I think instead of specifically losing clarity when seeing a warm-blooded creature, they actually just always lost the ability to think rationally while hungry. So once they ate, they had a few days of no hunger and an ability to think and live normally even with humans (with the horrors of their just-completed murder of often humans). It was specifically hunger-related. Which is pretty on brand for China Mieville, exaggerating but connecting to the way hunger socially can cause actions which would otherwise be unacceptable. But also pinning that to mental states. It’s like it’s almost a critique, but simultaneously horrific in a way that also seems like the representatives of the poor are also evil
good analysis. mieville is doing marxist critique even when he’s worldbuilding a minor race that’s only in one chapter of a book (maybe they’re in other books i only read 2)
I think instead of specifically losing clarity when seeing a warm-blooded creature, they actually just always lost the ability to think rationally while hungry. So once they ate, they had a few days of no hunger and an ability to think and live normally even with humans (with the horrors of their just-completed murder of often humans). It was specifically hunger-related. Which is pretty on brand for China Mieville, exaggerating but connecting to the way hunger socially can cause actions which would otherwise be unacceptable. But also pinning that to mental states. It’s like it’s almost a critique, but simultaneously horrific in a way that also seems like the representatives of the poor are also evil
good analysis. mieville is doing marxist critique even when he’s worldbuilding a minor race that’s only in one chapter of a book (maybe they’re in other books i only read 2)
I also stopped after 2. It got old fast I guess. I read the series this comes from 2 books and then the one about the 2 countries in the same city