Perdido Street Station

How does one explain China Mieville's Perdido Street Station? Honestly, I'm not even sure how to categorize this book, let alone summarize the plot for you. I read it in a science fiction class, but something about it just felt so much more like fantasy. It is often said to be steampunk/cyberpunk, and in a way it is. But it is the kind of steampunk novel that includes as much magic as it does science (or perhaps a smidge more magic). The mix of creatures living in New Crobuzon make it feel like the city could be on an alien planet as easily as it could be in a fantastical version of our own world. This book was equally confusing, fascinating, and frustrating to read, and I think that it was because of the way that it plays with our ideas of what makes a novel sci-fi or fantasy. The two antagonistic forces in the story represent these opposing concepts; the Construct Council is a machine that has learned to think and has created a network of other machines which serve it and feed it information, while the slakemoths are essentially giant moths that can travel between dimensions and feed off of human consciousness.
The story is centred on Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin, a scientist - and, might I add, that is the best scientist name I have ever heard! Anyways, the guy likes crisis energy and his theories and experiments draw the attention of one Yagharek, a garuda (bird-man) who has had his wings taken away by his people for a crime he committed. In his attempts to help Yag, Isaac and his friends come across the slakemoths and the Construct Council, who represent two very different kinds of problems for humanity. Unfortunately, the slakemoths are connected to a drug cartel with ties to the city's government, and this gets the little band of artists and rebels into some pretty serious trouble. The worst consequence is the abduction and abuse of Isaac's khepri (bug-woman) lover, Lin, by the kingpin of the drug operation, Mr. Motley.
Despite the fact that half of the residents of New Crobuzon are humanoid, one of the main themes running through this story is what it means to be human (or at least a properly conscious, humanoid being). The contrast of the Construct Council's artificial consciousness with the danger of having one's conscience eaten by a slakemoth illustrates a clear separation between the living and the life-like. But the book also focuses a lot on the ability to create and make art - to see beauty, or to twist creation into something more ugly. The Weaver, an inter-dimensional spider creature that can weave the fabric of reality, serves as an example of what it means to have creativity without a proper consciousness. The Weaver cannot distinguish right from wrong; he only strives to make things fit his idea of beauty.
Frankly, I am surprised that I have been able to sum up this book so nicely because it is long and confusing. But the core of this story, what I have discussed here, is all you really need to know to understand what the novel is about. And I don't want to run you through the whole thing, or spoil it all for you. Read it for yourself. I admit that it was a bit of a strange experience to do so, but I feel that it is completely worth it. I might actually like to read this again some day, and ponder over the whole thing once more. Perhaps one day - especially if I choose to read it again - I will do a more detailed post about the concept of humanity as it is presented in this book. (I did write an essay on the topic for my class, and I am still so intrigued by the way that this novel presents these ideas. As I write this post I am also becoming more interested in how science fiction and fantasy are used together to present this idea, and how and why this was done. But that is probably better saved for another day.)