Looking for Jake
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Looking for Jake is a collection of science fiction and fantasy stories by British author China Miéville. It was first published by Del Ray Books, part of Random House, in 2005, and later by Pan MacMillan.
Contents |
[edit] Stories
The book contains fourteen short stories written between 1998 and 2005. One of them, "On The Way To The Front", is an illustrated, comic-book-esque tale, while the other thirteen are standard written stories. The longest is the 2002 novella The Tain. In order, the book contains:
[edit] Looking For Jake
- First published 1998
Written in the style of a letter, this story details both the vague relationship between the unnamed narrator and Jake, a mysterious person who is only known to have lived at home and to have had an "affair with that woman Theo," and of a large portion of the population of London suddenly disappearing and the appearance of strange creatures and various other fantastic elements. The story, while original, does betray the influence of M. John Harrison, in particular the Viriconium sequence.
[edit] Foundation
- First published 2003
[edit] The Ball Room
- Original to this collection
A classically crafted ghost story, which would be at home in a Victorian collection, but with a very modern setting. This story was co-written with Emma Bircham and Max Schaefer.
[edit] Reports Of Certain Events In London
- First published 2004
This short story, in the form of a collection of fictional documents supposedly "received" by the author, presents the idea that there exist certain autonomous streets which phase in and out of existence, living complex and mysterious lives of their own, and even having romances and violent feuds amongst their alley selves.
[edit] Familiar
- First published 2002
[edit] Entry Taken From A Medical Encyclopaedia
- First published 2003
This story was original published as "Buscard's Murrain" in The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases. Taking, as the title suggests, the form of an encyclopedic entry on a disease, the story describes a strange disease known as Buscard's Murrain (also, "Wormword"). The disease is contracted entirely via the brain's recognition of a certain word (which the story gives but never reveals its proper pronunciation). This word then burrows into the brain, reducing the sufferer to insanity so that they can only ever think and utter the one word, over and over again. In a viral sort of way, this encourages other people to learn the word, and they too succumb to the disease. See motif of harmful sensation.
[edit] Details
- First published 2002
A boy, charged with caring for a mysterious old woman, discovers that strange and frightening forces live hidden in the lines, cracks and creases of our world. This haunting and memorable tale also appeared in The Children of Cthulhu: Chilling New Tales Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft (edited by John Pelan and Benjamin Adams).
[edit] Go Between
- Original to this collection
[edit] Different Skies
- First published 1999
An elderly man buys a strange, colored window pane and installs it in his study, only to realise that the old glass looks out upon a different version of London, whose inhabitants are mysterious and hostile. The story ends with the man resolving to break the window and enter into the other world, in the vain hope of scaring away the shadowy figures who harrass him and threaten his life - for if he does not go into their world soon, they will enter his.
[edit] An End To Hunger
- First published 2000
A man relates the story of how he became friends with an enigmatic computer hacker named Aykan, who wages a virtual war against a charity website called An End To Hunger, and ends up spiralling into paranoia before disappearing.
[edit] 'Tis The Season
- First published 2004
This story takes place in a somewhat dystopian London in which holidays, including Christmas, have been privatized and certain holiday phrases are copyrighted.
[edit] Jack
- Original to this collection
This is the only story of the collection set in New Crobuzon, a city in Mieville's created world Bas-Lag and the setting of Perdido Street Station and Iron Council. It takes place after the capture of the infamous New Crobuzon criminal/terrorist, Jack Half-a-Prayer, and is narrated by one of his former associates.
[edit] On The Way To The Front
- Original to this collection
This is a graphic story illustrated by Liam Sharp.
[edit] The Tain
- First published 2002
This is a novella set in a post apocalyptic version of London. It was originally published in 2002, as a limited edition book by PS Publishing.
[edit] Adaptations
- The story Details was recently turned into a script by Dan Kay and has been picked up by studio Paramount Vantage.[1]
[edit] External links
| Novels of China Miéville |
|---|
| King Rat (1998) | Perdido Street Station (2000) | The Scar (2002) |
| Iron Council (2004) | Un Lun Dun (2007) |
| Collections |
| Looking for Jake (2005) |
| Related articles |
| Bas-Lag | New Crobuzon | Races of Bas-Lag | Remade |
