Un Lun Dun: Amazon.co.uk: China Mieville: Books

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Watch the author talk about this book in Windows Media Player format: dial-up | broadband.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Looking for Jake and Other Stories

by China Mieville

3.5 out of 5 stars (6) �4.48

King Rat

by China Mieville

3.7 out of 5 stars (15) �5.97

The City & The City

by China Mieville

3.7 out of 5 stars (25) �11.59

Iron Council

by China Mieville

3.3 out of 5 stars (25) �5.97

The Scar

by China Mieville

4.5 out of 5 stars (26) �5.97

› Explore similar items

Product Description

Death Ray

'A modern day Alice in Wonderland, this is where the New Weird is at...' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Fortean Times

'It's funny and it's frightening...The characters are wondrous...' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

young adult

fantasy

urban fantasy

china mieville

new weird

magic

london

young adult fantasy

wordplay

tween

new mieville book

Customer Reviews

17 Reviews

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

Average Customer Review

3.7 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun!, 5 May 2007

By	P. Forbes (London) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Un Lun Dun (Hardcover)

Having just read the disappointing Iron Council I was happily very impressed with Un Lun Dun. It's supposed to be a children's book but me at 43 years old truly enjoyed this fantastic fantasy adventure. It's 520 pages long (in hard back) but it's so exciting that if you pick this book up you'll fly through it in no time. This is the first book I've ever read that at the end of it I wanted to start it all over again! China Mi�ville is a real great talent. For the adults out there I also recommended his Bas Lag novels "The Scar" and "Perdido Street Station", which is one of my favourite novels of all time. But those novels are definitely not for children. I've given "Un Lun Dun" Five out of five. Go get it.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic fun!, 4 April 2007

By	kehs (Hertfordshire, England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Un Lun Dun (Hardcover)

Deeba and Zanna discover a wheel in a basement, Zenna turns it and realizes that something weird is happening - London is being switched off! Zanna and Deeba are two best friends and they find themselves in the world of UnLondon, a place where London's discarded things somehow end up. UnLondon is under siege by the sinister Smog (a poisonous cloud) and is waiting for its saviour to arrive as prophesised by their magic book that can speak. Guided by this book the girls have to try and put an end to the poisonous cloud. A crew of UnLondon locals, the likes of which you will have never dreamed, joins them in their quest! UnLondon is more than a little unusual but an absolute wonder to read about.
If you love Neil Gaiman (especially Neverwhere), Terry Pratchett and Lewis Carroll then this book will be a particular delight for you

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Subversive, original and very entertaining, 3 May 2008

By	quippe (London, UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Un Lun Dun (Paperback)

China Mieville's brilliant YA fantasy subverts the traditional genre elements, notably the ideas that only a person ordained by prophecy can defeat a Big Bad, fantastical worlds only accessible through special portals and that pretty blonde girls have to be the hero.

When Zanna and Deeba realise that a broken umbrella is watching Zanna one night, they follow it and find themselves in the parallel world of UnLondon. There they discover that Zanna is the Shwazzy, the only person able to defeat the Smog, a cloud of noxious gas intent on dominating and destroying both UnLondon and London. But just as Zanna's embraces the role she's unexpectedly incapacitated. Someone has to help UnLondon if it is to survive, and Deeba volunteers. But she's not the Shwazzy, so what good can she possibly do?

Mieville's imagination blew me away. His UnLondon is familiar to Londoners (double-decker buses, markets, even a version of the London Eye) but he mixes it with the surreal - cannibal giraffes and houses constructed from rubbish amongst others. He uses puns to great effect and I'd recommend this book for the binjas alone. Politics also plays a big part in the book, with London's government being tied to what's happening in UnLondon. There's a distinctly anti-authoritarian feel to the text with the motivation of political leaders and even the book of prophecy all being questioned and found wanting.

Mieville illustrates his own text and the drawings are evocative and help flesh out his world. Deeba's a very human heroine, brave because she needs to be and prone to self-doubt and I particularly liked the scene where she refuses to jump through the normal prophecy hoops. Her helpers are well written, particularly Hemi the half-ghost boy who sees shoplifting as extreme shopping, Jones the bus conductor and I loved Curdle the milk carton. My only quibble is that where Mieville kills members of her team, those members haven't quite been in the book long enough for it to have a big emotional impact.

The slow build-up might put off some readers, but the chapters are kept short and there are some wonderfully written scenes (my favourite being one with a Black Window spider, which is very creepy). Mieville leaves an opening for a sequel and I would love to see more of the world he's created. Teens reading this will want to read more of his work.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 17 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful- couldn't finish!
I bought Un Lun Dun by China Mieville because I thought that it looked to be an interesting and entertaining book to read on my summer holiday- wrong. Read more

Published 27 days ago by R. Speedie

1.0 out of 5 stars Use Only For Firewood
Mieville brings a whole new meaning to the word 'puerile'. Weak and facile plotting vies against poor characterisation and pathetic puns to wrest the prize for mediocrity this... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Kitsune

3.0 out of 5 stars It's not me old China...
The dark surrealism of Gene Wolfe, the cheeky flippancy of Jack Vance and the clever wordplay of Piers Anthony combine here with a myriad other influences into an overly lengthy... Read more

Published 3 months ago by G. Timmins

4.0 out of 5 stars Undone Lun Dun
"In an unremarkable room, in a nondescript building, a man sat working on very nondescript theories... Read more

Published 5 months ago by E. A Solinas

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and great fun
Like another reviewer I, too, was dissapointed with "The Iron Council" and was not sure what to expect from a "kids" book from China Mieville. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Beethoven

5.0 out of 5 stars So thick a haze o'erspreads the sky
"So thick a haze o'erspreads the sky,
They cannot see the sun on high"
(from The Inchcape Rock - Robert Southey)

This is a brilliant fantasy... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Amanda Richards

4.0 out of 5 stars not much to add other than my own support of this book
i would probably give it a 3.5 stars if it was available, but this is still a good book. more weird from mieville, though as it is a chiefly a children's book, much less graphic... Read more

Published 12 months ago by Marco John

3.0 out of 5 stars Un Lun Dun
What a difficult book to review! China Mieville is undisputed in my mind when it comes to weird fiction, and works such as "Perdido Street Station" and "The Scar" are sheer... Read more

Published 19 months ago by David Brookes

3.0 out of 5 stars OK but it drags a bit
There are some great ideas in the book - the binjas being my favourite, but it feels like a bit of a mish mash of ideas and characters from other books. Read more

Published 20 months ago by L. Hogan

1.0 out of 5 stars This is an awful book
As a fan of Perdido station, I looked forward to China Meiville's take on a childrens story. Please do not think this title is associated with Gaiman or Pratchett or heaven forbid... Read more

Published 21 months ago by duckman

› See all 17 customer reviews...

Listmania!

Flippin' Good Fantasy: A list by Philzee
New Weird (ish) I: A list by Weirdo
Steampunk: list 2: A list by H. Lo "Huttson!!!"

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Books > Children's Books

Look for similar items by subject

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.

	57% buy the item featured on this page: Un Lun Dun 3.7 out of 5 stars (17)
	14% buy Perdido Street Station 4.1 out of 5 stars (99) �4.85
	12% buy The Scar 4.5 out of 5 stars (26) �5.97
	10% buy The City & The City 3.7 out of 5 stars (25) �11.59

Un Lun Dun (Hardcover)

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Product details

Product Description

Death Ray

Fortean Times

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Customer Reviews

Customer Discussions

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Start a new discussion

Listmania!

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject

Feedback

Your Recent History