Gabrielle's Reviews > Kraken

Oh, China Mieville. My language wizard who disdains cliched tropes, has more imagination than any other writer - living or dead, and who just loves taking me (and other readers) on the most unpredictable rides he can come up with. When I thought I couldn’t love you any more than I already did, you went ahead and wrote a book about a cult that worships giant squids. Marry me, China.

“Kraken” certainly winks in the general direction of Lovecraft’s oeuvre. A lot. But you’d be wrong to assume it’s a pastiche simply because tentacles and weird cultists are involved: this book is extremely funny (in a purely Mievillian way), something Lovecraft never managed - at least not deliberately ("I paid it in nuts, Billy. What would you think I'd pay a squirrel?"). Billy Harrow is essentially an Arthur Dent: a maddeningly normal man suddenly thrust into the weirdest world he could have imagined, trying to stay sane and alive as he unwillingly explores the bizarre underworld of this surreal London. It also the book where I felt Mieville to be his most shameless nerdy self, with references not only to the father of cosmic horror, but to other writers (both of genre and literary fiction), classic sci-fi shows and weird stuff he’s seen in museums.

The Natural History Museum of London’s prized exhibit is a perfectly preserved giant squid. The magnificent and strange animal unfortunately attracts more than tourists; a very fringe religious cult steals the pickled creature out of its tank, putting the curator Billy in a very uncomfortable situation; in his quest to get his most famous exhibit back, he’ll land in the middle of turf war between obscure gods and their cults, have to dodge hired killers with very peculiar methods, work with a rather unorthodox unit of the police force and negotiate with a talking tattoo and unionized familiars. Among other things. The plot twists and turns like the tentacles of a giant squid, so it's futile to attempt to summarize it, but what a wild and unusual ride!

His villains Goss and Subby are really quite something, reminiscent of Croup and Vandermar from Gaiman’s glorious “Neverwhere” (which I was reminded of a few times through this book, actually (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), but even bloodier, if one can imagine such a thing. And of course, it's impossible not to love Collingswood, the bratty but talented youngest member of the cult squad, and Wati, the socialist-minded shabtis.

Like any Mieville novel, you need a good dose of patience and of mental energy to keep up with the intricately woven tale he spun, not to mention the London slang and multi-syllabic words he'll throw your way. But his prose is as ornate, rhythmic and erudite as ever, and its mesmerizing. It is also completely unique: so many wild and incredible ideas are crammed in there, and I can see how some readers thought it was a bit much, but I loved it! Perhaps the book is a bit long, but my usual complaint about Mieville's novels is that they don't last forever... Maybe not for the newbies, but if you have read this brilliant man’s work before and loved it, do not miss “Kraken”! 4 and a half stars.