The City & The City

By: China Miéville

Narrated by: John Lee

New York Times bestselling author China Miéville delivers his most accomplished novel yet, an existential thriller set in a city unlike any other–real or imagined.

When a murdered woman is found in the city of Beszel, somewhere at the edge of Europe, it looks to be a routine case for Inspector Tyador Borlú of the Extreme Crime Squad. But as he investigates, the evidence points to conspiracies far stranger and more deadly than anything he could have imagined.

Borlú must travel from the decaying Beszel to the only metropolis on Earth as strange as his own. This is a border crossing like no other, a journey as psychic as it is physical, a shift in perception, a seeing of the unseen. His destination is Beszel’s equal, rival, and intimate neighbor, the rich and vibrant city of Ul Qoma. With Ul Qoman detective Qussim Dhatt, and struggling with his own transition, Borlú is enmeshed in a sordid underworld of rabid nationalists intent on destroying their neighboring city, and unificationists who dream of dissolving the two into one. As the detectives uncover the dead woman’s secrets, they begin to suspect a truth that could cost them and those they care about more than their lives.

What stands against them are murderous powers in Beszel and in Ul Qoma: and, most terrifying of all, that which lies between these two cities.

Casting shades of Kafka and Philip K. Dick, Raymond Chandler and 1984, The City & the City is a murder mystery taken to dazzling metaphysical and artistic heights.©2009 China Mieville; (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

“Daring and disturbing . . . Miéville illuminates fundamental and unsettling questions about culture, governance and the shadowy differences that keep us apart.”—Walter Mosley, author of Devil in a Blue Dress

"Lots of books dabble in several genres but few manage to weld them together as seamlessly and as originally as The City and The City. In a tale set in a series of cities vertiginously layered in the same space, Miéville offers the detective novel re-envisioned through the prism of the fantastic. The result is a stunning piece of artistry that has both all the satisfactions of a good mystery and all the delight and wonder of the best fantasy.”—Brian Evenson, author of Last Days

“If Philip K. Dick and Raymond Chandler's love child were raised by Franz Kafka, the writing that emerged might resemble China Mieville's new novel, The City & the City." —Los Angeles Times

“China Mieville has made his name via award-winning, genre-bending titles such as King Rat, Perdido Street Station, The Scar and Iron Council. Now, in The City & the City, he sets out to bend yet another genre, that of the police procedural, and he succeeds brilliantly…. [An] extraordinary, wholly engaging read.” — St. Petersburg Times

“An eye-opening genre-buster. The names of Kafka and Orwell tend to be invoked too easily for anything a bit out of the ordinary, but in this case they are worthy comparisons.” — The Times, London

“Evoking such writers as Franz Kafka and Mikhail Bulgakov, Mr. Miéville asks readers to make conceptual leaps and not to simply take flights of fancy.”—Wall Street Journal

“An outstanding take on police procedurals…. Through this exaggerated metaphor of segregation, Miéville skillfully examines the illusions people embrace to preserve their preferred social realities.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

“An excellent police procedural and a fascinating urban fantasy, this is essential reading for all mystery and fantasy fans.”—Booklist, starred review

“This spectacularly, intricately paranoid yarn is worth the effort.” — Kirkus, starred review

Weird--in a Good Way

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Absolutely. Touted as an

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Ending seemed too irrelevant, like a great trip with no destination...no wrap up, no conclusion, no real answers or resolution.

What does John Lee bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

His very elegant and rich voice that lends credibility to an otherwise totally Kafka-ish bizarre story--definitely pronounciation.

Did The City & The City inspire you to do anything?

Think. There were some great reviews written (Ryan from MA, Jefferson from Japan) and some that missed the boat--the dock--the city...the

Any additional comments?

A good introduction to Mieville; looking forward to reading more of his works.

A gripping tale that delves into the nature of human perception

As this mystery unravels, it draws the reader into a mirror maze of conflicting perspectives, becoming a fascinating tale about the nature of human perception.

Very Interesting Premise - good performance

I read this book as the 2008 Hugo SCI-FI best novel award. I say this because I was expecting SCI-FI, but this is more of a detective novel set in a few years from now. But there is not that much in the way of real SCI-FI (hard core stuff). It is a quick read (listen) and the performance is very good. The story does carry you and keep you guessing. It does kind of follow the 2000 - 2010 SCI-FI winners where many of the books are more fantasy based then SCI-FI (with a few exceptions).

The author really likes to use imperatives and the performer took great glee in using them - not sure they were needed quite as much as it showed.

But I was entertained overall.

fascinating weird fiction, well performed

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

The reading of this entertaining story was fittingly gruff/gritty, irreverently flippant when appropriate, but never cartoonish. It was a perfect fit for this combination of weird fiction/fantasy and modern noir detective tale.

Great story, decent narration

The writing style was good and the plot was incredibly engaging.

The narrator had a short, percussive style that took a bit to get used to. Sometimes voices of characters were difficult to separate.