Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. Industrial science fiction, with a radical-socialist sensibility, Mieville has an obvious debt to William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's The Difference Engine, and acknowledges it - a difference engine plays a minor but crucial role in the story. But there's more anarchic invention here than would fit within the tighter constraints of Gibson's alternate history, including a large and disturbing element of The Island of Doctor Moreau. Well worth reading.
Here's a review of Mieville's latest, Iron Council, not yet released in Australia.
Posted by jquiggin at September 12, 2004 07:44 PM | TrackBackI thought The Difference Engine was Bruce Sterling? Or was it him and Gibson together?
I must say I kind of like the idea of steampunk, but can't say I enjoyed reading Perdido Street Station, of which it's supposed to be an example. Then again, I find the same to be true of cyberpunk as well (better in theory than practice) and, to be sure, science fiction in general...
Posted by: James Russell at September 12, 2004 08:31 PM(W)Here's a review of Mieville's latest, Iron Council?
Posted by: Anthony at September 12, 2004 08:38 PMTwo errors in one para! Both fixed now, thanks.
Posted by: John Quiggin at September 12, 2004 11:10 PMHmm, I'm getting through Perdido Street Station in fits and starts at the moment myself...
Posted by: Graham at September 13, 2004 12:17 AMI enjoyed reading Perdido Street Station, I thought he constructed the New Crobuzon world so well you could almost taste it. When people ask me about the book I tell them just to read the book, like someone told me, rather than try to explain the story because when you try the book sounds like a load of rubbish - like really, brain-sucking interdimensional moth-bats?
Posted by: Simon at September 13, 2004 10:15 AM