A little off-putting at first for its pure strangeness, then engrossing, and utimately just shy of one of the most brilliant sci-fi/fantasy novels I've read. Mieville's greatest accomplishment, I think, is to deal honestly with the world he created. He gives his characters hard choices and makes them face the consequences. It's a kind of self-honesty not many authors achieve, or even seem to realize they should be striving for.