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China Miéville

Author of Perdido Street Station

107+ Works 44,666 Members 1,868 Reviews 358 Favorited
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About the Author

China Miéville was born in Norwich, England on September 6, 1972. He received a B.A. in social anthropology from the University of Cambridge in 1994, and a Masters' degree with distinction and Ph.D in international relations from the London School of Economics, the latter in 2001. He has also held show more a Frank Knox fellowship at Harvard University. His first novel, King Rat, was nominated for both an International Horror Guild and a Bram Stoker award. His other works include Perdido Street Station, The Scar, Iron Council, Un Lun Dun, The City and the City, Embassytown, and Three Moments of an Explosion: Stories. He has won numerous awards for his works including three Arthur C. Clarke Awards, two British Fantasy Awards, the British Science Fiction Award, and the 2008 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book. He also published a book on Marxism and international law called Between Equal Rights: A Marxist Theory of International Law. He teaches creative writing at Warwick University. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: photo by Katie Cooke

Series

Works by China Miéville

Perdido Street Station (2000) 9,354 copies
The City & The City (2009) 6,212 copies
The Scar (2002) 4,983 copies
Kraken (2010) 3,548 copies
Un Lun Dun (2007) 3,487 copies
Iron Council (2004) 3,439 copies
Embassytown (2011) 3,380 copies
King Rat (1998) 2,003 copies
Railsea (2012) 1,662 copies
This Census-Taker (2016) 933 copies
The Last Days of New Paris (2016) 908 copies
Dial H Volume 1: Into You (2013) 201 copies
The Tain (2002) 121 copies
London's Overthrow (2012) 105 copies
Dial H Volume 2: Exchange (2014) 80 copies
Red Planets: Marxism and Science Fiction (2009) — Editor; Afterword — 79 copies
The Worst Breakfast (2016) 70 copies
Dial H (2015) 40 copies
Polynia (2014) 15 copies
Tis the Season (2011) 13 copies
Dial H #1 (2012) 10 copies
The Book of Elsewhere (2024) — Author — 8 copies
Dial H #11 (2013) 8 copies
The Rope is the World (2010) 7 copies
Dial H #14 (2013) 5 copies
Dial H #3 (2012) 5 copies
Dial H #4 (2012) 5 copies
Familiar 5 copies
Dial H #2 (2012) 5 copies
Covehithe (2011) 5 copies
Arc: Volume 1 (2013) 5 copies
Dial H #10 (2013) 4 copies
Dial H #12 4 copies
Dial H #15 (2013) 4 copies
Dial H #7 (2012) 4 copies
Dial H #13 (2013) 3 copies
Dial H #0 (2012) 3 copies
Dial H #8 (2013) 3 copies
Dial H #9 (2013) 3 copies
Tous les monstres (2017) 2 copies
Dial H #5 (2012) 2 copies
Dial H #6 (2012) 2 copies
2007 Think GalactiCon Discussion Primer (2007) — Contributor — 2 copies
Dentro de tí (2013) 1 copy
Taker 1 copy
Dreadnought 1 copy

Associated Works

The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) — Introduction, some editions — 15,840 copies
Utopia (1553) — Foreword, some editions — 11,760 copies
The Gormenghast Trilogy (1967) — Introduction, some editions — 4,365 copies
The First Men in the Moon (1901) — Introduction, some editions — 2,464 copies
At the Mountains of Madness: The Definitive Edition (2005) — Introduction — 1,140 copies
The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories (2011) — Contributor; Afterword — 815 copies
McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories (2004) — Contributor — 670 copies
The New Weird (2008) — Contributor — 519 copies
The Library Book (2012) — Contributor — 393 copies
New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird (2011) — Contributor — 327 copies
Sympathy for the Devil (2010) — Contributor — 285 copies
The Children of Cthulhu (2002) — Contributor — 257 copies
Things That Never Happen (2002) — Introduction, some editions — 223 copies
Conjunctions: 39, The New Wave Fabulists (2002) — Contributor — 197 copies
Cities (2003) — Contributor — 194 copies
Year's Best Fantasy 3 (2003) — Contributor — 133 copies
Evil Paradises: Dreamworlds of Neoliberalism (2007) — Contributor — 128 copies
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 14 (2003) — Contributor — 117 copies
Hellboy: Oddest Jobs (2008) — Contributor — 103 copies
Nebula Awards Showcase 2005 (2005) — Contributor — 82 copies
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 17 (1828) — Contributor — 78 copies
The Uncanny Reader: Stories from the Shadows (2015) — Contributor — 68 copies
Creatures: Thirty Years of Monsters (2011) — Contributor — 68 copies
The Bestiary (2016) — Contributor — 58 copies
The Mammoth Book of Future Cops (2003) — Contributor — 55 copies
The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction (2009) — Contributor — 54 copies
Dead Letters (2016) — Contributor — 52 copies
Powers: Secret Histories: A Bibliography (2009) — Contributor — 43 copies
The Outcast Hours (2019) — Contributor — 43 copies
Out of the Ruins: The Apocalyptic Anthology (2021) — Contributor — 40 copies
The Age of Lovecraft (2016) — Afterword — 38 copies
Granta 152: Still Life (2020) — Contributor — 37 copies
War With No End (2007) — Contributor — 37 copies
Collapse: Philosophical Research and Development 4 (2008) — Contributor — 33 copies
Global Dystopias (Boston Review / Forum) (2017) — Contributor — 29 copies
Breaking Windows: A Fantastic Metropolis Sampler (2003) — Contributor — 29 copies
Conjunctions: 52, Betwixt the Between (2009) — Contributor — 19 copies
Arc 1.1: The Future Always Wins (2012) — Contributor — 15 copies
Come Join Us by the Fire: A Nightfire Anthology (2019) — Contributor — 8 copies
DC Comics: The New 52 Villains Omnibus (2013) — Contributor — 7 copies
Bifrost n°73 (2014) — Contributor — 6 copies
Bifrost n°53 (2009) — Contributor — 6 copies
Interzone 042 (1990) — Contributor — 5 copies

Tagged

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Common Knowledge

Legal name
Miéville, China Tom
Birthdate
1972-09-06
Gender
male
Nationality
UK
Birthplace
Norwich, Norfolk, England, UK
Places of residence
Norwich, Norfolk, England, UK
Willesden, London, England, UK
Oakham, Rutland, England, UK
Egypt
Education
Oakham School, England, UK
University of Cambridge (Clare College) (BA) (social anthropology) (1994)
London School of Economics ( MA) (International Relations) (2001)
London School of Economics (PhD) (International Relations) (2001)
Occupations
writer
creative writing teacher
novelist
Organizations
Socialist Workers Party (UK)
International Socialist Organisation
Socialist Alliance
Left Unity
Warwick University
Awards and honors
Frank Knox Fellowship, Harvard
Guest of Honour, Eastercon, UK (2008)
Guest of Honor, Readercon (2006)
Agent
Mic Cheetham
Short biography
Miéville nació en Willesden, un barrio de clase trabajadora al noroeste de Londres, donde ha vivido desde la infancia. Creció junto a su madre, que era profesora, y su hermana. Sus padres se separaron justo después de su nacimiento, de manera que Miéville suele decir que nunca ha conocido a su padre realmente. A los 18 años, en 1990, se marchó a Egipto, donde permaneció un año enseñando inglés. Allí desarrolló un creciente interés por la cultura árabe y la política de Oriente Medio.

Members

Discussions

THE DEEP ONES: "Familiar" by China Mieville in The Weird Tradition (March 2023)
Found: Help find title of sci-fi book in Name that Book (October 2021)
GROUP READ: Un Lun Dun by China Miéville in 2013 Category Challenge (January 2014)
Miéville bashing, anyone? in Science Fiction Fans (July 2012)
Could They Beat-Up China Mieville? in Science Fiction Fans (May 2011)
Miéville wins Arthur C Clarke in Science Fiction Fans (May 2010)

Reviews

Very good discussion of the communist manifesto. The been includes The manifesto which was great fun to read and then go through Miéville’s examination. Excellent book.
 
Flagged
BookyMaven | 3 other reviews | Mar 9, 2024 |
I imagine the Salvage Collective to be white men between the ages of 16 and 25, all dressed either in khakis or military garb, having read a lot of book but not participated in much actual change. They make a good case that capitalism is killing the world (does anyone still need to be convinced?) for the first 95% of this book. The last couple pages are dedicated to a "solution." The so-called solution is Red Geoengineering. What exactly does this mean? Maybe they'll tell us in book two
 
Flagged
bookonion | Feb 23, 2024 |
China Mieville seems to be a burgeoning #bookstagram darling so upon seeing this in the local #oxfambooks I thought I’d give it a bash. It tells the story of a world both similar and dissimilar to our own - the main difference being that instead of seas there are instead unfathomable crisscross rail tracks that Railsea inhabitants use to navigate their world. We are told the story of Sham Yes Ap Shoorap, an orphaned medic’s assistant on a moletrain (for this rail-ridden land is complete with all manner of beasts including giant moles which people hunt and kill) whose life changes dramatically when he happens to witness a picture of an unimaginable idea to a Railsea citizen - a single rail track - and so his adventure to find out what this seeming phantasm is, ensues.

Although readable and entertaining, this did nothing to slow my belief that fantasy isn’t my bag. Rather than be impressed at the inventiveness of Mieville’s world I spent most of my time preoccupied with frustrations about how unnecessary and far-fetched everything was (including the long, strange names). Perhaps it is more one for YA/fantasy loving readers but it was all too fantastical for the sake of being fantastical for me. His attempt to turn it into a moral metaphor of a future portent at the end also didn’t sit well as it felt a little like trying to make it more than it was.
I don’t doubt that for fantasy fans this will be a book they enjoy and take my criticism with a pinch of salt because I’m not his audience. And despite all my grievances towards it I still give it 3/5 so make if that what you will, haha!
… (more)
 
Flagged
Dzaowan | 95 other reviews | Feb 15, 2024 |
I go to China Miéville when I need mental healing from bad sci fi & fantasy. He's a Pulitzer level writer that chose to write weird stuff. Miéville only writes books that restructure my perception of literature or society. Everything starts from ground zero, as if no rules were created to define genre.

This less famous book equals any of his others in world building and has one of the best endings, a punchline 500 pages to set up.

I have to wonder if this Moby Dick inspired tale also contains an epic meta pun of his name sounding like Melville.… (more)
 
Flagged
lneukirch | 95 other reviews | Feb 4, 2024 |

Lists

2010s (1)
2020 (1)
2023 (1)

Awards

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Associated Authors

Mateus Santolouco Illustrator
Zak Smith Author
Mark Bould Introduction
Albert Ponticelli Illustrator
Steven Shaviro Contributor
Matthew Beaumont Contributor
Sherryl Vint Contributor
Carl Freedman Contributor
Mike Wayne Preface
Iris Luppa Contributor
Andrew Milner Contributor
Darren Jorgensen Contributor
David Lapham Illustrator.
William J. Burling Contributor
Phillip Wegner Contributor
Rob Latham Contributor
John Rieder Contributor
Eric Bailey Contributor
Matthew Stinson Contributor
Alison McKenzie Contributor
Mike Ferguson Contributor
John Wick Contributor
Sean K Reynolds Contributor
Kevin Carter Contributor
Jeff Quick Contributor
Lisa Stevens Contributor
Rob Manning Contributor
Dan Scott Cover artist
Richard Pett Contributor
Neil Spicer Contributor
Jason Nelson Contributor
Joshua J. Frost Contributor
Adam Daigle Contributor
Edward Miller Cover artist, Illustrator
Eva Bauche-Eppers Translator, Übersetzer
Arndt Drechsler Cover artist
John Lee Narrator
Elisa Villa Translator
David Stevenson Cover artist
Nathalie Mège Translator, Traduction
Damian Lynch Narrator
Maurizio Nati Translator
Ashley Wood Cover artist
Frauke Meier Translator
Michael Kubiak Translator
Elisa Lazo Valdez Cover artist
August Hall Cover artist
Nello Giugliano Translator
Arno Hoven Translator
Masayuki Uchida Translator
Cliff Nielsen Cover artist
Barker Clive Introduction
Mark Moran Cover artist
Nathalie Mège Translator
Vincent Chong Illustrator
Chris Stein Author photograph
Peter Torberg Translator
s.BENeš Cover artist
Andreas Fliedner Translator
Brian Bolland Cover artist

Statistics

Works
107
Also by
55
Members
44,666
Popularity
#366
Rating
3.9
Reviews
1,868
ISBNs
422
Languages
22
Favorited
358

Charts & Graphs