If you're a fan of Mieville, if you loved the trilogy in New Crobuzon, no doubt you've waited for Kraken as much as myself. The surprise is that the English writer of the eclectic new book differs from some weird fantasy that has brought to the fore, shaping itself more as a complicated and sometimes amusing divertissement .
in over 500 pages of the manuscript Mieville condenses his exasperated visionary, his great culture (which proves that you can range from classical to pop culture up to slide into nerdismo), some 'unexpected humor and an unbridled love for London, the scene of the story and true protagonist of the story. The English capital of present day finds the pages of nineteenth-century charm Kraken, where secret societies and cults move in a mysterious underground dangerous and fascinating. What makes this even more beautiful background to be discovered is the total ignorance in which the protagonist Billy lives, curator of the Museum of Natural History in London and responsible for its main attraction, a giant squid in the glass that attracts every day dozens of onlookers and experts. The sudden disappearance of the precious relic, and forces the young Billy to appear oblivious to the underground world of cultists, apparently responsible for the abduction, immediately renamed squidnap . In spite of himself, the protagonist discovers that London is in the hands of forces beyond his understanding and the very existence of the universe lies in the balance between the anger of the gods and his subjects and capricious power-hungry, have magical powers capable of incomprehensible and upsetting the very fabric of reality. Hunted by special police unit dedicated to the control of religion, helped by one of the guards of the museum that turns out to be much more than just a bouncer, Billy is forced to learn quickly the rules of the new London and facing a battle to 'last blood to the fate of the city and beyond. The journey into the heart of London is full of fascinating characters, from Goss and Subby, two bizarre killer in Collingswod, the foul-mouthed detective in charge of the affair, through Wati, a demi that occurs in any incarnation anthropomorphic object, until the tattoo, criminal genius literally "drawn" on the back of a young London punk. The preconditions for a big freak show to Mieville we are all, however, the work differs deeply from the atmosphere of the trilogy in New Crobuzon: the unusual sense of humor, the cross-reference between the sources and characterize the Kraken as a metanarrative ' work of pure entertainment, stripped of social criticism and metaphors that made the previous novels much more pregnant with meaning. The same characters are mostly little depth, with the exception the protagonist, one of which is devoted to some 'introspection. The pages run fast all things considered, perhaps slightly weighed down by a central part not always smooth, leading to a predictable ending, and eager for plot twists. Kraken I liked? Yes, however, I expected something very different. Moreover, the beauty of Mieville is also the ability to reinvent itself, to change the linguistic register and themes, to surprise the reader to each new release. Recommended to fans of the writer, while newcomers would suggest starting from the trilogy and leave for New Crobuzon Kraken this last, but certainly pleasant, in my honest opinion, subdued compared to the potential author.
