s something else. Set about 20 years (?) after PSS, it mainly takes place in NC again… though it’s really quite a different city, like revolutionary Paris or St. Petersburg. The type of story’s different too. Instead of the charcaters seeking some soul-sucking critters, they’re seeking freedom, justice, and an end to the corrupt, exploitive rule of the NC government. (Yeah! Viva la revolution, comrade!) OK, it’s not quite Les Miserables, but it is really good, and stands on its own as a unique piece of fantasy. Hell, the average fantasy author would give their right arm to write as well as this.

[delete this account pls]

There's also a strong touch of a Western to Iron Council, particularly in the POV sections of one character in particular.

[Vestrit]

How weird, this is the subject that first got me logging onto these boards more than two years ago…

Anyway, FWIW, I agree with Wert for the most part. Great world-building (even if it’s so obviously London in disguise – but hey, Venice in disguise works a treat for Scott Lynch), wonderful imagination, and a real depth to some of the races, social structures and characters.

The only thing about your review that I don’t agree with is that I would go much further about the complete and utter let-down that is Melville’s plotting, both in PSS and in The Scar.

The initial idea in PSS is great but the climax is rubbish. The general plot, if you can call it that, of The Scar is just lame (and has possibly the dumbest ending I’ve ever read). Chuck in Melville’s obsession with sounding literary and mysterious, and the result is that his books get very annoying.

If he was just a hack then this wouldn’t bug me.

But, as Wert says, the descriptions of NC and some of the prose surrounding the characters is so evocative, and he has such a great imagination and, when he drops the loftiness for a bit, a great sense of humour (eg: the Ambassador of Hell referring to himself as ‘a liberal’ was genius and had me giggling on the plane, much to the bewilderment of other passengers).

The creation and description of the ship-city in The Scar was awesome; shame the story was rubbish and that I just didn’t care about any of the characters (except for the Remade woman with the boiler that one of the characters made more efficient for her – that was a genuinely beautiful and touching piece of writing).

Because I read PSS not long before Lies of Locke Lamora, I found myself comparing Melville and Lynch.

What I loved about Lies was that while there were lots of ideas going on and themes and world-building etc, it was obvious that the story was the most important thing. Lynch didn’t try to show us how clever he was, he just tried to tell us a rollicking good yarn. I guess that’s why virtually everybody here loves Lies but most people are ambivalent about Melville’s work.

BTW, I haven’t read Iron Council, so can’t comment on that.

[Gunnlaugr ormstunga]

First post :cool:

Personally I found PSS completely gripping, despite the poor plot, Mieville's world building had me captivated even throughout the weaker sections. I'm desperately seeking out the rest of his books but for some reason most UK bookstores choose not to stock him.

I have read some of his short stories in the compliation Looking For Jake. Only one is set in Bas-Lag (which, incidently Werthead, concerns Jack Half-a-Prayer), but they do show off his rather twisted and disturbing imagination rather well.

If you've enjoyed his Bas-Lag novels, then I'd definitely recommend this nifty little collection for something a bit different.

[Xray the Enforcer]

Another "nifty start, utterly shite plot, lame ending" vote from me. Slake-moth hunt: OMGweak. Weaver: Whatever.

I haven't read another Mieville book because I was so put off by PSS. Every time I reach out my hand to buy one, I remember those stupid moths and their psychedelic stares, plus what might be the lamest attempt at nuevo-cursing since Zedd's "Bags!" exhortations, and I just move on. Which is too bad, because he's clearly got some talent. Just not my steez, I suppose.

[oneeye]

I liked the weaver, he was godly and mysterious yet our main character found a way to work with him.

I liked the Scar better, the main character was more interesting and didn't go for bestiality. In fact she was almost a normal girl trying to get by.

I found the armada and sea monster and ship battles well done in the scar. I like sea stuff though.

The best character was the vampire lord, especially his meeting with those naga type beings.

And of the three books set in bas lag, the scar was the only one that had a vaguely non depressing ending. Iron council was just way out there.

[Caligula_K]

I agree completely. I was so let down by nearly everything that happened after the slake moth got free until the excellent last 50 pages (the Ambassador of Hell was also a nice touch). It definitely put me off from reading more Mieville, but as I found Iron Council for very cheap, I'll be trying that one too.

[Maia]

Knowing I've come late to this particular party, I'd like to get some feeback from the board: how do The Scar, Iron Council and King Rat (which I know isn't a Bas-Lag book) stand up in comparison?

I basically agree with your review, Werthead. Apart from the monster hunt, I have to say that the lame escape in the end thoroughly irritated me too, with either drain pipe or fire escape, I don't remember which, placed conveniently near a good-sized window of a super secure facility. I mean, really . OTOH, I still loved PSS on the whole.

I liked Scar a lot, too and I think that plot was better, however the ending disappointed me again and I also belong to the minority who finds godly bad-asses annoying, no matter how much style they have... The new vistas were well worth admission, though and they were every bit as imaginative as NC, too.

I have just recently read "The Iron Council" and IMHO it is excellent, although many people don't like it. Mixture of a western with the Paris Commune as has been already said, and for the most part it worked really well. Again, some new and imaginative scenery, but with a good dose of NC as well. I actually liked the plot this time around and - miracle of miracles, I couldn't actually guess where it was going within the first 50-100 pages. That's very rare for a fantasy book as far as I am concerned. Also, a very honest and sincere look at the revolution and people who get involved in one, at its best and at its worst, IMHO. A really good ending, too. OTOH, homosexual love plays a fairly large role in the proceedings and I guess that it may have alienated some readers.

"King Rat" I really liked when I read it, but then I came across Gaiman's "Neverwhere" and discovered that they are really uncomfortably similar. I couldn't fully enjoy "Neverwhere" because of it and it was there first, so I guess that it is better to go straight to the source .

"Looking for Jake" is a pretty good anthology, too. Not without some bloopers, but most stories range between highly original and brilliant. The story about Jack was excellent, I thought (there is another tidbit about him in the beginning of the "Iron Council") and novella "The Tain" blew me away. Some other stuff was really good too.

All in all, I have enjoyed Mieville, leftist propaganda and all .

[Peregrinus]

I'm suprised that a lot of you found the plot to Perdido Street Station so weak.

The introduction does build a vivid feel of the city of New Crobuzon and its inhabitants very quickly and the descriptions and detail of the city are one of the greater moments of the book. Yet for all that, I was glad that after a few chapters the storyline narrowed its focus onto a few principles and settled on the one storyline. Viewing New Crobuzon from the perspectives of Lin and Isaac made me feel a greater understanding of the place and culture. If the plot had continued to meander on with no definitive focus and start encompassing various characters across widely different sections of the city, you would have had a significantly larger novel that would probably have to be split up.

I haven't read any other Mieville works but from what you've said he has returned to New Crobuzon and Bas Lag so he has ample opportunity to expand on his world and revisit old characters like Half-A-Prayer and Mr. Motley (what's up with him eh?)

As to the Weaver and his ex machina. It was all fairly well explained. We already had knowledge of his (more correctly its?) existence.And as commented by other boarders, his strange "otherness" is well done.

To the more insightful among you, or to those in the know, why is the novel called Perdido Street Station? Its hardly central to the story... the city yes, the story not so much

[Bellis]

To the more insightful among you, or to those in the know, why is the novel called Perdido Street Station? Its hardly central to the story... the city yes, the story not so much

Actually, I'm impressed at Mieville's plot-building abilities on the whole. So it comes down to taste, I guess. But as you call tell from my username, I'm something of a fan-girl.

As for the title, I'm not sure. Perhaps a symbol of the govt, the moths were a govt secret that was leaked, and their horrible abilities become something of a metaphor for the authoritarian regime. I did notice a lot of passages describing the city radiated or centred on Perdido Street Station. And 6 syllables have awesome rythmicity.

[oneeye]

To the more insightful among you, or to those in the know, why is the novel called Perdido Street Station? Its hardly central to the story... the city yes, the story not so much

good question.. is it about the whole industrial/communist revolution which was tied to the rise of ralways in the late 19th?

[Bellis]

good question.. is it about the whole industrial/communist revolution which was tied to the rise of ralways in the late 19th?

Good point. Ties nicely with Iron Council, set in the following generation.

[Jerol]

I abandoned it halfway through. The world-building and prose were incredible but the story did not drive me in the least. I'll pick it up again someday, because I spent so much on the damn book I'll get at least some value out of it. But I am relieved that my opinion isn't the only negative one, all the rave reviews on PSS were starting to make me think I was losing it.