Continuing Genre Fiction Spring 2K9. China Mieville's name had kept coming up lately, and this seemed like his best regarded. 
 Things that prevent me from reading fantasy novels: 
 1. Lack of imagination. If not to envision new and original worlds, what is the genre for? Why, then, do we have so many Tolkien remixes? Why so many elves and trolls and dragons, or else thinly veiled reimaginings thereof? 
 2. Good vs. Evil. No one else is allowed to be so trite and simple as to send the forces of Good off to fight the forces of Evil, so why are fantasy authors? 
 3. Omnipotent protagonists. I've had plenty of stories about young men setting off into the world to come into their inherent powers/destiny and defeat the previously identified ultimate Evil, thank you, no more. "Can I unlock the unbelievable power within in me?" is a terribly boring conflict to write an entire book, or even series, about. Tolkien dodged this one, at least. Admittedly, I have similar problems with a lot of things involving superheroes. It just feels like wish fulfillment. 
 And then there's China Mieville, neatly dodging all of these, to tell me stories I haven't heard about places unique enough to still engage my wonder gland every couple pages or so. The key details here: 
 1. Mieville studied anthropology. Even when his ideas are pushing into the lazy and banal (Cactus Men! Mosquito Men!), he still manages to flesh them out with culture, history, possibly pathos. There are no damn orcs, or even proxy-orcs. Nothing is so simple. 
 2. It is not so simple, because the world is not. Every nation seems to bump against others in a vague grasping for its own best interests, wealth and trade routes and sea power. None come close to being obviously good, and a key battle unfolds without the protagonist even knowing who she wants to win. 
 3. That protagonist is the rarest of all fantasy characters: a middle-aged librarian and linguist who is involved in, but mostly far from central to the events she witnesses. She has no great destiny, no special powers besides those of a linguist and observer. She still seems a little far-fetchedly close to the earth-shaking events that eventually unfold, but she's still a good protagonist, and breath of fresh air in the genre. 
 Now admittedly, there are probably other people doing similar things, as I haven't really paid attention to the genre for years, and China Mieville is still not doing too much more than spinning crazy, inventive adventure yarns, but I'm just saying that it seems like I'd rather he tell them to me than really all too many other people.