Review: Three Moments of an Explosion: Stories by China Miéville

London awakes one morning to find itself besieged by a sky full of floating icebergs. Destroyed oil rigs, mysteriously reborn, clamber from the sea and onto the land, driven by an obscure but violent purpose. An anatomy student cuts open a cadaver to discover impossibly intricate designs carved into a corpse's bones—designs clearly present from birth, bearing mute testimony to . . . what?

Of such concepts and unforgettable images are made the twenty-eight stories in this collection—many published here for the first time. By turns speculative, satirical, and heart-wrenching, fresh in form and language, and featuring a cast of damaged yet hopeful seekers who come face-to-face with the deep weirdness of the world—and at times the deeper weirdness of themselves—Three Moments of an Explosion is a fitting showcase for one of our most original voices.

Star rating: 4 stars

I received Three Moments of an Explosion: Stories through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was so excited to receive this book as China Mieville is one of my favourite authors.

That said, I am not a big fan of short stories. Just a couple months ago I finished reading my first book of short stories. Normally I start, then give up. I am pleased to say that I read every story in this book. There are well over 20 stories, some are very short while others are much longer. I have to say that I got on better with the longer ones.

As with all short story collections I've attempted to read, this one has a number of stories where you are left at the end wondering what that was all about and wondering if you missed something. I had this feeling on quite a few occasions. Despite this confusion, I was also often left with a feeling of enjoyment.

One of my GR friends who loves short stories said to me that she views a short story as a photograph, that it is just a snippet of a time, a person, a place or a situation and you can't see outside the frame of the photograph. But you don't have to in order to appreciate the photograph. I really liked this analogy and I have since been keeping it in mind while I read short stories and it helps me tremendously. (Thanks Camilla!)

Some of my favourites in this collection were Polynia in which Icebergs appeared in the skies of London; The Dowager of Bees in which special cards would appear mysteriously during games of Poker with very interesting consequences; In the Slopes was set at an Archeological dig site where some strange findings are discovered; The Crawl, a Zombie movie trailer which I would definitely go to see if it were ever actually made in to a movie; Watching God, a post apocalyptic island set story where ships sit off the coast just watching; The Buzzards Egg about a guy that I really felt for who had to look after a captured God; Dreaded Outcome about a therapist who will go to the extreme to ensure her patients get well; and After the Festival which was very grim and disturbing that it game me goosebumps and made me shiver upon recounting the story to my partner.

There was quite a mix of stories, all a little strange as one would expect with Mieville. He created some awesome worlds which I would love to spend more time in. I was left with lots of questions (which is not uncommon for me at the end of a short story) but I feel ok with that.

I will definitely be reading his older short story collection Looking for Jake and Other Stories (as well as future novels).

Review: The City & The City by China Miéville

Inspector Tyador Borlú of the Extreme Crime Squad finds deadly conspiracies beneath a seemingly routine murder. From the decaying Beszel, he joins detective Qussim Dhatt in rich vibrant Ul Qoma, and both are enmeshed in a sordid underworld. Rabid nationalists are intent on destroying their neighboring city, and unificationists dream of dissolving the two into one.

Reading Format: Kindle eBook
Year Read: 2014
Star Rating: 5 stars

I have thoroughly enjoyed all the Miéville books I have read so far and I had started to feel a withdrawal from his writing but wanted to read one of his shorter books so thought I’d give The City and The City a go. It seems that every Miéville book has a different writing style while at the same time still being recognisable as being by him. This book is a crime mystery, more speculative fiction than science fiction I would say but still elements of the unusual. This book is more political which I really got in to.

At the beginning, I wasn't sure exactly what was going on with the two cities: Ul Qoma and Beszel. I was very intrigued and I had to keep reading and things then started to fall in to place. It’s hard for me to give a rundown on this book without giving too much away but basically a woman is found dead in the back of a van and a Detective from Beszel's Extreme Crime Squad is sent to investigate it but he quickly finds himself wrapped up in red tape and politics as it’s not a straightforward murder.

This story is complex! It needs your undivided attention at all times but it’s worth it! Such a creative idea for a setting and the way it was written, the two cities almost became characters all of their own. The last quarter of the book was tense and I couldn't put the book down.

I think I would have enjoyed it more if I could have read it consistently but part way through the book I had to take part in a reading challenge so I put it aside to read another two books then came back to this one. Still a 5 star read though!

The City & The City: View on Amazon || View on Goodreads

Related Posts:
Review: Perdido Street Station
Review: The Scar

Review: The Scar by China Miéville

The second Bas-Lag novel form the author of Perdido Street Station, an epic and breathtaking fantasy of extraordinary imagination.

A human cargo bound for servitude in exile.

A pirate city hauled across the ocean.

A hidden miracle about be revealed.

This is the story of a prisoner's journey. The search for the island of a forgotten people, for the most astonishing beast in the seas, and ultimately for a fabled place - a massive wound in reality, a source of unthinkable power and danger...

The Scar.

Reading Format: Kindle eBook
Year read: 2014
Star Rating: 5 stars

This is the second book in the Bas-Lag series. It's not like other fantasy series where the setting and characters are the same in all the books. Mieville always likes to do things differently. So in this series, all of the books are set in the same world, Bas-Lag, but the setting and characters are completely different. So personally, I don't think it matters too much which order you read them in. The events in The Scar happen after that in Perdido Street Station but you don't need to have read Perdido in order to understand the goings on in The Scar.

I loved Perdido so much. I think I rated it 4.5 stars and the only reason it didn't get the 5 was because it was very very descriptive and took an age to read. So I was expecting more of the same with this book but I was pleasantly surprised. This book could easily have been very wordy especially because we had new characters, a new setting and several new alien races introduced. Mieville really hit the right balance with descriptiveness in this one. Or maybe I'm just more used to his writing style now. Either way, I was gripped by the story straight away, I couldn't put it down and I read it much quicker than the first one (this one is much shorter though).

The story focuses on Bellis Coldwine, who has fled New Crobuzon on a ship destined for one of its colonies. Bellis has been recruited as an interpreter as she is able to speak various different languages. The ship she is on is full of a real mix of people, including a large number of Remade. While on route, their ship is commandeered by an agent of New Crobuzon and then quite quickly besieged by pirates. The ship and its crew are taken to Armada, a huge floating pirate city in the middle of the ocean. It's dark, seedy, unsettling and dangerous for the newly arrived. This city was described beautifully and I have a great imagining of what it looked like and what it must have been like to live there. It was great being there during the book but it's a place I'd definitely stay clear of in reality!

So on Armada, those who are still loyal to New Crobuzon are locked up while the others are given jobs and a wage to help grow the society. Everyone is equal. While they are free, they cannot leave Armada. Ever!

Then the craziness begins and I can't even begin to explain what went on. It's all good though. If you like pirates, mythical sea creatures, alien races, strange magical/technological machines, double crossing, and sea battles then you'll love this book. I did! And I have to say that I enjoyed it much more than the first book in the series. I can't wait for the third, Iron Council, which I have just bought.

The Scar: View on Amazon || View on Goodreads

Related posts:
Review: Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

Review: Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

The iconic first Bas-Lag novel from an award-winning author.

The metropolis of New Crobuzon sprawls at the centre of its own bewildering world. Humans and mutants and arcane races throng the gloom beneath its chimneys, where the rivers are sluggish with unnatural effluent, and factories and foundries pound into the night. For more than a thousand years, the parliament and its brutal militia have ruled over a vast array of workers and artists, spies, magicians, junkies and whores.

Now a stranger has come, with a pocketful of gold and an impossible demand, and inadvertently something unthinkable is released.

As the city becomes gripped by an alien terror, the fate of millions depends on a clutch of outcasts on the run from lawmakers and crimelords alike. The urban nightscape becomes a hunting ground. Battles rage in the shadows of bizarre buildings. And a reckoning is due at the city's heart, under the vast chaotic vaults of Perdido Street Station.

Reading Format: Paperback
Year Read:2014
Star Rating 4.5 stars

I had wanted to read Perdido Street Station for ages so I am pleased I can finally tick it off my list. It seemed to take forever to get through it but I loved every minute of it! It's a long book!

In many ways, the world of Bas-Lag mirrored ours - different cultures/races living in close proximity of each other with prejudices towards the others; corrupt governments and conspiracies; poverty and homelessness; fundamentalists; crime lords and the criminal underworld; drug dealers and users; underpaid and exploited workers and the jobless - basically all the aspects of our world that we could do without! The city of New Crobuzon where this book is based didn't appeal to me at all. It is dark and uninviting and has no mercy on its inhabitants. That said, there are some very likeable characters living there including Lin, Isaac, Derkhan, Lemuel and Yagharek who are the main characters in this book.

For all the similarities to our world, there were a whole host of differences too – steam powered engines, new technology and scientific theories, a plethora of alien races and animals to get your head around which made the world a very complex place to spend time. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it all, but because of the addition of all these alien things to me it took me time to read and digest the story. Although the world is complex and detailed, the story was much simpler so the two balanced themselves out somewhat I thought.

Within the first 20 pages, I had to look up about 15 words which I’d never even heard of let alone know what they meant. This seemed to lessen as the book went on as many of the same words cropped up again. Plus I think I was just becoming more used to China Miéville's style of writing.

I was left feeling a bit dirty after reading this book. I’m not sure how to explain it really. And unsettled. It was a dark tale and seedy too – perhaps that was why it made me feel like this. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though. I did love this book.

How to describe this book?!? Dark and disturbing. Interesting and intriguing. Weird and Wonderful.

I was really torn as to what to rate it - 4 or 5 stars. Decisions, decisions! I loved everything about it so by rights I should have given it 5 stars but because of the complexity of the world with all the descriptiveness (and it was very descriptive but that meant it was firmly fixed it in my mind) which made it a more difficult read for me, I decided to give it 4 stars (on Goodreads as they don't allow for half stars) but on here I give it 4.5 stars!

I have already purchased the second in the Bas-Lag world, The Scar, which I'm hoping to read over the Summer - I just needed a vacation from Bas Lag for a bit before returning. I am quite intrigued about it as it is not set in the same city nor does it have the same characters in it. Looking forward to it!

Perdido Street Station: View on Amazon || View on Goodreads