Great story and great reading

It might be Sreampunk, but I loved every minute of it! Read it years ago and now heard it again.

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A bleak world with more world build than story

The world of Perdido Street Station is bleak, with only a very few pin points of light... and many of those turn out to be an oncoming train. If you're looking for something nice to escape the real world, avoid like the plague! If you like a challenging world, dive right in.
While other reviews praise the worldbuilding, I find it to be the worst part of the book. The world is way way way too rich for the story that is being told in it. There are Humans, cactus people, beatle people, zombies, vampires, parasite driven people, great beasts, gryphon men, weird flesh sourcery induced horror people, demons, water elementals, half-sentient "goblin" people, psychers, magic and I probably have forgotten a lot of them.
There is absolutely no point to use all of the above in just one story. There is no focus to actually get to know the specifics of anything here. It feels as if China Mieville tried his very very hardest to establish the universe of a whole epic series in just one book. And as a result, the world feels overloaded and unfocussed.

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2 Leute fanden das hilfreich

Wonderful, but almost flawed

What do I mean by that, then? I'll try to be brief.

The world building is phenomenal, though the book would have benefited from a map (even the audiobook) - you can find one by China on the web! The characters are very well fleshed out, and there are new ideas and fantastic monsters here. Also, while there is horror, it's not nearly as gruesome or disgusting as others have claimed. The author doesn't focus on it, as such...it feels more like necessity, because this world is a fairly awful place to live in, than choice.

One thing to bear in mind is that, in my opinion, the true protagonist is this world Isaac and Lin and the others live in. Sometimes the point of view dramatically shifts between characters, between focus on who matters. I'm not sure if this is intentional. It's not jarring, it's more an eyebrow-furrowing "ehm... what happened to X, then?" Also, one of the larger plot twists can be seen coming from literally 70% of the book away.

This is also where the one almost-weakness of the book lies. Characters are so vividly described, are believable, go through growth....but you can't ever really care for them because this grubby world is in the way. Because that's how the book was written, and because life is really cheap in New Crobuzon. I'm not sure if it's masterful or lacking. The book doesn't ever bore, but there comes a point where you realize you aren't going, aren't intended to get attached to the protagonists and it's an acquired taste.

I wholeheartedly recommend the book and the performance by Mr. Lee if you want to dive into a fantastic world and not surface for a while. But be mindful the book isn't entirely "easy" to read nor is it easygoing.

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