Point of View

China Mieville tells his novel “Railsea” from the third-person omniscient perspective. This is done for several reasons. Since the novel exists in a dystopian setting, the omniscient narrative allows asides or pieces of the narration to the readers which describe the context of any particular situation, as well as history. The third-person allows the reader as well to see events transpiring with the Shroakes, the Medes, Daybe, and Sirocco, all apart from Sham –especially when he is captured. Due to the futuristic setting, as well as the diverse places and characters that populate the novel, the third person narrator acts as a unifying voice, tying everything in together into one common thread, and allowing the reader to follow the plot based on that commonality.

Language and Meaning

Chime Mieville tells his novel “Railsea” in language that is simple, rustic, and lyrical. The simple language allows...