Book: Iron Council, China Miéville

Y'know, I always find it tough answering those "what's your most favourite...?" questions. I mean I dunno which film, song, game etc I like the best. I don't have a collection of any of these things, and I don't watch a certain film (for example) over and over again.

I can tell you, however, that Perdido Street Station (the book that put Miéville on the map) is one of the best books I've ever read. Even if you're not into fantasy it's a fantastic read; the manner in which Miéville brings his characters to life, fills them with depth is unique.

The Scar was also good, but not as much. Iron Council is his third set in the New Crobuzon universe. Unfortunately, this book continues on the same gradient that the previous two set.

Based around a political situation spanning a couple of decades and containing an equal amount of story arcs, IC just isn't as exciting and bravado as the last two books were. There were points where I actually dozed off; I didn't care that much (although admittedly I haven't had much sleep the past few weeks). The plot was a mess at times, jumping between the two strands and I even found it hard to follow at times. On a more positive note, actions scenes were superbly described as expected, and the characters all showed the same amount of depth that Issac and Bellis both had.

One good thing that has come out of this book is that I now have the urge to read Perdido Street Station. And that's no bad thing, since it's one of my most favourite books.