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China Miéville

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Perdido Street Station Paperback – 23 Feb. 2001

by China Miéville (Author)

4.3 3,636 ratings

Book 1 of 3: Bas-Lag

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The metropolis of New Crobuzon sprawls at the centre of its own bewildering world. Humans and mutants and arcane races throng the gloom beneath its chimneys, where the rivers are sluggish with unnatural effluent, and factories and foundries pound into the night. For more than a thousand years, the parliament and its brutal militia have ruled over a vast array of workers and artists, spies, magicians, junkies and whores. Now a stranger has come, with a pocketful of gold and an impossible demand, and inadvertently something unthinkable is released. Soon the city is gripped by an alien terror - and the fate of millions depends on a clutch of outcasts on the run from lawmakers and crime-lords alike. The urban nightscape becomes a hunting ground as battles rage in the shadows of bizarre buildings. And a reckoning is due at the city's heart, in the vast edifice of Perdido Street Station. It is too late to escape.

'A work of exhaustive inventiveness...superlative fantasy' Time Out

'A well-written, authentically engrossing adventure story, exuberantly full of hocus-pocus... Mieville does not disappoint' Daily Telegraph

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'China Miéville, poster boy for the so-called "new weird", is one of the most interesting and promising writers to appear in the last few years in any genre. Perdido Street Station is a fantastic yarn that follows the roads set by M John Harrison in his Viriconium world and brings an enormous energy and creativity to the table. A reinvention of modern fantasy with guts, brains and plenty of glory. Plunge in.'
--Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Guardian Books Blog

About the Author

China Miéville lives and works in London. He is three-time winner of the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award and has also won the British Fantasy Award twice. The City & The City, an existential thriller, was published to dazzling critical acclaim and drew comparison with the works of Kafka and Orwell and Philip K. Dick. His novel Embassytown was a first and widely praised foray into science fiction.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tor; New Ed edition (23 Feb. 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 880 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0330392891
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0330392891
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 11.1 x 4.9 x 17.8 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 1,115,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 97,706 in Science Fiction (Books)
- 125,640 in Fantasy (Books)
- 285,383 in Society, Politics & Philosophy

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4.3 3,636 ratings

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China Miéville

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China Miéville lives and works in London. He is three-time winner of the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award (Perdido Street Station, Iron Council and The City & The City) and has also won the British Fantasy Award twice (Perdido Street Station and The Scar). The City & The City, an existential thriller, was published in 2009 to dazzling critical acclaim and drew comparison with the works of Kafka and Orwell (The Times) and Philip K. Dick (Guardian).

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Customers find the book imaginative and original. They praise the compelling characters and vivid descriptions that immerse them in the story. However, opinions vary on the writing quality - some find it fantastic and creative, while others consider it onanistic and not an easy read. Readers also have mixed views on the readership, with some finding it unique and engaging, while others find it tedious and wordy. There are also differing opinions on the length - some find it great but long, while others feel it's long-winded in parts.

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Imagination Character development Classic content Writing quality Readership Length Design

67 customers mention ‘Imagination’56 positive11 negative

Customers find the book imaginative and original. They describe the city of New Crobuzon as vividly described and filled with wonders. Readers appreciate the clever storytelling and the author's ability to create memorable ideas.

"...Mieville's world is populated by so many fascinating, bizarre and endlessly endearing peoples that it would be impossible to keep track of them..." Read more

"...Instead, it is a fascinating riot of imagination, and an exhilarating thrill ride. Despite its failings, it comes highly recommended." Read more

"...The city itself is really the main character here. It is described so vividly you can taste it, and I really don't want to taste New Crobuzon...." Read more

"...This is not simply about the thrilling plot, the intriguing characters, the incredibly unique setting. It’s about China Mieville’s writing...." Read more

27 customers mention ‘Character development’20 positive7 negative

Customers find the characters compelling and the plot fantastic. They appreciate the descriptive prose and vivid imagery that evokes vivid images in their minds. The characters create images that stay with them long after the book ends.

"...'s world is populated by so many fascinating, bizarre and endlessly endearing peoples that it would be impossible to keep track of them were they..." Read more

"...This is not simply about the thrilling plot, the intriguing characters, the incredibly unique setting. It’s about China Mieville’s writing...." Read more

"...reviewers have pointed out, Perdido Street Station's characters lack distinct voices, and too often indulge in rambling profanity...." Read more

"...It's hard to decide which bit I liked most: the depth and connection with the characters..." Read more

3 customers mention ‘Classic content’3 positive0 negative

Customers praise the book as a modern classic. They say it's the best and most original of China Mieville's works.

"...like Peake's idiosyncratic trilogy, Perdido Street Station is an instant classic and I can see why it has earned Mieville so many admirers in the..." Read more

"...This is for me easily the best and the most original of all China Miéville's works...." Read more

"...superbly evocatively written, can't be praised enough, A true modern classic," Read more

40 customers mention ‘Writing quality’21 positive19 negative

Customers have different views on the writing quality. Some find it fantastic and creative, with descriptive prose that creates images. Others feel the prose is onanistic and not very imaginative. They also mention the narrative slows down at times due to excessive pretentious description.

"...his hyperactive imagination, Mieville is capable of dark, ambiguous writing and intelligent characterisation...." Read more

"...This, the first of the Bas-Lag series is not an easy read, in the same way that Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy is not an easy read...." Read more

"...In Mieville’s case, much darker, much faster. Both authors are extremely creative, but Mieville’s imagination takes him all over the place...." Read more

"...There are no great revelations. It's just escapism. But it's escapism of a reasonably high order. And did I mention all that exuberance and squalor?" Read more

13 customers mention ‘Readership’6 positive7 negative

Customers have different views on the book. Some find it engaging with a unique writing style and descriptive prose that pulls them along effortlessly. Others feel it's overwrought, tedious, and pointless with plot holes and unnecessary diversions.

"...Some are indulgent and poorly conceived afterthoughts that leave you aching for events to circle back to the central arc...." Read more

"...The first half is excellent, constantly hitting the reader with an almost-overwhelming array of engaging images, interesting characters, and..." Read more

"...us with some truly amazing images but at times it becomes quite hard to keep going...." Read more

"...go Mieville is one of my favorites simply on merit if his unrivaled originally. Without a doubt I will read continue to read everything he publishes...." Read more

11 customers mention ‘Length’4 positive7 negative

Customers have different views on the book's length. Some find it engaging despite its length, while others find it too long or overly complex in certain parts.

"This book is long. Really long. Like nearly a 1000 pages long. It is fantasy after all. But it's not fantasy as you know it...." Read more

"...A long book, but absorbing and very enjoyable - one of the best books I've read in recent years...." Read more

"So strange for the first 200 pages that I thought about abandoning it but then it became gripping...." Read more

"A bit long winded in parts, but a good story that keeps you wanting to find out what happens next." Read more

6 customers mention ‘Design’4 positive2 negative

Customers have different views on the book's design. Some appreciate the well-designed paper copies with richly drawn illustrations that feel realistic. Others find the lack of contrast and dullness issues.

"...They are all richly drawn and feel real...." Read more

"...My issue was the lack of contrast. Being told endlessly about the dirty fetid city loses its impact and eventually becomes a bore...." Read more

"...Whatever it is that he is describing, it’s beautifully done. Even when he’s writing about the most grotesquely unimaginable creatures...." Read more

"...It's a good thing the paper copies are so well designed; I have one very well decorated shelf in my book case...." Read more

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D. Keatis
A Sprawling Steampunk Odyssey
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 July 2010
Verified Purchase
Ah, China Mieville. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!

After having read Mieville's collection of short stories my interest was sufficiently piqued to investigate his novels. Having read the synopses for all his books I decided this would be my best entry point for exploring China Mieville proper.

I was both right and wrong. This, the first of the Bas-Lag series is not an easy read, in the same way that Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy is not an easy read. However, like Peake's idiosyncratic trilogy, Perdido Street Station is an instant classic and I can see why it has earned Mieville so many admirers in the world of fantasy fandom.

Good fantasy writers are able to create a believable alternate world. Excellent fantasy writers are able to create a believable and engaging fantasy world alive with cultures and politics. Mieville's world is populated by so many fascinating, bizarre and endlessly endearing peoples that it would be impossible to keep track of them were they not so beautifully realised. As the novel progresses we are intoduced to the insectile / humanoid Khepri, the Cacatae (human cactuses, the amphibious Vodyanoi, the cybernetic Construct Council and the avian Garuda as well as their religions, hisories, cultures, subcultures, countercultures (and yes, even drug cultures) in a way that is never dry or dull but always a dynamic part of the narrative.

For those who demand more than a diverse racial cast of players from their fantasy Perdido street station doesn't disappoint in the plot department either. Told from the point of view of Isaac, a good hearted but rough around the edges academic the story follows Isaac on an epic adventure precipitated by an unexpected visit from a mysterious stranger. This stranger, Yahgarek, is a Garuda who comes to Isaac with a simple proposition, to enable him to fly even though his wings have been severed (the harshest punishment possible for a Garuda reserved only for the foulest crime). Elsewhere his secret lover, a prodigious Khepri artist named Lin is comissioned to create a sculpted dopelganger for a gangster whose appearance so horribly and intricately malformed his appearance can only be insinuated by the author.

There is so much depth, richness and complexity to this book it would be a long winded travesty to try and recap it here. Suffice to say if a world ruled by a totalitarian government with a direct line to Hell, where scientifically explainable magic can co exist with steam powered robots floats your boat then this is for you!

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Richard Bagshaw
An Exuberantly Inventive Thrill Ride
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 June 2012
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Despite featuring a woman with a scarab for a head and her Da Vinci-like lover, a sentient, near-omnipotent spider-god and an anthropomorphic bird whose wings were hacked off for in incomprehensible crime, Perdido Street Station's most memorable character is New Crobuzon, the city in which it is set. Reminiscent of Victorian London, but peopled by a host of fantastic races and strewn with wonders and horrors, Mieville goes to extraordinary lengths to maintain the reader's interest in his creation. Much of the delight to be had in this book is to be had exploring New Crobuzon and the lives of its inhabitants. Astonishingly, Mieville manages to square every product of his prolific imagination with the internal logic of this believable - if bizarre - world. There are only a few moments in which some new MacGuffin feels like a plot device rather than a natural product of New Crobuzon's melting pot of alien minds and steampunk technology.

Several hundred pages in, however, the reader may begin to tire of Perdido Street Station's lengthy asides, detailing imaginary peoples, places and science at the expense of character and plot. The indulgence of Mieville's editor weighs most heavily on the middle of the book. The dialogue, too, may begin to grate; as other reviewers have pointed out, Perdido Street Station's characters lack distinct voices, and too often indulge in rambling profanity. As the scope of the novel widens, cracks begin to show. Scenes of supposedly Machiavellian politicking do not ring true, and Mieville's credibility is undermined by some factual errors. (He appears to regard the cerebellum as synonymous with the brain, for example). The arrival of the book's antagonists doesn't add much urgency at first, and indeed gives rise to several new but ultimately irrelevant plot threads which add to the sense of drift.

The book gathers pace again as its finale approaches, and the spectacular showdown atop Perdido Street Station will not disappoint. What had me truly gripped, however, was its melancholy aftermath. The book's last few pages demonstrate that, when not indulging his hyperactive imagination, Mieville is capable of dark, ambiguous writing and intelligent characterisation. Had Perdido Street Station featured more of this - and been 200 pages shorter - it might have been a classic. Instead, it is a fascinating riot of imagination, and an exhilarating thrill ride. Despite its failings, it comes highly recommended.

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Caveman
Man what a cover
Reviewed in India on 18 September 2023
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I havent read it yet, but the cover is so beautiful

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Rose
Twisting and turning with a final punch at the end
Reviewed in Australia on 21 August 2023
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It took me several tries to get into the book. Whilst it was worth it I do wish the ending was less miserable.

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Angel
Bueno en todos los sentidos, quizá un pelín largo.
Reviewed in Spain on 31 January 2017
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Tiene lugar en un mundo rico en detalles, los personajes bien definidos y sus relaciones bien hiladas. Si que es verdad que en algún tramo se hace un poco largo, pero en un libro de estas dimensiones es difícil que el ritmo no se resienta en algún momento. Algunos pasajes son memorables. Y un final de los que se te queda clavado.

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nathan wolfe
One of my favorite books of all time
Reviewed in Canada on 11 March 2016
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One of my favorite books of all time. Mieville's description of the city is amazing and gripping, he somehow manages to rattle off detail after detail while still being riveting. The story is stunning, very emotional, thought provoking and entertaining all at the same time. Characters are great, felt a lot of empathy for them, found them endearing. Plot moves at a steady place. When it gets slower it is with purpose, when it gets faster it is with purpose. I never feel bored or as if the action is for action's sake. I've read the book 4 times and have bought the book for friends to read.

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A. Gavin
Maximum Weird - Maximum Creative
Reviewed in the United States on 6 August 2012
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I am in utter awe with regard to the creativity oozing from this novel.

While perhaps not for everyone, and not perfect, this is a first rate work of fantasy. And I mean that in the broadest sense because the book is set in a unique milieu that is part Dickens, part steampunk, part fantasy, part Blade Runner, part Lovecraft and a whole lot more. As one agent said of my first novel's early drafts: Perdido Street Station suffers from an extreme case of too-much-ness. It has too many words, too many characters, too many points of view, too much description, too many subplots, too many races, too many kinds of magic, too many villains, too many heroes, too many really really big words, or old words (I had to use the dictionary every couple of pages). Still, it works, even rises to greatness.

Amazing things about this book:

1. The prose: which is highly descriptive, deft, and subtle, building elaborate piles of intricacy out of slashes of words.

2. The main characters: Isaac, Yag, and Lin all have some real depth.

3. The world: is just so creepy, slimy, and cool -- although not for the faint of heart. This book is dark. It makes The Darkening Dream seem like vanilla icing.

4. The monsters and the weird: nice and creepy. This is a book where human on bug sex is the sweet part!

5. The clarity: for all its length and bewildering array of everything, the book is easy to follow and read (provided you have a dictionary handy).

6. Imagination: No shortage of amazingly cool ideas, images, races, monsters, technologies, places, etc. in this puppy.

Things that aren't as strong:

1. Pacing: the masses of description, which while evocative, effective, and downright creepy, are constant and unrelenting. The city itself is a character and this slows things down a bit. It doesn't drag, but it isn't lightning fast either.

2. The tangents: there are more than a few here, and not all of them worth it.

3. The minor points of view: A number of characters pop in, have their couple POV pages in the sun, and then vanish (usually into the deadpool). This isn't always maximally effective.

4. The baroque plot: The story is easy enough to follow, but it does take A WHILE to get going and is not always full of classic drama created from thwarted desire. In fact, the first third or so is distinctly short on that, but is fast paced mostly because the world is so fascinating.

5. Actions of the government and other non-protagonist forces: There are some big chunks in here where the government is trying to do stuff, and only indirectly involves the regular characters. This stuff is less effective because of the emotional disconnect.

6. Deus ex machina: oh-too-coincidental happenings and escapes occur a number of times.

Overall, in the same way that Vegas transcends cheese by way of pure magnitude, Perdido climbs to greatness on the strength of its positives, rising above any petty flaws. If you appreciate flights of imagination, good writing, and the weird, it's required reading. No question. Not for the square, the staid, the boring, or the grounded who do not at least dream of flying.

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