What I Am Reading - Kraken

Kraken

China Mieville

Read it in hardback @ 509 pages.

This was the second book I have ever read by Mr. Mieville, and both were read this year.  What can I say, I am a fan of both the style and the 'weirdness' present in his writing.  When trying to decide what gem to read next I have spent some time reading some reviews for the books I have read (this and Embassytown), as well as some others and it appears that people are unsure if he is some sort of new messiah or a overhyped writing anti-Christ.  Those compliments and criticisms aside, I just like to read what he writes.

In Kraken, we are deposited in London at the British Museum of Natural History, when our main character, Billy Harrow, discovers that the prized Architeuthis specimen has been stolen alongside it's housing.  While the theft seems inexplicable, Billy is soon in the middle of a London he didn't even know existed where anything can happen and to make matters worse, it appears that Billy is being heralded as a messiah of sorts.  As Billy unwillingly goes deeper down the rabbit hole he is confronted with Squid cults, body shifting entities, monster herders, and a whole host of other things that Billy never knew existed.  Billy doesn’t know what to expect, where to go, or how to solve the mystery of who took the squid.  As if things were not bleak enough, the apocalypse is coming unless the squid can be returned to the safety of the British Museum of Natural History, and it's coming quick.  To put the cherry on top, Billy is also being chased by Goss and Subby who are hired assassins that Mieville made delightfully creative and incredibly horrifying.

The end of the book was not exactly what I expected but I can't say I didn't see it coming either, which was kind of a disappointment.   If anything I felt the ending was forcefully stretched and left me wanting a little more structure and explanations to a book that really didn't provide any throughout its conjuring.  But, overall I enjoyed this book.  I wouldn’t say it's the greatest and it's far from the worst.  Most of the critical response it seems to have gotten from readers is in comparison to Mieville's other works and not as a stand-a-lone piece, which is a shame.  While I have never read any of Jim Butcher's Dresdin Files (except for a few short stories), I imagine this is Mieville's interpretation of that style and concept with some British humor and Mieville curiosity thrown in for good measure.