Iron Council - Tapa dura

It is a time of revolts and revolutions, conflict and intrigue. New Crobuzon is being ripped apart from without and within. War with the shadowy city-state of Tesh and rioting on the streets at home are pushing the teeming metropolis to the brink. In the midst of this turmoil, a mysterious masked figure spurs strange rebellion, while treachery and violence incubate in unexpected places. In desperation, a small group of renegades escapes from the city and crosses strange and alien continents in the search for a lost hope, an undying legend. In the blood and violence of New Crobuzon's most dangerous hour, there are whispers. It is the time of the Iron Council.

China Mieville has lived all his life in London. His first novel was King Rat, his second, Perdido Street Station, won the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award, 2001, and his third, The Scar, has been shortlisted for the World Fantasy Award, 2003.