I just finished reading China Mieville’s novel The City &The City. This is the first Mieville book I’ve read since I finished The Scar and promptly threw the book across the room. I had slogged through 900 pages, and it was basically Wagner’s Ring Cycle. At the end I was precisely back to the same point as was at the beginning. Nothing had changed – neither the characters nor the situation. I also didn’t like the characters very much.
This latest novel was for me a vast improvement. It’s a fascinating analysis of “divided cities” a la Jerusalem, and he constructs a fascinating society where people are literally trained from birth to “unsee” other people, buildings, cars, etc. The framework is a murder mystery and the hero is a homicide detective working the case. There’s a number of very likable characters who you come to care about. I would have liked him to make the situation a bit more clear to me a bit earlier in the book, but it’s a minor quibble.
There is a wonderful C runner about an archeological dig that keep unearthing bronze spear points, and mysterious devices constructed of gears that seem inappropriate next to a bronze point. People think the gears are some kind of technology, but no one can figure them out. This was so interesting that I wanted that to become the focus of the book. It was ultimately more interesting than the actual mystery, and I hope he’ll return to this world and tell me the story of these ancient artifacts.
As a mystery Mieville did a nice job of not hiding the murderer, but putting the individual front and center. The motive for the killing was a bit too psychological for my taste, but it was credible. I was also a bit frustrated because he puts a weapon on stage and then never fires it — literally.
My biggest quibble was over the mysterious organization called Breach that deals with situations where people violate the “unseeing” rules, and have to be disciplined. At points Breach seemed almost ninja-like, but when we ultimately meet them they’re just bureaucrats and I found that unsatisfying.
The ending was quite bitter-sweet because of what happens to our detective. I really liked him so I was sorry he ended up in such an isolating situation.
Overall this is a really good book with a fascinating premise and society, and good characters.
