Iron Council is one of my two favourite books of all time. It features one of only three instances when I have EVER found MYSELF in a book. It makes me very very happy.
I haven't read the other two. I JUST bought Perdido Street Station but haven't started it yet.
As to the me in fiction... that would be Judah. Everything about him aside from the fact that he's male is me -- his sexuality, his morality, his attitudes, his cultural adoption and subsequent loss, his ideals... and yes, I know these are not good or virtuous things, but he is still me in that world and although I know better in this one, I cannot promise I would not make the same choices he did in a similar situation.
I actually RP him (infrequently) in an RP I'm in. He doesn't do much, he's basically become a sort of convenient NPC who works for one of my other characters using his golems to fortify and protect her bookshop and the special collections of rare and potentially magical texts.
Though every so often he does take part in shenanigans... like when yet ANOTHER character of mine had this idea to have Judah create glitter golem traps all around london which, when activated, would form a small golem made entirely of glitter that would chase after whoever tripped the tripwire then explode into a sparkly poof of fine-grained glitter of the sort that doesn't wash off for WEEKS.
Perdido Street Station is probably better written, and The Scar is probably better structured (and has one of the most hilarious climaxes in an otherwise serious story that I've ever encountered), but Iron Council is closest to my heart.
I am not too big into RP but I think I would read about the glitter golems, yes.
There isn't much to read. The way the RP works has a LOT of handwaving. It was really that I asked permission from the mods, then posted an announcement OOC that there were now glitter golem traps positioned all over London (where most of the characters are), and anyone who wanted to could choose to run into one and post about it. A handful of people did, and we did a few AIM logs with other characters being glittered, but that's about the extent of it.
Judah is an epic enough character that I only bring him out when I KNOW I have a situation where I can play him completely IC and it will work. I may relate to him deeply, but he isn't ME and he has a certain TONE about him that just can't be played all the time because it's exhausting trying to keep that up.
I think Mieville's writing has a very specific sort of audience. I love it first and foremost because of his style, and second because of his ideas. Just everything about his world concept makes me blissed out with geek glee. He's envisioned a world where all the coolest aspects of sci-fi and fantasy can exist together without it feeling like an anachronism clusterfuck. So you get mad scientists a la Repo! right alongside Tolkienish high-fantasy critters with nods to Russian myth and culture and tons of other things which are all just magnificent to me.
But I first read Meiville because of you* and so THANK YOU OH MY GOD THANK YOU SO MUCH. I read the city and the city over the winter holiday (got it as a gift) and it's awesome and then i read iron council and oh my god. damn, you know?
But I think the Scar is my favorite right now.
*you'd mentioned him a few times so when a houseguest was reading Perdido street station I grabbed it after.
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no subject
Date: 2010-01-18 11:04 pm (UTC)Have you read any of his books?
no subject
Date: 2010-01-18 11:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-18 11:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-19 12:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-19 01:04 am (UTC)I haven't read the other two. I JUST bought Perdido Street Station but haven't started it yet.
As to the me in fiction... that would be Judah. Everything about him aside from the fact that he's male is me -- his sexuality, his morality, his attitudes, his cultural adoption and subsequent loss, his ideals... and yes, I know these are not good or virtuous things, but he is still me in that world and although I know better in this one, I cannot promise I would not make the same choices he did in a similar situation.
I actually RP him (infrequently) in an RP I'm in. He doesn't do much, he's basically become a sort of convenient NPC who works for one of my other characters using his golems to fortify and protect her bookshop and the special collections of rare and potentially magical texts.
Though every so often he does take part in shenanigans... like when yet ANOTHER character of mine had this idea to have Judah create glitter golem traps all around london which, when activated, would form a small golem made entirely of glitter that would chase after whoever tripped the tripwire then explode into a sparkly poof of fine-grained glitter of the sort that doesn't wash off for WEEKS.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-19 01:08 am (UTC)I am not too big into RP but I think I would read about the glitter golems, yes.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-19 01:20 am (UTC)Judah is an epic enough character that I only bring him out when I KNOW I have a situation where I can play him completely IC and it will work. I may relate to him deeply, but he isn't ME and he has a certain TONE about him that just can't be played all the time because it's exhausting trying to keep that up.
I think Mieville's writing has a very specific sort of audience. I love it first and foremost because of his style, and second because of his ideas. Just everything about his world concept makes me blissed out with geek glee. He's envisioned a world where all the coolest aspects of sci-fi and fantasy can exist together without it feeling like an anachronism clusterfuck. So you get mad scientists a la Repo! right alongside Tolkienish high-fantasy critters with nods to Russian myth and culture and tons of other things which are all just magnificent to me.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-19 12:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-19 01:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-19 01:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-19 06:58 am (UTC)But I first read Meiville because of you* and so THANK YOU OH MY GOD THANK YOU SO MUCH. I read the city and the city over the winter holiday (got it as a gift) and it's awesome and then i read iron council and oh my god. damn, you know?
But I think the Scar is my favorite right now.
*you'd mentioned him a few times so when a houseguest was reading Perdido street station I grabbed it after.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-19 06:45 pm (UTC)