Posted in: Comics | Tagged:

My Old China – Miéville At C2E2 by Greg Baldino

Published Sat, 19 Mar 2011 16:18:38 -0500

"I know how it goes even with a book you like," says author China Miéville before reading from his forthcoming book Embassytown, "six minutes in and you're gone. So I'll keep this short."

Not that anyone in the crowd would have objected, as the room was filled with about eighty or so* fans of the British authors works of fantasy and science fiction, including novels like Perdido Street Station, Un Lun Dun and last year's squidtastic Kraken. Everyone seemed eager to hear from his new book, that's being called his first foray into "straight science fiction." Miéville was invited to C2E2 as a guest of honor, and although the presentation only lasted about an hour, a remarkable amount of material was covered in the Q&A

One subject that came up several times through the event was the subject of film adaptations, both of Miéville's and of H.P. Lovecraft's. Miéville spoke of the "Lovecraft Cinematic Jinx**" that seems to plague efforts to adapt the classic Weird Tales author, although he adds "Many of them I think of as honorable failures, and I'd much rather have [a Lovecraft film be] an <i>honorable</i> failure." One of his early works, the novel King Rat was at one point being developed into a film, but that seems to have lapsed away. Not that he feels terribly snubbed or let down by the lack of a film adaptation. "There's a kind of viewpoint that any cultural product– like a book—if it's very good and very lucky, <u>might</u> grow up to become a movie."

Mind you, adapting his work properly would require not only a massive special effects budget, but a willingness to make a seriously weird piece of cinema. Miéville's works are inescapably strange, with monsters and creatures that are nothing like you've seen before. "If you can relate to it," he said, in regards to his attempt at creating a genuinely alien spider creature, "I've failed. " World building is another area where he tries to push the effectiveness of the strange, citing M. John Harrison's 'anti-world building as an influence. "I really want the reader to feel a sense of culture shock, even in books from a familiar world, without having to reboot the continuity." He added as an aside:

I can use these terms at a comic con. I talk about this at literary festivals and they go "What? What is this? What's a 'retcon?'"

Perhaps the most poignant A to a Q in the event came from a fan who asked Miéville how he keeps up his idealism (Miéville is a socialist***) in the face of current events. "It's not something that's ever troubling to me," said Miéville "To be a leftist is to do at least as much with analysis as it does with idealism."

"I have great belief in humanity," said Miéville, met by a roar of applause.

Embassytown will be released in May 2011 from Del Rey

Greg Baldino lives and writes in Chicago. His fiction and journalism have appeared internationally. He can be contacted at greg.baldino@gmail.com. If someone brought him a banana he'd be quite happy.

*I'm terrible at estimating crowds, it was probably more than this

**Also, someone needs to start a band called Lovecraft Cinematic Jinx. Just saying.

*** A real one, not like Obama

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!