Bas-Lag

Bas-Lag is the fictional world in which the novels of China Miéville are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic and steampunk technology exist, and is home to multiple intelligent races. It is influenced by the themes and tropes of multiple genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

Geography

Bas-Lag possesses an unknown number of continents. Only two — Rohagi and Bered Kai Nev — are named in the three novels, though numerous other landmasses, mostly islands, are alluded to by various characters.

The exact proportions and geography of Rohagi are unknown. New Crobuzon lies about ten miles inland from its eastern coast, which borders the Swollen Ocean. Immediately south of New Crobuzon is the Rudewood, beyond which lies the Mendican Hills. North of New Crobuzon, along the coast but separated by the Bezhek Mountains, are the ruins of Suroch. To the west, about a thousand miles from New Crobuzon and far beyond the Dancing Shoe Mountains, lies the four-hundred mile wide freshwater lake called Cold Claw Loch. The Loch connects with the vast, inland Cold Claw Sea, eight hundred miles to the north, via a natural channel called Cold Claw Sound. The Cold Claw Sea is talon-shaped, and its "point" stretches eastward a great distance, almost connecting with the Swollen Ocean before curving southward for about two hundred miles, finally ending about seven hundred miles north of New Crobuzon. The "tip" of the "point" is called The Gengris, and is described in The Scar as an "extraordinary, dangerous place," populated by the savage grindylow.

According to a protagonist in Iron Council, both Cobsea and Myrshock lie about 750 miles southwest of New Crobuzon. Myrshock lies on the northern coast of the Meagre Sea, which roughly "divides" Rohagi (as the Hudson Bay "divides" eastern and western Canada). Southwest of both Myrshock and Cobsea lies the Cacotopos Stain, an impenetrable badland plagued by the chaos-energy known as "Torque." This region is so dangerous and untraversable that it effectively prevents almost all communication and trade between the eastern and western halves of Rohagi. Maru'ahm, The Brothers and Vadaunk are all found west of the Cacotopos Stain.

Shankell is located on the southern shore of the Meagre Sea. Beyond this lies the Cymek desert, which is populated by garuda and cactacae. Somewhere beyond the Cymek desert is The Witchocracy, which controls the Firewater Straits. The Firewaters Straits seem to constitute the only reasonably safe means of reaching western Rohagi from the east, and vice versa. Tesh is described as lying on the western end of the Firewater Straits.

The Swollen Ocean is dotted with many islands. Two thousand miles southeast of New Crobuzon is found the island of Gnurr Kett, which itself runs a thousand miles from north to south. A few miles south of Gnurr Kett is found the tiny, unnamed island-prison of the anophelii, which marks the border between the Swollen Ocean and the Black Sandbar Sea. East of Gnurr Kett is the island belonging to Dreer Samher.

Closer to New Crobuzon are a series of small islands controlled by that city-state. Among these are North Morin, Cancir and Dancing Bird Island, where is found the fishing port of Qé Banssa. Farther to the east are the islands of Bartoll and Gnomon Tor, in between which is situated the Cray Commonwealth of Salkrikaltor. Slightly southwest of Salkrikaltor is an archipelago called The Fins, where New Crobuzon maintains secretive maritime industries.

The continent called Bered Kai Nev lies some five or six thousand miles across the Swollen Ocean from Rohagi. It was originally the home of the khepri. At a similar distance across the Swollen Ocean is the unnamed continent or island on which is found New Crobuzon's colony of Nova Esperium.

States

Armada

Armada is the primary setting and plot device in The Scar. It is a floating pirate-city comprised of countless ships and boats all joined together. It plies Bas-Lag's open seas, raiding outlying settlements and hijacking vessels for such resources as it cannot provide for itself.

Armada's origins are unknown, but it has existed in at least one form or another for at least a thousand years. At the opening of The Scar, its population is said to number in the hundreds of thousands. The city itself is only about a mile wide, though one character claims that "there are probably as many miles of streets here as in New Crobuzon" owing to all its "layers and layers of decks."

The Brothers

In Iron Council, The Brothers is said to lie on the western side of Rohagi, beyond the Cacotopos Stain. It is referred to as the "crocodile double-city."

Cobsea

Cobsea is found on the southwestern plains of the Rohagi continent, about 750 miles from New Crobuzon. The two cities are trading partners. In Iron Council, a wealthy industrialist named Weather Wrightby attempted (and failed) to construct a transcontinental railroad line between New Crobuzon and Cobsea.

Dreer Samher

Gharcheltist

In Iron Council, Gharcheltist is referred to as "the aquapolis."

High Cromlech

Almost everything that is currently known about High Cromlech is derived from Uther Doul, one of the primary characters in The Scar. Doul was born and raised in High Cromlech. He describes it as a caste-based nation ruled by undead nobility, called "thanati." These he describes as "liches with sewn-shut mouths, with beautiful clothes and skin like preserved leather."

The living (called "the quick") are a minority in High Cromlech. Most are apparently bred and raised on "farms," and are eventually "snuffed and recast as zombies." Some are reared by the thanati, who are "slain and welcomed to dead society" once they come of age. A small fraction of the living are born free, however, and these survive by doing work that is too skilled for semi-sentient zombies. Zombies would seem to be High Cromlech's primary workforce.

At the bottom of High Cromlech's social ladder are the "vampir," which are referred to as "ab-dead" to distinguish them from the thanati. Based on Doul's description, the vampir are apparently considered little more than vagrants and addicts. He depicts them as living in a shanty towns, coming out at night to beg the living for blood.

Khadoh

Khadoh's merchants trade with New Crobuzon.

Maru'ahm

Maru'ahm is apparently found on the western side of the Rohagi continent from New Crobuzon, beyond the Cacotopos Stain. In Perdido Street Station, it is said to be ruled by a casino-parliament, "where laws were stakes in games of roulette." This rumor is affirmed in Iron Council, where a character who visited Maru'ahm claims he played for such stakes as property laws and "a whole pot of legislation." This same character mentions a queen and "cardsharp senators," implying that Maru'ahm's government is some form of constitutional or elective monarchy.

Myrshock

Myrshock is located on the coast of the Meagre Sea, about 750 miles southwest of New Crobuzon. As with Cobsea, it is one of New Crobuzon's trading partners, and was supposed to be linked with both cities via Wrightby's transcontinental railroad.

A group of characters visit Myrshock in Iron Council. They describe it as an "ugly port" surrounded by wheat fields and possessing minarets. The city looked "thrown together," "old but without history." Its population was a mix of humans and other races, including cactacae, garuda and vodyanoi.

Neovadan

New Crobuzon

The city-state of New Crobuzon is a major plot device for all three of the Bas-Lag novels, and a substantial part of the Bas-Lag setting. It is situated at the confluence of the Rivers Tar, Canker and Gross Tar, about ten miles east of the Swollen Ocean. Though a self-styled parliamentary republic, New Crobuzon's government more closely resembles an oligarchy with strong imperialistic ambitions.

The primary protagonist in The Scar calls New Crobuzon the greatest city in Bas-Lag, but her opinion is substantially biased. Nevertheless, New Crobuzon is certainly one of Bas-Lag's most economically and militarily powerful states. In The Scar, it is capable of dispatching an armada half way around the world to combat the pirate-city of Armada. In Iron Council, it carries out a protracted war with the distant city-state of Tesh, and crushes an internal rebellion through force of arms.

Nova Esperium

New Esperium is a colony of New Crobuzon's, located on an unnamed continent or island across the Swollen Ocean.

Salkrikaltor

The Cray Commonwealth of Salkrikaltor is found beneath the waves of the Swollen Ocean, far east of New Crobuzon between the islands Bartoll and Gnomon Tor. Salkrikaltor and New Crobuzon are described in The Scar as being trading partners on amiable terms.

The capital of the Commonwealth is Salkrikaltor City. Most of Salkriklator City is located underwater, though there is a "topside" district for non-aquatic creatures that seek to do business with the cray. The submerged part of the City is described in The Scar as "convoluted and interconnected," with "little squares of seaweed topiary" and "coral courtyards." The above-water district is described as consisting mostly of towers carved from rock and coral, "a mass of contrary styles," with floating platforms and buildings suspended by struts and columns.

Shankell

Shankell is located across the Meagre Sea from Myrshock; the Cymek desert lies to its south. Yagharek, one of the primary protagonists in Perdido Street Station, visited Shankell on his way to New Crobuzon. He calls it the "cactus city," suggesting that is populated or ruled by the cactacae. Propaganda spread by New Crobuzon's government claims that people fight "like animals for sport" in Shankell, and based on Yagharek's account of his time spent there, that depiction seems fairly apt.

Tarmuth

Tarmuth is situated at the mouth of the Gross Tar River, on the coast of the Rohagi continent about ten miles east of New Crobuzon. The primary protagonist in The Scar describes it as "an ugly, violent town" used by privateers and freebooters as safe harbor. Besides "prostitution and piracy," Tarmuth survives by manufacturing ships, and exists thanks to New Crobuzon's patronage.

Tesh

Little is known about the "shadowy city-state" of Tesh, though it is mentioned in all three of the Bas-Lag novels. It is located thousands of miles south of New Crobuzon, across the Meagre Sea, beyond Shankell and through the Firewater Straits. In Iron Council, it is called the "City of Crawling Liquid," with "moats and glass cats ... and tramp diplomats and the Crying Prince." In Perdido Street Station, the Tesh ambassador to New Crobuzon is described as living like a vagrant, communicating all official business through the mail. The people of Tesh wield strange, powerful magic that is unknown in New Crobuzon. The crews of their "arcane ships" wear henna and file their teeth.

Troglodopolis

Troglodopolis is referred to in Perdido Street Station as a "chthonic burrow."

Vadaunk

Vadaunk lies somewhere south of New Crobuzon, beyond the Cacotopos Stain. According to government propaganda in Perdido Street Station, the changing seasons "bring an onslaught of superstitious repression" there. In Iron Council it is called "the mercenary kingdom."

The Witchocracy

The Witchocracy is located near the Firewater Straits, which it controls, and neighbors Tesh. It is a mysterious place that is apparently known by many names: a character in The Scar refers to it as Shud zar Myrion zar Koni, the City of Ratjinn and the Hive of the Jet Sorrow.

Yoraketche

Known Races

Humans

Seem to be in most respects identical to real ones, except that many have the ability to use magic. They also can be Remade; usually a punishment in New Crozubon, we see voluntary Remaking in The Scar when Tanner Sack is given gills and acquatic eyes.

Khepri

Female khepri differ from humans in that their skin is crimson in color, and each has a giant scarab for a head. Male Khepri are lobster-sized, non-sentient scarabs without the depending humanoid body. The secondary protagonist of Perdido Street Station is a khepri. Mieville described them thus:

• "Khepri was the ancient Egyptian god of the rising sun, and of transformations. He was represented by a man with a scarab for a head. My attitude to this sort of stuff is entirely piratical and philistine. I plunder myths or whatever but without any respect for their symbolic heritage. So the Khepri in my world are categorically not symbolic of transformation or anything like that."

Garuda

Humanoid vultures. The majority of Garuda are nomadic, with a complex tribal structure. They resemble winged humans with avian heads and feet. Another secondary protagonist of Perdido Street Station is a garuda.They are a minority group in New Crozubon in both Perdido St Station and Iron Council, though in Iron Council they also appear 'in the wild' near The Stain. Mieville 'plundered' Garuda from Hindu mythology.

Vodyanoi

Short, blue-skinned, froglike humanoids with the ability to temporarily craft water into semi-sold form. They cannot survive out of water for more than a day, and do not swim in salt water. Taken from Russian folklore.

Handlingers

Sentient parasitic disembodied hands which control the mind of their host. There are two types: sinistrals, the noble caste, and dextriers, the soldier caste. Sinistrals are left hands and dextriers are right hands.

Cactacae

Humanoid cacti. Cactacae grow flowers in spring and usually shave off their spines where flesh rubs against flesh. Although their young grow out of the ground, they nurse them as mammals do. Cactacae have wooden bones and sap for blood. They sleep standing up. The Cactacae community in New Crozubon is based around The Glasshouse, and is allowed to exist as a nominally independent community within the city. In Iron Council, we see Cactacae using their weapons of choice - Rivebows, oversized crossbows that fire a spinning metal disc capable of shearing off cactacae limbs - in the service of the Militia.

Weavers

Gigantic multidimensional spider-like beings who consider life on Bas-Lag as an ongoing work of art. They use their considerable powers to interfere with events according to their individual sense of aesthetics, and seem to appear primarily before major events. Weavers speak in a disjointed, babbling flow of half-poetry, and are totally unpredictable.

Anophelii

Mosquito-like beings (singular anopheleus). The females are very dangerous, and will drain any living being of its blood (only Scabmettlers, whose blood solidifies, and Cactacae, who have no blood, are safe). Anophelii have been confined to a single island, but once ruled much of the world in an empire called The Malarial Queendom. Only seen in The Scar.

Llorgis

An undescribed race. All that is known of them is that they have three legs.

Stiltspear

Driven to extinction after the railroad destroys their indigenous swamp lands, the Stiltspear were a race of stick insect-like creatures who were able to create golems through somaturgy. It is the Stiltspear who teach the making of golems to Judah Low, protagonist of Iron Council.

Hotchi

Described as humanoid hedgehogs who ride giant roosters, the hotchi live primarily in the great forest outside New Crobuzon called Rudewood. They are burrowers.

Scabmettler

Stocky, gray-skinned human-like beings whose blood, when shed, congeals into metallic armor. They practice a unique form of martial, arena combat called mortu crutt. Scabmettlers have only been seen in Armada, in the riding (district) called Shaddler.

Menfish

An aquatic race seen only in Armada. They live in Armada's Bask riding, but spend much time below the city. Menfish are said to look something like newts.

Cray

An aquatic race who look like humans from the waist up and rock lobsters from the waist down. They use domesticated squids to hunt. Many live in an underwater city, Salkrikaltor, which rivals New Crobuzon itself in size.

Inchmen

A barely described race who are most likely caterpillars from the waist down and human from the waist up. They are primarily found in the area known as the Cacotopic Stain.

Beetle-people

A race of child-sized beetles that stand upright. They live on gigantic moving tortoises called chelonae. Their architecture is constructed out of a living mortar that consists of insects.

Grindylow

A race of mysterious, very powerful fish-people (something between eels and viperfish) who appear in The Scar. Their name comes from a creature of English nursery stories.

Daemon

The daemons of 'hell' are a sentient species that have an Ambassador in New Crozubon. Little else is known, save that they only take those who believe that they are condemend.

Partial List of Sigificant Characters in the Bas-Lag Novels

Isaac der Grimnebulin

Derkhan Blueday

Teafortwo

Lemuel Pigeon

Yagharek

Construct Council

Bentham Rudgutter

Mr. Motley

Montjohn Rescue

Lin

Cutter

Judah Low

Pomeroy

Elsie

Ori (later Toro)

Weather Wrightby

Drogon

Ann-Hari

Uzman

Toro

Spiral Jacobs

Bertold Sulion

Jack Half-a-prayer

Thick Shanks

Old Shoulder

Qurabin

Mayor Stem-Fulcher

Oil Bill

Place How

Baron

Tanner Sack

The Lovers

Bellis Coldwine

Silas Fennec

Kruach Aum

The Brucolac

Uther Doul

Science, Technology and Magic

The technology on Bas-Lag is wide and varied and evolves over the course of the books. In Perdido St Station the primary piece of weaponry is the flintlock musket; by Iron Council militia are armed with what appears to be percussion cap weaponry in the form of steam-powered machine guns and pepperpot revolvers. On p.229 of PSS Isaac states: "That's where they dropped the colourbomb in 1545. That's what they said put an end to the Pirate Wars, but to be honest with you, Yag, they'd been over for a year before that [...]" The obvious comparison is with the dropping of the A-Bomb in WW2 - both from the date (1945/1545) and the comment that the 'war had been over for a year': it is unarguable that Japan's hope at avoiding complete defeat had been completely destroyed in the series of naval and land defeats that was 1944. Another power source is The Torque, mentioned on p 225, yet its nature is unknown.