Bas-Lag
Encyclopedia
Bas-Lag is the fictional world in which several of China Miéville
's novel
s are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic
(referred to as "thaumaturgy") and steampunk
technology
exist, and is home to many intelligent races. It is influenced by the themes and tropes of multiple genres of science fiction
, fantasy
, and horror
.
Additionally, the short story "Jack", featured in the 2005 collection Looking for Jake
, is a Bas-Lag story.
of Rohagi are unknown. New Crobuzon
lies about ten miles (16 km) inland from its eastern coast, which borders the Swollen Ocean. Immediately south of New Crobuzon is the Rudewood, beyond which lies the Mendican Hills. North of New Crobuzon, along the coast but separated by the Bezhek Mountains, are the ruins of Suroch. To the west, about a thousand miles from New Crobuzon and far beyond the Dancing Shoe Mountains, lies the four-hundred mile wide freshwater lake called Cold Claw Loch. The Loch connects with the vast, inland Cold Claw Sea, eight hundred miles to the north, via a natural channel called Cold Claw Sound. The Cold Claw Sea is talon-shaped, stretching eastward a great distance, almost connecting with the Swollen Ocean before curving southward for about two hundred miles, finally ending about seven hundred miles north of New Crobuzon. This southward curve is the Gengris, and is populated by the dangerous and unpredictable grindylow
.
According to a protagonist in Iron Council
, both Cobsea and Myrshock lie about 750 miles (1,207 km) southwest of New Crobuzon. Cobsea lies inland and borders the Cacotopic Stain, a large wasteland created by the unreliable magical energy known as Torque. Myrshock lies on the northern coast of the Meagre Sea. As revealed in Iron Council, a wealthy industrialist had attempted to build a transcontinental railway that would link New Crobuzon with Cobsea and Myrshock, as the two states are trading partners, but was unsuccessful in this endeavor. However, the end of Iron Council indicates a second attempt at the project, using information gathered by the industrialist's agents throughout the course of the book.
South of the Meagre Sea is the Cymek Desert, which is home to the nomadic garudas. The Cymek also contains the northern port city of Shankell, which is known for its brutal gladiatorial combat, and the southern city of Dreer Samheer, both of which are predominantly populated by the cactacae.
West of the Cymek Desert lies the Galaggi Veldt, which is home to Tesh, which is neighboured by the Witchocracy
, which goes to war with it against New Crobuzon in Iron Council. Tesh controls the Fire Water Straits, which lead to an as yet unidentified inland body of water that borders the Swollen Ocean. The control of the Fire Water Straits has resulted in a war between New Crobuzon and Tesh and the results of this war is a plot point in Iron Council. Crobuzine victory in this conflict is implied following the failure of the Teshi thaumaturgical attack upon the city. The Firewater Straits are renamed the Sanguine Straits during the course of the war, due to the ferocity and cost of the naval battles to control them (a contest, again, that ends in a Crobuzine victory).
. Armada's origins are unknown, but it has existed in one form or another for at least a thousand years. At the opening of The Scar, its population is said to number in the hundreds of thousands. The city itself is only about a mile wide, though one character claims that "there are probably as many miles of streets here as in New Crobuzon" owing to all its "layers and layers of decks."
Gnurr Kett is an island that lies 2000 miles (3,218.7 km) south of New Crobuzon and 500 miles (804.7 km) east of the Cymek Desert. The island is known for its scholarly reputation and the knowledge that its capital city, Kohnid, has. Some of this knowledge is derived from a colony of anophelii that they maintain. This colony is the only known remnants of what was known as the Malarial Queendom, a brutal regime that was active in most areas of Bas-Lag that had a warm climate.
The Jheshull Islands are a small trio of islands that lie off the coast of Rohagi. They were involved in the Pirate Wars and are considered to be on the decline due to their involvement against New Crobuzon.
Nova Esperium is one of New Crobuzon's colonies. Very few people choose to go to Nova Esperium of their own volition, as the long journey to the colony, combined with the rampant disease and other threats make it a harsh place to live, but New Crobuzon's government will pay the passage of any volunteers. The exact location of Nova Esperium is not given, although it lies a great distance southeast of New Crobuzon.
, powerful entities from another plane of existence ruled all of Bas-Lag for a period of 500 years. The Ghosthead, as these entities were known, originated on another world in a different plane of existence somewhere on the eastern rim of the universe. Seeking a milder place to live than their homeworld, which was torn between a vicious cycle of days and nights that created oceans of molten iron and froze the very atmosphere, the Ghosthead built a "metal fish" and used it to find Bas-Lag. Their arrival created The Scar, a massive physical and dimensional rift on Bas-Lag's surface from which different existential possibilities leak. The Ghosthead harnessed the energy from The Scar with a process called "possibility mining", and used their power to gain control over all of Bas-Lag, manipulating possibilities to their advantage. The Ghosthead Empire was ultimately destroyed by a rebellion called the Contumancy, followed by a period known as the Sloughing-Off. The Empire's history survives long after its fall in documents such as the Imperial Canon, and in lost technologies and structures, like Possible Swords and Possible Towers, still scattered in hidden places across Bas-Lag.
Gharcheltist : In Iron Council, Gharcheltist is referred to as "the aquapolis", and is presumably a vodyanoi city.
The Gengris : The phrase "The Gengris" can refer to both a location and the aquatic grindylow race who inhabit it. The Gengris is described as a cross between an island and a half-sunken city lying at the jagged southern tip of the Cold Claw Sea, some seven hundred miles due north of New Crobuzon. Little else is known about the city itself, except that it is home to "malachite chapels", "limb-farms", and "bile workshops". The grindylow of The Gengris willingly trade with outsiders, handsomely rewarding traders for such oddities as barrels full of equal parts salt and glass beads, but frequently eliminate outsiders who have "transgressed" in some way; the nature of these transgressions are usually opaque to all but the grindylow themselves, and such trade is extremely risky for outsiders.
Hell : Maintains an embassy in New Crobuzon.
High Cromlech : Almost everything that is currently known about High Cromlech is derived from Uther Doul, one of the primary characters in The Scar. Doul was born and raised in High Cromlech. He describes it as a caste-based nation ruled by undead
nobility
, called "thanati." These he describes as "liches with sewn-shut mouths, with beautiful clothes and skin like preserved leather."
Khadoh : Khadoh's merchants trade with New Crobuzon.
Maru'ahm : Maru'ahm is apparently found on the western side of the Rohagi continent, beyond the Cacotopic Stain. In Perdido Street Station, it is said to be ruled by a casino
-parliament
, "where laws were stakes in games of roulette
." This rumor is affirmed in Iron Council, where a character who visited Maru'ahm claims he played for such stakes as property laws and "a whole pot of legislation." This same character mentions a queen
and "cardsharp senators", implying that Maru'ahm's government is some form of constitutional
or elective monarchy
.
New Crobuzon
: The city-state
of New Crobuzon is a major plot device for all three of the Bas-Lag novels, and a substantial part of the Bas-Lag setting. It is situated at the confluence
of the Rivers Tar, Canker and Gross Tar, about ten miles (16 km) west of the Swollen Ocean. Though a self-styled parliamentary republic
, New Crobuzon's government more closely resembles an oligarchy
with strong imperialistic
ambitions. The political system of New Crobuzon is hugely biased towards the human majority and only those ranked higher in society, along with a few others elected in a "suffrage lottery" are allowed to vote. The "Fat Sun" party rules in all the Bas-Lag novels, but other political parties include the xenophobic "New Quill" (called "Three Quills" in Perdido Street Station
) and the xenotolerant "Diverse Tendency"
Qé Banssa : Qé Banssa is built upon the sloping peaks of Dancing Bird Island. It is called a "poor, ugly little fishing port" by a protagonist in The Scar. As with Tarmuth, Qé Banssa seems to survive by dint of New Crobuzon's good will.
Salkrikaltor : The Cray Commonwealth
of Salkrikaltor is found beneath the waves of the Swollen Ocean, far east of New Crobuzon between the islands Bartoll and Gnomon Tor. Salkrikaltor and New Crobuzon are described in The Scar as being trading partners on amiable terms.
Suroch : Suroch was a city which fought and eventually lost a series of wars against New Crobuzon known in the latter as the Pirate Wars. Throughout the time period covered by the plots of the Bas-Lag novels, Suroch has already been destroyed and rendered uninhabitable by the effects of magical weapons of mass destruction
, the "colourbomb" and devices making use of the Torque.
Tarmuth : Tarmuth is situated at the mouth of the Gross Tar River, on the coast of the Rohagi continent about ten miles (16 km) east of New Crobuzon. The protagonist in The Scar describes it as "an ugly, violent town" used by privateers and freebooters as safe harbor. Besides "prostitution and piracy", Tarmuth survives by manufacturing ships, and exists thanks to New Crobuzon's patronage.
Troglodopolis : Troglodopolis is referred to in Perdido Street Station as a "chthonic
burrow
."
Vadaunk : Vadaunk lies somewhere south of New Crobuzon, beyond the Cacotopic Stain. According to government propaganda in Perdido Street Station, the changing seasons "bring an onslaught of superstitious repression" there. In Iron Council it is called "the mercenary kingdom."
Yoraketche
of the Swollen Ocean, spoken by pirates, sailors and other maritime peoples. In The Scar, Salt is described as a patchwork language which borrows aspects from various other tongues, principally Ragamoll.
The anophellii maintain a written language called High Kettai, which is used by various scholars and publishing houses. It is implied that high Kettai is inflected as it is known to possess an "ironic case." Base Kettai is High Kettai's more widely-understood cousin.
Quiesy (also known as "Deadish") is the principal language of High Cromlech. Since many of its speakers have either sewn-shut mouths or larynxes too decayed to form sounds properly, it consists of a series of coughing grunts, with "intricately timed pauses" that are as important as the spoken element. It can also be "spoken" entirely soundlessly, with gestures or eye movements.
The khepri communicate through sign language and scented chemicals, since their insect-heads do not permit vocalization. They also maintain a written language called High Khepri.
The vodyanoi speak at least three different languages: the primary one being Lubbock and the others Fellid and Southern. The traditional language of the Cactacae is Sunglari. The garuda of the Cymek speak an unnamed language. The people of Tesh, the people of Khadoh, the Salkrikaltor Cray, and the hotchi of the Rudewood all speak their own, eponym
ous languages.
. The Cactacae are enormous plant people, often towering over human beings. Although their young grow out of the ground, they nurse them as mammals do. Cactacae have sap for blood. They are known for their strength, and are often employed as laborers and bodyguards. Cactacae bodies are fibrous, with wooden bones, making them notoriously difficult to kill or wound with normal weapons; bullets pass nigh-harmlessly through them. The Cactacae community in New Crobuzon
is based around The Glasshouse, and is allowed to exist as a nominally independent community within the city. Their weapons of choice are Rivebows, oversized crossbows that fire a spinning metal disc capable of shearing off cactacae limbs.
s from the waist down. They use domesticated squids to hunt. Many live in an underwater city, Salkrikaltor, which rivals New Crobuzon
itself in size.
s. They are hunters with a fierce sense of individualism. They resemble winged humans with avian
heads and feet; their society is completely communist, with individual possessions seen as reducing the individual's freedom. A small ghetto
of garuda live in New Crobuzon
, and a few are described as living near the Cacotopic Stain in Iron Council
. Garudan law is based around the principle of freedom of choice; all their crimes are forms of "choice-theft", denying another being the right to choose their own fate. Their name is derived from the Garuda
of Hindu
mythology
.
. Capable of survival in salt and fresh water, as well as in the air, they can communicate telepathically
with a variety of aquatic species including whale
s and Cray. Their name comes from a creature of English nursery stories. Mieville's Grindylow bear a similarity to the Deep One
s of the Cthulhu Mythos
. Grindylow use powerful shamanistic magic, the use of which can deform human users.
s are apparently the dominant race in New Crobuzon
, and perhaps on Bas-Lag as well. They seem to be identical to their real world
counterparts in most respects, except that many have the ability to use magic.
. Female khepri possess bodies very similar to those of human women, except that their skin is crimson in colour and they possess large scarab beetles in place of heads. They communicate with each other via movements of their "headlegs" and squirts of chemicals. The female khepri are noted artists, using a biological excretion to sculpt breathtaking works of organic art. Male khepri, on the other hand, are lobster-sized, non-sentient
scarabs, without the depending humanoid body. They mate by latching onto a female's head scarab and fertilizing her. Taken from the Egyptian god of the same name
.
will send them to punishment factories, where "bio-thaumaturges" warp and twist their bodies in a variety of ways. Some are combined with machines, to enslave them to one particular purpose. Others have bizarre limbs or organs grafted onto their bodies, making them freaks of nature. The Remade are primarily a sad, pathetic lot. However some Remade, like the infamous Jack Half-A-Prayer, have used their remaking to their benefit, becoming vigilante
heroes and styling themselves as "fReemade".
folklore.
-like beings who regard life on Bas-Lag as an ongoing work of art. They use their considerable powers to interfere with events according to their individual sense of aesthetics. Weavers speak in a disjointed, babbling flow of half-poetry, and are totally unpredictable.
On pg. 229 of Perdido Street Station Isaac states: "That's where they dropped the colourbomb in 1545. That's what they said put an end to the Pirate Wars, but to be honest with you, Yag, they'd been over for a year before that [...]". Interestingly, in Iron Council
, the science behind colourbombs is referred to as a "lost science."
Another power source is The Torque, mentioned on pg. 225, a mysterious energy plaguing the Cacotopic Stain that might be compared to radiation
. Torque leads to strange mutations, altering both living creatures and the inanimate environment: for example, during Iron Council, a railway carriage and its three occupants are transmogrified by the Torque into a blob of semi-solid matter containing three nuclei. Another implication of dropping the colourbomb is that it was done to hide the extent of the torque weapon's devastation of city of Suroch, which later revealed to be the unnamed opponent in the Pirate Wars.
In all three novels there are also several mentions of clockwork gems, metaclockwork, sentient robot-like constructs operating with difference engines, and many other inexplicable or fantastic instances of science, magic and combination of both.
In Iron Council, Miéville dedicates a lot of attention to the magic art of golem
ancy, explaining the logic behind the art and its difference to the calling and control of elementals.
China Miéville
China Tom Miéville is an award-winning English fantasy fiction writer. He is fond of describing his work as "weird fiction" , and belongs to a loose group of writers sometimes called New Weird. He is also active in left-wing politics as a member of the Socialist Workers Party...
's novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
(referred to as "thaumaturgy") and steampunk
Steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
exist, and is home to many intelligent races. It is influenced by the themes and tropes of multiple genres of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, and horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
.
The Bas-Lag novels
So far there have been three novels set in Bas-Lag. They are:- Perdido Street StationPerdido Street StationPerdido Street Station is the second published novel by China Miéville and the first of three independent works set in thefictional world of Bas-Lag, a world where both magic and steampunk technology exist...
- The ScarThe ScarThe Scar is the third novel written by China Miéville, a self-described "weird fiction" writer from London, England. The Scar won the 2003 British Fantasy Award and was shortlisted for the 2003 Arthur C. Clarke Award. Miéville won both these awards in 2001 for his previous novel, Perdido Street...
- Iron CouncilIron CouncilIron Council is China Miéville's fourth novel and his third set in the Bas-Lag universe, following Perdido Street Station and The Scar , although each can be read independently of the others...
Additionally, the short story "Jack", featured in the 2005 collection Looking for Jake
Looking for Jake
Looking for Jake is a collection of science fiction, horror and fantasy stories by British author China Miéville. It was first published by Del Rey Books, part of Random House, in 2005, and later by Pan MacMillan.-Stories:...
, is a Bas-Lag story.
Geography
Bas-Lag possesses a number of continents. Two landmasses, Rohagi and Bered Kai Nev, are named in the three novels, though numerous other landmasses and unique structures play important roles in the novels.Rohagi
The exact proportions and geographyGeography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
of Rohagi are unknown. New Crobuzon
New Crobuzon
New Crobuzon is a fictional city-state created by China Miéville and located in his fictional world of Bas-Lag. It is prominently featured in both Perdido Street Station and Iron Council, and serves as a plot device and background for The Scar....
lies about ten miles (16 km) inland from its eastern coast, which borders the Swollen Ocean. Immediately south of New Crobuzon is the Rudewood, beyond which lies the Mendican Hills. North of New Crobuzon, along the coast but separated by the Bezhek Mountains, are the ruins of Suroch. To the west, about a thousand miles from New Crobuzon and far beyond the Dancing Shoe Mountains, lies the four-hundred mile wide freshwater lake called Cold Claw Loch. The Loch connects with the vast, inland Cold Claw Sea, eight hundred miles to the north, via a natural channel called Cold Claw Sound. The Cold Claw Sea is talon-shaped, stretching eastward a great distance, almost connecting with the Swollen Ocean before curving southward for about two hundred miles, finally ending about seven hundred miles north of New Crobuzon. This southward curve is the Gengris, and is populated by the dangerous and unpredictable grindylow
Grindylow
A grindylow or grundylow is a folkloric creature that originated from folktales in the English counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire. The name is thought to be connected to Grendel, a name or term most famously used in Beowulf but also found in many Old English charters where it is seen in...
.
According to a protagonist in Iron Council
Iron Council
Iron Council is China Miéville's fourth novel and his third set in the Bas-Lag universe, following Perdido Street Station and The Scar , although each can be read independently of the others...
, both Cobsea and Myrshock lie about 750 miles (1,207 km) southwest of New Crobuzon. Cobsea lies inland and borders the Cacotopic Stain, a large wasteland created by the unreliable magical energy known as Torque. Myrshock lies on the northern coast of the Meagre Sea. As revealed in Iron Council, a wealthy industrialist had attempted to build a transcontinental railway that would link New Crobuzon with Cobsea and Myrshock, as the two states are trading partners, but was unsuccessful in this endeavor. However, the end of Iron Council indicates a second attempt at the project, using information gathered by the industrialist's agents throughout the course of the book.
South of the Meagre Sea is the Cymek Desert, which is home to the nomadic garudas. The Cymek also contains the northern port city of Shankell, which is known for its brutal gladiatorial combat, and the southern city of Dreer Samheer, both of which are predominantly populated by the cactacae.
West of the Cymek Desert lies the Galaggi Veldt, which is home to Tesh, which is neighboured by the Witchocracy
Magocracy
A magocracy is a form of government in which society is ruled by such magi, wizards, or witches. The term is used in the fictional universe of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and other works, by analogy with aristocracy, meritocracy, and theocracy.-Historical antecedents:If the premises...
, which goes to war with it against New Crobuzon in Iron Council. Tesh controls the Fire Water Straits, which lead to an as yet unidentified inland body of water that borders the Swollen Ocean. The control of the Fire Water Straits has resulted in a war between New Crobuzon and Tesh and the results of this war is a plot point in Iron Council. Crobuzine victory in this conflict is implied following the failure of the Teshi thaumaturgical attack upon the city. The Firewater Straits are renamed the Sanguine Straits during the course of the war, due to the ferocity and cost of the naval battles to control them (a contest, again, that ends in a Crobuzine victory).
Bered Kai Nev
Bered Kai Nev is a continent that lies to the east of Rohagi. The khepri are believed to be native to this continent, but were driven out by an event known only as The Ravening, and now live as refugees in various cities in Rohagi, although primitive khepri are rumored to still inhabit Bered Kai Nev. No other information regarding this continent has been provided.Islands and Other Landmasses
The pirate city of Armada is a mobile city-state, consisting of numerous ships that have been lashed together to form a large connected settlement. It is divided into small districts which are ruled by a number of unique rulers, such as a High Cromlech vampir. Armada moves around the Swollen Ocean by means of a small fleet of tug ships and is the central setting of The ScarThe Scar
The Scar is the third novel written by China Miéville, a self-described "weird fiction" writer from London, England. The Scar won the 2003 British Fantasy Award and was shortlisted for the 2003 Arthur C. Clarke Award. Miéville won both these awards in 2001 for his previous novel, Perdido Street...
. Armada's origins are unknown, but it has existed in one form or another for at least a thousand years. At the opening of The Scar, its population is said to number in the hundreds of thousands. The city itself is only about a mile wide, though one character claims that "there are probably as many miles of streets here as in New Crobuzon" owing to all its "layers and layers of decks."
Gnurr Kett is an island that lies 2000 miles (3,218.7 km) south of New Crobuzon and 500 miles (804.7 km) east of the Cymek Desert. The island is known for its scholarly reputation and the knowledge that its capital city, Kohnid, has. Some of this knowledge is derived from a colony of anophelii that they maintain. This colony is the only known remnants of what was known as the Malarial Queendom, a brutal regime that was active in most areas of Bas-Lag that had a warm climate.
The Jheshull Islands are a small trio of islands that lie off the coast of Rohagi. They were involved in the Pirate Wars and are considered to be on the decline due to their involvement against New Crobuzon.
Nova Esperium is one of New Crobuzon's colonies. Very few people choose to go to Nova Esperium of their own volition, as the long journey to the colony, combined with the rampant disease and other threats make it a harsh place to live, but New Crobuzon's government will pay the passage of any volunteers. The exact location of Nova Esperium is not given, although it lies a great distance southeast of New Crobuzon.
Ghosthead Empire
Over three thousand years before the events of The ScarThe Scar
The Scar is the third novel written by China Miéville, a self-described "weird fiction" writer from London, England. The Scar won the 2003 British Fantasy Award and was shortlisted for the 2003 Arthur C. Clarke Award. Miéville won both these awards in 2001 for his previous novel, Perdido Street...
, powerful entities from another plane of existence ruled all of Bas-Lag for a period of 500 years. The Ghosthead, as these entities were known, originated on another world in a different plane of existence somewhere on the eastern rim of the universe. Seeking a milder place to live than their homeworld, which was torn between a vicious cycle of days and nights that created oceans of molten iron and froze the very atmosphere, the Ghosthead built a "metal fish" and used it to find Bas-Lag. Their arrival created The Scar, a massive physical and dimensional rift on Bas-Lag's surface from which different existential possibilities leak. The Ghosthead harnessed the energy from The Scar with a process called "possibility mining", and used their power to gain control over all of Bas-Lag, manipulating possibilities to their advantage. The Ghosthead Empire was ultimately destroyed by a rebellion called the Contumancy, followed by a period known as the Sloughing-Off. The Empire's history survives long after its fall in documents such as the Imperial Canon, and in lost technologies and structures, like Possible Swords and Possible Towers, still scattered in hidden places across Bas-Lag.
Malarial Queendom
The Malarial Queendom was a short-lived empire built by the anophelii, with territory in Rohagi, Shoteka, and the Shards. Some two thousand years before The Scar, the Queendom collapsed and the anophelii were nearly eradicated. The remaining anophelii were driven to a small island south of Gnurr Kett, where they are kept in isolation as captive scholars for the Gnurr Kett nobility.First Umbric Age
The time period in which the Bas-Lag novels are set, the First Umbric Age is the period of infighting and feuding that occurred between the various states on Rohagi after the Ghosthead Empire departed. The calendar used by New Crobuzon (at least) marks its years from the start of the First Umbric Age.Full Years
The Full Years were New Crobuzon's golden age, when the city had achieved its greatest advances in science, technology, and thaumaturgy. Decline set in during the late 1400's, however, and some of this knowledge was lost. Desperate to prove that the golden age was not at an end, New Crobuzon constructed a massive ship, the largest in the world at that time, intended to be the pinnacle of New Crobuzon industry. The Grand Easterly was a boondoggle, however, suffering from several design flaws. It was briefly converted into an ineffectual warship during the Pirate Wars, and ended up quietly "sinking" a few years later; unbeknownst to New Crobuzon, the ship was captured by Armada.Pirate Wars
Also known as the "Slow War" and the "False War", the Pirate Wars were a protracted conflict between the City-State Republic of New Crobuzon and the cities of Suroch and Jheshull. The Wars technically ended in the year 1544 when the New Crobuzon militia dropped Torque bombs on Suroch with horrific results. In 1545, New Crobuzon attempted to cover up the atrocities created by the Torque bombs and dropped colourbombs on Suroch's ruins, but two colourbombs misfired; the third detonated as planned, obliterating only a few square miles of what was left of Suroch. When heliographs of the destruction and Torque effects were taken by a militia research team and leaked to the New Crobuzon public a century later, widespread riots would almost bring down the government in 1689. Research into Torque is permanently stalled when the financiers back out, cowed by the public's vehement abhorrence.The Ravening
Around the year 1679 (approx. one century before the events of Perdido Street Station), khepri civilization in Bered Kai Nev was wiped out by a disaster described only as "The Ravening". Khepri refugee ships would arrive at New Crobuzon for the next 25 years, the "Tragic Crossing". The Ravening was such a traumatizing event that nearly all khepri survivors had forgotten or even refused to relate ten-thousand years of khepri history; as a consequence, most khepri culture is lost forever.1779-1780
The events of Perdido Street Station occur at this time, followed several months later by the events of The Scar.Known states
The Brothers : In Iron Council, The Brothers is said to lie on the western side of Rohagi, beyond the Cacotopic Stain. It is referred to as the "crocodile double-city."Gharcheltist : In Iron Council, Gharcheltist is referred to as "the aquapolis", and is presumably a vodyanoi city.
The Gengris : The phrase "The Gengris" can refer to both a location and the aquatic grindylow race who inhabit it. The Gengris is described as a cross between an island and a half-sunken city lying at the jagged southern tip of the Cold Claw Sea, some seven hundred miles due north of New Crobuzon. Little else is known about the city itself, except that it is home to "malachite chapels", "limb-farms", and "bile workshops". The grindylow of The Gengris willingly trade with outsiders, handsomely rewarding traders for such oddities as barrels full of equal parts salt and glass beads, but frequently eliminate outsiders who have "transgressed" in some way; the nature of these transgressions are usually opaque to all but the grindylow themselves, and such trade is extremely risky for outsiders.
Hell : Maintains an embassy in New Crobuzon.
High Cromlech : Almost everything that is currently known about High Cromlech is derived from Uther Doul, one of the primary characters in The Scar. Doul was born and raised in High Cromlech. He describes it as a caste-based nation ruled by undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
, called "thanati." These he describes as "liches with sewn-shut mouths, with beautiful clothes and skin like preserved leather."
- The living (called "the quick") are a minority in High Cromlech. Most are apparently bred and raised on "farms", and are eventually "snuffed and recast as zombies." Some are reared by the thanati, to be "slain and welcomed to dead society" once they come of age. A small fraction of the living are born free, however, and these survive by doing work that is too skilled (or too dangerous) for semi-sentient zombies. Zombies would seem to be High Cromlech's primary workforceWorkforceThe workforce is the labour pool in employment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic region like a city, country, state, etc. The term generally excludes the employers or management, and implies those involved in...
.
- At the bottom of High Cromlech's social ladder are the "vampirVampireVampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
", which are referred to as "ab-dead" to distinguish them from the thanati. Based on Doul's description, the vampir are apparently considered little more than vagrants and addicts. He depicts them as living in shanty townShanty townA shanty town is a slum settlement of impoverished people who live in improvised dwellings made from scrap materials: often plywood, corrugated metal and sheets of plastic...
s, coming out at night to beg the living for blood.
Khadoh : Khadoh's merchants trade with New Crobuzon.
Maru'ahm : Maru'ahm is apparently found on the western side of the Rohagi continent, beyond the Cacotopic Stain. In Perdido Street Station, it is said to be ruled by a casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
-parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
, "where laws were stakes in games of roulette
Roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
." This rumor is affirmed in Iron Council, where a character who visited Maru'ahm claims he played for such stakes as property laws and "a whole pot of legislation." This same character mentions a queen
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
and "cardsharp senators", implying that Maru'ahm's government is some form of constitutional
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
or elective monarchy
Elective monarchy
An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected rather than hereditary monarch. The manner of election, the nature of the candidacy and the electors vary from case to case...
.
New Crobuzon
New Crobuzon
New Crobuzon is a fictional city-state created by China Miéville and located in his fictional world of Bas-Lag. It is prominently featured in both Perdido Street Station and Iron Council, and serves as a plot device and background for The Scar....
: The city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
of New Crobuzon is a major plot device for all three of the Bas-Lag novels, and a substantial part of the Bas-Lag setting. It is situated at the confluence
Confluence (geography)
In geography, a confluence is the meeting of two or more bodies of water. It usually refers to the point where two streams flow together, merging into a single stream...
of the Rivers Tar, Canker and Gross Tar, about ten miles (16 km) west of the Swollen Ocean. Though a self-styled parliamentary republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
, New Crobuzon's government more closely resembles an oligarchy
Oligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
with strong imperialistic
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
ambitions. The political system of New Crobuzon is hugely biased towards the human majority and only those ranked higher in society, along with a few others elected in a "suffrage lottery" are allowed to vote. The "Fat Sun" party rules in all the Bas-Lag novels, but other political parties include the xenophobic "New Quill" (called "Three Quills" in Perdido Street Station
Perdido Street Station
Perdido Street Station is the second published novel by China Miéville and the first of three independent works set in thefictional world of Bas-Lag, a world where both magic and steampunk technology exist...
) and the xenotolerant "Diverse Tendency"
- The protagonist in The Scar calls New Crobuzon the greatest city in Bas-Lag, but her opinion is substantially biased. Nevertheless, New Crobuzon is certainly one of Bas-Lag's most economicallyEconomicsEconomics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and militarily powerful states. In The Scar, it is capable of dispatching a fleet halfway around the world to combat the pirate-city of Armada. In Iron Council, it carries out a protracted war with the distant city-state of Tesh, and crushes an internal rebellion through force of arms.
Qé Banssa : Qé Banssa is built upon the sloping peaks of Dancing Bird Island. It is called a "poor, ugly little fishing port" by a protagonist in The Scar. As with Tarmuth, Qé Banssa seems to survive by dint of New Crobuzon's good will.
Salkrikaltor : The Cray Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
of Salkrikaltor is found beneath the waves of the Swollen Ocean, far east of New Crobuzon between the islands Bartoll and Gnomon Tor. Salkrikaltor and New Crobuzon are described in The Scar as being trading partners on amiable terms.
- The capital of the Commonwealth is Salkrikaltor City. Most of Salkrikaltor City is located underwater, though there is a "topside" district for non-aquatic creatures that seek to do business with the cray. The submerged part of the City is described in The Scar as "convoluted and interconnected", with "little squares of seaweed topiary" and "coral courtyards." The above-water district is described as consisting mostly of towers carved from rock and coral, "a mass of contrary styles", with floating platforms and buildings suspended by struts and columns.
Suroch : Suroch was a city which fought and eventually lost a series of wars against New Crobuzon known in the latter as the Pirate Wars. Throughout the time period covered by the plots of the Bas-Lag novels, Suroch has already been destroyed and rendered uninhabitable by the effects of magical weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
, the "colourbomb" and devices making use of the Torque.
- Suroch is the only place in the novels with a Torque contamination similar to that of the Cacatopic Stain, though Torque storms are said to appear randomly. Mentions have been made - especially in Perdido Street Station - of "Cockroach Trees" in Suroch and "Herds of what might once have been human". The publishing of heliotypes of the Torque contamination in the illicit Sacramundi report put an end to Torque experiments in New Crobuzon.
Tarmuth : Tarmuth is situated at the mouth of the Gross Tar River, on the coast of the Rohagi continent about ten miles (16 km) east of New Crobuzon. The protagonist in The Scar describes it as "an ugly, violent town" used by privateers and freebooters as safe harbor. Besides "prostitution and piracy", Tarmuth survives by manufacturing ships, and exists thanks to New Crobuzon's patronage.
Troglodopolis : Troglodopolis is referred to in Perdido Street Station as a "chthonic
Chthonic
Chthonic designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Greek religion. The Greek word khthon is one of several for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land or the land as territory...
burrow
Burrow
A burrow is a hole or tunnel dug into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, so the burrowing way of life is quite popular among the...
."
Vadaunk : Vadaunk lies somewhere south of New Crobuzon, beyond the Cacotopic Stain. According to government propaganda in Perdido Street Station, the changing seasons "bring an onslaught of superstitious repression" there. In Iron Council it is called "the mercenary kingdom."
Yoraketche
Known languages
Ragamoll is the common tongue of New Crobuzon. It seems to be widely spoken throughout eastern Bas-Lag by members of all races. Likewise, Salt is the languageLanguage
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
of the Swollen Ocean, spoken by pirates, sailors and other maritime peoples. In The Scar, Salt is described as a patchwork language which borrows aspects from various other tongues, principally Ragamoll.
The anophellii maintain a written language called High Kettai, which is used by various scholars and publishing houses. It is implied that high Kettai is inflected as it is known to possess an "ironic case." Base Kettai is High Kettai's more widely-understood cousin.
Quiesy (also known as "Deadish") is the principal language of High Cromlech. Since many of its speakers have either sewn-shut mouths or larynxes too decayed to form sounds properly, it consists of a series of coughing grunts, with "intricately timed pauses" that are as important as the spoken element. It can also be "spoken" entirely soundlessly, with gestures or eye movements.
The khepri communicate through sign language and scented chemicals, since their insect-heads do not permit vocalization. They also maintain a written language called High Khepri.
The vodyanoi speak at least three different languages: the primary one being Lubbock and the others Fellid and Southern. The traditional language of the Cactacae is Sunglari. The garuda of the Cymek speak an unnamed language. The people of Tesh, the people of Khadoh, the Salkrikaltor Cray, and the hotchi of the Rudewood all speak their own, eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous languages.
Anophelii
Mosquito-like beings (singular Anophelius). The females look like scrawny human women, with huge paddle-like wings with which they fly after their prey. From their mouths they can extend a bony proboscis, which they stab into their prey to suck them dry. Female Anophelii are vicious, bloodthirsty and very dangerous except immediately after feeding, when they demonstrate an intelligence equal to that of the male sex. The males are short, stocky men that look no different from human men, aside from their sphincter-like mouths. Anophelii have now been confined to a single island, but once ruled much of the world in an empire called The Malarial Queendom. The threat of a resurgent Queendom is the cause of the strict quarantine around the Anophelii island.Cactacae
Humanoid cactiCactus
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
. The Cactacae are enormous plant people, often towering over human beings. Although their young grow out of the ground, they nurse them as mammals do. Cactacae have sap for blood. They are known for their strength, and are often employed as laborers and bodyguards. Cactacae bodies are fibrous, with wooden bones, making them notoriously difficult to kill or wound with normal weapons; bullets pass nigh-harmlessly through them. The Cactacae community in New Crobuzon
New Crobuzon
New Crobuzon is a fictional city-state created by China Miéville and located in his fictional world of Bas-Lag. It is prominently featured in both Perdido Street Station and Iron Council, and serves as a plot device and background for The Scar....
is based around The Glasshouse, and is allowed to exist as a nominally independent community within the city. Their weapons of choice are Rivebows, oversized crossbows that fire a spinning metal disc capable of shearing off cactacae limbs.
Cray
An aquatic race who look like humans from the waist up (with the exception of protruding gills behind the ears) and rock lobsterRock lobster
Jasus edwardsii, the southern rock lobster, red rock lobster, or spiny rock lobster, is a species of spiny lobster found throughout coastal waters of southern Australia and New Zealand including the Chatham Islands. This species is commonly called crayfish or crays in New Zealand and in Māori...
s from the waist down. They use domesticated squids to hunt. Many live in an underwater city, Salkrikaltor, which rivals New Crobuzon
New Crobuzon
New Crobuzon is a fictional city-state created by China Miéville and located in his fictional world of Bas-Lag. It is prominently featured in both Perdido Street Station and Iron Council, and serves as a plot device and background for The Scar....
itself in size.
Elementals
Beings that embody their respective elements. They are wild and mostly untameable, although the thaumaturges called elementarii (singular elementarius) specialize in summoning and unleashing them on their enemies. There are apparently elementals for a broad array of concepts and things: Iron Council mentions, among others, elementals of history, wood and glass.Garuda
The garuda are nomadic humanoid birds of prey. Most hail from the Cymek desert, where they live in tribeTribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s. They are hunters with a fierce sense of individualism. They resemble winged humans with avian
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
heads and feet; their society is completely communist, with individual possessions seen as reducing the individual's freedom. A small ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
of garuda live in New Crobuzon
New Crobuzon
New Crobuzon is a fictional city-state created by China Miéville and located in his fictional world of Bas-Lag. It is prominently featured in both Perdido Street Station and Iron Council, and serves as a plot device and background for The Scar....
, and a few are described as living near the Cacotopic Stain in Iron Council
Iron Council
Iron Council is China Miéville's fourth novel and his third set in the Bas-Lag universe, following Perdido Street Station and The Scar , although each can be read independently of the others...
. Garudan law is based around the principle of freedom of choice; all their crimes are forms of "choice-theft", denying another being the right to choose their own fate. Their name is derived from the Garuda
Garuda
The Garuda is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology.From an Indian perspective, Garuda is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila and...
of Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
.
Grindylow
A race of very powerful, mysterious, and sadistic fish-people (something between eels and viperfish) who appear in The ScarThe Scar
The Scar is the third novel written by China Miéville, a self-described "weird fiction" writer from London, England. The Scar won the 2003 British Fantasy Award and was shortlisted for the 2003 Arthur C. Clarke Award. Miéville won both these awards in 2001 for his previous novel, Perdido Street...
. Capable of survival in salt and fresh water, as well as in the air, they can communicate telepathically
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
with a variety of aquatic species including whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
s and Cray. Their name comes from a creature of English nursery stories. Mieville's Grindylow bear a similarity to the Deep One
Deep One
The Deep Ones are creatures in the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. The beings first appeared in Lovecraft's novella "The Shadow Over Innsmouth"...
s of the Cthulhu Mythos
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
. Grindylow use powerful shamanistic magic, the use of which can deform human users.
Handlingers
Sentient parasitic disembodied hands which control the mind of their host. There are two types: sinistrals, the noble caste, and dextriers, the soldier caste. When possessing a body, dextriers can use a number of supernatural abilities, including flight, fire-breathing, and enhanced strength. Dextriers and sinistrals typically pair up when engaging in scouting or combat; the sinistral has command of the pair while the dextrier performs most of the offensive actions.Humans
HumanHuman
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s are apparently the dominant race in New Crobuzon
New Crobuzon
New Crobuzon is a fictional city-state created by China Miéville and located in his fictional world of Bas-Lag. It is prominently featured in both Perdido Street Station and Iron Council, and serves as a plot device and background for The Scar....
, and perhaps on Bas-Lag as well. They seem to be identical to their real world
Real life
Real life is a term usually used to denote actual human life lived by real people in contrast with the lives of fictional or fantasy characters.-Usage online and in fiction:On the Internet, "real life" refers to life in the real world...
counterparts in most respects, except that many have the ability to use magic.
Khepri
The khepri are a race of humanoid scarab beetlesScarabaeus sacer
Scarabaeus sacer is a species of dung beetle, found in coastal dunes and marshes around the Mediterranean Basin. It collects balls of dung which it rolls to an underground chamber to feed its offspring. This behaviour inspired the Ancient Egyptians to compare it to the sun god Khepri, and they...
. Female khepri possess bodies very similar to those of human women, except that their skin is crimson in colour and they possess large scarab beetles in place of heads. They communicate with each other via movements of their "headlegs" and squirts of chemicals. The female khepri are noted artists, using a biological excretion to sculpt breathtaking works of organic art. Male khepri, on the other hand, are lobster-sized, non-sentient
Sentience
Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
scarabs, without the depending humanoid body. They mate by latching onto a female's head scarab and fertilizing her. Taken from the Egyptian god of the same name
Khepri
This article is about the Egyptian god. For the type of robot, see Khepera mobile robot.In Egyptian mythology, Khepri is the name of a major god. Khepri is associated with the dung beetle , whose behavior of maintaining spherical balls of dung represents the forces which move the sun...
.
Remade
The Remade are usually, but not always, the victims of the criminal justice system. Rather than imprisoning criminals, the city of New CrobuzonNew Crobuzon
New Crobuzon is a fictional city-state created by China Miéville and located in his fictional world of Bas-Lag. It is prominently featured in both Perdido Street Station and Iron Council, and serves as a plot device and background for The Scar....
will send them to punishment factories, where "bio-thaumaturges" warp and twist their bodies in a variety of ways. Some are combined with machines, to enslave them to one particular purpose. Others have bizarre limbs or organs grafted onto their bodies, making them freaks of nature. The Remade are primarily a sad, pathetic lot. However some Remade, like the infamous Jack Half-A-Prayer, have used their remaking to their benefit, becoming vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
heroes and styling themselves as "fReemade".
Scabmettler
Stocky, gray-skinned human-like beings whose blood, when shed, congeals immediately into a solid protective layer. Using a special herb which delays coagulation, the Scabmettlers are able to mold the blood into elaborate armor. They practice a unique form of martial, arena combat called mortu crutt, which emphasises pounding, hammer-like strikes, as edged weapons are nearly useless against them due to their rapid coagulation.Stiltspear
Driven to near-extinction after the railroad destroyed their indigenous swamp lands, the Stiltspear were a race of quadrupedal creatures with insect-like legs and radially symmetrical hands that can be closed into spears, with which they hunt. They secrete thaumaturgons from their glands, which gives them the ability to camouflage themselves in the forest. They possess mystical abilities, including the ability to create golems through somaturgy, and can employ a chant-like singing to "unstick time", which aids in their hunting.Thanati
The thanati of High Cromlech are the overlords of the city, a caste of undead nobility. Mieville describes them as "liches with sewn-shut mouths, with beautiful clothes and skin like preserved leather."Vampir
The vampir are vampires, possessing great speed and strength, forked tongues, certain magical powers, and capable of living indefinitely. Vampirism on Bas-Lag is caused by a bacterium, and the technical term for the "disease" is photophobic haemophagy.Vodyanoi
The vodyanoi are an aquatic people. They are fat and froglike, with webbed feet and toes. They are skilled in "watercraeft", water magics, able to fashion temporarily-solid objects out of water. Vodyanoi ordinarily cannot survive out of water for more than a day, and do not swim in salt water. Taken from RussianRussians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
folklore.
Weavers
Large, multidimensional spiderSpider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
-like beings who regard life on Bas-Lag as an ongoing work of art. They use their considerable powers to interfere with events according to their individual sense of aesthetics. Weavers speak in a disjointed, babbling flow of half-poetry, and are totally unpredictable.
Wyrmen
Wyrmen are semi-sentient flying creatures that look something like gargoyles. They are no more than a foot tall, with bright red skin and small bat wings. They are crude, vulgar, and laugh at anything and everything. They have a limited capacity for speech and are sometimes used by other races for reconnaissance and running errands.Science, technology and magic
The technology on Bas-Lag is wide and varied and evolves over the course of the books. In Perdido Street Station the primary piece of weaponry is the flintlock musket; by the time of Iron Council militia are armed with what appears to be percussion cap weaponry in the form of motorguns and pepperpot revolvers.On pg. 229 of Perdido Street Station Isaac states: "That's where they dropped the colourbomb in 1545. That's what they said put an end to the Pirate Wars, but to be honest with you, Yag, they'd been over for a year before that [...]". Interestingly, in Iron Council
Iron Council
Iron Council is China Miéville's fourth novel and his third set in the Bas-Lag universe, following Perdido Street Station and The Scar , although each can be read independently of the others...
, the science behind colourbombs is referred to as a "lost science."
Another power source is The Torque, mentioned on pg. 225, a mysterious energy plaguing the Cacotopic Stain that might be compared to radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
. Torque leads to strange mutations, altering both living creatures and the inanimate environment: for example, during Iron Council, a railway carriage and its three occupants are transmogrified by the Torque into a blob of semi-solid matter containing three nuclei. Another implication of dropping the colourbomb is that it was done to hide the extent of the torque weapon's devastation of city of Suroch, which later revealed to be the unnamed opponent in the Pirate Wars.
In all three novels there are also several mentions of clockwork gems, metaclockwork, sentient robot-like constructs operating with difference engines, and many other inexplicable or fantastic instances of science, magic and combination of both.
In Iron Council, Miéville dedicates a lot of attention to the magic art of golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
ancy, explaining the logic behind the art and its difference to the calling and control of elementals.