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3.0
Railsea
ByPublisher Description
On board the moletrain Medes, Sham Yes ap Soorap watches in awe as he witnesses his first moldywarpe hunt: the giant mole bursting from the earth, the harpoonists targeting their prey, the battle resulting in one’s death and the other’s glory. But no matter how spectacular it is, Sham can't shake the sense that there is more to life than traveling the endless rails of the railsea–even if his captain can think only of the hunt for the ivory-coloured mole she’s been chasing since it took her arm all those years ago. When they come across a wrecked train, at first it's a welcome distraction. But what Sham finds in the derelict—a series of pictures hinting at something, somewhere, that should be impossible—leads to considerably more than he'd bargained for. Soon he's hunted on all sides, by pirates, trainsfolk, monsters and salvage-scrabblers. And it might not be just Sham's life that's about to change. It could be the whole of the railsea.
From China Miéville comes a novel for readers of all ages, a gripping and brilliantly imagined take on Herman Melville's Moby-Dick that confirms his status as "the most original and talented voice to appear in several years." (Science Fiction Chronicle)
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesRailsea Reviews
3.0
“Yes, the premise is really, really weird (this is China Miéville & goes without saying--in fact that 'w' should be capitalized.) I am really, really weird. This is my jam, bread, and butter.
But for those of you who aren't, who are saying, in tones of various disbelief-cum-skepticism-cum-contempt, "Moby Dick on trains?? With moles??" THE WORLDBUILDING, Y'ALL. It's everywhere. It's in the ampersand. Good Lord this is dope & if your literary moldywarpe is the vibe of Fallen London you are going to love the hell out of this too.”
“A strange and fascinating postmodern sailing yarn--except with steampunk trains and underground monsters and angels and pirates--that's also an exciting adventure/coming-of-age story. It even has its own oddly poetic diction. Sounds like a lot? It is, but it all hangs together. Moby Dick is the obvious reference, with a mad captain chasing down what everyone refers to as her "philosophy," but I detected hints of Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island in our young protagonist's quest to figure out himself (and the world). I read this one slowly to get into the quirky language and cheeky references, but the action moved along quickly enough that my 11-year-old whipped through it and declared it "good!" Recommended for anyone looking for something a little different (and recommended to me by our local librarian!).”
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