Someone has stolen the Darwin Centre's Architeuthis dux, the giant squid or kraken, and now an apocalypse is imminent. Only no one knows who stole the squid or which apocalypse it might be, though the Londonmancers have divined it involves fire. And with that China Mieville takes us on a roller-coaster ride through London as we follow various characters and their attempts to figure out what's going on.I had fun reading this book. Mieville has fun with the language and with conspiracy theories, and you have to pay attention or you'll become hopelessly lost. And even if you do pay attention, you might have to come up for air occasionally and take your bearings.
The style and climax of the book are reminiscent of Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum - self-engendering conspiracies and self-fulfilling prophecies - with a Cthulhu-like twist. And as a bonus there's a Trek-obsessed teleporter and a working phaser.
The final observation I'll make is that Mieville has also created one of the most disturbing psychotic killer in the character of Goss and Subby (and you'll understand why I use the singular if you read the book).
Very highly recommended to Mieville fans and those urban fantasists.
