509 pages
English language
Published Nov. 21, 2011 by Del Rey.
When a nine-meter-long dead squid is stolen, tank and all, from a London museum, curator Billy Harrow finds himself swept up in a world he didn't know existed: one of worshippers of the giant squid, animated golems, talking tattoos, and animal familiars on strike. Forced on the lam with a renegade kraken cultist and stalked by cops and crazies, Billy finds his quest to recover the squid sidelined by questions as to what force may now be unleashed on an unsuspecting world.
Although my bewilderment level remained high throughout, this was a great read. London will never be the same for me again!
I had a little difficulty wading through this one. It's quite different than Mieville's previous works, though it's not difficult to see how this evolved from them. Characterization is very strong, with characters that strengthen and evolve logically throughout the narrative. The plot and magical system mesh precisely: both are constructed out of thickly layered and highly detailed metaphor.
Absolutely a book where every little detail is important, will likely come back to effect the plot at some later point.
The missing star in this review is really only to do with the slightly disjointed transition between events, which was rather annoying to me in a few instances. Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book.
The magic system in this book is so incredibly brilliant, that I keep coming back to it. I really hope to see Mieville use it again.
