Of all the Mieville I've read, this is probably the Mieville book. A hulking epic in a world near-unparalleled in its level of incessant, scintillating creativity; a book so original that it manages to surprise and delight with its invention for nigh on seven hundred pages. Fans of weird fantasy, to say this one is "for you" is to understate the matter—it's incredible, and even after nearly being crushed by its own hubris in the somewhat faltering climax, it executes a superb recovery for an unforgettable denouement