Dave got me a signed copy when Miéville from was in town. I'm sad I missed that.

I really enjoy the way Miéville's books in this world have characters who experiment with the way magic works. I like fantasy novels where the author has come up with an intricate, consistent cosmology to explain the magical effects that make their worlds unlike ours. (Maybe books that have this quality are really SF, rather than Fantasy...)

Usually, this cosmology is presented from a medieval perspective: the classical ancient civilizations had it all figured out, and their wisdom is passed down through ritual and lore. We, the readers, are presented the whole thing as a complete system.

That's interesting for itself, but Miéville offers an alternative: a researcher who sees a strange effect and tries to figure out how it works through trial and error. A discoverer, rather than a receiver of wisdom. This presentation of magic as science appeals to me, and the incompleteness of the picture makes me want to read more about this world.