I agree with calypte – the book was pretty good, but not Mieville’s best, or most engaging.
Actually, I found the book had a kind of split personality – most of the time when we’re following Judah, Cutter, and that crew, I was engaged. I found the writing was better (except for the very first scenes with Cutter’s gang) and the story had better flow and more interest. I was particularly captivated by the “Judah’s backstory” sections (and especially the stiltspear bits.
Most of the portions of the story that took place in the city left me flat – I found I just didn’t care, although Ori’s early meetings with Spiral Jacobs were not bad. I was totally turned off by the “previous uprising” background.

Nevertheless, the whole thing hangs together better than I’d expected, and Miéville’s prose is, as always, a joy. Recommended, if less so than Perdido Street Station (and especially The Scar).

The third New Crobuzon book (Perdido Street Station, The Scar, this) takes us back to the city itself, but several years after the events in PSS. While the story doesn’t strictly follow on, there are some mentions of events that make PSS a good pre-read (although not so much The Scar) – actually, a definite pre-read just to pick up on the explanations of water-people Vodyani, cactus-people, and scarab-headed women.

This isn’t a cheerful book. The characters aren’t all that engaging – all flawed, all with realistic levels of importance (ie, not so much). However, the whole – the story, the descriptions – are utterly engrossing.

I read the first 250 pages on a train, which is appropriate: the story is about a train, the first to go through the continent of Bas-Lag; and about rebellions. Never quite lives up to Perdido Street Station, but still a good read.

The best bit about a long train journey: chosing a new book to immerse yourself in – and Mieville is totally immersive!

After reading this, the last of Mieville’s trio of Bas Lag novels, I have to say I was a bit disappointed. Iron Council is definitely my least favorite of the three, despite (or perhaps because of) being the most overtly political. Perhaps because of the focus on revolution, I felt the characters of this novel were much less interesting then the previous two. Unlike Isaac or Bellis, I never really connected with or identified with Cutter, Ori, Ann Hari or any other person or felt drawn into their conflicts (which I was completely with Perdido Street Station and the Scar). In particular, I felt the character of Judah to be fairly bland and I admit to being a bit bored with him and the whole Iron Council saga that took up a majority of the middle of the novel.
However, Mieville does continue with his unique brand of world building, making the blend of a corrupt industrial-magical society seem not only completely alien but also very real, from the bizarre Cacotopic Stain to the various neighborhoods of New Crobozon.
I also liked that, as in his previous novels, there is a bit of genre blending taking place in Bas Lag, which I find interesting. Perdido Street Station, for instance mixed a lot of horror and some noir into its fantasy while the Scar was very much a swashbuckling adventure story. In Iron Council, there is some definite Western stylings showing up, though the extra genre is a little less evident then in previous Bas Lag stories.
In conclusion, I felt that Iron Council was a bit slow moving with comparatively undeveloped characters, though I enjoyed this last exploration of the world of Bas Lag and particularly, the city of New Crobozon and continues with Mieville’s brand of genre blending.

Like Mieville’s other New Crobuzon fiction, this has some high quality prose poetry, a lot of imaginative ideas, offbeat characters, and some stuff that will gross you out. Avoid if you have a weak stomach!

Flesh golems… really?