Authors: China Mieville
Publication year: 2009
Publisher: Pan MacMillan
Genres: weird, science fiction, urban fantasy
Pages: 373
My rating: na out of 5
Last read:
from 2019-01-31
to 2019-02-25
Owner: Bath Library
A murder is committed in a city divided between two places, a place where it is a breach of some metaphysical (maybe?) laws to see from one city into the other, even when the border is invisible and randomly dispersed across the city’s geography. Very cool world-building, and really considers the implications and knock-on effects of a city claimed by two coincident worlds.
So.. tbh I kinda bounced off of this one. I find Mieville difficult a lot of the time, and I never really got into the intrigue here.
I did find the world fascinating, and I’m sure there are things to say about divided places like Berlin, Jerusalem, heck, even Ireland and probably Hong Kong. Lots to think about with duality and allegiances of place, and what that means politically.
It’ll probably percolate in the back of my head for a while, and I may come back to this later on and finish it. For now, though, I liked what I read, but not enough to stick it.