The City & The City, by China Mieville
Mieville is possibly the most intellectual writer of the Steampunk genre-especially inasmuch as he has set himself on a path to write a book in each of the major literary genres. So, he may have written a Steampunk book or three, but each of them belongs to a genre outside Steampunk. The City & The City is no different-or, as it were, it is completely different.
If you enjoy at least the patina of oldschool gumshoe mysteries a la Dashiell Hammet and Mickey Spillane, and if you like political theory-especially that flavored with fairly heavy dose of Communist ideology meets echoes of Free Market/Objectivism, and if you like an author who is not afraid to create a word when no other word completely suits him, but who does etymology with impressive philological skill, you might like The City & The City.
Every time I pick up a Mieville book, I know that I will be moving into unusual territory made familiar by the application of accepted themes. The City & The City is on the surface a murder mystery. Beneath the generic veneer, however, is a commentary on conspiracy theory, modern politics, and the culture of ignorance (and, actually, those three dovetail with surprising ease). Mieville is not your run o' the mill writer, having done a PhD in between books at the London School of Economics and being a lead contributor to a prominent Communist website.
If you enjoy The City & The City, consider reading Perdido Street Station next. You never do step into the same river twice with Mieville, not really.
Mieville is possibly the most intellectual writer of the Steampunk genre-especially inasmuch as he has set himself on a path to write a book in each of the major literary genres. So, he may have written a Steampunk book or three, but each of them belongs to a genre outside Steampunk. The City & The City is no different-or, as it were, it is completely different.
If you enjoy at least the patina of oldschool gumshoe mysteries a la Dashiell Hammet and Mickey Spillane, and if you like political theory-especially that flavored with fairly heavy dose of Communist ideology meets echoes of Free Market/Objectivism, and if you like an author who is not afraid to create a word when no other word completely suits him, but who does etymology with impressive philological skill, you might like The City & The City.
Every time I pick up a Mieville book, I know that I will be moving into unusual territory made familiar by the application of accepted themes. The City & The City is on the surface a murder mystery. Beneath the generic veneer, however, is a commentary on conspiracy theory, modern politics, and the culture of ignorance (and, actually, those three dovetail with surprising ease). Mieville is not your run o' the mill writer, having done a PhD in between books at the London School of Economics and being a lead contributor to a prominent Communist website.
If you enjoy The City & The City, consider reading Perdido Street Station next. You never do step into the same river twice with Mieville, not really.
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