He is fond of describing his work as "weird fiction" (after early 20th century pulp and horror writers such as H. P. Lovecraft), and belongs to a loose group of writers sometimes called New Weird who consciously attempt to move fantasy away from commercial, genre clichés of Tolkien epigons. The events of October 1917 are dramatic enough as they are, in their driest, most stylistically reduced form, but this book offers a concise and accurate retelling. Miéville is, arguably, the greatest living science fiction writer. Well written enjoyable history novel. On the centenary of the Russian Revolution, China Miéville tells the extraordinary story of this pivotal moment in history. This is the story of Nazi Germany's most notorious serial killer, that of a cruel murderer and his crimes, penned in a novel inspired by true events. Go on a remarkable discovery from start to end. It tells the story of the revolution with an approach which is both general, and honing in on hyper specific stories within the revolution that really works to create a stunning narrative progress for the revolution. In the Introduction Mieville writes that the book "...does not attempt to be exhaustive, scholarly or specialist. The book is tedious. Thanks. Looming trains, trains hurtling through trees, out of the dark. Lenin, for example, is introduced thus: "He is a man easily mythologized, idolised, demonised. This relatively short non-fiction book by novelist China Miéville tells the story of the Russian Revolution in 1917, in particular the Bolshevik seizure of power in October . $12.74. Do you want to learn about the Mexican Revolution? My approach to the subject had been mostly influenced by detractors, such as rightwing numbnuts in the US or internal rightwing critiques such as Solzhenitsyn, or internal left critiques such as Bakhtin and Medvedev. Do you want to learn about The Spanish Flu? At times his writing works, other times it didn't. October is Mieville’s well-researched, page-turning history of the twin revolutions in 1917. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. Moves with the speed and attention to detail of a revolutionary locomotive. You don't want to miss this! This is a thrilling account of the tumultuous year 1907 in Russia and of the Russian Revolution in October of that year. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. There's a problem loading this menu right now. October: The Story of the Russian Revolution by China Miéville is published in hardback by Verso Books at £18.99rrp. Any comments would be welcome! I started, stopped, took a break, tried again, but on page 122 read this sentence: "...immediately after the April Days, the Seventh All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party...took place. To order a copy for £14.24 (RRP £18.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or … The forward momentum is there in the writing, but without the theory the book is all sizzle no steak. Chine Mieville at his best! There, Lenin added his new 'right' critique of the left to his left critique of the Bolshevik right." You don't want to miss this! This is why I don't want to say I "didn't like it." October is a thrill to read. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2020. To his enemies, he is a cold, mass-murdering monster; to his worshippers, a godlike genius; to his comrades and friends, a shy, quick-laughing lover of children and cats." Free shipping. The Prologue, "The Pre-History of 1917," encapsulates preceding decades, introducing a typically Russian enormous cast of characters (there IS a Glossary of Personal Names in the back, which helps... a little). One hundred years ago, in wartime Petrograd, Russian radicals known as the Bolsheviks carried out “the Great October Socialist Revolution.”On the night of October 24, 1917, Bolshevik Red Guards began to take control of key points in the Russian capital—railway stations, telegraph offices, and government buildings. Willie Thompson. Russian Revolution: A Concise History From Beginning to End (October Revolution, Ru... German Revolution: A History from Beginning to End. And more and more will come: Trotsky’s armoured train, the Red Army’s propaganda trains, the troop carriers of the Civil War. Not a bad intro to the Russian Revolution, Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2017. More history-as-novel, please! Even though it is written for the layman, the numerous names, acronyms, organisations, allegiances and changes in who is supporting who makes any book on the Russian Revolution quite complex. This is the story of the extraordinary months between those upheavals, in February and October, of the forces and individuals who made 1917 so epochal a year, of … Do you want to learn about the German Revolution? Revolutions, Marx said, are the locomotives of history. October : The Story of the Russian Revolution, Hardcover by Mieville, China, ISBN 1784782777, ISBN-13 9781784782771, Brand New, Free shipping in the US A new account of the Russian Revolution explores how the ongoing consequences of the political event created a story of drama, passion, and strangeness. Award-winning author China Miéville plunges us into the year the world was turned upside downOn the centenary of the Russian Revolution, China Miéville tells the extraordinary story … So good. Something went wrong. We’d love your help. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. He is also active in left-wing politics as a member of the Socialist W. A British "fantastic fiction" writer. It's a very well researched and told story of the revolution, and a particularly good telling for those people who do not already have detailed knowledge of the characters and events. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. As Trotsky says of that time: events are “measured not by the long yardstick of politics, but the short yardstick of war.” This book is magnificent. The story of the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917 has been told a thousand times and usually the focus is on Russian events to the exclusion of the global situation. For the case of Russia I have found a remedy in October: The Story of the Russian Revolution by China Miéville. I didn't dislike it. This is a fast moving book, which leads the reader towards the October revolution. Additionally, Mieville manages to subvert a lot of the common narratives of the revolution. How was a ravaged and backward country, swept up in a desperately unpopular war, rocked by not one but two revolutions? October: The Story of the Russian Revolution is published by Verso. May 9th 2017 You don't want to miss this! This relatively short non-fiction book by novelist China Miéville tells the story of the Russian Revolution in 1917, in particular the Bolshevik seizure of power in October . But don't have the time or patience for a 400-page book? Does he honour, his translator Boris Dralyuk wonders, 'liberty's fading light, or its first faint glimmer?'. But don't have the time or patience for a 400-page book? Do you believe that this item violates a copyright? And he needs to be: this episode in history is so stuffed with noblemen, soldiers, students, intellectuals, politicans, generals, workers, leaders and followers and disrupters in a kaleidoscope of tumbling factions, parties, dumas, soviets, zemstvos, councils, splits and schisms, coalitions and fractures that there is precious little time to spend on any one of them. But those all require much more of commitment than casual interest. No ratings or reviews yet. makes for the the heart of the narrative.) Indeed, one of the most interesting dynamics here is between the Bolsheviks and the soldiers they represent. Unable to add item to List. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. not a jumble of boats, but a gallimaufry. Does this book contain inappropriate content? In his new book October: The Story of the Russian Revolution, China Miéville—a London author and activist better known for his mind-bending speculative fiction and for Salvage, the political-literary journal he recently cofounded—offers a dramatic retelling of that world-changing year in Russia. Without citations, some of the book's bigger revelations (usually personality based) becomes harder to investigate further. Gripping and fascinating narrative history of the October Revolution. Show all authors. China Miéville, author of “October: The Story of the Russian Revolution,” in discussion with Barbara C. Allen and Bhaskar Sunkara. These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. When I first heard China Miéville was coming out with a book on the Russian Revolution of 1917, I was excited to see how he would turn it into a SF novel. 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