Takes a little while to really good going, as Mieville starts out by introducing you to the world he is creating; a world of steam and clockwork-powered machinery, and biological hybrids. After introducing the world and the initial problem (how to restore flight to a wingless birdman), the story staggers to a crawl, as Mieville details the research and experimentation of the protagonist. I've often seen Mieville compared to Neal Stephenson, but this research-laden stretch of the novel really highlights the difference between the authors. Mieville is a really good author, but his attachment to formal prose and detailed descriptions makes the exposition and information-gathering sections of his work much less enjoyable than the similar portions of Stephenson's work. I've never been bored reading Stephenson write about the calculus, philosophy, or MMORPGs, but I found myself losing interest in reading about crisis theory in this novel.

Fortunately, Mieville does move away from the research and theory, as a pupating caterpillar launches the plot into motion again, weaving together all the expository threads established early in the novel. After the slowness of the research, Mieville does a fantastic job of keeping things interesting and exciting. While his descriptions and prose might make the slower sections of the novel more difficult to read, they greatly contribute to a vivid, cinematic writing during the action-oriented portions of the book. I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did [b:Embassytown|9265453|Embassytown|China Miéville|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320470326s/9265453.jpg|14146240] or the magnificent [b:Kraken|6931246|Kraken|China Miéville|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320551670s/6931246.jpg|8814204], but it's still a very good book.