Perdido Street Station
Jul 2003 · Bas-Lag Book 1 · Sold by Del Rey
4.5star
177 reviews
Ebook
640
Pages
family_home
Eligible
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About this ebook
WINNER OF THE AUGUST DERLETH AND ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARDS • A masterpiece brimming with scientific splendor, magical intrigue, and fierce characters, from the author who “has reshaped modern fantasy” (The Washington Post)
“[China Miéville’s] fantasy novels, including a trilogy set in and around the magical city-state of New Crobuzon, have the refreshing effect of making Middle-earth seem plodding and flat.”—The New York Times
The metropolis of New Crobuzon sprawls at the center of the world. Humans and mutants and arcane races brood in the gloom beneath its chimneys, where the river is sluggish with unnatural effluent and foundries pound into the night. For a thousand years, the Parliament and its brutal militias have ruled over a vast economy of workers and artists, spies and soldiers, magicians, crooks, and junkies.
Now a stranger has arrived, with a pocketful of gold and an impossible demand. And something unthinkable is released.
The city is gripped by an alien terror. The fate of millions lies with a clutch of renegades. A reckoning is due at the city’s heart, in the vast edifice of brick and wood and steel under the vaults of Perdido Street Station.
It is too late to escape.
“[China Miéville’s] fantasy novels, including a trilogy set in and around the magical city-state of New Crobuzon, have the refreshing effect of making Middle-earth seem plodding and flat.”—The New York Times
The metropolis of New Crobuzon sprawls at the center of the world. Humans and mutants and arcane races brood in the gloom beneath its chimneys, where the river is sluggish with unnatural effluent and foundries pound into the night. For a thousand years, the Parliament and its brutal militias have ruled over a vast economy of workers and artists, spies and soldiers, magicians, crooks, and junkies.
Now a stranger has arrived, with a pocketful of gold and an impossible demand. And something unthinkable is released.
The city is gripped by an alien terror. The fate of millions lies with a clutch of renegades. A reckoning is due at the city’s heart, in the vast edifice of brick and wood and steel under the vaults of Perdido Street Station.
It is too late to escape.
Ratings and reviews
4.5
177 reviews
A Google user
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August 6, 2012
If I wanted to hire someone to describe paint drying in excessive detail for six pages I would put this man on speed dial. Congratulations you learned to use adjectives, metaphors and similes... no ones impressed. This story moves like a geriatric carrying a bag of wet concrete. See I can do it too. I would rather eat fiberglass.
Simone Dozier
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August 15, 2022
i blame the editor. lots of pros: highly imaginative story, carried you thru tons of exposition (main conflict doesn't start til about 40% thru, world is complex and compelling). ultimately i could not KEEP suspending my disbelief that an advanced steampunk society with magic couldn't manage to make a helmet without gaps by the visor... convenience upon convenience keeps plot afloat. all the things i came to care about in the world weren't resolved. female characters guilty about necessity is one of my pet peeves. the book drew me in, enough to be disappointed.
A Google user
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July 21, 2012
I enjoyed the story and characters, but the language seemed almost purposefully obtuse. I have a pretty solid vocabulary and enjoy learning obscure words, but this book took that a step further than I could appreciate. I also thought there were a lot of loose ends not tied up by the ending. Overall though, still a book I enjoyed.
About the author
China Miéville is the author of numerous books, including This Census-Taker, Three Moments of an Explosion, Railsea, Embassytown, Kraken, The City & The City, and Perdido Street Station. His works have won the World Fantasy Award, the Hugo Award, and the Arthur C. Clarke Award (three times). He lives and works in London.
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