China Tom Miéville, Railsea

Christopher Palmer (La Trobe University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 2012

Places

United Kingdom (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

Railsea is set on a planet, perhaps Earth, shaped by former civilizations and creatures. Its surface is covered by rails, seemingly endless knots and clots and interlaces and switches of rails. They have become a natural feature, their origins as hidden as the origins of trees or beasts. There are cities, villages, all on islands in the vast railsea, but the main human activity is travelling on the rails, at sea. Only just under the rails, ready to break through and devour at any time, is a multitude of predators, almost all of them vicious and dangerous, almost all of them enhanced or even gigantic versions of burrowing creatures from our earth – moles, ant lions, badgers, a tortoise, giant worms, earwigs. These are …

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584 words

Citation: Palmer, Christopher. "Railsea". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 July 2012 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34663, accessed 25 November 2024.]

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