China Miéville: Favorite Stories from Three Moments of an Explosion

07 Aug 2015

China Miéville’s new book, Three Moments of an Explosion, is a mind bending adventure through language and illusion. If you aren’t already a fan of China Miéville and his tales of the monstrous and strange, buckle your seat belts, because his ability to create a world, or change our own, through language is magnificent. I first experienced Miéville’s work in Perdido Street Station, a book featuring many permutations of magic, monsters and intrigue, and quickly consumed The City and The City and Kraken. When Three Moments of an Explosion was released this week, I was all too excited to fall back into the hallucinatory pages of his work. And let me tell you, Three Moments of an Explosion does not disappoint. Since it is a lengthy collection, including 28 stories, I am here today to tell you a bit about my favorites.

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The Bastard Prompt

In this story, Miéville creates a  new word. A word that – until this story – I hadn’t realized I needed. As I kept reading, it’s necessity became apparent. That word, is bund: a word that means both but and and at the same time. Readers who love the flidity of language, will be drawn to China Miéville’s work.

The Dowager of Bees

The rules of reality are bent in this story of professional card-game players, and the hidden suits that emerge under just the right circumstances. New rules, regulations, and punishments apply to the playing of these mysterious cards. Will you be initiated?

Watching God

An interesting tale built of madness, conquest, faith, and truth. What would you do, if you were a rebellious slave, tasked with taking care of foreign gods until their countries have been conquered?

The Dusty Hat

While the protagonist spends most of her time relating occurrences related to politics in the fiction London in which she resides, The Dusty Hat has some great paragraphs that express what paranoia really feels like. Miéville is great at personifying inanimate objects.

What were your favorite stories in China Miéville’s Three Moments of an Explosion? Do you plan on incorporating bund into your personal vernacular?  Tell us on Twitter and Instagram at @newinbooks!

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