Iron Council (New Crobuzon, #3) in Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library

Dec 15, 2016 emily rated it liked it

Shelves: queers-and-queer-relationships, fantasy-urban-fantasy, sci-fi, 2016, audiobook

I may finally have found a Mieville book that doesn't totally obliterate my brain for weeks afterward-- though, given that I didn't read it, I listened to it, and wasn't entirely attentive the whole time, that may have something to do with it. The guy who reads Mieville's audiobooks is great; I can't imagine hearing that twisty use of language in any other style but his strange staccato pace.

Themes-- the socialism / industrialism stuff is a huge part of this, which I enjoyed, but gave the whole I may finally have found a Mieville book that doesn't totally obliterate my brain for weeks afterward-- though, given that I didn't read it, I listened to it, and wasn't entirely attentive the whole time, that may have something to do with it. The guy who reads Mieville's audiobooks is great; I can't imagine hearing that twisty use of language in any other style but his strange staccato pace.

Themes-- the socialism / industrialism stuff is a huge part of this, which I enjoyed, but gave the whole thing a doomed feel that made me anxious. Not that I ever expect a Mieville to end happy, per se, but everything with Ori and Toro in the city felt like Lloyd Alexander's Westmark trilogy; the revolutionaries always die, horribly and sadly, and those who came to the movement as outsiders get to live on.

The treatment of queer relationships was also uncomfortable for me. I don't object to a fictional society that doesn't treat queer people awesomely; I guess I object to including queer subculture in a fantasy story without it having a point or being important to the story? Cutter and Judah's relationship was important, of course, and Judah's relationship to his sexuality was interesting in a character study sort of way-- was he demisexual, demiromantic, etc? --but I never felt like those two things connected in an emotional way. I do like Mieville's treatment of the monstrous, both as an idea and in the horror aspect of his writing (Toro and the baby arms, jesus...) but I didn't feel like the equation of queerness with human-Remade sexual relations, or whatever point he was trying to make by drawing that parallel, really came home for me.

Regardless, this is a Mieville book. It's dense, it's twisty, you don't understand why he jumps back 20 years to tell you Judah's entire life story until 80% of the way through that section of the book, no one is who they seem to be and sometimes they don't even know that that's true, and no one ends up happy. But it's so unique, so truly original, that you can't put it down. ...more

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Jul 05, 2007 Wendy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-fantasy

This is probably my least favorite of Mieville's three (so far) novels set in the world of Bas Lag. I jokingly described this book to someone as Mieville's attempt to do for socialist workers' revolution what Tolkien's The Return of the King did for monarchy.

The book is ambitious, but didn't completely work for me. Mieville divides the action up among three different plot strands, and it wasn't until fairly late in the book that I worked out how they all fit together. It was a book that I found ...more

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Jan 25, 2008 Tracey rated it liked it

Shelves: no-longer-owned

bought 20 Jan 2008 - QPB

I find myself wishing I'd re-read Mieville's other books in this series first - as being dropped right back into the world of New Crobuzon and its political intrigues is a bit disconcerting at the moment.

The dual story threads of of Cutter and Ori are compelling, but I was impatient to see how/when/where they intersect. The meeting was satisfying, if complicated.

Coming back several months later to finish off the review - definitely worth the read, but probably won't be ...more

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Sep 20, 2007 Timothy Finucane rated it liked it · review of another edition

This final return to the Bas Lag universe left me with something less than the previous two books. Character development lacked in this one, with more focus on the politics and confrontations. The ending has what I can only describe as three climactic battles, which may be a bit more than necessary to bring about the final ending. Despite these issues with the Iron Council I would still like to see a few more books set in this universe. The weird fantasy steampunk mix is fascinating.

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May 10, 2007 valpal rated it it was ok

I returned this to the library without finishing it. I loved Perdido Street Station, but this book delved into the politics and wars of New Crubuzon. I couldn't get interested.
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