Un Lun Dun
Encyclopedia
Un Lun Dun is a young adult fantasy novel by China Miéville
, released in 2007. The title is derived from 'UnLondon,' the name of the alternate realm where the book is set. It also contains illustrations by Miéville. It was first released as a hardback in the United Kingdom
in January 2007 by Macmillan Publishers
, then in the United States on February 13, 2007 by Del Rey Books
. The novel also won the 2008 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book
.
After she and her friends are attacked by dark cloud, Zanna spends the next two nights at Deeba's house. Deeba is awoken in the middle of the night and spies a moving broken umbrella. The girls follow it into the basement of a building, where they are drawn through a gap between the worlds of London and Un Lun Dun (or UnLondon).
UnLondon is a nonsensical mirror version of London, inhabited by varying creatures and animated items who have been discarded by the inhabitants on London. A boy named Hemi saves them from a roving pile of trash but is later shooed away by the tailor Obaday Fing who reveals that the boy is a ghost who was trying to get close enough to them to possess one of them. In conversation he realizes that Zanna is the "Shwazzy," a prophesied chosen one who is destined to save UnLondon from the Smog - an evil, sentient cloud of pollution.
With the help of Fing, Skool (a friend of Fing's in an old-fashioned diving suit), Conductor Jones, Rosa the bus driver, and the Slaterunners (a tribe of people who walk only on the roofs), Zanna and Deeba make their way to the Propheseers where they learn more about the Smog. Apparently, after the Smog was created in London a group of weatherwitches called the "Armets" battled it with a magic weapon called the "Klinneract." However, the Smog was not killed. Instead, it travelled to UnLondon. It is prophesied in the Book (a talking tome) that the Shwazzy would come one day and save UnLondon.
But, in spite of what is prophesied, Zanna fails in her first battle against the Smog. Brokkenbroll, master of broken umbrellas (or unbrellas) arrives in time to shoo the Smog away using a new technique he and Benjamin Unstible (a Propheseer who was presumed dead) came up with. Zanna is severely injured and is sent home with Deeba with her memories of the city erased. Instead, the city turns to Brokkenbroll and Unstible who begin handing out Smog-resistant unbrellas to defend the people of UnLondon.
However, Deeba, who still remembers UnLondon, begins to search for things related to it on the internet, hoping she can find someone to talk to. She discovers that Armets is really RMetS
. This leads her to question everything she's learned. Upon further investigation she discovers that Unstible has been reported dead but that he had been studying the Clean Air Act
. Just as UnLondoners misheard "RMetS" as "Armets," they misheard "Clean Air Act" as "Klinneract."
She decides to travel back to UnLondon. After several tries, she finally finds a way back. She goes to Wraithtown, the town of ghosts, where, with the help of Hemi she verifies Unstible's death and sets out to warn the Propheseers. Unfortunately, on the way, Deeba and Hemi are taken to Brokkenbroll, who is revealed to be working with the Smog, which has re-animated Benjamin Unstible's body.
They escape to warn the Propheseers, who refuse to listen to her. They run from them as well, escaping with the Book, which, although it has proved to be less-than-accurate, agrees to help them fulfill the Shwazzy's tasks and defeat the Smog in the limited time Deeba has before everyone in London forgets that she exists (this happens to everything that comes to UnLondon). With the help of Obaday, Rosa, Jones, the utterlings Diss, Bling and Cauldron, Yorick Cavea and Curdle the milk carton, Deeba and Hemi collect the UnGun, an ultimate weapon which can be loaded with anything. Deeba, under the banner of 'the Unchosen One', uses it to defeat the Smog and save UnLondon.
years ago but was beaten by the "Klinneract", which was really the 1956 Clean Air Act, seeped into UnLondon, and is now trying to take over UnLondon. Working for it is Brokkenbroll, the leader of unbrellas, or broken umbrellas from London. It creates servants from its Smog, such as Smombies, or corpses re-animated with Smog, Smoglodytes, disfigured creatures made from Smog, and Smog-Junkies, humans forced to be addicted to the Smog.
universe or to any of Miéville's other works, it does contain various subtle references to his other books:
There are also some connections to other books, such as a library book entitled: A London Guide for the Blazing Worlders.
Charlie Fletcher
's 2006 novel Stoneheart
is also about children who travel to an alternate city named "unLondon".
Some reviewers have made mention to the similarities of the setting with Alice in Wonderland, Neverwhere
and The Phantom Tollbooth
.
China Miéville
China Tom Miéville is an award-winning English fantasy fiction writer. He is fond of describing his work as "weird fiction" , and belongs to a loose group of writers sometimes called New Weird. He is also active in left-wing politics as a member of the Socialist Workers Party...
, released in 2007. The title is derived from 'UnLondon,' the name of the alternate realm where the book is set. It also contains illustrations by Miéville. It was first released as a hardback in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in January 2007 by Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
, then in the United States on February 13, 2007 by Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...
. The novel also won the 2008 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book
Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book
Winners of the Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book, awarded by the Locus magazine. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year....
.
Plot summary
The book begins with two twelve-year old girls, Zanna and Deeba, who have begun to notice several strange things happening around them, all of them centering on Zanna.After she and her friends are attacked by dark cloud, Zanna spends the next two nights at Deeba's house. Deeba is awoken in the middle of the night and spies a moving broken umbrella. The girls follow it into the basement of a building, where they are drawn through a gap between the worlds of London and Un Lun Dun (or UnLondon).
UnLondon is a nonsensical mirror version of London, inhabited by varying creatures and animated items who have been discarded by the inhabitants on London. A boy named Hemi saves them from a roving pile of trash but is later shooed away by the tailor Obaday Fing who reveals that the boy is a ghost who was trying to get close enough to them to possess one of them. In conversation he realizes that Zanna is the "Shwazzy," a prophesied chosen one who is destined to save UnLondon from the Smog - an evil, sentient cloud of pollution.
With the help of Fing, Skool (a friend of Fing's in an old-fashioned diving suit), Conductor Jones, Rosa the bus driver, and the Slaterunners (a tribe of people who walk only on the roofs), Zanna and Deeba make their way to the Propheseers where they learn more about the Smog. Apparently, after the Smog was created in London a group of weatherwitches called the "Armets" battled it with a magic weapon called the "Klinneract." However, the Smog was not killed. Instead, it travelled to UnLondon. It is prophesied in the Book (a talking tome) that the Shwazzy would come one day and save UnLondon.
But, in spite of what is prophesied, Zanna fails in her first battle against the Smog. Brokkenbroll, master of broken umbrellas (or unbrellas) arrives in time to shoo the Smog away using a new technique he and Benjamin Unstible (a Propheseer who was presumed dead) came up with. Zanna is severely injured and is sent home with Deeba with her memories of the city erased. Instead, the city turns to Brokkenbroll and Unstible who begin handing out Smog-resistant unbrellas to defend the people of UnLondon.
However, Deeba, who still remembers UnLondon, begins to search for things related to it on the internet, hoping she can find someone to talk to. She discovers that Armets is really RMetS
Royal Meteorological Society
The Royal Meteorological Society traces its origins back to 3 April 1850 when the British Meteorological Society was formed as a society the objects of which should be the advancement and extension of meteorological science by determining the laws of climate and of meteorological phenomena in general...
. This leads her to question everything she's learned. Upon further investigation she discovers that Unstible has been reported dead but that he had been studying the Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act 1956
The Clean Air Act 1956 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in response to London's Great Smog of 1952. It was in effect until 1964, and sponsored by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in England and the Department of Health for Scotland.The Act introduced a number of...
. Just as UnLondoners misheard "RMetS" as "Armets," they misheard "Clean Air Act" as "Klinneract."
She decides to travel back to UnLondon. After several tries, she finally finds a way back. She goes to Wraithtown, the town of ghosts, where, with the help of Hemi she verifies Unstible's death and sets out to warn the Propheseers. Unfortunately, on the way, Deeba and Hemi are taken to Brokkenbroll, who is revealed to be working with the Smog, which has re-animated Benjamin Unstible's body.
They escape to warn the Propheseers, who refuse to listen to her. They run from them as well, escaping with the Book, which, although it has proved to be less-than-accurate, agrees to help them fulfill the Shwazzy's tasks and defeat the Smog in the limited time Deeba has before everyone in London forgets that she exists (this happens to everything that comes to UnLondon). With the help of Obaday, Rosa, Jones, the utterlings Diss, Bling and Cauldron, Yorick Cavea and Curdle the milk carton, Deeba and Hemi collect the UnGun, an ultimate weapon which can be loaded with anything. Deeba, under the banner of 'the Unchosen One', uses it to defeat the Smog and save UnLondon.
Deeba
Since Deeba takes Zanna's place as the savior of UnLondon, she is called "the UnChosen." On Zanna's first day at Kilburn Comprehensive, Deeba is able to make her laugh, something most people can't do. She likes to do things her own way, and is not your stereotypical hero. Along the way, she is joined by her pet milk carton, Curdle, and a talking prophecy book that often gets information wrong.Zanna
Zanna has the title "the Shwazzy," which is related to the French adjective "choisi," meaning "chosen". She hates her given name, "Susanna," but she hates "Sue" even more. She is tall and striking, with blond hair, but she always tries to stay in the background. This doesn't work very well. When she is attacked by a Smog-Junkie, a servant of the Smog, in UnLondon, she breathes in Smog and falls ill. Zanna is sent back to London by Brokkenbroll, leader of unbrellas, with her memories of UnLondon erased forever.Hemi
Hemi is a half-ghost - the result of a union between an UnLondoner and a dead Londoner. While normal ghosts cannot speak in a way that non-ghosts can hear them, Hemi can speak to both ghosts and non-ghosts. He has trouble fitting-in because both ghosts and non-ghosts despise him for being a 'half-breed'. Most inhabitants of Wraithtown do not have to eat. Since Hemi does, he's taken to stealing or "extreme shopping," as he calls it.The Smog
The Smog is a living gas cloud that was created by a different mixture of chemicals in the air of London. It thinks of no one but itself and consuming new gases to add to its mixture. It is also hungry for knowledge and absorbs any information contained in books that are burned and their smoke added to the mixture. The Smog attacked Londonyears ago but was beaten by the "Klinneract", which was really the 1956 Clean Air Act, seeped into UnLondon, and is now trying to take over UnLondon. Working for it is Brokkenbroll, the leader of unbrellas, or broken umbrellas from London. It creates servants from its Smog, such as Smombies, or corpses re-animated with Smog, Smoglodytes, disfigured creatures made from Smog, and Smog-Junkies, humans forced to be addicted to the Smog.
Connection to other works
Though Un Lun Dun is not directly related to the Bas-LagBas-Lag
Bas-Lag is the fictional world in which several of China Miéville's novels are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic and steampunk technology exist, and is home to many intelligent races...
universe or to any of Miéville's other works, it does contain various subtle references to his other books:
- One protagonist mentions Varmin Way, which is a living street first mentioned in the short story "Reports Of Certain Events In London" (found in the collection Looking for JakeLooking for JakeLooking for Jake is a collection of science fiction, horror and fantasy stories by British author China Miéville. It was first published by Del Rey Books, part of Random House, in 2005, and later by Pan MacMillan.-Stories:...
). - The Courageous Egg, a book spotted by Deeba whilst between worlds, is featured in The ScarThe ScarThe Scar is the third novel written by China Miéville, a self-described "weird fiction" writer from London, England. The Scar won the 2003 British Fantasy Award and was shortlisted for the 2003 Arthur C. Clarke Award. Miéville won both these awards in 2001 for his previous novel, Perdido Street...
as the book from which Shekel first learns to read. - The Wordhoard Pit, the extensive library which connects all libraries, shares its name with a ship in The Scar, called The Wordhoard located in Armada's Haunted Quarter
- One of the monsters created by the smog is very similar to an inchman, featured most prominently in Iron CouncilIron CouncilIron Council is China Miéville's fourth novel and his third set in the Bas-Lag universe, following Perdido Street Station and The Scar , although each can be read independently of the others...
.
There are also some connections to other books, such as a library book entitled: A London Guide for the Blazing Worlders.
Charlie Fletcher
Charlie Fletcher
Charlie Fletcher is a British screenwriter and author.After many years writing for film and television, he is now probably best known for his children's novel, Stoneheart.-Biography:...
's 2006 novel Stoneheart
Stoneheart
Stoneheart is a children's novel by Charlie Fletcher, published in 2006. It is part of the Stoneheart Trilogy. Stoneheart is followed by "Ironhand", which is itself followed by "Silver Tongue"...
is also about children who travel to an alternate city named "unLondon".
Some reviewers have made mention to the similarities of the setting with Alice in Wonderland, Neverwhere
Neverwhere (novel)
Neverwhere is the companion novelization by Neil Gaiman of the television serial Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman and Lenny Henry. The plot and characters are exactly the same as in the series, with the exception that the novel form allowed Gaiman to expand and elaborate on certain elements of the story...
and The Phantom Tollbooth
The Phantom Tollbooth
The Phantom Tollbooth is a children's adventure novel and modern fairy tale published in 1961, written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer. It tells the story of a bored young boy named Milo who unexpectedly receives a magic tollbooth one afternoon and, having nothing better to do,...
.