A review by sammiseah
Railsea by China Miéville

adventurous hopeful mysterious fast-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? Yes

4.5

The perfect book to drag me out of my February reading slump. Found this book propped up in a basement in a former bank turned bookstore (lol), was kinda attracted by the blurb and went for it! I've also previously heard of the author, but only in the context of non-fiction works (Naomi Klein thanked him in her latest book!). I read most of the book whilst stuck on the couch in a cough-syrup-induced daze so maybe that contributed to the atmosphere lol.

What. A. Journey. 

I'll try my best not to spoil this book because I think everyone deserves a chance to read it. The world-building is exciting and incredibly creative and I loved the premise. The characters weren't necessarily the most lovable and there was something lacking in character development, but the main character did kinda grow on me. The writing was extremely engaging and I couldn't put it down, even in my cough-syrup-drugged state. And LOL I didn't see the ending coming, but I have to say that I found it hilarious (and uh very much in line with my political beliefs lol).

... I do think that this book may not be everyone's cup of tea. I've always loved steampunk/silkpunk-type fantasies, and this fits right in (Miéville has described it as "salvagepunk" and "weird fiction" haha). The writing style also takes some getting used to and some parts come across as a little "immature" - it's technically classified as a YA book after all. 

I'm now excited but also a little apprehensive to explore some of his other works - apparently they can be even more wildly bizarre and wildly brilliant and I'm not sure I'm ready for that. Maybe in a few months.