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China Miéville's Bas-Lag Series: A Critical Companion
Hardcover
Series: Palgrave Science Fiction and Fantasy: A New Canon
Literary CriticismGeneral Political Science
ISBN13: 9783032288387
Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
Published: Oct 28 2026
Pages: 135
Language: English
This book offers a critical overview focused on the Bas-Lag trilogy of novels by British speculative fiction writer, China Miéville. The Bas-Lag trilogy is a significant re-evaluation of the fantasy fiction genre, infused with contemporary political commentary presented through recognisable, albeit subverted, conventions associated with the canon. Filled with monstrous creations, the world of the Bas-Lag books utilises the effectiveness of teratology to critically explore ideas around capitalism, imperialism, urban space, concepts of the body and utopian and revolutionary ideals. The Bas-Lag books are a product of the time within which they were written, beautifully evoking the late-capitalist society from which Miéville writes. As a writer, Miéville extrapolates concepts and perceptions of genre, urban landscapes and socio-political concerns through the lenses of fantastika and teratology. This critical companion will explore this approach by focusing on his celebrated Bas-Lag trilogy, comprising the novels Perdido Street Station (2000), The Scar (2002) and Iron Council (2004).
Miéville's fantasy world building is exemplary and Bas-Lag as a creation is a fine example of creativity and vivid imagination tinged with real-world political structures and ideas. The creation and application of monsters within the Bas-Lag novels acts as a conduit for this socio-political commentary. This critical companion will demonstrate that by analysing monsters as manifestations of political concerns. Miéville successfully utilises the hybridity and liminality of both monsters and fantastic fiction as a methodology to critique such subjects as law, justice, utopian ideals and our interpretations of urban space. Embracing genre conventions make these tough subjects easier for the reader to process.
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