China Mieville's The City and the City
I've been hanging out in an airport most of the day, alternately reading this book and enjoying free wifi. Good times. Anyway, as far as I know (please correct me if I'm wron), Mieville is one of the few authors to marry fantasy with mystery (unless alternate worlds like Chabon's Yiddish Policemen's Union count). As in, this is a murder mystery set in the world of fantasy. I actually think the world is Europe, since there are references to real-word places, but the titular cities are definitely the stuff of fantasy--two cities, with distinct identities and cultures, in the same exact places, overlapping. It's a really cool concept. The mystery is unfortunately not quite as compelling, but it was still an entertaining and thought-provoking read, and made being stuck in an airport not bad at all. A-/B+.
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