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Why it matters
Miéville turns an impossible urban premise into both a disciplined police procedural and a study of socially enforced boundaries.
2010 selection · Science fiction & fantasy
Inspector Tyador Borlú investigates a murder spanning Besźel and Ul Qoma, two cities occupying the same physical space whose citizens are trained to ignore one another. His inquiry tests the border maintained by perception, law, and the feared authority known as Breach.
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Miéville turns an impossible urban premise into both a disciplined police procedural and a study of socially enforced boundaries.
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You like cerebral mysteries, uncanny cities, and politically charged speculative fiction.
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Primary record
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Hugo Award for Best Novel — official winner recordOfficial record↗ (opens in a new tab)