There is a city of towers and skyrails, of delights and
obscenities, a city of elevated rail lines and glasshouses inhabited by
sentient cacti. It is a city of squalor and beauty where insects make art and
politicians dine with the ambassadors of hell.
Welcome to New Crobuzon.
Location
New Crobuzon is the largest city-state on the east coast of
the continent of Rohagi, one of the major landmasses of the world of Bas-Lag.
The city lies south of the ruins of Suroch and north-east of Cobsea, spreading
for miles along the banks of both the Canker and the Tar before they meet to
form the Gross Tar.
The city is separated from the rest of Rohagi by the Dancing
Shoe Mountains to the south-west and the Bezhek Peaks to the north-west. South
of the city lies the Rudewood, a substantial woodland which gives way to the Wetlands.
South-east of the city, forming a huge peninsula, lies the Grain Spiral, a vast
and fertile hinterland which keeps the city of New Crobuzon fed. South-west of
the city lie the Mendican Foothills.
The mountains, the Wetlands and the Sully Swamp, which lies
to the west of the city, effectively limit the approaches to the city to a few
rail lines and roads. These natural defences go some way to explaining why New
Crobuzon has survived for almost two thousand years despite its imperialistic
tendencies and occasional wars with other powers.
New Crobuzon also exercises control over several smaller
settlements, most notably Tarmuth at the mouth of the Gross Tar, which serves
as the city’s port.
Further to the south-west lies the Cacotopic Stain, an area
of unrelenting danger, whilst to the north-west, beyond the mountains and
swamp, lies Wormseye Scrub, a vast plain. New Crobuzon’s nearest rivals are
located well over a thousand miles from the city itself.
These geographic limitations make sea travel a more popular
alternative. Ten miles south-east of the city, the Gross Tar opens into Iron
Bay, an inlet of the Swollen Ocean. Shipping lanes lead to the nearby island of
Chet and, further away, the islands of Perrick Night, Gnurr Kett, Dancing Bird
Island, the Jheshull Islands and Gnomen Tor. Eventually, thousands of miles to
the east, the continent of Bered Kai Nev can be found, where New Crobuzon has
established a colony city called Nova Esperium.
The continent of Rohagi, based on China Mieville's own map.
Physical Description
New Crobuzon is centred on the confluence of the Rivers
Canker and Tar into the Gross Tar, and has spread outwards in a rough oval
shape, nine miles wide from east to west and seven from north to south. The
city is furthered defined from the towering grand structure of Perdido Street
Station, the city’s major transportation hub, located a mile or so from the
confluence. From the station a series of major and smaller skylines radiate
outwards, linking the districts of the city together. The Spike, the
headquarters of the feared New Crobuzon Militia, is located nearby.
Lying between the rivers are the districts of the Crow,
Brock Marsh, Sheck, Skulkford, Gross Coil, Kinken, Rim, Tar Wedge, Raven’s Gate, Canker
Wedge, West Gidd, Spit Hearth and Petty Coil. Strack Island, located south-east
of the confluence of the rivers at Brock Marsh, is the location of the New
Crobuzon Parliament Building and is the seat of city governance. Broadly
speaking, these central districts clustered around the centres of power (civil
and military) are richer and more developed, but also older and more decadent.
East of the Canker lies Dryside, Flag Hill, Chnum, East
Gidd, Mafaton, Nigh Sump, Abrogate Green, Saltbur and Ludmead, the site of New
Crobuzon University. South of the university lies Bonetown, a poorer district
famed for the Ribs, the gigantic remains of some vast creature killed millennia
ago. East of Bonetown lies Mog Hill, Pincod and Badside, whilst Sunter,
Kelltree and Echomire lie to the south. West of the Tar lies Chimer, Creekside,
Smog Bend, Saint Jabber’s Mound, Gallmarch, Serpolet, Lichford, Spatters and
Howl Barrow. South of the river as it curves around to the confluence are Ketch
Heath, Sangwine, Sobek Croix, Salacus Fields, Barrackham, Riverskin, Flyside,
Aspic and, located near Strack Island, Griss Twist and Griss Fell. South of the
Gross Tar lie Syriac, Murkside, Syriac Well, Pelorus Fields, Dog Fenn and
Stoneshell.
At one time the city extended further south and west, but
the Rudewood has encroached on the city limits. A railway line continues into
the woods before terminating in disarray, a remnant of the settlement in this
region.
New Crobuzon is a city of rails and rivers. Among the
largest bridges in the city are the Batley, Rust, Sheer and Danechi’s, but the
most impressive was the Grand Calibre Bridge, built over the Gross Tar at its
widest extent in the city itself. Unfortunately, the bridge’s ambition exceeded
its engineering and the bridge shattered after being opened. It has still not
yet been repaired.
Lee Croyer's splendid map of New Crobuzon.
History
The port town of Crobuzon was founded at the mouth of the
Gross Tar River some 1,800 years ago. The port thrived for a century before a
major pirate raid destroyed it. The survivors fled over ten miles upriver to
the junction of the Tar and Canker rivers. Here, in what is now Brock Marsh and
on Strack Island just to the south, they founded a new fortified settlement.
“New” Crobuzon soon prospered and grew. Its location further upriver, with the
two rivers used for defence, made it much more difficult to attack.
New Crobuzon grew slowly over a period of about a thousand
years. Circa 1000 AU (Anno Urbis,
Year of the Town) the merchant Seemly discovered the continent of Bered Kai Nev
and its khepri inhabitants, opening the way for trade and exploration.
Around 1300 the city was battered by a Torque storm, one of
many “reality storms” which wracked the world of Bas-Lag and left parts of the
land battered and changed. An “aeromorphic” engine was built to help defend
against future storms and, as a side-effect, also allowed the government to
control the weather around the city.
Between 1300 and 1500 New Crobuzon experienced a golden age,
a period known as the “Full Years” when the city became the centre of
mercantile trade for much of eastern Rohagi. This period also saw the city make
many enemies in its quest for greater riches. This culminated in the Pirate
Wars, a lengthy conflict between New Crobuzon and many of the island states of
the Swollen Ocean, along with several other ports. The war was “won” in 1544
when New Crobuzon deployed “Torque bombs” against the port city of Suroch to
the north. The other combatants were so horrified that they ended hostilities.
An expedition to Suroch to investigate the effects of the Torque bombs in 1644
uncovered horrors so unspeakable that all records of the mission were purged.
Several photographs of the ruins and the creatures left living in them leaked out in 1689 and sparked immediate riots
in the city.
The detonation of the Torque bombs seemed to attract the
attention of other, extradimensional entities. Hell would begin dispatching
ambassadors to the city and the enigmatic, capricious and a bizarre, spiderlike
entity known as “the Weaver” took up residence in the metropolis shortly after
these events.
The end of the Pirate Wars did not restore New Crobuzon’s
former prosperity, and the city has struggled to recreate its former golden
age. The aeromorphic engine ceased functioning, the Rudewood encroached on the
western approaches to the city and further tensions rose with other city-states.
In 1689 the city also experienced a massive influx of refugees from Bered Kai
Nev, khepri fleeing a horror known only as the Ravening. New Crobuzon would go
on to establish the colony of Nova Esperium on the continent to conduct an
exploration and learn more about the Ravening, but ultimately this would fail,
with the colony instead becoming a dumping ground for criminals.
In 1779 the city was troubled by a slake moth which caused
untold damage and despair before being defeated. The following year an expedition
set out from the city which culminated in the discovery of the floating city of
Armada and the hunting of a powerful and mysterious aquatic creature. Between
1780 and 1804 New Crobuzon would fight a war with the powerful southern city of
Tesh for control of the Firewater Straits separating Rohagi from the southern
continent. New Crobuzon would declare victory in this conflict, but has not yet
capitalised on this victory in any meaningful way, making some citizens believe
that the war was less of a success than first reported.
Most recently, in 1806 the city was wracked by disorder and
chaos as poor workers and militants fought the militia in a series of political
riots.
Three of the well-known races of Rohagi and New Crobuzon: from left-to-right, a cactacae, garuda and khepri. From The Bas-Lag Gazetteer.
Peoples
New Crobuzon is home to many diverse and interesting races
from all over the world of Bas-Lag. Humans are the most numerous and
influential, but several others are notable.
Most common in the city, after humans, are the cactacae, enormous living catacus-people
with thorns growing out of their bodies. They are large, strong and formidable,
making excellent workers and very bad enemies. They are hollow, with bullets and arrows passing straight through them, making them almost impossible to kill in combat.
Garuda are winged
humanoids capable of flight. They are native to the Cymek Desert far to the
south of the city, but a small enclave lives within New Crobuzon.
The khepri are a
race of humanoid/insect hybrids native to the eastern continent of Bered Kai
Nev. They resemble human women in all respects apart from their heads, which
have been replaced with scarab beetles. The females are sentient, highly
intelligent and communicate with other species via sign language. The males of
the species, who simply resemble large scarab beetles, are non-sentient and
treated with disdain by the females.
The Remade are
people (human and otherwise) whose body parts have been replaced with
mechanical counterparts. Sometimes this is due to industrial accidents, but in
most cases is the result of the criminal justice system.
The vodyanoi are an aquatic species, noted for
resembling frogs. They can create objects out of water through their innate
magical powers.
Most disturbing is The
Weaver, an interdimensional spider-like entity of untested power and
capabilities. An interloper from another universe, the Weaver took an interest
in the city shortly after the detonation of the Torque bombs. Other Weavers are
believed to exist, and it is regarded as highly fortunate that only one has
shown an interest in Bas-Lag. It is possible that the Weaver’s presence has
gone some way to dissuading the city government from ever using Torque bombs
again. The Weaver resembles a huge spider. It is highly intelligent, but speaks
in bizarre verse and random observations that are difficult to parse. The
Weaver regards life as a form of art and moulds it to its own sense of aesthetics.
In a crisis situation, the Weaver may remain aloof, preferring to observe; it
may aid the beleaguered; or it may make things considerably worse, just to see
what happens and satisfy its inscrutable curiosity. The Weaver is capricious,
unpredictable and utterly alien, and its guidance should be sought with
caution.
The original cover art to Perdido Street Station by Les Edwards.
Origins, Appearances and Influences
New Crobuzon first appeared in Perdido Street Station (2000), the second novel by British fantasy writer
China Miéville. It is the primary setting for the novel, in which a group of
unlikely characters are drawn together as a slake moth stalks the city and its
bizarre inhabitants. The city is also the launching pad for the events of The Scar (2002), although the primary
setting for that novel is the floating city of Armada. The city returns to
prominence in Iron Council (2004),
which concentrates on both a hunt for a missing train far to the south of the
city as well as political turmoil within the city itself. The short story
“Jack”, from Looking for Jake (2005),
is also set in the city and expands on the character of Jack Half-a-prayer from
Perdido Street Station.
Bas-Lag was created by China Miéville as a setting for both
stories and roleplaying campaigns. He was heavily inspired by The Malacia Tapestry (1976) by Brian W.
Aldiss and The Anubis Gates (1983) by
Tim Powers. The world and the city seem to be a partial rejection of
Tolkienesque notions of fantasy conservatism, but Miéville has also credited
Tolkien with inspiring his creation of memorable, horrible monsters. New
Crobuzon is also clearly inspired by London, Miéville’s adopted home town.
Since 2005, despite interest from readers, Miéville has not
returned to the world of Bas-Lag or the city of New Crobuzon. Instead his books
have gone further in exploring fantasised versions of the real London (most
notably in Un Lun Dun but also Kraken and many of the stories in Three Moments of an Explosion) or even
leaving fantasy behind altogether for SF (as in Embassytown and, arguably, Railsea).
A planned development of Bas-Lag as a roleplaying campaign setting has also fallen
by the wayside, resulting in
this fine (but 100% unofficial) effort from fan Bryce Jones.
Despite – or maybe because of – its relative lack of
exposure, New Crobuzon is one of fantasy’s most popular, iconic and impressive
cities, a city which is genuinely weird, offbeat and atmospheric but is also
highly convincing in its offbeat detail and captivating in its colour and
stories. It is to Miéville’s credit that he hasn’t just bashed out 20 novels in
the same setting, but there is also the feeling that there is much more to
explore in this city, and the hope that the author may one day return to it.
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