Well, I finally bit the bullet and started reading the China Mieville short story collection I bought months ago. I got through one short story before I went to bed. It's called Looking for Jake, and is from the collection of the same name.

Admittedly, I was reading it at half-eleven at night, but I was deeply impressed. Mieville has a wonderful eye, which is something I've always lacked as a writer. I've got the equipment, so to speak, and I can turn a description when I want to, but usually my emphasis is character and voice.

With this first story in the collection, Mieville turns character into setting and back again. And he makes it look easy, the bastard.