The world-setting of New Crobuzon is like nothing I'd encountered before, and it was exhilarating. A lot of it was plain old insane, but there is an ordered chaos to the city, and it's a character all by itself. The plot is reminiscent of old-timey science adventures, with enough drama and action to keep one satisfied. You would be following an action plot and then suddenly, "Wait! What's that thing? Wait, I wanna see!" That's what New Crobuzon feels like. The characters are very interesting, but you do get the feeling that if their "New Crobuzon-ness" was taken away they'd be quite normal stereotypes. The ending is not unexpected, but still painful just the same as you grow quite attached to them.