Monday, January 01, 2007

Un Lun Dun by China Miéville

Twelve-year-old Deeba Resham and Zanna Moon were just regular schoolgirls, when strange things started to happen in their hometown London. One night, they ventured out and were teleported to a parallel universe called UnLondon. In UnLondon, they discovered that the abcity was ready to go into war with the Smog, a huge cluster of gas, poison, and other chemicals that had been created from global warming. The Smog has gotten so powerful over the years from all of the pollutions created that it generated the ability to think for itself. Zanna, the Chosen One who's destined to defeat the Smog in the Prophesy, was knocked unconscious during a fight and was sent back to London without remembering a thing. Now, it's up to Deeba to save UnLondon from the powerful wrath of the Smog. Throughout her treacherous journey, she met many friends who were also determined to help her win the battle. With her bravery and dedication, she defeats the Smog once and for all and saved the people of UnLondon from a horrible fate.

This novel is very well written by Miéville. The story has suspense and at the same time, is filled with humor. Just when I thought something was going to happen or Debba was finally going to defeat the Smog, something unexpected happened and Deeba must find a new way to try to annihilate the Smog. For example, when Deeba finally obtained the UnGun, which is the only weapon that is able to defeat the Smog, one of her allies stole it and gave it to the Smog's allies. This created many problems for Deeba and her wide range of friends, which included a milk carton, a half-ghost, a bird, some "words", a rebrella (a fixed unbrella, which is a broken umbrella). But they were able to get the UnGun back and defeat the Smog. The 425-page-book is divided into 99 “chapters” so it’s easy to read and stop. It never gets dull and is packed with action. This is truly a must-read book that everybody will be able to enjoy.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9
Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Urbana, Illinois United States of America

posted by Flamingnet Book Blog @ 3:28 PM