Kraken by China Mieville

These sources are excerpts from a novel titled "Kraken" by China Miéville, revealed by the title information and included acknowledgments. The text focuses on a museum curator named Billy Harrow following the mysterious theft of a preserved giant squid, the Architeuthis dux, from the Darwin Centre. The narrative quickly immerses the reader in a complex, occult version of London where various magical and religious factions, including the Krakenists (a squid-worshipping cult), the ruthless Tattoo and his followers, and a shadowy police unit called the FSRC, are involved in the squid's disappearance and the escalating urban chaos. As Billy is swept into this conflict, he learns he is a key figure—the "preserver" or "memory christ"—in a bizarre war that involves ancient Egyptian servants, an animated rebel statue named Wati, warring angels of memory and future, and a plot to use the kraken's disappearance to reset reality via a pyromancer's destructive fire magic.