This is another strong outing from China Mieville. Like Perdido Street Station and The Scar, Iron Council is set in the world of Bas Lag, and it is infused with the politics of its major city, New Crobuzon. As in those other books, Mieville creates a rich tapestry of characters and setting, and he proves again the fertility of his imagination. Having finished the novel, my mental images of the Iron Council itself are as vivid and unforgettable as those of the Armada in The Scar.

Two of the characters, Judah and Ori, are drawn with great detail, and they are among Mieville's best characters to date. Many of the other characters, Ann-Hari, Qurabin, Cutter, Spiral Jacobs, and Drogon, are intriguing, but are intentionally left draped in mystery. Mieville loves to give minor details without ever revealing the whole picture — a device that makes the reader feel immersed in an unfamiliar world.

To be honest, when I only had fifty pages left to read in this novel, I wasn't sure Mieville was going to be able to pull off a convincing ending — there were several loose threads and a few seemingly inconsequential characters — but in the end, it's a coherent whole, and the final twists turn out to be pretty-much inevitable. If you are new to Bas Lag, start with the other novels, but don't skip this one.