About this title: Un Lun Dun is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where all the lost and broken things end up--including people. When 12-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance into this strange city, it seems that an ancient prophecy is coming true. Illustrations.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Del Rey
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780345458445ISBN:0345458443
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780345458445ISBN:0345458443
Description: New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 474 p. Contains: Illustrations. Intended for a juvenile audience. Intended for a young adult/teenage audience. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Del Rey
Date Published: 2008-01-29
ISBN-13:9780345458445ISBN:0345458443
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780345458445. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Del Rey
Date Published: 2007-02-13
ISBN-13:9780345495167ISBN:0345495160
Description: Like New. As issued no jacket. Trade Paperback. Advance Reading Copy in like new condition. No marks or creases and appears unread. Beautiful book. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780330450393ISBN:0330450395
Description: Fine. Minor rubbing to edges and extremities, otherwise brand new & unread. Next working day dispatch from the UK. Please contact us with any queries. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780230015869ISBN:0230015867
Description: Fine in fine jacket. Minor bumping to edges and extremities, otherwise brand new & unread. Next working day dispatch from the UK. Please contact us with any queries. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780230015869ISBN:0230015867
Description: Fine in Very Good. jacket. Minor rubbing to edges of dust jacket, otherwise brand new & unread. Next working day dispatch from the UK. Please contact us with any queries. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780230015869ISBN:0230015867
Description: Fine in Very Good. jacket. Minor bumping to edges and extremities, otherwise brand new & unread. Next working day dispatch from the UK. Please contact us with any queries. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780230015869ISBN:0230015867
Description: Fine in Very Good jacket. Minor bumping to edges and extremities, otherwise brand new & unread. Next working day dispatch from the UK. Please contact us with any queries. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: PAN MACMILLAN Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780330453479ISBN:0330453475
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 528 pages. The iron wheel began to spin, slowly at first, then faster and faster. the room grew darker. as the light lessened, so did the sound. deeba and zanna stared at each other in wonder. the noise of the cars and vans and motorbikes outside grew tinny...the wheel turned off all the cars and turned off all the lamps. it was turning off london. (Paperback) read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780330450393ISBN:0330450395
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Hardback
Publisher: PAN MACMILLAN Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780230015869ISBN:0230015867
Description: BRAND NEW HARDBACK. 528 pages. (464 pages) zanna and deeba are two girls leading ordinary lives, until they stumble into the world of unlondon, an urban wonderland where all the lost and broken things of london end up and some of its lost and broken people too. the girls set out to stop the poisonous cloud before it burns everything in its path. 60 illustrations (Hardback) read more
Edition: First edition. Illustrated.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Del Rey Books, New York
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780345495167ISBN:0345495160
Description: Very good in fine dust jacket. Signed by author. SIGNED on title page (signature only). 1st edition, 1st printing, complete number line. Some bumping and rubbing to dust jacket. Slight damage to lower edge of front paste down and ffep. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 432 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: Children/juvenile; Young adult. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Del Rey / Ballantine, New York
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780345495167ISBN:0345495160
Description: Fine in Not Issued jacket. Signed by Author Signed by author on title page-signature only-received in person. includes Author interview-Readers guide about the book in back of the Soft Cover. Reader's edition. First edition, First printing. With corresponding number line. Book is in Fine condition. clean, not bumped. Fore edges are clean. Interior is clean and legible. Not remaindered. Not price clipped. Comes in Mylar Bag. All-ways well boxed, All-ways fast service. Thanks. read more
"This is a wonderfully imagined "parallel universe" older child/young adult story, perfectly paced with short chapters for reading aloud at bedtime to younger kids but has plenty for the older child and adults as well. I don't want to try to summarize the plot because you can find that elsewhere, but I do want to say that there is plenty to keep you thinking about the issues, settings, characters and interactions in this book. Unlike Mieville's other works, this has a bouncy whimsy where ninja garbage cans and sentient umbrellas abound and the plucky heroine brings things to a satisfying conclusion. While not an epic like The Golden Compass, it still has some serious things to say underneath the manic action and cinematic visuals. Would make a great movie."
"When you get right down to it, this book was about 100 pages too long, the pacing was off in a lot of places, and it wasn't nearly as gripping as Mieville's "Perdido Street Station," not by half.
And yet..
He's so frigging CLEVER. You'll be reading along, and getting a teeny bit bored, and he'll throw some clever little pun at you, some new UnLondon native or piece of geography, and it's just so NEAT. (Seriously, the name of the cars that've been turned into boats? I literally laughed out loud, VERY clever.) Take all the cleverness he used for the ReMade in Iron Council, and make it nine times less dark, (though still surprisingly dark in places, especially for a kids book) and you have a little idea of what UnLondon is like.
And while I say the book needs trimming, I can't quite figure out what he needs to take out. Some conversation somewhere or some journey from one place to another, it rambles at times, but it's not obvious about it.
Anyway, it can't hold a candle to his other books, even taking into consideration that this is young adult fiction and the others...DEFINITELY aren't. But it's still pretty darn clever in spots."
"It was the image on the cover and the name that caught my eye when I was in the bookstore. And I'm gald I purchased it. Adding into what I call the Modern day faerietale and magic realism genres, this book tells the story of UnLondon, a world under and between our London. Smog (yes, the smokey stuff) has grown to intelligence and threatens to destroy this rich and lush world spun by Mieville. It's up to the heroine (seems like more books are choosing to write from the perspective of young women heroines these days) and her stalwart crew of unLondoners to save the day. The characters are real and have their quirks and flaws; all which help keep the action lively and fast paced. While this book is a nice fantasy created for younger readers, it's got a lot to keep adult readers engrossed and smiling at the turn of names and places. The ending, leaves room for a sequel; and I, do hope that Mieville makes a sequel. Again, not only does this book count into my goals as being more fiction than non, but it removes a big tome off my stacks."
I have written many times (more than I can count, certainly) about the dangers of message fiction. Chief among them is that the author gets so wrapped up in the message that he forgets he's first and foremost supposed to tell a story. When I realized that Un Lun Dun, China Mieville's first childrens' book, was of the "message fiction" stripe, I quailed in despair, thinking I might have encountered my first Mieville book (and I've read 'em all) I wasn't going to like. I should have known better.
Message-fiction writers, listen up: the vast majority of you have a lot to learn from China Mieville. This is how you tell a story. Not just a message story, but any story. (Which is the point, really.) Perfectly-created characters that are rich and deep, a strong plot in which to set them (with no end of surprises-- Mieville is also poking some fun at the traditional fantasy-novel setup here), a setting that manages to both be original and wear Mieville's debt to Clive Barker on its sleeve, and a message that, yes, still manages to poke its head through! Believe it or not, you can have all these things in one book! Don't believe me? Read this one.
Un Lun Dun is the story of Zanna, the Shwazzy (I'd explain that, but catching the many puns in this book before Mieville reveals them is a lot of the fun-- and he still nailed me with Klinneract), and her friend Deeba. The two of them live in a block of apartments in London. Strange things start happening to them-- animals trying to communicate with them in sign language, odd-shaped clouds, being followed by a broken umbrella. Then Zanna goes into a basement, turns a wheel, and everything changes. I wish I could tell you more. I want to tell you more. But I don't want to spoil anything, anything at all, about this book. You deserve all the surprises, and all the delights, awaiting you when you read it for yourself.
If you've encountered China Mieville before, you should know what to expect, except on a more YA level than you're used to. If you haven't experienced China Mieville before, hie thee to the library or the bookstore yesterday, if not before, and pick yourself up a copy of Perdido Street Station, one of the best books that's been published in the past decade in order to get acquainted. Though actually, I have to say, Un Lun Dun is the first book of his I've thought would also make an excellent entry point into Mieville's alternate universes (while most of his books are set in the invented world of Bas-Lag, his first novel King Rat and many of his shorter works are set in an alternate London somewhat similar to the one he uses here). One way or the other, though, I will not stop in my quest to get everyone I come into contact with to read China Mieville's stuff until, well, everyone has. And that includes you, so hop to it. **** ½"
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