swingbeat 4/26: Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

Ah, this is the book!

Bridget recommended this book a while back to me, and I finally got around to picking it up. It's good, but for me, it took a while to grab my attention. There were weeks where I put it down and just didn't pick it up. I eventually was forced to read it on an airplane flight recently, and once I got past the 1/3 mark, it got much better.

From the beginning, Mieville's writing was excellent. He is eloquent and he weaves the fantastical city of New Crobuzon, resplendent in its own history and presence. If anything, that's what kept my head in the book - even though the plot seemed to jumble around finding a direction for the first third of the book.

If you like Neil Gaiman, you should pick up this book. I won't ruin it by telling you the story. As for me, I'm going to go find some other Mieville books to read! Recommended :).