Railsea

Written by China Miéville

Narrated by Tom Lawrence

On board the moletrain Medes, Sham Yes ap Soorap watches in awe as he witnesses his first moldywarpe hunt.

The giant mole bursting from the earth, the harpoonists targeting their prey, the battle resulting in one’s death and the other’s glory are extraordinary. But no matter how spectacular it is, travelling the endless rails of the railsea, Sham can't shake the sense that there is more to life. Even if his philosophy-seeking captain can think only of the hunt for the ivory-coloured mole she’s been chasing – ever since it took her arm all those years ago.

When they come across a wrecked train, at first it's a welcome distraction. But the impossible salvage Sham finds in the derelict leads to considerably more than he'd bargained for. Soon he's hunted on all sides: by pirates, trainsfolk, monsters and salvage-scrabblers.

And it might not be just Sham's life that's about to change. It could be the whole of the railsea.

Praise for China Miéville:

‘Fiction of the new century’ Neil Gaiman

‘Miéville’s work is thrillingly imaginative … immensely witty and utterly unforgettable’ Scotland on Sunday

‘One of the most imaginative young writers around in any kind of fiction’ Guardian

‘Miéville’s imagined societies may be fantastic, but they are utterly coherent . . . wonderfully infectious’ Daily Telegraph

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Release date: May 24, 2012
• ISBN: 9780230767225

China Miéville

China Miéville lives and works in London. He is three-time winner of the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award and has also won the British Fantasy Award twice. The City & The City, an existential thriller, was published to dazzling critical acclaim and drew comparison with the works of Kafka and Orwell and Philip K. Dick. His novel Embassytown was a first and widely praised foray into science fiction.

Reviews for Railsea

[Rachel · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great story, you really get sucked in. A view of a future that could have been.