Three Moments of an Explosion: Stories
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
The multi-award-winning China Miéville has been called 'the equal of David Mitchell or Zadie Smith' (Scotland on Sunday), whose 'inventiveness and precision is awesome' (Independent), and who writes with 'an imagination of immense power' (Guardian). In this extraordinary series of stories, defying definitions and literary stereotyping, he once again proves why he 'is one of the most interesting and promising writers to appear in the last few years in any genre' (Carlos Ruiz Zafon).
In these stories, glistening icebergs float above urban horizons; a burning stag runs wild through the city; the ruins of industry emerge unsteadily from the sea; and the abandoned generations in a decayed space-elevator look not up at the stars but down at the Earth. Ranging from portraits of childhood to chilling ghost stories, from dystopian visions to poignant evocations of uncanny love, with beautiful prose and melancholy wit, this breath-taking collection poses searching questions of what it is to be human in an unquiet world. It is a humane and unsentimental investigation of our society, our world, and ourselves.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Award winner Mi ville (Embassytown) moves effortlessly among realism, fantasy, and surrealism in this dark, sometimes horrific short story collection. Highlights include "Polynia," in which icebergs begin appearing in the sky over London, floating effortlessly despite their enormous weight; "In the Slopes," centered on the discovery of a Pompeii-like ancient city in which humans and aliens seem to have coexisted in peace; the frightening "Sacken," about Lovecraftian goings-on at a lakeside vacation spot; "Dreaded Outcome," in which a therapist proves herself willing to go to any length to cure her clients; and "Covehithe," in which all of the deep-water oil drilling platforms that have ever sunk and polluted the planet return, striding out of the water like Wellsian tripods, to inflict vengeance on humanity and pursue their own mysterious agenda. Mi ville's ornate style, which befits the fantasies he's known for, can also become terse, even minimalist, in such experimental pieces as "The Crawl" and "Listen to the Birds." His characters, whether ordinary witnesses to extraordinary events or lunatics operating out of inexplicable compulsions, are invariably well drawn and compelling. Above all, what the stories have in common is a sense that the world is not just strange, but stranger than we can ever really comprehend.
