A review by thepurplebookwyrm
This Census-Taker by China Miéville

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Out of all the Miévilles I have thus far read, this is probably the one I have liked the least, yet I don't regret picking it up (or purchasing it, for that matter). Had it been penned by another author, I would've, yes, considered reading this a waste of time... but the atmosphere and tension Miéville managed to conjure up with his prose and 'set-sketching' nonetheless managed to keep me going through this novella – and that's not nothing.

I'm not really sure what this even counts as, genre-wise... an item of ambiguously defined 'post-apocalyptica'? Perhaps, perhaps not; This Census-Taker's opaqueness was, unfortunately, a bit much for me here. Yes, I enjoyed the vague notes of dread, and psychological horror... as conveyed through the perceptions of a powerless child, living on the edges of a rather destitute-seeming town. But I didn't really get anything beyond those admittedly compelling notes in terms of greater world-building, character work, or theming.

So... bit of a dud, this one. But I'd still take Miéville's mediocrity over most other writers', to be honest, so there's that!