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yeahnaar's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A unique concept that could’ve have been awful but which was executed really well. It’s a fun book and gives you a nice sense of adventure and a nostalgia for the world it’s in
danielrch's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
timinbc's review against another edition
5.0
If you try to describe this book to someone who has never read Mieville, it probably sounds like a complete failure. The world CM has built is, well, ridiculous; the plot is flimsy and implausible, and to lay that on top of a rewrite of Moby-Dick, well, c'mon! But as I said the other day while eating a squid salad, sometimes you just have to trust the chef. Trains, pirates, monsters and suave shadowy Bad Guys, how can this not be good? And it is. It's very, very, very good. Like Stardust and Hugo and The Triplets of Belleville and any Miyazaki movie.
I've been disappointed by some recent Miévilles, which were only very good. This one moves him back into that area where you start to feel sad near the end because you know that soon there won't be any more pages.
Every time I got niggly about little details (like the apparently infinite supplies of food, water and fuel except in a very few cases where the plot needed a shortage), I'd reach one of those paragraphs that are so good you go back and read them again.
I can't promise that you'll love this book, or even like it. But you really need to read it.
I've been disappointed by some recent Miévilles, which were only very good. This one moves him back into that area where you start to feel sad near the end because you know that soon there won't be any more pages.
Every time I got niggly about little details (like the apparently infinite supplies of food, water and fuel except in a very few cases where the plot needed a shortage), I'd reach one of those paragraphs that are so good you go back and read them again.
I can't promise that you'll love this book, or even like it. But you really need to read it.
dmoony's review against another edition
4.5
Wow, masterful writing and storytelling, lovable characters and a unique world. I loved it and it's almost perfect, but it kinda felt like there was something just a little missing (maybe more drastic character development?). Definitely gonna check out this author's other works.
debmo79's review against another edition
5.0
I don't have words for how much I loved this. Except to say that every spare minute I was not reading it, I resented the time spent not reading it. The worldbuilding, the characters, the plot - from the first page this book grabbed me and kept my attention. Thoroughly enjoyed it!
thepurplebookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Imagine Moby Dick, but instead of an ocean, you have... a sea of rails, the Railsea, replacing great swathes of water from the Earth's continental shelves, uncounted decades, or centuries, into some sort of post-Industrial-Collapse future. And instead of the Great White Whale, you have the Great Ivory Moldywarpe (a big arse, far-future mutated mole). And then, on top of that, you have a divided sky, in which lurk, float, swim a menagerie of eldritch critters that were dropped off, long ago, by relatives of Roadside Picnic's rather inconsiderate aliens – pit stop rubbish, as it were.
That is the setting, and set-up, of China Miéville's Railsea. It is, at face-value, an absolutely ludicrous, far-future, and certainly far-fetched, post-apocalyptic setting, to be sure. It should, quite frankly, not work at all. And yet Miéville fucking made it work, because of course he bloody did! The world of Railsea is wonderfully weird, beautifully bonkers and I had a whale, or I should say moldywarpe (hehe), of a time reading this novel!
I'll venture so far as to say this might be the best non-obviously theming-driven, or theming-rich novel I've read so far in my life. It's definitely ideas-driven insofar as Railsea is all about its crazily imaginative, but no less thoughtful, world-building. But because its ideas are so firmly channeled into sheer world-building, and not theming, this one read more like a more purely entertainment-driven novel than anything else – which I found fascinating in itself!
That being said, it was, yes, incredibly thoughtful entertainment because my mind delighted in thinking about the world of Railsea, its geography, its ecology, its human societies, its cultural customs. Miéville's prose was on point, as usual, and I once again loved the way he used language, or rather specific linguistic conventions, as a world-building device – ampersands, amirite! 😉
All of it had heart as well! And a plot that joyfully pulled me along for its wild ride (yes, all the puns are fully intended here). No, it didn't have super deep character work, and the plot unashamedly riffed off of, or I'd argue paid homage to Moby Dick (and the Strugatsky brothers). But you know what? I'll freaking allow it, because it was bloody delightful! And because this was enthusiastic and loving imagination, creativity and storytelling in the best sense of those words, and concepts. This shit, right here, is why I love China Miéville's fiction. NOM NOM NOM ! 😋
That is the setting, and set-up, of China Miéville's Railsea. It is, at face-value, an absolutely ludicrous, far-future, and certainly far-fetched, post-apocalyptic setting, to be sure. It should, quite frankly, not work at all. And yet Miéville fucking made it work, because of course he bloody did! The world of Railsea is wonderfully weird, beautifully bonkers and I had a whale, or I should say moldywarpe (hehe), of a time reading this novel!
I'll venture so far as to say this might be the best non-obviously theming-driven, or theming-rich novel I've read so far in my life. It's definitely ideas-driven insofar as Railsea is all about its crazily imaginative, but no less thoughtful, world-building. But because its ideas are so firmly channeled into sheer world-building, and not theming, this one read more like a more purely entertainment-driven novel than anything else – which I found fascinating in itself!
That being said, it was, yes, incredibly thoughtful entertainment because my mind delighted in thinking about the world of Railsea, its geography, its ecology, its human societies, its cultural customs. Miéville's prose was on point, as usual, and I once again loved the way he used language, or rather specific linguistic conventions, as a world-building device – ampersands, amirite! 😉
All of it had heart as well! And a plot that joyfully pulled me along for its wild ride (yes, all the puns are fully intended here). No, it didn't have super deep character work, and the plot unashamedly riffed off of, or I'd argue paid homage to Moby Dick (and the Strugatsky brothers). But you know what? I'll freaking allow it, because it was bloody delightful! And because this was enthusiastic and loving imagination, creativity and storytelling in the best sense of those words, and concepts. This shit, right here, is why I love China Miéville's fiction. NOM NOM NOM ! 😋
outcolder's review against another edition
4.0
I was maybe a third of the way through this before I realized that it's (1) a YA book and (2) meant to be funny. At first, I started to get this weird feeling, like, "oh, I think that was a kind of joke." and then there was the sneaking suspicion that the whole thing was parody or maybe satire. Then I started actually getting the jokes. Finally, I saw the YA light and just relaxed and enjoyed it. Somewhere, there are young people out there who will stumble on this and will open a window in their little heads, but those are already some very peculiar young people.
kingofblades113's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
alyscole's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful writing based on a creatively imagined setting. Railsea is a lighthearted read full of camaraderie and fringed with antagonists on all sides. This is a book I would recommend to any somewhat younger reader looking to take the next turn from books (often heaped with cliches) in the young adult genre. The author, to my delight, kept the ever-speeding train of writing right smack on the rails of the plot, hardly ever switching but for the occasional off-hand remark.