Rating: 
Summary: No masterpiece - less than I had hoped
Review: Let me begin by saying PSS begins with an interesting setting, and that the author does have an occasional knack for prose that makes for interesting reading here and there. Also, the characters have interesting attributes and the social climate is inventive.However, it takes more than an inventive and unique locale to keep me turning pages, and this is ultimately where PSS falls short. I was disappointed that every neighborhood in New Crobuzon inevetibly turned out to be a slum. I was irritated by the author's overuse of the term 'fecal' in describing street conditions. And in the end, I was not convinced of the conflict, nor did I care how the characters dealt with it. I was just happy to be done to move on to something more gripping. In addition, the author relies on tired assumptions and cliches to carry the novel's weight in places. As an example, how interesting really is an inter-racial (or even inter-species) relationship this days? Something that can be taken for granted is here used as a device to show how 'enlightened' the characters are. Because of this, the sacrafice each character makes for the other is a little less. One senses the romance is only to serve the author's needs, and doesn't seem to mean as much to the characters involved. In addition, there's a definite 60's undercurrent of peace, love, revolution, and tear-down-the-government romanticism. I couldn't buy it. I'm bored by it. It's not a substitute for a real plot. It raises no real or interesting issues and creates no real sense of conflict that couldn't be found in a made-for-tv movie. I was far more impressed by John C. Wright's Golden Age trilogy, and recommend that to anyone interested in this particular genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing
Review: The process of going from an amateur author to a professional author consists mostly of learning to obey certain rules. To be respectable, you have to know the limits, to know the formula for building a solid plot and believable characters, and the ways to write good sentences and paragraphs. Rules, however, can only take you so far. To move from good to great, you have to learn how to break the rules. China Miéville breaks all the rules. He abandons his two main plotlines a third of the way through the book and switches to focus on something that had been tangential up to that point. His characters resist all attempts at pigeonholing, continuously twisting away from set personalities and defying expectations. Groups and concepts drift into and out of the book without explanation. There is no Disney ending, no syrupy love stories, no clichés, and no easy solutions or last-minute quick fixes. This is genuine writing, more raw and gritty than any other fantasy that you're likely to find. In the city of New Crozubon, humans, remades, khepri (women with scarabs on their heads), and many other races all coexist peacefully, if somewhat nervously. Isaac is a scientist, recently exiled from academia, who takes on a commission from a most unusual client. His khepri artist girlfriend does the same. Throw in some drug dealers, rogue publishers, unionized frog people, organized disembodied hands, a sentient vacuum cleaner, a giant trans-dimensional spider who likes scissors, a blimp-riding militia, walking cacti, an enormous drug-addicted caterpillar, and the ambassador of Hell, and you've got the recipe for an original, massive, intriguing, and dare we say it, epic, story. I could go further, but I imagine your interest is already piqued. Buy a copy of "Perdido Street Station"; you won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Cactus people...What more could you want?!
Review: This is one of the best books ever written. I've barely ever tried science fiction (being more prone to the fantasy genre) but this was a great place to start. The beginning starts off slow, introducing the main character (with a long name) Isaac dan der Grimnebulin (or something similar.) Anyway, following is a complex plot with some love, violence, soul sucking monsters, a cool shelob type monster and the awesome "Lemuel Pigeon." You have to try this, just be willing to slog through a few hundred "mild" pages lacking in the books later SUPA ACTION. You also have to be sure to check out China Mieville's other book "The Scar" which is equally good (maybe moreso, if possible.) Wahoo.
Rating: 
Summary: didn't hold my attention
Review: my feelings about this book ended up mixed. while i was reading it, i kept thinking how wonderful the imagery was, how complex and differentiated the characters were, and how innventive was the world of perdido street station. that being said (and probably true), i didn't find it holding my attention for long periods. it took me quite a long time to read this book. i think i wanted to like this book a lot more than i actually did. despite this, i will be takin a look at "the scar".
Rating: 
Summary: Great urban fantasy
Review: The story takes place in the fictional city of New Crobuzon, which I would consider to be the novel's central character. New Crobuzon is a living, breathing city unlike any literary urban setting I have encountered. At the center of this vast city lies the Perdido Street train station, the novel's namesake. While the station itself doesn't play a direct role in the plot, it is an important central motif. All the unique sections of the city, divided along cultural and economic lines, are connected through the rail lines at the heart of the city--Perdido Street Station. The novel's plot travels through the city like a hobo riding the rails, taking the reader to all corners of the metropolis. If there's one flaw in the novel, then it would be the sometimes sluggish pace that is caused by the narrative's occasional habit of wandering away from the primary plot to explore parts of the city through tangentially related subplots. But, if you consider the city the main character, then Mieville is within his rights to allow the story to do that. While New Crobuzon is the true main character of the novel, the primary human character that drives the plot is a scientist named Isaac, who compares himself to Perdido Street Station. If the different branches of scientific thought (physical, social, and occult) are like distinct sections of a city, then Issac considers himself the central train station of that city. Rather than specialize in one discipline, Isaac has his eye on all disciplines and finds his life's work in the places where different sciences meet. His unique approach to solving problems attracts the attention of Yagharek, a strange humanoid-bird creature from a distant land. Yagharek is guilty of a mysterious crime for which he was punished by having his wings torn off. Now, a flightless bird, he leaves his homeland to seek a cure in New Crobuzon. If anyone can figure out how to give him flight again, it is Isaac. Inspired by a large sum of money and curiosity about solving the problem, Isaac scours the city searching for possible ways to make Yagharek fly. His research and experimenting eventually lead to an accidental catastrophe that threatens to destroy New Crobuzon. The plot really gets moving when Isaac and a motley collection of companions must try to stop this menace from destroying the city. A character in the novel defines art as "something you choose to make...it's a bringing together of everything around you into something that makes you more human." This novel fits that description. Mieville brings together elements of horror, science fiction, fantasy, humor, and literary fiction. Where all those genres meet is Mieville's novel. His book is the central train station in the city of genre literature.
Rating:
Summary: Grotesquely beautiful
Review: What impressed me most about this book was the language. The descriptions really bring New Corbuzon to life, even though they describe a dark, decadent, polluted industrial revolution era type city (with some magic and steam powered computers thrown in for good measure) replete with slums and the words "like tumors" seems to crop up more than anything else. Dark but Beautiful. I often speed read and gloss over filler descriptions to get to the meat of any book -the dialogue between characters- but not here. I was also impressed with the characters, they start off kind of weird and mundane, even repulsive, but they grow on you till you find yourself rooting for them even if they are not entirely on the right side of the law always. Quite a few ethical issues come up, the fact that the entire book revolves around a crime, corrupt governments working with orgnanized crime,a brutal rehabilitation program involving remaking, scientists that use less than standard practices to gain specimens and the brutal ending make you think but not condemn. Apart from the initial crime, which could and should have been avoided the other crimes that transpire inexorably are a result of the decadent city they live in more than a flaw in the characters in my opinion. There's hollywood moments too, the weaver and his terrifying but beautiful dream conciousness and the slake moths with their lolling hungry tongues were incredible. But perhaps the mixing of fantasy and sci fi genres will be a bit too esoteric for the masses. This is a book that comes around once a decade or so, one that just stays with you long after you've read it.
Rating:
Summary: Praiseworthy, but with a few flaws.
Review: I'd been seeing all the good reviews and praise for China Mieville's _Perdido Street Station_, but had been somewhat nervous about reading it. For one thing, I wondered how any book could actually live up to so much good hype, and for another, I figured that anyone who uses one of those stupid accent marks in his name must automatically be lame. But then I finally started to read it -- and was sucked in and blown away within the first few paragraphs. I'm a sucker for good world-building, and this is world-building the likes of which is very rarely seen (and likely to spawn an unfortunate horde of imitators). A world so complex and rich that the Devil is just a footnote. Flesh-warping magic and unified field theory! Soul-sucking moths and spiders who weave the threads of fate! Sentient Babbage-engine powered housecleaners! The Torque! Oh yes, there's a story in there too, and it's a good one, but I just keep turning the pages to see what new corner of the world will be revealed next. I've been reading a few chapters each night, and now I'm about two-thirds through. The downside is that the book can't last forever. The silver lining is that there's already another book that's apparently set in the same millieu. Needless to say, what I've read of _Perdido Street Station_ has convinced me that Mieville's talent was indeed worthy of all that praise. If _The Scar_ turns out to be as good or better, I may even forgive him for the accent mark. All right, now that I actually finished the book, I decided to edit this and revise my opinion somewhat. I thought that its main strengths (lush descriptions and a well-developed world) became weaknesses during the climax. During the preparations for the final battle, I kept speed-reading the descriptive passages and thinking, "you've been building up to this for about six hundred pages, quit describing the plot device and get to the action!" And then a certain character appears from nowhere to join the fight; I was almost certain that he'd been mentioned somewhere in the book, but couldn't recall where. It really detracts from a climactic battle when you start looking for an index so you can remind yourself who this guy is, what he's all about, and why he's suddenly taken an interest in the action. Those flaws aside, though, it was an enjoyable book and I'll be picking up _The Scar_ next chance I get.
Rating:
Summary: Creativity runs riot, too much verbal/visual clutter!
Review: At times Mr Mieville is his own worse enemy. I love all the invention with characters, place and setting...very unique. But there are times when he has so much "invention" going on I found I had trouble visualizing his words.
During one chapter he has these parasites called "handlingers" which attach themselves to various humanoid hosts.The handlingers resemble arms where the hand appendage is attached to a snake-like tail.Each host must find a partner because each handlinger is either right or left hand(!) Ok, now the handlingers are manipulated by strange creatures of the "psychosphere" called "sinistrals" which make the hosts airbourne...able to shoot cosmic fire-gasses out of their moulths while flying through the interdimentional aether. Then our author proceeds to describe the psychic interplay between each of these strata while they fight the main Nemisis called "slake-moths" (threatening New Corbuzon). Now these slake-moths are pretty cool (to Mr Mieville's credit) but his penchant for diversity and descriptive invention tends to overwhelm. Remember, you can ruin the soup with too much added "flavour". Stick to what works, tighten your wig, and easy with the dictionary. Know when to hold'em, know when to fold 'em.
Rating:
Summary: Long in action. Long in atmosphere. And simply long.
Review: Perdido Street Station is one hell of a tome. It's brimming with colorful beings, a fully-realized world and loads of mind-opening ideas, it can serve as a jumping point for series. Meilville's words are very visual, I felt I was reading a graphic novel without illustrations. However, the pacing could've been faster, as Meilville tend to have overly-long descriptions of a character's philosophical state or the inner workings of a city's bureaucracy. But I guess that helps in making his world more vivid and real.
Rating:
Summary: Most significant science fiction novel since ¿Neuromancer¿
Review: If you're like me, you've read over the years much of the older, classic science fiction (e.g., Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Niven) and now that your tastes are more sophisticated you are on the lookout for novels that excite both your science fiction and literary sensibilities. Gibson's "Neuromancer" was such a novel for me, with its taut plot and compelling vision of the future. But, I have found that much of the recent science fiction falls flat for me, and that includes a few Hugo and Nebula Award winners. To get my fix I am usually stuck reading the umpteenth installment of the "Dune" series, but goodness the writing is nearly atrocious. So it was that when I picked up "Perdido Street Station" I was prepared to be disappointed, but I found instead an engrossing, yet literate, novel of science fiction. The fantasy aspects of the story should be acknowledged, but it is not fantasy of the Dungeons & Dragons sort. China Mieville's story is set in a roughly 19th-century urban environment of New Crubuzon. The backdrop is one of dour weather, depressing industrialization, grinding poverty, and an authoritarian police state. The story is tightly interwoven with places throughout New Croubuzon and is the basis for shifts in mood and action. The story's richly realized narrative style is reminiscent of Dickens or Joyce, with a bit of Lovecraft. Upon this nightmare landscape, Mieville imprints an elaborate story addressing the cycle of tragic mistake-shame-struggle-redemption (or not). The overt struggle driving the plot is against vampiric, man-sized moths that are near-invincible and have a blind hunger for souls. As spiritual and mythic as the story may be, Mieville also creates highly alien characters (along with humans) that are nevertheless open to direct empathy. A brief list to pique your interest: a noble bird-man who has lost the ability to fly; a Falstaffian, human scientist; and a beetle-headed artist who is also the love interest. Even Lucifer makes an appearance, but remarkably free of much religious baggage. Throw in a swelling revolutionary movement, and the story contains much drama. Some may feel that the novel may have too many wheels turning to avoid going off the rails. And the environs can be unrelentingly dystopian, so that there is no contrast to the story's progress. For me, these potential criticisms did not hinder my enjoyment of this highly original and well-wrought novel. Highly recommended with five stars.
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