An essay collection, China Miéville: Critical Essays, edited by Caroline Edwards and Tony Venezia (Gylphi Limited), which includes a chapter written by Dr Paul March-Russell from the Department of Comparative Literature, has been mentioned in Adam Roberts’ round-up of the best science fiction books of 2015 in The Guardian.
Since the publication of his first novel in 1998, China Miéville has distinguished himself as one of the most exciting and inventive writers working in any genre in contemporary British fiction. The author of nine novels and two short story collections to date, as well as comics script-writing, numerous critical works on science fiction, and legal scholarship, Miéville is a critically acclaimed writer who has also achieved popular success. The chapters in this collection respond to the range of interests that have shaped Miéville’s fiction from his influential role in contemporary genre debates, to his ability to pose serious philosophical questions about state control, revolutionary struggle, regimes of apartheid, and the function of international law in a globalised world. This collection demonstrates how Miéville’s fictions offer a striking example of contemporary literature’s ability to imagine alternatives to neoliberal capitalism at a time of crisis for leftist ideas within the political realm. The chapter written by Paul is entitled ‘Signatures of the Invisible: Reading Between The City & the City and Christopher Priest’s The Glamour’.
The article in The Guardian can be seen at www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/03/best-science-fiction-and-fantasy-books-of-2015.
You can vote for your book of the year at www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/nov/28/which-are-your-favourite-books-of-2015