Overview

On the centenary of the Russian Revolution, China Miéville tells the extraordinary story of this pivotal moment in history. In February of 1917 Russia was a backwards, autocratic monarchy, mired in an unpopular war; by October, after not one but two revolutions, it had become the world's first workers' state, straining to be at the vanguard of global revolution. How did this unimaginable transformation take place? In a panoramic sweep, stretching from St Petersburg and Moscow to the remotest villages of a sprawling empire, Miéville uncovers the catastrophes, intrigues and inspirations of 1917, in all their passion, drama and strangeness. Intervening in long-standing historical debates, but told with the reader new to the topic especially in mind, here is a breathtaking story of humanity at its greatest and most desperate; of a turning point for civilisation that still resonates loudly today.

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9781784782771

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Reviews

Even when he is orbiting somewhere in a galaxy too far away for normal human comprehension ... Mieville is dazzling. - New York Times Mieville's wit dazzles, his humour is lively, and the pure vitality of his imagination is astonishing. - Ursula K. Le Guin

Even when he is orbiting somewhere in a galaxy too far away for normal human comprehension ... Mieville is dazzling. - New York Times Mieville's wit dazzles, his humour is lively, and the pure vitality of his imagination is astonishing. - Ursula K. Le Guin An intriguing march to revolution, told here with clarity and insight. - Kirkus Reviews Mieville is an ideal guide through this complex historical moment, giving agency to obscure and better-known participants alike, and depicting the revolution as both a tragically lost opportunity and an ongoing source of inspiration. - Publisher's Weekly

Even when he is orbiting somewhere in a galaxy too far away for normal human comprehension ... Mieville is dazzling. - New York Times Mieville's wit dazzles, his humour is lively, and the pure vitality of his imagination is astonishing. - Ursula K. Le Guin An intriguing march to revolution, told here with clarity and insight. - Kirkus Reviews Mieville is an ideal guide through this complex historical moment, giving agency to obscure and better-known participants alike, and depicting the revolution as both a tragically lost opportunity and an ongoing source of inspiration. - Publisher's Weekly Readers will be satisfied that October gives them the literary equivalent of bearing witness to world history. - Booklist

Even when he is orbiting somewhere in a galaxy too far away for normal human comprehension ... Mieville is dazzling. - New York Times Mieville's wit dazzles, his humour is lively, and the pure vitality of his imagination is astonishing. - Ursula K. Le Guin An intriguing march to revolution, told here with clarity and insight. - Kirkus Reviews Mieville is an ideal guide through this complex historical moment, giving agency to obscure and better-known participants alike, and depicting the revolution as both a tragically lost opportunity and an ongoing source of inspiration. - Publisher's Weekly Readers will be satisfied that October gives them the literary equivalent of bearing witness to world history. - Booklist It's as if John Reed, author of the classic piece of revolutionary journalism, Ten Days That Shook the World, woke from a decades-long sleep to tell the story of 1917 once again. - Counterpunch Mieville sifts through the extraordinary disagreements, debates, and debacles that accompanied the Russian reds on every step of the road to revolution ... He's especially evocative when he chronicles the scenes on the chaotic streets. But much of the value of October comes in his mastery of how the intricacies of human decision-making play out in Petrograd, Moscow, and beyond. - Christian Science Monitor This gripping account is a re-enactment of the Russian Revolution... His writing can be as passionate as that of the poets of the time: Alexander Blok, Mikhail Kuzmin, Marina Tsvetaeva, to mention some of those quoted here. Mieville's own special effects are of a piece with them. - Financial Times Elegantly constructed and unexpectedly moving - Sheila Fitzpatrick, London Review of Books Mieville presents the action with his novelist's eye ... An intriguing march to revolution, told here with clarity and insight. - Kirkus There are delightful grace notes here over and above a brisk and perceptive narrative. - Stuart Kelly, Scotsman

Author Information

China Miéville is the multi-award-winning author of many works of fiction and non-fiction. His fiction includes The City & The City, Embassytown and This Census-Taker, and has won the Hugo, World Fantasy and Arthur C Clarke Awards; his non-fiction includes the photo-illustrated essay London's Overthrow, and Between Equal Rights: A Marxist Theory of International Law. He has a PhD in International Relations from the LSE. He has written for various publications, including the New York Times, The Guardian, Conjunctions and Granta. He is a founding editor of the quarterly Salvage. He has been a fellow of the McDowell Colony, the Lannan Foundation, and the Rockefeller Bellagio Center, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

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