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Content snapshot
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Violence
Very heavy
Extreme violence throughout; the slake-moths' feeding is graphically disturbing; murders and torture by the city's government
Language
A lot
Strong language throughout
Sexual Content
Some
Some adult sexual content
Substance Use
Some
Substance use in the bizarre nightlife of New Crobuzon
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The horror of consciousness being consumed; the dystopian politics of New Crobuzon's brutal government
What this book is about
Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin, a renegade scientist in the bizarre city of New Crobuzon, is asked by a garuda with cut-off wings to restore flight. His research leads him to raise something that shouldn't exist. When it escapes, the slake-moths begin feeding on the consciousness of the city's inhabitants. Miéville's second novel established him as the defining figure of the New Weird: grotesque, politically serious, scientifically rigorous, and utterly unlike anything else being written.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Extreme violence and disturbing monster content
Graphic depictions of consciousness-eating
A brutal city-state government depicted without restraint
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