People like to put labels on China Miéville. Sometimes the slightly pretentious label “New Weird” is applied, sometimes “steampunk” (whatever that means). All I know is that he’s moving fantasy in another direction and I like it. This novel stands apart from his Bas-Lag novels (but theoretically it could be in the same universe) and it’s his best, most accessible novel.
It’s also Moby Dick with trains.
Perhaps someone needed a Thomas the Tank Engine set growing up. (Do they make those any more, by the way? My kids have way outgrown those. But I digress.
In the marvelously surreal universe of this novel, the ocean is not water, but a vast and dusty landscape criss-crossed by endless rails. Humans live on the habitable land, rocky islands and continents. Who made the rails? It’s a bit of a mystery, which may or may not be answered over the course of the story. The Railsea is populated by burrowing carnivorous monsters of every stripe, so walking is not an option. Instead…trains.
Let’s not forget about the giant moles.
Sham Yes ap Soorap is a kid working on a mole train, just a step above cabin boy. (Yes, a mole train is a whaler, but on a train, and hunting for moles). The obsessed Captain is a new Ahab on an obsessive hunt for her prey. The train stumbles upon a wreck containing mysterious photos that set Sham on a journey to the edge of the world and beyond.
His world-building is extraordinary and detailed, but believable and consistent in its weird way. I find in a lot of fantasy, and in some of Miéville’s work, the setting and the atmosphere overwhelm the story and the characters. Not so here. Sham is a fully realized, likeable young man. His Captain, his friends, and his trainmates feel like real people.
What I like about Miéville’s works, including this, is that he is refreshingly unconcerned with kings, queens, chosen ones, mystic warriors, and royalty of any kind. His people are working class, for lack of a better term.
Finally, Miéville’s wordiness helps him here, when sometimes it can get a tad tiring. He does break the third wall a lot, speaking directly to the reader in a chummy way. This isn’t my favorite element, but it doesn’t get in my way of enjoying the story and the world.
Highly recommended. Now all we need is the Thomas crossover.