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timna_wyckoff's review against another edition
5.0
I would give this more than five stars if I could! Read for fourth grade book club, after reading Mieville's "Perdido Street Station". In this book, Mieville's amazing, creatively twisted imagination is slightly tempered for a younger audience, and then peppered with REALLY clever wordplay (arachnofenestranauts?!?!?!). I hope the ending is suggesting that there might be a sequel?
subparcupcake's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. I liked this one more than I thought I would, but I think that has a lot to do with timing. I had been wanting to read something lighter for a while, and when this became available at the library I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm glad I did, I enjoyed it enough that I think I'll eventually read more by the author. There were definitely highs and lows in the story, things I liked and things I didn't like at all.. But overall I did enjoy reading it, and that counts a lot towards my rating.
songwind's review against another edition
4.0
China Mieville is a noted writer of dark steampunk fantasy. When I learned that he had written a YA novel, I was curious how well he would accomplish it, and if it would still be recognizable as his.
The answers are: Just fine, and Yes.
Un Lun Dun revisits one of the major themes of [b:King Rat|68498|King Rat|China Miéville|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170692699s/68498.jpg|1870961]: an second London, existing alongside the first. However, instead of King Rat's world of the lost and downtrodden, UnLondon is a world made up of many types of people, some of whom are indigenous, and technology that has become obsolete in London.
Zanna and Deeba are school girls who end up in UnLondon, and in the middle of a conflict that has been brewing for years. How they affect the course of the conflict and the people of UnLondon is the focus of the book.
The prose is clearly Mieville's. Though accessible for younger readers, he still imbues it with his obvious love for words. Words even play a role in the course of the story more than once.
I also liked the fact that the US version of the book did not Americanize the text. Instead, the author included a dictionary of English usage and slang to help the reader with any idiomatic terms that might be unfamiliar.
The answers are: Just fine, and Yes.
Un Lun Dun revisits one of the major themes of [b:King Rat|68498|King Rat|China Miéville|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170692699s/68498.jpg|1870961]: an second London, existing alongside the first. However, instead of King Rat's world of the lost and downtrodden, UnLondon is a world made up of many types of people, some of whom are indigenous, and technology that has become obsolete in London.
Zanna and Deeba are school girls who end up in UnLondon, and in the middle of a conflict that has been brewing for years. How they affect the course of the conflict and the people of UnLondon is the focus of the book.
The prose is clearly Mieville's. Though accessible for younger readers, he still imbues it with his obvious love for words. Words even play a role in the course of the story more than once.
I also liked the fact that the US version of the book did not Americanize the text. Instead, the author included a dictionary of English usage and slang to help the reader with any idiomatic terms that might be unfamiliar.
danileighta's review against another edition
I read this quite a few years ago and remember being really pleased with the invention and creativity. I'm reviewing this, though, because China Mieville deserves all the praise. He's super cool and an incredible writer. Some of his work is darker than others, but it's well worth the read always! One of my very favorite authors <3
breakfastgrey's review against another edition
4.0
Slightly slow to start, but absolutely takes off once the twist with the protagonist near the 1/3 mark occurs. It's one of those books where I spent half of it thinking, "Ugh! I wish I'd come up with that!"
embereye's review against another edition
5.0
An enjoyable YA, this is set in a London that is entirely not like London, where everything that is unwanted goes to live including broken umbrellas, unwritten books, bits of rubbish, milk cartons, etc. It follows the quest setup with various characters gathered along the way and a fairly unlikely heroine. In some ways this could be considered along the lines of Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. A similar fairytale concept but with a modern feel and modern language.
hectaizani's review against another edition
4.0
Like some other reviews I've read Un Lun Dun reminded me a little bit of Neverwhere. The major similarity is the alternate London of the setting. There are "scary" characters and situations in both. However, Un Lun Dun reminds me more of The Phantom Tollbooth which was one of my absolute favorite books as a youngster. I appreciated that Mieville wrote about a sassy female heroine, it's always nice to find female characters that aren't sitting around waiting for a man to come to their rescue. There are enough princess phenomenon books already written for this age group. Definitely humorous, the book is filled with puns. My only complaint is that some of the characters were a bit flat, but that might be because there are so many.
allysther's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
flaurora's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition
5.0
Strange things start happening around best friends Zanna and Deeba. A fox appears on the edge of the playground, watching Zanna. They come across graffiti saying “Zanna For Ever!” A woman they don’t know approaches Zanna in a café and tells her what an honor it is to meet her. It all culminates one night when the girls are having a sleepover and notice a broken umbrella hanging off a window, spying on them. They follow the umbrella and eventually find themselves in a place…not London. UnLondon, in fact.
I loved this! Loved it. The author acknowledgments should give you an idea as to what to expect. China Miéville writes, “As always, I’m indebted to too many writers to list, but particularly important to this book are [a:Joan Aiken|12075|Joan Aiken|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205348188p2/12075.jpg], [a:Clive Barker|10366|Clive Barker|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1200469782p2/10366.jpg], [a:Lewis Carroll|8164|Lewis Carroll|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1192735053p2/8164.jpg], [a:Michael De Larrabeiti|211036|Michael De Larrabeiti|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1207161536p2/211036.jpg], [a:Tanith Lee|8694|Tanith Lee|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1218895130p2/8694.jpg], [a:Walter Moers|34878|Walter Moers|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg], and [a:Beatrix Potter|11593|Beatrix Potter|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1201022492p2/11593.jpg]. Particular thanks are due [a:Neil Gaiman|1221698|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1234150163p2/1221698.jpg], for generous encouragement and for his indispensable contributions to London phantasmagoria, especially [b:Neverwhere|14497|Neverwhere|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256043709s/14497.jpg|16534].” Miéville chose some big footsteps to follow and he absolutely pulled it off.
This mostly reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, with a little side of Neverwhere. The sense of totally unpredictable fun that pervades Alice was alive and well in Un Lun Dun. There was crazy word play (Binjas! Gotta love ‘em!), fantastical creatures, and a world where the impossible has become the everyday. But underneath all the fun, there were subtle messages about loyalty, friendship, doing your best, having faith in yourself, standing up for what’s right, and even a little dash of environmentalism. None of this is at all heavy-handed though, so it really can be read as a fun adventure story.
Miéville illustrated the book himself, and I loved the illustrations. They added a perfect note of whimsy to an already-whimsical book. My favorite picture is probably the one of UnLondon’s giraffes. You’ll have to read it to find out why.
I also liked that they didn’t “dumb down” the American edition. Sure, there are plenty of British words that the average American 12-year-old isn’t going to understand, but give little readers some credit—they can understand a lot in context. And if they can’t, there’s a glossary at the back.
This is a tiny little thing, but I’ll mention it anyway. The section headings always made me blink a little because the big, heavy Roman numerals always reminded me of those Saw movies. I haven’t seen any and I have no desire to see any, so that association always took me aback for a second.
If you want to read a book that takes you back to the first amazing time you read Alice, pick this up. Those feelings are all within these pages. If you know any younger readers, do them a favor and make sure they read this. It’s just magic.
I loved this! Loved it. The author acknowledgments should give you an idea as to what to expect. China Miéville writes, “As always, I’m indebted to too many writers to list, but particularly important to this book are [a:Joan Aiken|12075|Joan Aiken|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205348188p2/12075.jpg], [a:Clive Barker|10366|Clive Barker|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1200469782p2/10366.jpg], [a:Lewis Carroll|8164|Lewis Carroll|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1192735053p2/8164.jpg], [a:Michael De Larrabeiti|211036|Michael De Larrabeiti|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1207161536p2/211036.jpg], [a:Tanith Lee|8694|Tanith Lee|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1218895130p2/8694.jpg], [a:Walter Moers|34878|Walter Moers|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg], and [a:Beatrix Potter|11593|Beatrix Potter|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1201022492p2/11593.jpg]. Particular thanks are due [a:Neil Gaiman|1221698|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1234150163p2/1221698.jpg], for generous encouragement and for his indispensable contributions to London phantasmagoria, especially [b:Neverwhere|14497|Neverwhere|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256043709s/14497.jpg|16534].” Miéville chose some big footsteps to follow and he absolutely pulled it off.
This mostly reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, with a little side of Neverwhere. The sense of totally unpredictable fun that pervades Alice was alive and well in Un Lun Dun. There was crazy word play (Binjas! Gotta love ‘em!), fantastical creatures, and a world where the impossible has become the everyday. But underneath all the fun, there were subtle messages about loyalty, friendship, doing your best, having faith in yourself, standing up for what’s right, and even a little dash of environmentalism. None of this is at all heavy-handed though, so it really can be read as a fun adventure story.
Miéville illustrated the book himself, and I loved the illustrations. They added a perfect note of whimsy to an already-whimsical book. My favorite picture is probably the one of UnLondon’s giraffes. You’ll have to read it to find out why.
I also liked that they didn’t “dumb down” the American edition. Sure, there are plenty of British words that the average American 12-year-old isn’t going to understand, but give little readers some credit—they can understand a lot in context. And if they can’t, there’s a glossary at the back.
This is a tiny little thing, but I’ll mention it anyway. The section headings always made me blink a little because the big, heavy Roman numerals always reminded me of those Saw movies. I haven’t seen any and I have no desire to see any, so that association always took me aback for a second.
If you want to read a book that takes you back to the first amazing time you read Alice, pick this up. Those feelings are all within these pages. If you know any younger readers, do them a favor and make sure they read this. It’s just magic.