I know I'm wading into a deep nerdy bog here, but what's wrong with remaking a movie without talking to the guy who turned that movie into a TV show? Should they have consulted whoever was behind The Sarah Connor Chronicles show before making the new Terminator movie? (Not the best example, but I can't come up with any better parallels right now.)

I'm not saying it's going to be good - was the original good? Given that the film hasn't even started production yet and there are no names attached to it, I think it's pretty early to definitively say it's going to suck, though.

@1: Because what was awesome about Buffy WAS Joss Whedon. The original movie is really, really bad. I would wager that if it weren't for Joss's series, we wouldn't be seeing a remake of the original, and so a movie without him sounds like a trainwreck.

Levislade: Joss Whedon didn't adapt Buffy to TV. He was the original screenwriter for the movie, and one of the impetuses for him taking it to a TV series was his displeasure at what the producer and director did with his script.

I absolutely love China Miéville — I really think his best work is where he's constrained to a single idea, so he can't just let his imagination take him everywhere. Weird fiction of his style seems to have the best punch in a short-story format.

I really want to read his new book, not the least because I enjoy mysteries, but I'm not ecstatic about paying $25 for a hardcover version. Anyone have a suggestion that doesn't include screwing a great author out of his royalties?

I absolutely love China Miéville — I really think his best work is where he's constrained to a single idea, so he can't just let his imagination take him everywhere. Weird fiction of his style seems to have the best punch in a short-story format.

I really want to read his new book, not the least because I enjoy mysteries, but I'm not ecstatic about paying $25 for a hardcover version. Anyone have a suggestion that doesn't include screwing a great author out of his royalties?

Steve P@4 - Hope it lands on the NYT bestseller list as many bookstores discount these titles a bit. Cross fingers and keep your eyes peeled for a used copy. Try the library and pray the waiting list isn't too long. Split the cost with a friend and fellow Mieville fan and duel to the death to see who keeps it afterwards. Wait until the paperback release a year from now...

Whatever you decide, I urge you to support your local independent bookstore if and when you do purchase a copy, ideally the bookstore where he is doing the reading. Not only does that obviously help the bookstore but publishers will see the sales and will continue to tour their authors if the numbers (and $$$) make it worth it. Mercenary perhaps but true.

@3 - Well shit, I had no idea! That's what I get for not knowing what I'm talking about.

And yeah, @4 - The Library. Do it.

Well put, MisterWinter.

And Levislade: I really couldn't've explained it any better. But it is heresy.

I think they may have actually run out of copies at Third Place, there were so many people there for the reading. Their commons area was overcrowded and noisy so it was hard to hear him, but it still rocked. I highly recommend seeing him in person, he has something interesting to say about every question, whether or not it's actually about his books.

The reading was great, even though it was overcrowded and loud so I couldn't always hear what he was saying. I took notes as best I could typing on my phone.

On world building:
When asked about the size of the cities (in The City & The City) he says he knows, but "doesn't want to domesticate the setting" by revealing details like that.

"I draw the maps, but then I leave blank spaces." Some things about the setting he doesn't define, and some things he intentionally holds back. "We should really resist filling in the spaces on the maps."

Something that we as geeks do is wanting to explore everything about a world. But sometimes, giving a sequel spoils it a bit.

He's had dreams about being in his own fictional cities, and that's the "most unspeakably cool thing."

The idea for the setting of a book comes to him before the plot. Then come the set of events that have to happen, and the narrative makes a path through the events.

"The fantastic in general is related to religious writing," seeing the city behind the city and seeing bigger patterns in everything. He mentions The Da Vinci Code as an example of this drive. "It's an approach that's problematic in life, but not in fiction."

"The logic of the separation of the cities is not a fantastic logic. It's a completely everyday logic, a realistic logic, just a little bit extrapolated."

On writing:
"It's a paradox of noir that honorable and noble people are so because they refuse to confront the bigger issues."

The author as a character "can come across as incredibly mannered and twee and erudite." But it can also be used well -- he mentions the writer character in Canterbury Tales.

"We need to expand our idea of what is political fiction." The City & The City is a very political book, even though the protagonist is an apolitical man. Political fiction doesn't need to make a political point or involve political activists as characters. "The place for me to make a political argument is not in fiction. The point of fiction is to create a good story and keep people turning pages. If I wanted to make a political argument I'd write nonfiction."

Projects:
They're working on a role playing game based on something from his books (I missed which world it's related to) and he's very excited about it.

He's writing a "big fat fantasy book" that's more like Perdido Street Station than City&City. There's also a science fiction novel that's almost ready to go. There are people that want writers to always write the same thing. They liked the first book, so they come back for more. He's hoping readers will follow him through different genres, even though they have no obligation to.