Sham Yes ap Saroop

Sham Yes ap Saroop, the principal protagonist of the novel “Railsea” by China Mieville, is a slightly overweight, unhappy boy in his late teens who serves as an assistant to Dr. Fremlo on board the moletrain Medes. Sham is a kind young man who does his best to look after the crew, with whom he is on relatively good and friendly terms. Yet, he is unhappy. He is not content with being a member of a moletrain. It is not how he wants to spend his life. Sham ultimately comes to care for an injured day bat, whom he names Daybe. Daybe ends up being his little buddy.

When Sham discovers a memory card with photos of a distant land with one single rail track, he becomes obsessed with finding it. He tracks down two children pictured in the photos, Dero and Caldera Shroake, and...