When I first wrote about China Mieville’s Iron Council, I wrote, toward the conclusion:
bq. Mieville has stated in interviews that he does not want to create stories with simple “good vs. evil” morality, but that is generally what he does. The government of New Crobuzon is populated entirely with people who operate with as much love and compassion as a Dark Lord . Mieville’s main characters are often conflicted, impulsive, selfish, and wonderfully complex, but they end up fighting against forces that are entirely loathsome, which is a cop-out.
This is an idea that deserves attention and discussion, and I think my original language made the issue seem more cut-and-dried than I know it to be.