Railsea by China Mieville
Published by Random House/Del Rey
Publish Date: May 1, 2012
448 Pages
Source: Library
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. –(summary excerpt from Goodreads)
My Thoughts: Aah! Here we have another case of me noticing a book because of a great cover! Really, though, I actually read this book because of a little back-and-forth discussion with another blogger and reader-friend that I trust wholeheartedly. I have to say that I was not at all disappointed in this book and it is one of the most exciting I’ve read in a very long time.
The summary (above) for this book is one of the best I’ve read.
It absolutely describes the book, perfectly. I love it.
Sham meets friends that have dreams and goals similar to his own in addition to pirates (pirates!!) and other odd characters. There are kidnappings, high-speed railroad chasings, gunfights, giant animal/monster attacks, and tons of suspicion and distrust among everyone. The Railsea is a very dangerous place, filled with a ton of ways to kill or be killed. But out there somewhere, there may be something more.
Railsea is an adventure. It’s a real honest-to-goodness standalone adventure story, and those are so rare these days. But it may be a little bit complicated for readers who like a quick, easy read. I tend to be a reader that will fly through a book – not really meaning to – I just read really fast. I have to MAKE myself read slowly when I want to. In this case, I couldn’t help it. The language, the author’s style, and even the names are all unique and even a little bit tricky to get used to. But oh wow! it’s all so well worth it. So well worth it, you guys.
There are illustrations.
I really don’t think I’m making much sense at all, and that’s okay. I’m fine with that. Because for the first few pages of this book, it didn’t make much sense to me either. I had to put it all together myself, and if you read it, you’ll have to do the same. Truthfully, you just have to decide if it is something you might be interested in and go for it. If you do, it just might ROCK YOUR SOCKS like it did mine.
I completely dig the whole kinda-steampunk, kinda-science fiction, kinda-dystopian-but-not-really, absolutely-adventure-story thing. I’m not sure exactly which category this book falls under, but it’s definitely near the top. It was the right decision for me to read this book after reading Heidi’s blog post about it, and I can think of a few people that I know who I think would love it as well. I was a little bit shocked to see that it is YA, because it reads like somewhere between YA and adult. There’s absolutely crossover appeal, I think. Railsea is one that I’m likely to listen to in audiobook form as a re-read at some point in the future – I liked it that much.
Adventure Stories & Retellings (Moby Dick)
World-Building! WOOHOO
Steampunk, Dystopian, Science Fiction Mash-Up, kind of
Standalones!
No romance. WHAT?
is currently available for purchase.
And how awesome is that cover?
About Asheley
Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.
You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.
Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!
"This book reads in shades of gray, black, and gray, and it smells of metal and dust."
Awesome! I have this on my Kindle, so it sorta sucks that I will miss out on those illustrations, but thanks for sharing them in the post! And yeah, I am having all kinds of 'Donnie Darko' flashbacks looking at that rabbit!
I love weird books like this. Weird is good! Bumping this up on my TBR list, now Asheley.
I can tell after all your contemps last month you are loving being back squarely in the fantasy/ adventure genre:)
You know, Heather, I think Heidi read this on her Kindle and she knew about the illustrations – I wonder if you can maybe see them on there? I'm not sure. I was THRILLED by this one. Sometimes these oddball books just make me really happy.
Yes, I liked reading the contemps, and I'll keep reading them, but I LOVE being home with my fantasies and adventures. LOVE it!
It does have illustrations! I discovered this last night when I started reading the book! Yay, for illustrations, even on ereaders!
Yes! Illustrations! More. Agreed.
The illustrations in this book are unbelievable. I just stared at them. They fit the story so well.
Yes, yes, YES. Oh, my goodness yes.
YES!!!
I think this book sounds like SO MUCH FUN. I do also think that I have to be in the right sort of mood for it though, haha. Great review!
Railsea was a lot of fun, Alexa, but I agree that you would need to be in the mood for it. I read it while I was reading another book or two. But I loved it. 🙂
Yay! I finally have the chance to sit down and read your thoughts on Railsea. I completely agree that Railsea is an ADVENTURE story, the kind we don't really see anymore these days–it actually reminded me of Treasure Island or something like that.
Your description of the world building is so poignant and perfect, and I love that this story split off from Sham without feeling fractured.
I'm seriously SO EXCITED that you enjoyed this one so much. LOVE IT.
Thank you for your thoughts on it by way of your blog, Heidi. I had noticed the book already, but I don't know if I'd have been so excited to read it if I didn't know how you felt about it. I absolutely ate this story up. I'm not sure I want to read another Mieville just yet, but I definitely need to see more of his mind.
I LOVE Adventure, and it is something hard to find in a way like Railsea these days.
I've been wanting to read this ever since I first heard about it, but had planned to get the ebook. Until I see those gorgeous illustrations!! You've convinced me I need this in hard copy. 🙂
The illustrations are amazing. I read a library copy but I need to get a copy for myself. There are a bunch of them in there and they're all so great.
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Another fantastical world from the incomparable imagination of China Mieville. Thought provoking in its messages and compelling in its storyline. An intriguing, intelligent read.
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This is just plain good storytelling that can be shared by reading aloud or passing on the book. If you haven't read him before, this would be a great introduction to China Mieville.