While waiting for The Works of Vermin to come out, I didn’t know what to expect, but I was giddy with anticipation. This way, they are also kept away and out of sight of the posh inhabitants of the overcity. Indeed, from the title and cover illustration to the very last paragraph, everything in this book is about so-called vermin. But when people start referring to other people as disposable in this way, who are the real vermin? In Gorslung’s lab, the centipede provides the means of production, since ecdytoxin is now used in everything from perfumes to buildings.