Monday Book Review

Hello, and welcome back to the Monday Book Review.

Today I’ll be reviewing China Miéville’s newest young adult novel, Railsea.

First sentence: This is the story of a bloodstained boy.

In a world where the earth is covered with endlessly criss-crossing railroad tracks and huge moles and other predatory beasts lurk underground, the newly christened doctor’s apprentice Sham, aboard the moletrain Medes, has found a treasure.

In a derelict traincar, amidst corpses and mole rats, Sham uncovered it: a memory card with photos of the train’s final, fatal, unbelievable find. Sham himself doesn’t understand how significant his discovery is, but he learns quickly that a lot of people are interested.

Rumor-sellers. The Shroake siblings. Pirates. Wreckers. The ferronavy. Even the Medes gets involved for the hunt for the End of the Line.

If you like action, adventure, and intrigue in an unbelievably well-imagined setting, Miéville’s reinvention of Melville’s Moby Dick will surpass your expectations.