Tolog Review: Un Lun Dun

Un Lun Dun
by China Miéville
reviewed by Samantha Martinez

Un Lun Dun by China Miéville focuses on two average girls named Debba and Zana. The two girls did not expect anything out of the ordinary to happen to them, but what they got was the total opposite. Zana has had some strange experiences recently, such as animals following and watching her everywhere she goes. Zana’s friendship is tested when the other girls find Zana to be acting strange. Deeba is the only friend who stands by here throughout it all. One day Zana feels a strange pull to go outside. The pull leads her and Deeba to a secret door that takes them to Un lun dun. Un lun dun is the total opposite of London. In Un lun don the girls see a mystical world where clothes are made of books, giraffes are seen as vicious killers, buses are viewed as holy objects and where houses can be shaped as shoes, hats or fists. When Zana and Deeba arrive in Un lun dun, Zana is seen as the chosen one-the Shwazzy. The Shwazzy is the hero who will save Un lun dun and who has been prophesized about for centuries. But not all is safe in Un lun dun. There is an evil in Un lun dun, an evil that is referred to as the Smog. The Smog is made up of chemicals, smoke, and everything vile in the world. According to the prophecy the Schwazzy is the only one who can defeat the Smog and the Smog knows this. In an attempt to defeat the only person standing in the Smog’s way, the Smog attacks Zana. After the attack, Zana and Deeba are taken back home but Zana doesn’t remember anything about Un lun dun. Deeba doesn’t forget any of the experiences of Un lun dun. When Deeba comes back she has a bad feeling that something wasn’t quite right in Un lun dun. Deeba investigates Unstable. Unstable was the one who helped Zana get the Smog out of her body. After some investigation Deeba decides to go back to Un lun dun. Un lun dun is not the same as when she left it. Un lun dun is at war.

When Deeba goes back she hires a half-ghost boy named Hemi. Hemi and Deeba uncover that the people that she once trusted are indeed her enemy. With the help of a talking book, a half-ghost and two words, Deeba sets out to fulfill the Schwazzy destiny. But can Deeba challenge destiny? Can she fulfill the prophesy of being the Schwazzy?