Railsea facts for kids
Cover of the first US hardcover edition of Railsea
|
|
| Author | China Miéville |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young adult fiction, weird fiction |
| Publisher | Del Rey Books |
|
Publication date
|
15 May 2012 |
| Pages | 448 |
| ISBN | 978-0345524522 |
Railsea is an exciting adventure novel for young adults. It was written by the English author China Miéville and came out in May 2012. The book mixes fantasy and steampunk ideas, which some people call "salvagepunk." It's also a fun, modern take on classic adventure stories like Moby-Dick and Treasure Island.
Contents
What is the Railsea World Like?
Imagine a world completely covered by endless train tracks! This is the "railsea," where the story of Railsea takes place. It's a tough world where giant, hungry animals roam.
These huge creatures include giant mole-rats, earwigs, and antlions. There are also strange, unknown beasts in the polluted sky. Because of these dangers, people live on safe "islands" of hard rock.
The only way to travel safely between these islands is by using trains. These trains move along the vast network of rails that covers the entire planet.
What is the Story About?
The main character is a young assistant doctor named Sham Yes ap Soorap. He works on a special "moletrain" led by Captain Abacat Naphi. This train hunts giant moles for meat, much like whaling ships hunt whales.
Captain Naphi is obsessed with one particular mole named Mocker-Jack. After a chase, they find an abandoned train. Sham explores it and discovers a dead body and a camera buried nearby.
Sham's Discovery
Sham and Naphi look at the pictures on the camera. They are shocked to see an image of a single rail stretching far into the distance. This seems impossible because everyone believes the railsea is endless.
News of Sham's discovery quickly spreads. His investigations lead him to Caldera and Dero Shroake. They are the children of two explorers who vanished while trying to reach the furthest parts of the railsea.
Sham tells them about the camera's contents. The Shroakes decide to follow their parents' path on their own train. Sham returns to his moletrain.
A Dangerous Journey
Before Sham's moletrain leaves, pirates capture him. They demand that he tell them how to find the Shroakes. The pirates believe there is treasure beyond the railsea.
Captain Naphi receives a message from Sham. She reluctantly stops chasing Mocker-Jack to go find him. Sham convinces his old trainmates to help the Shroakes.
The Shroakes are now being hunted by both pirates and the navy. Sham and his friends rescue them from their damaged train. With a navy war-train close behind, they venture onto the lonely rail, leaving the known railsea behind.
The End of the Line
There's a big fight involving the navy, Mocker-Jack, and a robot guard train. This robot train protects the exit of the railsea. The moletrain escapes, and Mocker-Jack falls into a deep hole.
The moletrain crew decides to return home with their valuable cargo. But Sham and the Shroakes continue their journey on foot to see what lies beyond. Captain Naphi joins them, feeling lost after Mocker-Jack's death.
They finally reach the end of the line. There, they find the ancient descendants of the people who first built the railways. This confirms an old rumor: the endless, complex railsea was just the result of too much railway building a long, long time ago.
After reaching a real ocean, they find a boat left by the Shroakes' parents. They then sail out into the unknown, ready for new adventures.
