Railsea

By: China Miéville

Narrated by: Jonathan Cowley

On board the moletrain Medes, Sham Yes ap Soorap watches in awe as he witnesses his first moldywarpe hunt: the giant mole bursting from the earth, the harpoonists targeting their prey, the battle resulting in one’s death and the other’s glory. But no matter how spectacular it is, Sham can't shake the sense that there is more to life than traveling the endless rails of the railsea–even if his captain can think only of the hunt for the ivory-coloured mole she’s been chasing since it took her arm all those years ago. When they come across a wrecked train, at first it's a welcome distraction. But what Sham finds in the derelict—a series of pictures hinting at something, somewhere, that should be impossible—leads to considerably more than he'd bargained for. Soon he's hunted on all sides, by pirates, trainsfolk, monsters and salvage-scrabblers. And it might not be just Sham's life that's about to change. It could be the whole of the railsea.

From China Miéville comes a novel for readers of all ages, a gripping and brilliantly imagined take on Herman Melville's Moby-Dick that confirms his status as "the most original and talented voice to appear in several years." (Science Fiction Chronicle)

©2012 China Mieville (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Other names besides [Herman] Melville’s will surely come to mind as you read this thrilling tale—there’s Dune’s Frank Herbert. . . . But in this, as in all of his works, Miéville has that special knack for evoking other writers even while making the story wholly his own.” (Los Angeles Times)

Best Character is the Bat

I would recommend this book to someone who hasn’t read China Mieville before. The world building is interesting, and the story is a cute adventure pastiche, but the cast of characters are a bit flat, and having read his other works: Embassytown, The City and the City, The Bas-Lag trilogy, this one seems insubstantial in comparison. The narration lacks energy. The delivery is awkward.

Giant Moles

What did you like best about Railsea? What did you like least?

A true world unlike earth, but slightly similar. Plus all the unfinished avenues of thought waiting to be pursued. Really a mind engaging story.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

No recommendations.

Have you listened to any of Jonathan Cowley’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not applicable

Do you think Railsea needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes. To continue the exploration of the unknown parts of that world.

Any additional comments?

Very enjoyable book. Would like a series.

China, not my cup of tea

Had a hard time diving into this one... For those of you that read the book you might get my little joke... Hard time diving in?

Cute, Imaginative but Mostly Weird.

In the inimitable style of China Mieville, this is weird fantasy. Enough other reviews can be found that describe Railsea's plot, if there really is a plot, and all I could add is that if this is a YA book and you are a young adult, you'd better be a smart one if you wish to read this book. The book is whimsical and fanciful but loaded with words that many of any of us might need a dictionary's help with.

If I had to describe the book in three words they would be: cute, imaginative and [just plain] fun. Oops... is that more than three words? A lot has been written about this being a spin off on Herman Melville's Moby Dick but there's a lot more going on here than that. As a matter of fact, keeping "track" of it all is a story in itself.

Listening to the story is like reading a comic book but unfortunately, unlike the print version, there are no pictures... ahhhhh. Oh well, the book's still train loads of fun and probably enjoyable for anyone with a warped imagination.

Language & setting makes this steampunk boil

Any additional comments?

This is the fourth book by China Miéville that I have read and I continue to be amazed at his complete control over the English language. In this re-imagining of Moby Dick, he sounds like a completely different writer from the one who wrote Embassytown and The City and the City. It is obvious that this was done on purpose. The prose is choppy and harsh. New words are coined and the only clues to their meaning are in the narrative itself. At least one character’s name is an anagram of the corresponding character in Moby Dick (Abacat Naphi = Captain Ahab).

I have always had the idea that Miéville is trying his hand at every genre he can think of. If that is true, then this is not only his attempt at a classic hero myth saga but also his entry in the steampunk category. The hero myth works pretty well, with the young male protagonist braving the dangers of a hellish landscape in an attempt to arrive at “heaven” and learning about himself along the way. Meant as a young adult novel, I guess it works but there were many times when I felt the language and complexity of the story was far beyond anything most ‘tween readers would be able to parse. I would therefore recommend this book for an older reader, 14 or 15 years of age or older.

Where I really thought the book shone was in the setting. While not overly obvious, the steampunk flavor of the book was clear from the descriptions of the trains and the Captain’s mechanical arm, to mention only two. It was this technology, which grew more and more recognizable as the book hurtled along, that kept the setting grounded for me. Miéville has created a world so strange that at times I had to wonder if he had gone a bit too far, but there were just enough signposts to keep me from completely losing my bearings amidst the desolate wastes and the never-ending rails (Streggye = Easter Island? I think so, because supposedly Moby Dick was partially based on a real whale named Mocha Dick that was killed off Mocha Island, near Chile and not that far from Easter Island. Thus the frequent mention of the Stone Faces in Railsea refer to the stone heads on Easter Island).

The final payoff, with its sly critique of modern capitalism, was highly satisfying, while leaving the door open for a possible sequel. While I wait, I think I’ll go download an audio version of Moby Dick and see what inspired this fabulous fable. [I listened to Railsea as an audio book narrated by Jonathan Cowley in what I believe was a splendid Manchester accent that really lent grit to the tale].

Sci-fi Western

Railsea by China Mieville reads almost like a sci-fi western. It's like Moby Dick on a train on land. Almost reminds me of that classic 70's movie, Mad Max, on the railroad tracks traveling to some broken universal.

I am addictive to this author, but Railsea is a bit different from what I'm used to. It feels like that he wrote this one for a younger audience. but it is still very good. I just enjoyed the entire concept of the trains and mole. Trying to conquer some kind of land creature using harpoons is crazy idea, but it really works.

Instant classic

What made the experience of listening to Railsea the most enjoyable?

The voice acting and story combined with the story telling and reader's ability to make characters distinct.

What other book might you compare Railsea to and why?

Moby Dick, Treasure Island, Howl's Moving Castle, and Kidnapped to name a few. The story blends various aspects and tropes of these ideological worlds and settings and makes a comparison to and contrast to each. Its very enjoyable how there are hints of other stories and yet is highly distinctive and very well written.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Sham's bat attacks thugs for the first time as a little mouse-sized guardian.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and more so!

Any additional comments?

Recommended for anyone who loves adventure stories, this book really feels like that and more. It is very Diesel Punk and Scavenger World combined but the over all story, setting, and even the very description the author used make me HOPE for a sequel...or a movie adaption sometime soon :) China's other books are often set in dystopia or cyber punk style futures/worlds but this one is very refreshing and harkens the reader back to the classic adventures like previously mentioned Moby Dick, Huckleberry Finn, Thom Sawyer, and other similar adventure tales.

Talented Mr Cowley a mismatch for Railsea

China Miéville's writing is both dense and fragmented—reading it aloud is no easy task, so it is no great criticism of Jonathan Cowley to say that he is not suited for the role he has assumed in narrating Railsea. His reading is warm and personal, but he stumbles on the nuances of the language—those the finicky inflections and the odd staccato that characterizes the calculated casualness of Mr Miéville's distinct voice. Much is lost as a result, and the narrative seems murkier and less impressive than it does on the page.

It would have been more difficult to isolate the faults of Mr Cowley's performance had it not been for narrator John Lee's masterful renditions of previous works by Mr Miéville. Mr Lee has a rare crispness in his delivery that allows Mr Miéville's punctuation to survive the transition from the written to the oral miraculously intact. We can only hope that he will bestow his talent on Railsea somewhere down the line, for this novel, while not as awe-inspiring as Mr Miéville's best works, is still worthy of the best possible delivery.

Lyrical, and a great performance.

I've always found China Mieville's work dense and colorful, requiring a narrator who could bring the right amount of energy to the piece. I think Jonathan Cowley was about perfect. My only complaint about the story would be that there weren't very many parts that moved me emotionally. Just a very good adventure, well-told and entertaining.

Good ideas, but not engaging

I love Jonathan Cowley's narration, but Railsea isn't a very engaging story.

It's got a lot of great concepts: an enormous continent crisscrossed by thousands of rail lines, moletrains that go out to harpoon huge burrowing animals at the risk of the lives of the captain and crew, a small boy trying to learn the moletrain life and failing miserably.

Railsea is a steampunk retelling of Moby Dick which constantly mocks its source material. In the Railsea world, every train captain is missing at least one limb and has a "phliosophy," that one animal they're trying to track down. This distain, in conjunction with a whiny, unlikeable main character, put me off the book early on. It's been awhile since I've read Moby Dick, and it's not my favorite, but at least Queequeg was interesting. There are no interesting characters in Railsea, only steam-powered prostheses and giant moles.