In this other-worldly, steam-punk fantasy, China Miéville introduces us to the fetid streets of New Crobuzon, a city rife with corruption, teeming with strange races, humming with thaumuturgy (magic) and clamouring with the din of steam-powered constructs.
Bas-Lag is not the tired old fantasy realm of elves, dwarves and orcs, though, but a refreshingly original land of water-dwelling vodyanoi, cactae men, beetle-headed kephri and the remade, pitiful mash-ups of flesh and machine.
Through this mélange of cultures, Mieville explores notions of race and identity set against bigger themes of poltics and the polis, whilst propelling us through the book with a thrilling tale of horror, intrigue and pursuit. Like a ramshackle Victorian London, the city itself is beautifully described, not so much a backdrop as part of the action. The characters, despite their alien appearance, remain endearingly human in action, emotion and capacity for thought. As with most fantasies, this is a book about humanity after all.
Perdido Street Station is a dauntingly fat volume, yet I don't think I've ever got through 800+ pages so quickly.
Read: Summer 2011, everywhere I could grab 5 mins
