DV: What We're Reading: The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte

		Mieville, China. Perdido Street Station. (New York: Ballantine, 1998) List price 7.99 Our price $6.50. Paperback. New. Science Fiction ISBN: 0345459407
Winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the British Fantasy Award Beneath the towering bleached ribs of a dead, ancient beast lies the city of New Crobuzon, where the unsavory deal is stranger to no one -- not even to Isaac, a gifted and eccentric scientist who has spent a lifetime quietly carrying out his unique research. But when a half-bird, half-human creature know as the Garuda comes to him from afar, Isaac is face with challenges he has never before encountered. Though the Garuda's request is scientifically daunting, Isaac is sparked by his own curiosity and an uncanny reverence for this curious stranger. Soon an eerie metamorphosis will occur that will permeat every fiber of New Crobuzon -- and not even the Ambassador of Hell will challenge the malignant terror it evokes.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING "Mieville moves effortlessly into the first division of those who define and create the fiction of the coming century." -- Neil Gaiman "Continuously fascinating ... Mieville creates a world of outrageous inventiveness." -- The Denver Post "[This] novel rocked my world ... An action-packed thriller with high literary production values. A sprawling, vastly abitious, exquisitely executed science fiction fantasy with the best possible ending. YOu want more, more, more." -- Andrew Leonard, Salon.com "Compulsively readable ... There are scenes here that ... are impossible to expunge from memory." -- The Washington Post Book World

WHAT WE'RE SAYING WOW! -- Lydia. You've undoubtably heard about this book. How could you not? It's been nominated for just about every award in the field, even crossing sub-genres to do it. Perhaps, like me, you resisted the temptation to read it because there was just so much hype. I mean, could it really be that good? Well, oh doubting one, the answer is "yes". It evokes the best of Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance, and Tim Powers. The city and it's denizens are richly defined, each with their own customs and history, art and science -- so much so that they feel researched rather than created. (You may want to keep a dictionary on hand.) --Lydia...

Perdido Street Station