Read by Theme discussion

I have only read the first 20 chapters so far, but am already loving it.

I quite enjoyed humorous scenes, like last fashion became always the uniforms in London. My fav. humorous piece so far is finding out about rooftops!
On the other hand, I found that the novel isn't as griping as I hoped it would be. I blame it partially on the really short chapters and partially on reading level (it's been a long time since I really enjoyed children's book).

I am almost done with this. The more China Miéville I read, the more I love him. It got off to a bit of a slow start, but further in it's like Neverwhere mixed with Mirrormask and a dash of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Genius!

I also love the random comic comments and find myself laughing often. I generally don't notice chapter length, so that doesn't bug me and I love reading children's books.

I always sound so unrelentingly cheerful in book reviews. I suppose this is because I don't read every little thing that people recommend? My average rating on Goodreads is about 4.5 stars... I hardly ever give anything I read 1 star.
Un Lun Dun is fully deserving of every one of the five stars I give it. I am already a huge fan of China M, but I try not to let that sway me in judging the merits of a book.
There are a few imperfections. They are so minor that I overlook them in the overall rating, but will outline them for your reading pleasure.

(view spoiler)[The UnGun is a little bit lazy.
I have seen this sentiment in other reviews of Un Lun Dun, and am definitely agreeing. However, this seems to be a common part of China's storytelling. As I recall, there was a similar panacea in Kraken. I'm not sure if this is bad storytelling or just a style to which he subscribes.

The start, up until Deeba and Zanna leave UnLondon the first time, was a bit lame. I understand why it was there, but it wasn't very captivating. I could see someone abandoning this book during those chapters and missing out on the rest of the story, which becomes infinitely more interesting after Deeba's return to UnLondon.

I love Deeba. Who doesn't? She is an excellent example of a strong female lead, especially in a genre dominated by male characters and female characters that can do nothing but fall in love and wave a handkerchief. It angers and saddens me when sycophants tout Bella Swan (of Twilight nonsense) as a steady role model. Yeah, right. Try Deeba instead. I love the concept of her being "nobody" who says "Screw the Shwazzy, she's not here" and takes up the quest in the prophesied heroine's absence. The casting aside of the "Chosen One" trope is refreshing.

Thank you, China Mieville, for giving the main character a legitimately good reason for returning to droll, regular life. So many fantasy adventures end with the protagonist desperately trying to get HOME, back to the boring daily grind, for no reason other than "that's where I belong" or "it's my home" *Blows raspberries at the cheesiness* I often find myself yelling at the book like a loony "WHY ARE YOU GOING BACK?! STAYSTAYSTAY"
Is this commonplace ending supposed to be the moral of the story? That there are worlds of "endless wonder" (borrowing from Warehouse 13) but the best you can get is boring Earth, in this dimension because it's where you started? *Blows another raspberry*

Tl;dr - I want to UNread this (eh? eh? no? ok) so that I can read it again for the first time. (hide spoiler)]

Oh, and seriously, fans of Neil and China - I quite recommend the movie Mirrormask. It had a very limited release about 7 years ago. It was done by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean (fans of Sandman will be familiar) and this book is extremely reminiscent of it. One of my absolute favorite films. I think there may be a book of it now too.
MirrorMask

Thanks, Daniela. I will check out MirrorMask... I will read your spoiler once I have finished the book and comment on it then.

Thanks, Daniela! Un Lun Dun is the second book of China Mieville I read (The first one was The City & the City - full 5 stars). I've already ordered the next one, hope it'll arrive next month.

I've heard amazing things about The City & the City. I am going to have to get that one from the library. :)

I liked this book, I thought it was a fun book. I actually liked the characters and the world of Un Lun Dun more than I did the plot line.

Finished. Loved it.

I only read Perdido Street Station and The City and the City by China M. but I fell instantly in love with his writing. Un Lun Dun is on my wishlist.

I'm still struggling with it - left it for a moment and can't find a time to start reading again.