From a review of China Miéville’s Un Lun Dun in Salon.
In most novels like this, the author would put a family member or a close friend in jeopardy in order to spur the main character to action; Miéville gives his heroine a wider and bolder conscience. He trains a healthy skepticism on those familiar and inherently conservative fantasy tropes about people who are born special and the need to slavishly follow ancient texts and rituals. “Un Lun Dun” is a novel you can safely give to young readers without fear that they will come back wanting to enroll in a boarding school, take up the broadsword or join the Church of England.
