Iron Council

[coolerthanhot]

After very briefly perusing the threads on Mieville here I've yet to hear anyone mention Iron Council, for better or worse.

Personally I thought it was his best book by far. It wasnt the characters, it wasnt the action sequences, and it also was not the juicy homosexual relationships of one Mr. Judah Low.

I thought it had a more important statement than any of his other books.

Unfortunatly I can't get too detailed without spoiling the end for anyone out there who has yet to read it, but suffice to say he addresses something that is horribly missing in today's world- a strong, fearless example of how we should be responding to the corrupt powers running our planet.

Obviously it's far-fetched to suggest that the end can make the whole in terms of enjoyability. But the way in which the elements were brought together and formed was, for me, extremely powerful and thought provoking. Granted, I read the book almost 5 years ago, but if I'd not lent it out to someone who then lost it I'd probably have read it several times at this point.

Thoughts?

 

[digs]

I really enjoyed Iron Council, although not as much as The Scar (but more than PDS). While I have read a few unfavourable comments/reviews of it, I've never comes across anyone who really disliked the book as a whole - just a few of its elements.

I liked Judah Low and his abilities, as well as the other guy (can't remember his name...Cutter? it's been a while since I read it) who provided a more pedestrian perspective, but the characters just felt a little less realised - and less cool - than in The Scar. Still, the theme was good and yeah, the ending was incredible.

Mieville's got a great gift for telling compelling and unusual stories with excellent themes that show off the fantastic and weird creation that his world is. I think he could write a book about the day-to-day life of some random Bas-Lag farmer and I'd probably be hooked.

 

[Ursa major]

I think we all have our favourites amongst the Bas Lag books. (Mine is Perdido Street Station.) And while all thre are excellent, they all have their faults. In PDS, somethimes the description can take over (as in the laying of the cable); in The Scar, I found hard to sympathise with some of the characters I perhaps was meant to; in Iron Council, the tale is episodic and some of the thaumaturgy towards (but not at) the end seemed too much like throwing in the kitchen sink. These faults are far outweighed by what is good in the books, their rich settings and well-realised characters. And in all three, Miéville is not afraid of giving us endings in which not everything turns out for the best.


What I most like (if that's the correct word) about the Bas Lag books is New Crobuzon. It's a wonderful creation. Strange as it may sound, I somethimes find myself thinking about it, in the way I might do so about real places I've visited. And as much of Iron Council is set in the city, I'll always want to read the book again.

 

[coolerthanhot]

Honestly when it comes to Mieville's thaumaturgy(and most other aspects of his writing) I feel like he throws in the kitchen sink every single time, or tries to. It's like Discworld only it takes itself seriously, and does so intelligently enough that I can as well.

I suppose it's stating the obvious to say that it all comes down to taste, I just feel like that particular message outweighed everything else I've seen from him in terms of importance. I don't want to sound preachy and I've come to understand that most people aren't nearly as interested in tying world issues into just about every conversation that they can as I am- but I feel like it ought to be noted.

It's what draws me to most of my favourite authors. The endless parallels in Erikson's world (no suprise my favorite is Midnight Tides), the potential answers to be found in Bakker's Dunyain (I also am a Hard Determinist so I found his concept to be absolutely fantastic!) via education and conditioning. I even enjoyed Margarat Atwood's Oryx and Crake- the blatant bias against men is everpresent as always but the overall concept was less than far fetched and quite well thought out. (I wouldn't have read it if it had not been given to me though )

I really enjoyed PDS and The Scar as well but that deeper meaning just seemed to be missing. At the end of the books I felt elated to have been in the presence of such characters and actions, but when asking myself 'What did you learn?' I was unable to come up with much. This is not to say that I felt at all enlightened by Atwood's novel, but I did feel that it was a more important concept to be delivered into the public consciousness.

 

[digs]

What I most like (if that's the correct word) about the Bas Lag books is New Crobuzon. It's a wonderful creation.

It's like Discworld only it takes itself seriously, and does so intelligently enough that I can as well.

You know, reading you guys' posts made me realise...New Crobuzon is basically a serious Ankh-Morpork (in my mind, anyway). It's sprawling, crazy, dirty, shady, raucous and I'd hate to live there - but it's awesome to visit.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

I didn't much care for Iron Council, and think it's the least effective and least interesting of the Bas-Lag novels. I think Mieville was to a certain extent treading old ground.

On the other hand, I hope he revisits the place. A break could do him good.

 

[Barracooda]

You know, reading you guys' posts made me realise...New Crobuzon is basically a serious Ankh-Morpork (in my mind, anyway). It's sprawling, crazy, dirty, shady, raucous and I'd hate to live there - but it's awesome to visit.

Ha yes totally, I'd never thought of it like that but the more I think of it, the more I can see the similarity.

 

[Barracooda]

I really enjoyed Iron Council. I hadn't read the guy for a few years so I found I had forgotten just how exciting China Mieville can make an action scene. Blow-for-blow descriptions can be tiresome and confusing but every blow Mieville writes is interesting and amazing. As I write this I am particularly thinking about the battle on the plains with the golem made out of corpses, that was so good.

 

[EloiseA]

I read Iron Council a few years ago and was also impressed and caught up in the political issues raised -- I know many readers don't care for these, but that implied dystopian critique is a key reason why I read China Mieville and M John Harrison among others.

I also liked the thaumaturgy though and the 'slow sculptures', great sedimentary rocks planned and treated to fall apart along certain lines over centuries or even millennia. And the chilling images of the Remade.

 

[sinister42]

My favorite of the Bas Lag books - by far. The ending blew me into the stratosphere. One of those books where I end up almost weeping on the bus as I finish it. Choking up just thinking about it. This is a book where Mieville got the balance between the "weird" and the "what's happening" exactly right.

 

[Idoru]

Iron Council is my favourite of the Bas Lag books. A lot of people I know didn't like for the politics, but that's actually the reason I did like it so much. I know his politics are present in the other Bas Lag books, but in this one they were so much more overt, and I really enjoyed it.

(Apologies for resurrecting an old thread! I'm relatively new to the forum so I'm just having a read of things.)