Looking for Jake
Encyclopedia
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.
-esque tale, while the other thirteen are standard written stories. All of the stories are set in London
, with the exceptions of "Jack", set in Miéville's created world Bas-Lag
, and "Foundation", the setting of which is not specified. The stories are as follows:
. The script was said to expand upon the original story's exploration of pareidolia
and rework the plot to feature a father and daughter. As of November 2008, Martyrs
director Pascal Laugier
is attached to direct.
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...
, 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...
and 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...
stories by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author China Miéville
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...
. It was first published by Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...
, part of Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, in 2005, and later by Pan MacMillan.
Stories
The book contains fourteen short stories written between 1998 and 2005. One of them, "On The Way To The Front", is an illustrated, comic bookComic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
-esque tale, while the other thirteen are standard written stories. All of the stories are set in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, with the exceptions of "Jack", set in Miéville's created world Bas-Lag
Bas-Lag
Bas-Lag is the fictional world in which several of China Miéville's novels are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic and steampunk technology exist, and is home to many intelligent races...
, and "Foundation", the setting of which is not specified. The stories are as follows:
| Story | First published | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Looking For Jake | 1998 | Written in the style of a letter, from the unnamed narrator to the mysterious Jake (with whom the narrator has some vaguely-described relationship or friendship), this story chronicles what is described as a "breakdown" of London, in which a large portion of the population suddenly disappears and supernatural occurrences affect the remaining population - including the appearance of strange predatory creatures. The nature of these supernatural events is never explained. |
| Foundation | 2003 | This is a story about a man who is haunted by past war-time atrocities in which he had a small part. Working now as a building inspector, he sees and hears the dead continuously in the foundations of buildings - countless mutilated bodies stacked together like bricks and mortar - and tries desperately to appease them so he will be left alone. |
| The Ball Room | (original to this collection) | This, the most straight-forward horror story in the collection, is a classically-crafted ghost story, relocated to a modern setting. It is narrated by a security guard working at an Ikea IKEA IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer... -like furniture store, who tells of events surrounding the store's play area, which features a ball pit Ball pit A ball pit is a pit, usually rectangular and padded, filled with small colorful hollow plastic balls... with an insidiously creepy secret. This story was co-written with Emma Bircham and Max Schaefer. |
| Reports Of Certain Events In London | 2004 | This short story, in the form of a collection of fictional documents supposedly "received" by the author, presents the idea that there exist certain autonomous streets which phase in and out of existence, living complex and mysterious lives of their own, and even having romances and violent feuds amongst their alley selves. The street that is the focus of the story (Varmin Way) is also mentioned in Un Lun Dun Un Lun Dun Un Lun Dun is a young adult fantasy novel by China Miéville, released in 2007. The title is derived from 'UnLondon,' the name of the alternate realm where the book is set. It also contains illustrations by Miéville. It was first released as a hardback in the United Kingdom in January 2007 by... briefly. |
| Familiar | 2002 | This story begins with an urban witch who has regretfully conjured a hideous familiar Familiar spirit In European folklore and folk-belief of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, familiar spirits were supernatural entities believed to assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic... from his own body. After the witch attempts to dispose of the creature in a canal the familiar begins to explore London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... on its own, developing into something more dangerous and powerful than its creator had imagined. |
| Entry Taken From A Medical Encyclopaedia | 2003 | This story was original published as "Buscard's Murrain" in The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases The Thackery T Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases is an anthology of fantasy medical conditions edited by Jeff VanderMeer and Mark Roberts, and published by Night Shade Books.... . Taking, as the title suggests, the form of an encyclopedic entry on a disease, the story describes a strange disease known as Buscard's Murrain (also, "Wormword"). The disease is contracted entirely via uttering of a certain word (which the story gives but never reveals its proper pronunciation). The disease causes insanity and the need to repeat the word over and over to large crowds. This sometimes causes spectators to repeat the word and thus becoming infected themselves. |
| Details | 2002 | A boy, charged with caring for a mysterious old woman, discovers that strange and frightening forces live hidden in the lines, cracks and creases of our world. This tale also appeared in The Children of Cthulhu: Chilling New Tales Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft (edited by John Pelan John Pelan John C. Pelan is an American author, editor and publisher in the small press science-fiction, weird and horror fiction genres.He first founded Axolotl Press in 1986 and published several volumes by authors such as Tim Powers, Charles de Lint, Michael Shea and James P. Blaylock. Following this, he... and Benjamin Adams). |
| Go Between | (original to this collection) | A man begins receiving anonymous instructions to courier seemingly unimportant items from location to location. Intrigued, he follows the instructions, but soon starts to agonise over whether his actions (or inactions) have any consequences in the real world. |
| Different Skies | 1999 | Written as a series of diary entries by an elderly man who buys a strange, colored window pane and installs it in his study, only to realise that the old glass looks out upon a different version of London, where a gang of children have decided to torment him with increasing viciousness. |
| An End To Hunger | 2000 | A man relates the story of how he became friends with an enigmatic computer hacker named Aykan, who wages a virtual war against the website of a charity called An End To Hunger, which seems to fight back using unexpected means. |
| 'Tis The Season | 2004 | Originally written for the Socialist Review Socialist Review The Socialist Review is the monthly magazine of the British Socialist Workers Party. As well as being printed it is also published online.-Original publication: 1950-1962:... , this humorous and political story takes place in a somewhat dystopian London in which holidays, including Christmas Christmas Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days... , have been privatized and certain holiday phrases are copyrighted. Only the rich can afford to celebrate "Christmas™", and the masses are made to choose between cheaper imitations such as XmasTym, JingleMas or Coca-Crissmas. |
| Jack | (original to this collection) | This is the only story of the collection set 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.... , a city in Mieville's created world Bas-Lag Bas-Lag Bas-Lag is the fictional world in which several of China Miéville's novels are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic and steampunk technology exist, and is home to many intelligent races... and the setting of 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 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... . It takes place after the capture of the infamous New Crobuzon criminal/terrorist, Jack Half-a-Prayer, and is narrated by one of his former associates. |
| On The Way To The Front | (original to this collection) | This is a graphic story illustrated by Liam Sharp Liam Sharp Liam Roger Sharp is a British comic book artist, writer and publisher.-Early life:Liam Sharp was born in Derby at St. Mary's Hospital to parents Roger and Linda Sharp. He has a younger sister, Kerry, and younger brother, Rien. He went to School at Brackensdale Junior then infants school, before... , which features only sparse descriptive text and dialogue. It tells the story of a London man witnessing spectres of soldiers from multiple wars, and his frustration at being stuck "on the way to the front" while the soldiers, as well as other people, are "passing through". |
| The Tain The Tain (novella) The Tain is a fantasy novella by British author China Miéville.-Publication history:It was first published by PS Publishing in 2002, accompanied by an introduction by M. John Harrison... |
2002 | This is a novella set in a post-apocalyptic version of London where the fauna of mirrors have rebelled against their imprisonment. It was originally published in 2002 as a limited edition book by PS Publishing PS Publishing PS Publishing is a Hornsea based publisher founded in 1999 by Peter Crowther. They specialise in novella length fiction from the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres. It has quickly become established as one of Britain's premier small presses... . |
Adaptations
In 2006 it was announced that the story Details was turned into a script by Dan Kay, and subsequently picked up by studio Paramount VantageParamount Vantage
Paramount Vantage is the specialty film division of Paramount Pictures , charged with producing, purchasing, distributing and marketing films, generally those with a more "art house" feel than films made and distributed by its parent company.Paramount Classics was launched in 1998 and...
. The script was said to expand upon the original story's exploration of pareidolia
Pareidolia
Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus being perceived as significant. Common examples include seeing images of animals or faces in clouds, the man in the moon or the Moon rabbit, and hearing hidden messages on records played in reverse...
and rework the plot to feature a father and daughter. As of November 2008, Martyrs
Martyrs (film)
Martyrs is a 2008 French-Canadian horror film written and directed by Pascal Laugier. It was first screened during the 2008 Cannes Film Festival at the Marché du Film. The film was released in France publicly on 3 September 2008. The U.S. rights for Martyrs were bought by The Weinstein Company, who...
director Pascal Laugier
Pascal Laugier
Pascal Laugier is a French screenwriter and film director.-Career:Laugier is a former assistant to director Christophe Gans, also having directed the making-of documentary about Gans's 2001 film Brotherhood of the Wolf. He has written and directed the fantasy-horror feature films Saint Ange and...
is attached to direct.
External links
- Review of Looking for Jake at SFFWorld.com
- Review of Looking for Jake from the ReaderconReaderconReadercon is an annual science fiction convention, held every July in the Boston, Massachusetts area, in Burlington, Massachusetts). It was founded by Bob Colby and statistician Eric Van in the 1980s with the goal of focusing exclusively on science fiction in the written form Readercon is an...
17 Souvenir Book. - Del Rey Online