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Bas-Lag
Bas-Lag is a fictional universe in which several of China Miéville's novels are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic (referred to as thaumaturgy) and steampunk technology exist, and where many intelligent races live. This world and the novels set in it are, in generic terms, informed by the horror, fantasy and science fiction traditions. As with all China Miéville's works, there is also a strong presence of social and political opinion. Novels There have been three novels so far set in Bas-Lag: *'' Perdido Street Station'' *'' The Scar'' *'' Iron Council'' The short story "Jack", featured in the 2005 collection '' Looking for Jake'', is also set in Bas-Lag. Geography Bas-Lag possesses several continents. Two landmasses, Rohagi and Bered Kai Nev, are named in the three novels, though numerous other landmasses and structures play important roles. Rohagi The exact geography of Rohagi is unknown. New Crobuzon lies about inland from its eastern coast, which borders the Swoll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Scar (novel)
''The Scar'' is a weird fantasy novel by British writer China Miéville, the second set in his Bas-Lag universe. ''The Scar'' won the 2003 British Fantasy Award and was shortlisted for the 2003 Arthur C. Clarke Award. ''The Scar'' was additionally nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award in 2002 and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2003. It is set directly after the events described in ''Perdido Street Station''. Plot summary ''The Scar'' opens with the journey of a small ship which has set out from the city New Crobuzon (the setting of ''Perdido Street Station''). It is heading to the city's new colony, Nova Esperium, which lies across the Swollen Ocean of Bas-Lag. On board the ship are: *Bellis Coldwine, a cold, reserved linguist who is fleeing for her life for her alleged connection to the events in ''Perdido Street Station''. *Johannes Tearfly, a scientist whose interests lie in megafauna and underwater sealife. *Tanner Sack, a Remade criminal (that is, he has had his body ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perdido Street Station
''Perdido Street Station'' is a novel by British writer China Miéville, published in 2000 by Macmillan. Often described as weird fiction, it is set in a world where both magic and steampunk technology exist. It won the Arthur C. Clarke Award and was ranked by '' Locus'' as the 6th all-time best fantasy novel published in the 20th century. ''Perdido Street Station'' is the first of three independent works set in the fictional world of Bas-Lag, and is followed by '' The Scar'' and '' Iron Council''. Background ''Perdido Street Station'' is set in the fictional world of Bas-Lag, in the large city-state of New Crobuzon; the title refers to a railway station at the heart of the city. Miéville described the book as "basically a secondary world fantasy with Victorian era technology. So rather than being a feudal world, it's an early industrial capitalist world of a fairly grubby, police statey kind!" The book was published simultaneously in the UK and Australia in March 2000 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iron Council
''Iron Council'' (2004) is a weird fantasy novel by the British writer China Miéville, his third set in the Bas-Lag universe, following '' Perdido Street Station'' (2000) and '' The Scar'' (2002). In addition to the steampunk influences shared by its predecessors, ''Iron Council'' draws several elements from the Western genre. ''Iron Council'' is one of China Miéville's most overtly political novels, being strongly inspired by the anti-globalization movement, and tackling issues such as imperialism, corporatism, terrorism, racial hatred, homosexuality, culture shock, labour rights and war. The novel won the Arthur C. Clarke and Locus Awards in 2005, and was also nominated for the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards the same year. Plot ''Iron Council'' follows three major narrative threads that join to form the novel's climax. Although Miéville weaves back and forth between narrative, time and space, this summary will follow each narrative individually, discussing their relat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Looking For Jake
''Looking for Jake and Other Stories'' is a collection of science fiction, horror and fantasy stories by British author China Miéville. It was first published by Del Rey Books and Macmillan in 2005. Stories The book contains eleven short stories, a novella ( ''The Tain''), a novelette ("Reports of Certain Events in London"), and a comic book-esque tale ("On the Way to the Front"), which was illustrated by British comic book artist Liam Sharp. Eleven of the stories were originally published between 1998 and 2004, and the remaining four ("The Ball Room", "Go Between", "Jack", "On the Way to the Front") had never been published before. The short story, "The Ball Room" was co-written by Miéville, Emma Bircham and Max Schaefer, and the novella, ''The Tain'', was published as a free standing book in 2002. All of the stories are set in London, with the exceptions of "Jack", set in Miéville's created world Bas-Lag, and "Foundation", the setting of which is not specified. The st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
China Miéville
China Tom Miéville ( , born 6 September 1972) is a British speculative fiction writer and Literary criticism, literary critic. He often describes his work as "weird fiction", and is allied to the loosely associated movement of writers called New weird, New Weird. Miéville has won multiple awards for his fiction, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award, British Fantasy Award, BSFA Award, Hugo Award, Locus Award, and World Fantasy Awards. He holds the record for the most Arthur C. Clarke Award wins (three). His novel ''Perdido Street Station'' was ranked by ''Locus (magazine), Locus'' as the 6th best fantasy novel published in the 20th century. During 2012–13, he was Artist-in-residence, writer-in-residence at Roosevelt University in Chicago. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2015. Miéville is active in left politics in the UK and has previously been a member of the International Socialist Organization (US) and the short-lived International Socialist Net ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zombie
A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in which a ''zombie'' is a dead body reanimated through various methods, most commonly magical practices in religions like Vodou. Modern media depictions of the reanimation of the dead often do not involve magic but rather science fictional methods such as fungi, radiation, gases, diseases, plants, bacteria, viruses, etc. Zombies are real-life individuals in Haiti who have undergone a religious punishment called zombification for committing crimes such as rape or land theft. They are drugged, buried alive, exhumed and then enslaved by secret societies in Haiti. This practice became the basis for the zombie myth of a resurrected corpse. The English word "zombie" was first recorded in 1819 in a history of Brazil by the poet Robert S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Undead
The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if they were alive. A common example of an undead being is a cadaver, corpse reanimated by supernatural forces, by the application of either the deceased's own Energy (esotericism), life force or that of a supernatural being (such as a demon, or other evil spirit). The undead may be Incorporeality, incorporeal (ghosts) or Human body, corporeal (mummy (undead), mummies, vampires, skeleton (undead), skeletons, and zombies). The undead are featured in the belief systems of most cultures, and appear in many works of fantasy fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. The term is also occasionally used for real-life attempts to Resurrection#Technological resurrection, resurrect the dead with science and technology, from early experiments like Robert E. Cornish's to future sciences such as "chemical brain preservation" and "cryonics." While the term usually refers to corporeal entities, in some cases (for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristics associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles or simply formal functions (e.g., precedence), and vary by country and by era. Membership in the nobility, including rights and responsibilities, is typically hereditary and patrilineal. Membership in the nobility has historically been granted by a monarch or government, and acquisition of sufficient power, wealth, ownerships, or royal favour has occasionally enabled commoners to ascend into the nobility. There are often a variety of ranks within the noble class. Legal recognition of nobility has been much more common in monarchies, but nobility also existed in such regimes as the Dutch Republic (1581–1795), the Republic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fictional Universe
A fictional universe, also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe, is the internally consistent fictional setting used in a narrative or a work of art. This concept is most commonly associated with works of fantasy and science fiction, and can be found in various forms such as novels, comics, films, television shows, video games, and other creative works. In science fiction, a fictional universe may be a remote alien planet or galaxy with little apparent relationship to the real world (as in '' Star Wars''). In fantasy, it may be a greatly fictionalized or invented version of Earth's distant past or future (as in ''The Lord of the Rings''). Fictional continuity In a 1970 article in '' CAPA-alpha'', comics historian Don Markstein defined the fictional ''universe'' as meant to clarify the concept of fictional continuities. According to the criteria he imagined: [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Workforce
In macroeconomics, the workforce or labour force is the sum of people either working (i.e., the employed) or looking for work (i.e., the unemployed): \text = \text + \text Those neither working in the marketplace nor looking for work are out of the labour force. The sum of the labour force and out of the labour force results in the noninstitutional civilian population, that is, the number of people who (1) work (i.e., the employed), (2) can work but don't, although they are looking for a job (i.e., the unemployed), or (3) can work but don't, and are not looking for a job (i.e., out of the labour force). Stated otherwise, the noninstitutional civilian population is the total population minus people who cannot or choose not to work (children, retirees, soldiers, and incarcerated people). The noninstitutional civilian population is the number of people potentially available for civilian employment. \begin \text &= \text + \text \\ & ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
