by Raj Khanna

China Mieville has made quite a name for himself in the fantasy world, creating intricate and imaginative universes, spelling them out with rich language and elegant prose. After novels, King Rat, and the Bas-Lag books, Perdido Street Station, The Scar, and Iron Council, he has turned to a different audience with Un Lun Dun.

Un Lun Dun is his first "young adult" book, a book that he wrote specifically for young people, an attempt to join the world of such stories (for more on this, see my interview with him).

However, make no mistake - for those familiar with his other works, this is very much a China Mieville story, complete with the imaginative world, the attention to language, and the usual playfully subversive moments.

The story concerns two friends, Zanna and Deeba, who discover the existence of another world known as UnLondon. Zanna learns she is the Schwazzy, the Chosen One, and has been called upon to rid UnLondon of an entity known only as the Smog. This is how it has been written in UnLondon's prophecies. This is what its citizens expect.

Zanna and Deeba, however, are just two kids from London and they are more interested in returning home to their family and friends than getting involved in the strange occurrences in this other world. When Zanna is injured, and they are given a chance to go home, they take it.

I won't say any more about the plot as some of the fun to it is in the unexpected. As in Mieville's other works, things are not always as they seem, and he plays extensively with the tropes and trimmings of the "young adult" fantasy genre.

UnLondon is an imaginative place, a world where buses fly around suspended from balloons, where inanimate objects like umbrellas and even rubbish are alive, where rubbish bins are ninja-like defenders. In typical Mieville fashion, he is not content to pepper his world with such imaginative creations, instead he stuffs it full of them. Additionally, he has included his own sketches in the book. My advance review copy did not have the illustrations included, but they can be seen on the official website.

My only reservation with the book was that it almost seemed a little too "cute" in some places, with the worldplay, with the puns. However, I realize that I am not the audience this book was intended for. I fully believe that younger readers would be more kindly disposed towards a lot of these elements. Likewise, if you're a fan of books like Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, those elements might be right up your alley.

Ultimately, however, I think the books triumphs with its overall message. Its this which separates it from the other young adult fantasies on the market. It has real world resonance, and I would feel comfortable giving this book to anybody. Which is not to say that it's preachy - it doesn't talk at you. It is, in the end, an inclusive book, especially through Deeba's character. In books like Harry Potter, as enjoyable as they may be, the reader can only look upon that world - they will never be a wizard. In Un Lun Dun, there is far more accessibility. While the reader may not truly visit that world, they can certainly relate to Deeba's character.

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See our interview with China Mieville at the 2007 NYCC.