Ascension (The Summoner’s Circle, #2)

Perdido Street Station is a novel by British writer China Miéville, published in 2000 by Macmillan. It is the first in a series set in the fictional world of Bas-Lag, and is followed by the independent works The Scar and Iron Council. It is home to various intelligent races, a form of magic called "thaumaturgy," and a technological and scientific development consistent with the early capitalism of the Industrial Revolution. The novel is set in the city-state of New Crobuzon, a dystopian industrial metropolis characterized by social stratification, economic exploitation, and partial segregation. Xenophobia is rampant, and cruel corporal punishment magically transforms convicts into "remade," a despised class. The dictatorial government is in cahoots with big business and organized crime. The plot centers on the heroes' struggle against colossal winged monsters that threaten the existence of a densely populated city. The protagonist, dissident scientist Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin, seeks a way to destroy the monsters and save his lover, the artist Lin, a member of the beetle-headed khepri race, from a crime boss.