“Two best friends, Deeba and Zanna keep seeing and hearing odd things. It starts with Deeba seeing Zanna's face in the clouds. Then a woman at a restaurant walks over to Zanna talking about things that the girls know nothing of, and calling Zanna "Shwazzy" with sheer reverence in her voice. Turns out Zanna's the chose one, the girl of prophecy who is expected to save UnLondon, a parallel universe that mimics London in many ways, but is completely unlike anything either of the girls have ever seen. UnLondon is beset by a deadly enemy, the Smog, and it's up to Zanna to win the war, but things go entirely wrong.
I loved this little non-quest book. I loved the inventiveness, the creativity, the unblievable world Mieville created. I loved the way he twisted the stereotypical quest-style adventure, and "chosen one" rule. He creates a wonderful, strong, independent, young female character who knows how to think on her own, but knows when you ask for help. With characters like Conductor Jones who takes tickets for the bus, but also harnesses the power of electricity; the Binja, an elite class of trash bin that have mastered the art of the ninja to serve as protectors; Utterlings, small creates that appear when Mr. Speaker speaks them and do his bidding; Hemi, the half-ghost/half-human; and countless others. The relationships between the characters are wonderful and as complex as the world Mieville gave life to.
On top of all of this is a great message of environmentalism.
The book cover really says it all. It is a brilliant cross between Alice in Wonderland and Gaiman's Neverwhere, but endlessly original. I haven't been blown away by a fantasy world like this since those books (and perhaps LOTR). I truly hope there are more stories with Deeba and her UnLondon friends to come.”
