Title: Kraken
Author: China Miéville
First published January 1, 2010
509 pages, Hardcover
ISBN: 9780345497499 (ISBN10: 034549749X)
Rating: 3.61
Overview
Maureen F. McHugh’s China Mountain Zhang takes us on a journey through a captivating world of post-revolution America, where life is a mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar.
In this thought-provoking science fiction novel, we follow the lives of a diverse group of characters, from cyber-kite fliers to organic engineers, and witness the complexities of their experiences as they navigate through different corners of the world, from the hyper-urbanized eastern seaboard to the icy, desolate landscape of Baffin Island. Through their overlapping lives, we are taken on a powerful and intense journey of discovery, culminating in a young man’s quest to find himself.
With vivid descriptions and a masterful writing style, China Mountain Zhang explores the depths of the human experience in a world that is both strange and familiar. This is a must-read for any science fiction fan looking for a brilliant and visionary work.
About the Author
This author from Britain writes “fantastic fiction” and prefers to call it “weird fiction,” a term coined by pulp and horror writers like H. P.
Lovecraft. He’s part of a group of writers known as New Weird who strive to steer fantasy away from the tired, genre clichés of Tolkien imitators.
Alongside his writing, he’s involved in left-wing politics as a member of the Socialist Workers Party. He’s even run for a seat in the House of Commons as part of the Socialist Alliance and has authored a book on the intersection between Marxism and international law.
Editoral Review
China Mivilles Kraken is a mind-bending, genre-bending novel that defies expectations at every turn. Miville is well-known for his unique brand of weird fiction, which blends horror, science fiction, and fantasy into strange and unsettling narratives that push the boundaries of what we think of as genre fiction.
With Kraken, Miville takes this approach to new heights, creating a novel that is both deeply imaginative and deeply unsettling. At its core, Kraken is a novel about a giant squid that disappears from a museum in London, dragging its curator and a cast of characters into a bizarre and terrifying underworld of cults, magic, and cosmic horror.
The novel is set in a fantastical version of contemporary London that is as vividly and captivatingly rendered as any real-world city, with a rich cast of characters drawn from all walks of life. The main character, Billy Harrow, is a cephalopod specialist who becomes embroiled in the mystery of the missing squid, while other key players include a charismatic polymath named Goss and a powerful witch named Grisamentum.
Mivilles prose is dense and complex, with an almost academic attention to detail that can sometimes be challenging for readers to navigate. However, for those willing to put in the effort, Kraken is a deeply rewarding reading experience that offers layers upon layers of metaphor and meaning.
The novel is ultimately about the unknowability of the universe and the tenuous hold we have on our own reality, and Miville explores these themes with a skill and depth that is truly impressive. One of the strongest elements of Kraken is Mivilles character development.
While many of the characters in the novel are eccentric and otherworldly, they all feel fully realized and dimensional, with complex motivations and backstories that make them feel like real people. Miville is also a master of pacing, with the novel building to a fever pitch of tension and horror that is genuinely terrifying.
That said, Kraken is not a perfect novel. The complex plot and high level of abstraction may not be to everyones taste, and some readers may find themselves struggling to keep up with the twists and turns of the narrative.
Additionally, while the novel is deeply rewarding in its exploration of philosophical and metaphysical themes, it can at times feel a bit heavy-handed in its delivery. Overall, however, Kraken is a stunning achievement in weird fiction, and a must-read for fans of the genre.
Mivilles imagination and creativity are on full display here, and the novel is a masterclass in character development, pacing, and thematic exploration. It may not be for everyone, but for those willing to take the plunge, Kraken is a journey into the unknown that is not to be missed.
Rating: 4.5/5
