A review by themysteriouserk
Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

While I did find some pacing issues, I loved the story world (a blend of classic fantasy tropes with totally new ideas and references to mythologies not often represented in fantasy, at least in English) and found the characters intriguing.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Drug use and Rape

A rape ends up being important to the main plot, but happens “off-screen,” isn’t described in detail, and is responded to by the characters with knowledge of it. There’s a fairly extensive section where a major character is held prisoner by a crime boss and tortured, but the fantasy setting makes it a bit less real and hard-hitting than similar subject matter in other books and some of the most harmful tropes associated with that kind of situation are either avoided or subverted.