Thoughts on China Mieville

[Headwound]

The audio book for China Mieville's 'Embassy Town' is amazing.
I am not a huge fan of audiobooks in general. I rarely finish them. Embassy Town was hypnotic even in its production where at times two words were being read at the same time. I am not sure how this looked on paper but actually hearing it as it was meant to be comprehended was a huge treat. If you like the sheer mind throttling oddness of a Mieville story and want to experiment with an audio format I recommend it. I want to say "I could not put it down." But it was in my ears via earbuds so... "I could not pull it out!" Hmm... that's proper enough. -jam

[Twinner]

Obviously I need to select another Mieville novel to try. So far I have read Leviathon and Railsea and while there have been moments when I enjoyed both for a few minutes overall they did not work for me.

If I were to try one more... which should it be?

Just realized that I said "Leviathon" when I meant to say, "Kraken". Not a clue why... but at least I finally realized it.

[Headwound]

Obviously I need to select another Mieville novel to try. So far I have read Leviathon and Railsea and while there have been moments when I enjoyed both for a few minutes overall they did not work for me.

If I were to try one more... which should it be?

Read The Scar. I think its his most solid work even though I like Perdido Street Station more. Both novels are set in the same world and PSS happens before The Scar. The Scar in my opinion is an easier read and defines the races of the world a little better. PSS is amazing and one of my favorite novels of all time (I like the strange and bizzare) but The Scar I feel is a better book if that makes any sense. Ultimately its up to you. I havent read Levia or Railsea. This reply I'm making really makes me want to read PSS again. Might try the audiobook. Mieville seams to transfer to ear space well. -jm

[MattNY]

Read The Scar. I think its his most solid work even though I like Perdido Street Station more. Both novels are set in the same world and PSS happens before The Scar. The Scar in my opinion is an easier read and defines the races of the world a little better. PSS is amazing and one of my favorite novels of all time (I like the strange and bizzare) but The Scar I feel is a better book if that makes any sense. Ultimately its up to you. I havent read Levia or Railsea. This reply I'm making really makes me want to read PSS again.

I completely agree here. Either PSS or The Scar, but the latter may be a little easier to get into. If you don't care for either one though, you likely will never like anything else he writes.