/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.1831635]

Just finished Kraken. Fuck I can't get enough of China. Barring Iron Council, i could just smooze every one of his books.

I finished all of em now, except the SS one and the kids one. I'd say Perdido stayed my favorite but The City and the City kicked huge ass too. So did Kraken.

Has he said anything about Kraken in relation to Gaiman? the books was really a mashup of Neverwhere and American Gods with a China marinade and some nerd spices.

What do you guys think/know about this?

Kraken = (Neverwhere + American gods)/Mieville + nerd references

[Anonymous No.1831665]

i made an equation!

[Anonymous No.1831682]

i like mieville too, but what the fuck do you mean by smooze? stay off the drugs guy

[Anonymous No.1831695]

>>1831682

i made that word up. I'm shakespeare! did you know shakespeare made up the word assassinate/assassination?

did you read Kraken? or those two Gaiman ones? it's bizarre how similar they are put together. down to non-trope villians that almost exactly look like each other.

you can say smooze if you like. i think it means like something alot and think about it alot, some variation on that that has no word

[Anonymous No.1831707]

How's King Rat, OP? I have it sitting here but i'm reading some other stuff first.

And would you say China > Gaiman?

[Anonymous No.1831719]

>GODSHIT!
>GODSHIT!
>GODSHIT!
>GODSHIT!
>GODSHIT!

[Anonymous No.1831723]

>>1831707

its awesome, i'd put it above Kraken and below TC&TC. I kinda serperate the Bas-Lag ones from the others.

I would say that as an author china's better, but Gaiman's got so many balls in the air at one time, and i would never disrespect him in any way. I could read neverwhere forever. He's just doing comic books and stuff all the time. His stories are a bit more formulaic than China's though. Like who could predict how Perdido was gonna turn out or could predict it but coudln't predict how it'd make them feel. China is amazing at that where the hero accomplished the goal he set out to accomplish, but you're left with no satisfaction, totally abysmal. Look at the endoing of the Scar, i mean, she got everything she wanted, and really there was no badness for her, but is that uplifting? NO! its awful. You're expecting her to come to terms with life on Armada and have a fulfilling life, but the characters are not hopeful or optimistic or idealized. they;re pissed and sad and crusehd. Gaiman does not have that.

[Anonymous No.1831724]

>What do you guys think/know about this?

I think this is pointless. I know that Mieville is useless.

[Anonymous No.1831744]

>>1831724

>I'm a joyless heathen who thinks enjoyable books are dumb. I like throwing shit at people who are having fun. I hate swings.

that's you. that's what you sound like.

[Anonymous No.1831768]

>>1831744
That isn't fair, I like swings.

[Anonymous No.1831774]

>>1831719
Psychopomps - Godshit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8MKjiNHrBM

[Anonymous No.1831782]

>>1831768

I didn't say you hate swings, I said you sound like someone who hates swings would sound. Makin fun of an enjoyable author like that! Shame! Why do you have to come into someones thread and insult them for liking a certain author? Shit-throwin is that that is.

[Anonymous No.1831800]

OP sounds like a nice fellow.

And i used to enjoy Gaiman but i realized i couldn't really remember a single protagonist of his.

[Anonymous No.1831810]

I read Perdido Street Station and loved it, then quickly went on to read The Scar and King Rat, and loved them both. Then Iron Council came out and I stopped following this author because I didn't even feel like finishing that book. I'm glad another Mieville fan didn't like Iron Council. Maybe I'll pick up The City and The City next.

[Anonymous No.1831828]

>>1831810
i made this one time a long time ago.

I think there's a consensus on Iron Council that it was retarded, at least on here.

This was my summation of that book.
"OH FUCK THIS IS GONNA BE SO AWESOME I CANT WAIT FOR THIS SHIT IRON COUNCIL MAN! IT'S LIKE THE CONSTRUCT COUNCIL RAN AWAY FROM NEW C AND GOT AN ARMY ADN THERES GONNA BE A HUGE MAGIC VS MACHINE WAR AND MIEVILLE AND AWESOME AND nope, busted ass train. and gay sex.

[Anonymous No.1831835]

>>1831828

I actually liked The Scar a lot more than Perdido.

[Anonymous No.1831840]

>>1831800
There was Richard Mayhew in Neverwhere. He was a typical tropey protagonists. Regular guy in a wierd situation. Kraken had the same thing, regular guy in a wierd situation, except that Mieville makes it his own, and the fish out of wanda ends up running shit instead of uncomfortably tagging along and falling backwards into a victory.

[Anonymous No.1831864]

>>1831835
Both were about equal for me. Perdido Street Station because of the new, pulpy world I was introduced to, and The Scar because of how the world and craft of a story taking place in that world was refined.

[Anonymous No.1831869]

>>1831864

the thing i liked most about the Scar was the super-whale. I'm pretty clever and penetrating with my criticism but the best part of that book was super-whale just coz it was so big. I love huge shit.

[Anonymous No.1831893]

>>1831869
I liked the scene where the guy blended in with the architecture in order to sneak around. Even 7 years after reading the book, that scene is still with me, vivid as ever.

[Anonymous No.1831903]

I like how in The Scar he came up with not one, but two interesting takes on the vampire. He was all like "Vampire trend, are you even trying?"

[Anonymous No.1831914]

>>1831903
ya! how about that eh? That character, the Brucolac was it? something along those lines, was so cool. All the characters were so ridiculously memorable in the Bas-lag ones. except iron council. just look at the scar
>protagonist lady
>squidy remade guy
>his little buddy
>his buddy's remade bitch (wierd)
>the lovers
>the brucolac
>super kill guy (ummmmmmm doul?)
>lol that dolphin cop

[Anonymous No.1831937]

i finally slogged all the way through iron council. a deeply touching story wherein we learn that two men can love each other in a way that has nothing to do with plot or character development.

other than that he's done some awesome shit. no one here's read unlundun? it was a kid's book, but it's still a very fun read.

[Anonymous No.1831940]

>China Mieville thread
>mfw

[Anonymous No.1831943]

>>1831937

I havent gotten to UNLUNDUN! I will i'm sure, as i said,i just finished kraken and that was the last one i hadn't read. I suppose it's been long enough to reread perdido and scar.

[Anonymous No.1832033]

>>1831695
smooze already means to ingratiate yourself and/or to mingle shamelessly. also know has schmooze

[Anonymous No.1833071]

>Read The City & The City
>Jizz everywhere
>"Fuck, I need more from this author."
>See Iron Council described as steampunk meets western.
>"Fuck yeah!"
>Come on /lit/. See everyone hates it.
>Completely discouraged from reading it.
>mfw

The same goddamn thing happened with Kafka On The Shore. For some time everyone on here was raving about how good it is, so I buy it, and from that moment onwards, everyone seems to agree that it's awful.

[Anonymous No.1833088]

Have you guys seen the new covers by Pan Books? I think they look fantastic.

[Anonymous No.1833089]

[Anonymous No.1833095]

[Anonymous No.1833105]

>>1833088
>>1833089
>>1833095
Love them. I think I'm gonna replace the covers of my ebooks.