Miéville, China

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Miéville

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    PublicationOpen Access
    The Scar
    2002 - Miéville, China
    The city of Armada is a floating town built of hundreds of ships that navigates the oceans of Bas-Lag, dealing mostly in piracy. During the events of The Scar, the protagonist Bellis Coldwine is forced to become a citizen of the city, where she finds herself in the midst of a project to reach the fabled Scar, a rift in the ocean where the fabric of reality is weaker. This project gathers a number of scientists from all over the world of Bas-Lag, a team that includes marine biologists, oceanologists, mathematicians, and biologists. One of these is a naturalist, Dr. Johannes Tearfly, whose books are mentioned throughout the narrative and are indispensable to the project. Some of his titles include Predation in Iron Bay Rockpools, Sardula Anatomy, Essays on Beasts, Theories of Megafauna, and Transplane Life as a Problem for the Naturalist. The gathering of this team brings together some of the most brilliant minds in Bas-Lag. Of note in this novel is also the process that the character Tanner Sack goes through. Sack is a Remade from New Crobuzon, a former criminal whose sentence consisted of having tentacles attached to his body. He enlists the aid of a surgeon to perform more changes in himself so he can breathe underwater and contribute to the city’s project. This points, therefore, to another aspect in which science plays a key role in the main plot of the narrative.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Perdido Street Station
    2000 - Miéville, China
    In the city of New Crobuzon dwell all manner of sentient beings, forming a diverse metropolis that is characterized by its steampunk aesthetic. Perdido Street Station follows scientist Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin in his quest to give his client Yagharek the ability to fly. In his laboratory, Isaac finds himself studying the biology of all kinds of avian creatures to understand the mechanics of flight, which also involves the study of physics, so he can build functional wings for his client. This quest takes Isaac to multiple parts of the city, from the dumpster that is the home of the Construct Council, an artificial intelligence that is connected to all robots around New Crobuzon, to the university where Isaac meets other scientists like him. In the city can also be seen those who have been subjected to Remaking, a practice that consists of biologically changing and mutilating human beings as penalty for their crimes. The novel, portraying a steampunk scenario, describes a city filled with scientific and technological progress, from the train lines that converge on Perdido Street Station to the chimneys that fill the skies with its industrial smoke.