Perdido Street Station (New Crobuzon, #1) in /r/Fantasy Discussion Group

Jun 02, 2012 Ale rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-author, fantasy, sci-fi, favourites, would-read-again, loved, award-winning, british-authors, urban-fantasy, published-in-2000s

Four weeks after I first cracked the spine on Perdido Street Station, I turned the final page on the city of New Crobuzon and the story of Isaac, Lin, Derkhan, Yagharek, set against a backdrop of part steampunk, part sci-fi, part fantasy and political criticism. This novel is quintessential Mieville: politics, the state's influence, the idea of choice and how that fits into the greater matrix of society. And in the backdrop of this stands New Crobuzon, a sort of London, filled with different spe Four weeks after I first cracked the spine on Perdido Street Station, I turned the final page on the city of New Crobuzon and the story of Isaac, Lin, Derkhan, Yagharek, set against a backdrop of part steampunk, part sci-fi, part fantasy and political criticism. This novel is quintessential Mieville: politics, the state's influence, the idea of choice and how that fits into the greater matrix of society. And in the backdrop of this stands New Crobuzon, a sort of London, filled with different species which live in a sort of precarious balance. Here, Mieville's imagination comes alive, as he describes the khepri (part bug, part human), the cactacae (humanoid cactus people), the garuda (a vulture-like creature who value personal choice above all other), along with the Construct Council, thaumaturgists, vodyanoi, monsters of the night, demons and creatures that can move along every plane of existence.

Truthfully, the reason it took me so long to read was because my commute has now gone down in length. The writing style, though as times loquacious, only serves to add colour to the city and its inhabitants. In truth, the plot of the book is almost of no consequence; there is tragedy, horror and genuine wonder among these pages. There are scenes that tore at my heart, because there is true love here, and there is political subterfuge (perhaps especially relevant reading this in August 2015, in the midst of Labour leadership elections and a swing to the left that Mieville would approve of), there is a criminal underworld led by terror and monsters that can eat your dreams (quite literally). However, to me, the real protagonist of the novel is Yagharek and his journey of redemption.

A garuda of Cymek, in the desert, all we know of him is that he committed choice-theft and was sentenced to having his wings removed. Driven into exile, he has come to New Crobuzon to see Isaac, who is the only one able to return flight to him. From there, they find themselves on the wrong side of the government, having to fight monstrous moths and live on the run. But really, the true story here is of one garuda seeking redemption in a city of freaks and rejects and if anything, the conflict between Yagharek's rejection of New Crobuzon and what it stands for and the simple existence of the city, placid and unmoveable, and yet so alluring.

It is incredibly hard to describe what I loved about this book. The language, yes; the characters, certainly; the setting, enchanting, mesmerising and beguiling. But this novel is worth far more than the sum of its parts, because beyond all this there is the need to see more of New Crobuzon, to find out every one of its little secrets. There are two further novels set in this world, The Scar and Iron Council, so I feel that some of that curiosity will sort of be sated. But realistically, it will never be enough, because Mieville is a master of tantalising his readers, always leaving them wanting. If anything, the ending of Perdido Street Station is proof of that: read straightforwardly as the plot might suggest you should, it ends in disappointment, with so much left unanswered; however, read as Yagharek's story, the ending, though bittersweet, makes sense and remains hopeful, somehow.

Some people recommend this as an introduction to Mieville. To me, that's a wrong move. Not only is it grand in scope (and page count, clocking over 800 pages in the edition I was reading), it also contains so many of the little quirks that make Mieville unique: the setting, the focus on character building and development, the incredible imagination and love of language... These are all things that are better appreciated if read in the context of some of his other works, like Kraken, Railsea or Embassytown. If anything, those are better starting points, depending on your preference, which is urban fantasy, young adult (and classic retelling) or sci-fi respectively. Those really showcase the ingredients that make Perdido Street Station such a fantastic book, they set up Mieville's politics and ways of bending and playing with genre and they allow for a gentle introduction to his style, insofar as one could say that Mieville has a "style".

As for me, I eagerly await for my copy of The Scar to arrive with my local library, so I can see which of the two will make my top 20 fantasy shelf. Who knows, I might buck the trend entirely and simply decide that The Iron Council deserves that accolade... ...more

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May 28, 2023 Patrick rated it really liked it

Perdido Street Station was a bit of a strange read. The setting of New Crobuzon is really what shines. It's wildly imaginative, and the author's descriptions are vivid, dark, and at times nearly interminable. New Crobuzon feels like a steampunk London (at least, the London of Sweeney Todd's imagining) with a set piece rail system, the heart of which is the titular Perdido Street Station. It's inhabited by usual as well as a number of other humanoids (of varying similarity to humans), and the "re ...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Linguana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Full review at SFF Book Review

This was an excellent read.

I'm still stunned by the inventiveness, the abundance of ideas and the thrill of the plot. I normally post short impressions on goodreads and a full review on my blog, but I'm afraid I can't just talk about this book "a little". Either it's all the way gushing about how awesome the monsters are and hot terrifying the threat to New Crobuzon and how surprising each plot twist, or it's just a simple: Read this! It is brilliant.

9/10 ...more

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