The City & The City

by China Mieville

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

If [a:Raymond Chandler|1377|Raymond Chandler|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1206535318p2/1377.jpg] and [a:Philip K Dick|5178267|Philip K Dick|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] wrote a book together it would be very similar to [b:The City & the City|4703581|The City & the City|China Miéville|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266894982s/4703581.jpg|4767909] (if you throw a little [a:George Orwell|3706|George Orwell|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1175614486p2/3706.jpg] into the mix). [a:China Miéville|33918|China Miéville|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1243988363p2/33918.jpg] calls his novels fantasy/weird fiction and this is no different, though I think I would consider it more Science Fiction. There is a complex plot full of twists and turns in an even more complex couple of cities. These cities are confusing and very hard to navigate, you feel like a complete alien in them and China doesn’t help you along with this part of the journey; in this aspect it can be a very hard book to read.

But stick to it! The City & The City has a lot to offer; a complex mystery in a homage to Chandler, a foreign country with strike rules (Orwell) and the science fiction style that leaves you pondering about life and our world (Philip K Dick). This book is brilliant and I would recommend it to anyone that is a fan of mysteries or fantasy or sci-fi. You won’t be disappointed; if you can make it past the first few chapters, which is the hardest part of the book to read.