#china-mieville — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

Kim Possible :kimoji_fire: @[email protected]

2026-10-19

At this point, I just laugh at the fact that I have no idea what's going on sometimes. The Rouse is an exercise in dogged persistence, curiosity, and tenacity. A better vocabulary would have helped me, too!

#bookstodon #books #TheRouse #ChinaMieville @bookstodon

#bookstodon #books #therouse #chinamieville

A Stone in the River @[email protected]

2026-10-18

Sad and Busy

Hello friends!

It’s been sad and busy here these last weeks. In early September James’s mom went into hospital and shortly after that into hospice. She passed away in the middle of the month. James flew out to New Mexico to be with his dad and elder brother and sister for a few days.

During that time my mom went into the hospital for something that didn’t seem all that serious, but turned into something serious and she died October 3rd, a day after my sister and I decided to move her to hospice. My dad died five years ago and so it’s just me and my sister who lives in Los Angeles. She had been in San Diego at the hospital for a little over two weeks, with a short break for her to return to LA for cataract surgery. I flew out to San Diego on the 3rd and spent a week cleaning and sorting through papers.

My parents lived in the house for over 50 years and have a huge accumulation of stuff. My mom also died without a will. My sister has rheumatoid arthritis and physical limitations, so it was a hard, exhausting week physically and emotionally. There is still much house cleaning that needs to be done before we can even think of hiring someone to clear things out and possibly have an estate sale. Pulling papers from drawers and closets and cabinets and piled on table tops, I managed to gather what I hope is all of the documentation we need for the probate attorney.

Of course in the process of all of this, I found a treasure trove of photos and elementary school art projects, report cards, and letters home from university. My sister and I giggled as we compared our 2nd grade report cards and the teacher comments. My sister is two years younger than I am and had many of the same teachers I did. She complained through the years that I made things really hard for her because teachers expected her to be just like me. Not fair to her at all, and of course nothing I had control over. We both got similar grades, but are very different people. I got comments like, “needs to speak up more,” and she got comments like, “needs to not talk so much.” Heh.

Easter, 1974. I was 6 and my sister 4. My mom made our dresses.

My mom had a rescue cat that we were thankfully able to have the rescue place take back for re-homing. She’s also been caring for a bunch of feral cats living on her patio and my sister has been working with the rescue place to trap them and make sure they are all spayed and neutered. We are donating a bunch of food my mom had bought for the cats to them as well as towels and blankets. And a bunch of my mom’s friends have made donations in lieu of flowers.

Probate takes about a year in California. The attorney will be dealing with the court, but my sister and I in the meantime have lots of calls and meetings to figure out how to manage paying utility bills and property taxes and all that.

Here is a public service announcement: Write a will! It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, you don’t even need a lawyer to write one for you. You can write one by hand on a piece of scrap paper and as long as you have two witnesses, you are good. Better yet, if you have children, hire an estate attorney to create a trust for your assets which will save your loved ones time, money, and headaches sorting everything out.

The Garden

The weather has been weeks of warmer than “normal.” We still have not had frost, though Friday night/Saturday morning it came close. In anticipation of possible frost, I picked all the tomatoes Friday evening. So many green tomatoes. Some of them have been sitting out there for a couple weeks and not even beginning to blush. In spite of the warmth, the daylight hours are waning and they just weren’t getting ripe. So now we are trying to ripen them on the windowsill. If they persist in their greenness, we will be making some green tomato salsa.

I covered the jalapenos and cayenne peppers, which still have fruit on them, figuring those had a better chance of ripening outdoors than the tomatoes did. The temperatures are warming up again as the week goes along with no additional chance of frost in the forecast at the moment. We’ll see what happens.

I’ve been waiting to plant garlic and decided to plant it today, fearing that if I waited any longer the weather would take a fast turn to the cold side and I will have missed the planting window. I put a thick layer of leaf mulch over them. Hopefully that will be enough to keep them from sprouting, and if they do, the mulch will at least protect them from winter damage.

I’ve been growing rosemary, lemon grass and ginger in pots on the deck all summer and they have all been doing well. Today I did some trimming of the lemon grass to prepare for bringing it indoors for the winter. I snipped off all the dead blades and tips. I noticed the leaves are “sticky” but didn’t connect to “serrated” until I saw a big blob of red on one of the blades. What in tarnation? Then I looked at my hands and saw I was bleeding from a whole bunch of tiny cuts. Oops. It’s like I have paper cuts all over the backs of both my hands. I won’t be making that mistake again!

We picked the green striped cushaw squash a couple of weeks ago. We ended up with four squashes. The big one that grew on top of the wire arch and bowed it down weighed in at 9 pounds/4 kg. Not bad, though I was expecting it would be a little heavier. The other three range in weight from 3 pounds/1.4 kg to 6 pounds/2.7 kg. We plan on roasting the smaller one in the next week or so. I will let you know how it tastes!

Cushaw squash, two volunteer pumpkins, and a citron melon

Bookish Stuff

In my rush to fly out to San Diego I didn’t completely think through what sort of reading material to take with me, I just grabbed the book I was in the middle of and would have to return to the public library a couple days after coming home, and the book I planned to start reading next.

The book from the library was Seven, Or How to Play a Game Without Rules by Joanna Kavenna. I enjoyed the it very much. It has a sort of quirkiness to it and a style that reminded me of Yoko Towada. I finished it on the plane, not in flight, but because there were issues with gates at the San Diego airport when I landed and my plane sat on the tarmac for two hours waiting for a gate to open.

The next up book I took with me was The Rouse by China Mieville. I am a Mieville fan and have read a number of his books, so bought this in hardcover because I would never be able to finish it in three weeks if I borrowed it from the library. It is 1200 pages. Yup, I brought along a 1200 page hardcover. Part of me was worried I wouldn’t have enough to read. But it turned out I didn’t have any time to read the entire week. I also had my laptop along with me. Carrying a laptop and a 1200 page book in a tote bag around the airport along with my backpack of clothes because I didn’t check a bag, is not a light load! I got a good workout to say the least.

I started reading the book on the plane back to Minneapolis and just like every Mieville book, it is nothing like any of his others. It was good to have something chunky and engaging to read because, once again, the San Diego airport had issues. My plane taxied to take off and then we got a message to delay takeoff because the wind had changed directions. So we sat on the tarmac for half an hour before we got the go ahead. Once airborne, the flight was rather bumpy, and, sitting on the aisle, I had to stand up and balance with my chunkster while the guy in the middle seat got up to use the restroom. I’m proud to say I managed not to injure anyone with my book!

And in a bit of exciting news, I am now a volunteer copyeditor for Ancillary Review of Books. They are a nonprofit online speculative fiction magazine. They put out a call for editors and copyeditors in early September. I sent in my information and was selected. Just had my onboarding meeting the other day. Now I need to read their style guide and other documents and then I can jump in. I am only required to do one article a month, but of course if I am able to do more they will not complain. I am looking forward to the whole experience since I have never done anything like this before.

In Conclusion

So there you have it. I have a lot on my plate, but I hope to make my way back to regular posting or a semblance thereof. It might not be next weekend because it is my 35th wedding anniversary. Golly, how did that happen? James and I have plans to celebrate with a museum visit to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. We have two different sets of friends who have invited us for get togethers, one on Friday night and the other for brunch on Saturday. It’s a lot to cram into a weekend along with all the housekeeping things that need to be taken care off too. But barring the unforeseen, there shouldn’t be a big gap between posts like these last weeks.

I hope you all are doing well and enjoying some fine fall (or spring depending on your hemisphere) weather!

#AncillaryReviewOfBooks #ChinaMieville #cushawSquash #JoannaKavenna #lemonGrass #mom #probate #SanDiego

#ancillaryreviewofbooks #chinamieville #cushawsquash #joannakavenna #lemongrass #mom

Michael Hanscom @[email protected]

2026-09-26

The City and The City by China Miéville: Book 42 of 2026: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: The crime novel part is a good mystery; the setting itself is fascinating and has me looking at the spaces I live in differently.

https://michaelhans.com/eclecticism/2026/09/26/the-city-and-the-city-by-china-mieville

#ChinaMiéville #HugoBestNovel #Books #Photos https://michaelhans.com/eclecticism/2026/09/26/the-city-and-the-city-by-china-mieville

#chinamieville #hugobestnovel #books #photos

molosovsky 🐿✊💗 @[email protected]

2026-09-25

Einfach so, eine kleine Feier auf das bisherige erzählende Prosawerk von #ChinaMiéville, 1998 bis 2026.

Derweil geht »The Rouse« bei mir mal stockend, dann wieder rauschartig voran. Ein sehr schöner, intensiver und deshalb für mich auch überdurchschnittlich fordernder Roman.

#WeirdFiction

#chinamieville #weirdfiction

molosovsky 🐿✊💗 @[email protected]

2026-09-22

Nachgereicht: #ChinaMiéville bietet in »The Rouse« gleich am Anfang ’ne harte Übersetzungs-Nuss.

Mehrdeutigkeit inkl. Missverständnis zu ›to pass‹ (bestehen, vergehen) und dann noch ›passing place‹ (Ausweiche).

#chinamieville

Homepage | Defector [Unofficial] @[email protected]

2026-09-21

China Miéville On The “Completely Defining” Book It Took 20 Years To Write

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://defector.com/china-mieville-on-the-completely-defining-book-it-took-20-years-to-write

#artsandculture #books #interviews #1970s #chinamieville #counterinsurgency

molosovsky 🐿✊💗 @[email protected]

2026-09-21

Wer auch immer den neuen Roman »The Rouse« von #ChinaMiéville übersetzen darf — falls sich ein deutscher Verlag traut —, wird sich hübsch austoben bzw. gepflegt verzweifeln dürfen.

Hier Seite 848.

#chinamieville

molosovsky 🐿✊💗 @[email protected]

2026-09-21

Weiterer neuer Reklame-Beitrag zum Erscheinen von »The Rouse«: #ChinaMiéville bei Shelfie. Seine drei Empfehlungen, die thematisch und stilistisch mit »The Rouse« verbandelt sind.

Doris Lessing: »Memoirs of a Survivor« (1974; Dt. 1979);
Denise Riley: »Time Lived, Without Its Flow« (2016);
Gayl Jones: »Mosquito« (1999).

https://youtu.be/Cj1V_VX8UeQ

#chinamieville

molosovsky 🐿✊💗 @[email protected]

2026-09-20

3/3 Und #ChinaMiéville führt mit David Naimon von »Between the Covers« einen langen und extrem ergiebigen Dialog zu »The Rouse«, #Salvagepunk, #Marxismus und #Monster, apophatische Theologie und das Wesen des Bewusstseins, das Versagen und die Macht der Sprache, das Gruselige (eerie) und das Gespenstische (spooky).

Ungewöhnlich tiefschürfendes Gespräch, in dem einige Aspekte von »The Rouse« gespoilert werden.

Podcast-Vorgeplänkel endet bei ca. 4:22:

https://youtu.be/dBWI8mHkpQE

#chinamieville #salvagepunk #marxismus #monster

molosovsky 🐿✊💗 @[email protected]

2026-09-20

2/2 Zum Erscheinen von »The Rouse« gibt es einmal diesen kürzeren Reklame-Film von Pan Macmillan mit #ChinaMiéville. Orientiert sehr gut, ohne zu spoilern, über den Roman und allgemein Chinas Schreiben.

>>

https://youtu.be/rWRKOkUiPaY

#chinamieville

molosovsky 🐿✊💗 @[email protected]

2026-09-19

1/3
Nach gut 20 Jahren Arbeit ist »The Rouse« von #ChinaMiéville nun erschienen. Seine große Auseinandersetzung mit der literarischen Moderne und den Epochenwandel von 1970er bis heute. Anfang erzählt vom Trauer-Trauma der alleinerziehenden Mutter Maur, nachdem ihr Sohn im Dienst einer Militärspezialeinheit ums Leben kam.

#Inhaltsverzeichniswahn enthält quasi einen strukturellen Spoiler des fast 1240-Seiten-Trumms.

>>

#chinamieville #inhaltsverzeichniswahn

Book Notification @[email protected]

2026-09-15

Our latest #newbooks #podcast episode is now streaming! 🎙️

Featuring ✨

The Rouse by #ChinaMiéville
The Earl’s Bride by #FellaJMiller
I Would Know You Anywhere by #MarnieVinge
Carbon Zero by #CraigWStanfill
It Was Always You by #LisaHobman
Dune Estate Murder by #MarcyBlesy
Disguised Deception by #RebeccaLake
The Newer World by #SebastianBarry
Starship Ranger by #ReeceLandon
Exit Party by #EmilyStJohnMandel

#bookstodon

#newbooks #podcast #chinamieville #fellajmiller #marnievinge #craigwstanfill

Actusf @[email protected]

2026-08-25

Chouette, il y a un nouveau China Mieville qui arrive en librairie ! Et ça, c'est une bonne nouvelle.

Son roman a l'air monumental. On vous dit tout sur Actusf ! Bientôt en français ?

#chinamieville #sciencefiction

https://www.actusf.com/detail-d-un-article/the-rouse-de-china-mieville-bient%C3%B4t-en-librairie-en-vo

#chinamieville #sciencefiction

Blog à part @[email protected]

2026-08-13

Aujourd'hui sur Blog à part –

« The Book of Elsewhere », de Keanu Reeves et China Miéville

L’éternité, c’est long. C’est ce que doit se dire Unute, le protagoniste immortel de The Book of Elsewhere, écrit à quatre mains par Keanu Reeves et China Miéville.

#ChinaMiéville #fantastique #KeanuReeves #PlanèteSF #thriller

https://wp.me/ppneF-bVO

#chinamieville #fantastique #keanureeves #planetesf #thriller

Actusf @[email protected]

2026-05-26

Oh les belles infos du jour que vous pouvez retrouver sur le site Actusf !!!

- D'abord il faut qu'on vous parle d'une pépite de la science-fiction qui revient en librairie : La Vieille Anglaise et le continent.

- Keanu Reeves et China Miéville ont fait un livre ensemble. Et c'est pas mal du tout.

- Bravo à Chloé Billon pour son prix de traduction !

#sciencefiction #sciencefictionbook #sciencefictionfan #keanureeves #ChinaMieville #traduction #librairie #novella

#sciencefiction #sciencefictionbook #sciencefictionfan #keanureeves #chinamieville #traduction

Actusf @[email protected]

2026-05-26

Keanu Reeves & China Miéville - Le livre d'ailleurs. Un roman de science-fiction étrange, solide et fascinant.

Et vous, vous l'avez lu ?

Notre chronique ici : https://www.actusf.com/detail-d-un-article/keanu-reeves-china-mi%C3%A9ville-le-livre-dailleurs

#sciencefiction #KeanuReeves #ChinaMieville

#sciencefiction #keanureeves #chinamieville

bm @[email protected]

2026-05-25

CW: long thread 5/

Of the #ChinaMiéville books I’ve read, #Embassytown comes closest to showing how fantasy writers can keep it weird. (It’s technically sci-fi, and I am sure #PerdidoStreetStation would serve as a better example, but I haven’t read it yet!) The novel is set in the titular outpost on the planet Arieka, on the remotest edge of space. Humans living in Embassytown (and anthropomorphic ‘exots’) have learned to coexist with the indigenous Ariekei (aka “Hosts”). These fellas get a lot of visual descriptions, but still end up being tricky for the mind to imagine (at least if you’re me), but artists have tried:

https://outtherebooks.wordpress.com/2014/02/27/what-do-the-hosts-ariekei-from-embassytown-look-like/

Their appearance is uncanny, sure. What makes them truly weird is Language. Spoken with two mouths, Language is communication and cognition; entirely objective, with some caveats. Any creature who lacks the anatomy needed to speak Language are perceived as unintelligent (humans liaise with Ariekei through Ambassadors, genetically-modified identical twins). More importantly, the Ariekei struggle to understand symbolism and abstraction. Similes can only exist in Language if the thing they compare themselves to is literally true. For instance: some Embassytowners have been asked to become figures of speech by repeating a ritual, like swimming with fishes once a week. If they don’t keep up the task, then the simile falls out of Language.

Ariekei understand Language only when it is spoken with intention. And because they perceive intention objectively, it is nearly impossible to lie in Language. You can replicate Language with a computer, but there is no mind in the machine to talk to, so the Ariekei don’t understand a word.

Just as humans have transformed nearly every inch of land on Earth, the Ariekei are the universe’s only experts in “biorigging.” Embassytown’s Ambassadors teach the Ariekei how to lie, and in exchange, they get access to organic architecture, power sources, weapons, breathing apparatus, etc..

They have technology, the Ariekei. They have agriculture. They have culture, in their Festivals of Lies. But no ordinary human mind can meet theirs, and we can’t even begin to read their intentions from body language, because that’s a human abstraction. Imagine though we might, that feeling of not-belonging – the weird – permeates most of the novel. It is decidedly uneerie, however, because (without spoiling too much of the novel’s middle parts) – we recognise their agency, and we know when said agency is deprived.

#chinamieville #embassytown #perdidostreetstation

Strypey @[email protected]

2026-05-21

"People are made and broken and remade by their circumstances."

Uther Doul, in The Scar (2002), by China Miéville

I loved this book. It reminded me a bit of the novels of fellow POM Michael Moorcock, especially the vibe of the Dancers at the End of Time. Must get hold of Perdido Street Station (2000) and Iron Council (2004) so I've read the whole trilogy.

#ChinaMiéville #NewWeird #SpeculativeFiction

#chinamieville #newweird #speculativefiction

molosovsky 🐿✊💗 @[email protected]

2026-05-10

Milliardenstrafe der EU gegen Google wurde in letzter Minute gestoppt.

Tja. Wer DA wohl am längeren Hebel sitzt, bzw. Souverän ist.

Und: weiteres schönes Beispiel für die Warenförmigkeit des Rechtes.

Wie schreibt #ChinaMiéville so schön als letzten Satz von »Between Equal Rights. A Marxist Theory of International Law« (2004):

»Die blutige und chaotische Welt um uns herum IST die Herrschaft der regelbasierten Ordnung.«

#chinamieville