The Scar (Bas-Lag Book 2)

In our review of Perdido, we mentioned some kinship with the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever. It is actually more appropriate here, for Bellis Coldwine is the sort of anti-hero first envisioned by Donaldson though here even more brilliantly written. We feel this work will have similar impact making it a force in the genre for at least a generation or two and possibly more. Miéville has opened the floodgates of his imagination and his scientific speculations about remade, about possible futures, and about even the undead, will have influence over many future writers. WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS This book is a must read for any devotee of speculative fiction-it is one of its very best examples. For any one who has been awed by the finale of Conrads Heart of Darkness, The Scar will reverberate for a lifetime. WHY YOU SHOULD PASS For Perdido, we said this is not an easy read and not for the squeamish. The same ugliness exists here. This book is not for children and only for serious readers. If youre looking to pass some time with the sci-fi equivalent of a soap opera, youll be served better by the inferior works of Terry Brooks, Robert Jordan, and Terry Goodkind. READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW AT INCHOATUS.COM

The Scar is set in Bas Lag, the world of the city-state of New Crobuzon, last seen in

Lets pretend thats actually a 3.5. I found many things impressive about this book (the first I have read from this author) such as the rich backdrop, interesting concepts, intriguing plot. However, I had a couple of issues that kept me from enjoying this book as much as I could have. First, while there are some amazing things happening in the book (eg. magic) some of these things were presented rather matter-of-factly and with little sense of awe, which in turn led to my feeling the same way. Magic? Mutated humans? Eh. Although, after a while I got used to the idea that this was a book in which certain unusual things had to be taken for granted, so I eventually just went with it. My second problem, which was a bit more insurmountable, was that some of the main characters, Bellis in particular, was so cold. Yes, I understand that was part of her character. But... its hard to care about a character like that- if I dont care about the characters, then I dont really care about anything else. I did however like some of the other characters a bit more, such as Tanner Sack, but he was a little peripheral. I also felt a bit let down by feeling as though relationships didnt develop as fully as they could have- which would have made things a bit more engrossing. So, while clearly some people really enjoyed this book, I dont think Im likely to read more works by this author, because I guess I need a little more emotion in the characters to pull me in. If you are the kind of reader who doesnt have much of a problem with that and are more interested in the actual story than the characters, then youll probably enjoy it.

An excellent book on its own and as a follow-up to Perdido Street Station, which avoids the usual Sequel traps of the genre. Many of the previous reviewers have done a great job itemizing why this is such a great novel. Id just like to add that, maybe due to my personality,but my enjoyment of the book would have been doubled by the inclusion of maps of the Bas-Lag oceans that the Armada/Trident sails, as well as a map of the Armada itself. Given the detail of the story, Miéville MUST have maps of these locations to keep them all straight, and hes said as much in a interview on Science Fiction Weekly. God knows if he or his publishers read these reviews by us proles but thats my fervent recommendation. Maps maps maps maps!

The Scar is as inventive and rich with unconventional ideas as any other books penned by the author. We have all the elements here for a proper fantasy experience: the vast ocean-world is brimming with awesome creatures, legends, societies and history - and all this rendered in an original way that makes us wonder why so few authors dare to step out of the cliche-circle of Tolkien-inspired high fantasy. The first 400-500 pages will keep us chained to the book: the prose is fluid and elegant, the story rolls on with a carefully balanced speed and there are so many amazing characters, ideas we want to know more about. After that, however, the narrative gradually loses its momentum and similarly to the legendary beast towing the pirate-city, Armada in the book, it all but stops in the end. The most original concept in the novel is the so-called possibility-mining: a fascinating injection of quantum-physics into a fantasy-setting. Although the author clearly intends to use this idea as a focal point for the story, it never gets explored deeply enough. The same superficial approach applies to a bunch of interesting characters (Tanner Sack, Uther Doul, the Lovers, the Brucolac) who are really the key engines and highlights of the story, but whose background and motivations is not unveiled at all. It seems that the author stubbornly insists on limiting in-depth characterisation to the rather irritating protagonist, the cynical Ms Coldwine (what a telling surname), whose inability to get liked by the reader becomes quite frustrating by the end of a very long journey. Reading the last 200 hundred pages or so left me with an impression that the author might have been overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of his own ambition and resorted to using a rather lazy short cut to finish off the story. In a novel closing on 800 pages, however, you cannot build up tension and promise, and then get away by not delivering some climactic experience. The shockingly mundane and simple twist in the end leaves a bitter taste in the readers mouth: the Scar is scarred by unexploited potential.

i have just one adjective to bestow on this book: incredible. i am in awe of china mieville. the way he describes settings and characters are so imaginative and well-written that i can just see the people and places in my minds eye. ive read his other books and theyve all been excellent and i can tell that hes just going to keep getting better and better. this is a must read for anyone, including people that arent normally into fantasy.

So - youve been hearing all these praises about this Mieville guy. Genre-redefining. Enthralling. Mythic. You check out the cover of his books and see a litany of blurbs proclaiming him as the next Tolkien or Bradbury. An author beyond description. You roll you eyes - remembering countless other mammoth novels littered with accolades youve slogged through - only to be underwhelmed. Well - this time - for me, at least - the blurbs were not fluff. This is cool stuff. This is genre-redefining. This is a world you can immerse yourself in and totally believe is real. It lives, breathes, smells, thrills, terrifies, disgusts and even makes you philosophize. I loved this book. It wasnt perfect (whats the deal with the love affair with the word puissant?) but as a reader who has been disappointed with new SF/F lately - Meilville has renewed my faith that great things can still be found in the modern worlds most exciting genre - and that alone is enought to give it five stars.

China Miévilles The Scar is another incredible work of fiction by this little-known, but award-winning author of speculative fiction. Although, not as haunting as his breakthrough work Perdido Street Station, The Scar is equally inventive and enthralling. Again set on the planet of Bas-Lag, where his signature creation, the city of New Crobuzon, is situated, this time, most of the action takes place far far away from the city, but again the central characters are (displaced) residents of that intriguing, terrifying metropolis. The Scar is clearly Miévilles homage to Melvilles Moby Dick. One of the central plot threads in the book is a search for a long-rumored mythical beast, a gigantic sea creature large enough to dwarf, and tow, a floating city. This is just one of the many intriguing story lines in the book, which also features pirates, vampires, humans genetically modified to breathe underwater and stigmatized inter-species sexual liaisons. In The Scar, the main character of the book is female, Bellis Coldwine, a translator of languages who finds herself on a boat destined for a port halfway on the other side of the world, fleeing from her beloved New Crobuzon because of her actions (and reactions) to the horrific events chronicled in Perdido Street Station. Bellis is an interesting, somewhat detached and not altogether sympathetic protagonist. Miéville makes the common mistake of having his protagonist a witness to a few too many pivotal moments in the plot, but this reader is appreciative of the use of this common writers device. There is nothing common about The Scar or the imagination of China Miéville--read this book and you will be uncommonly entertained. Length: 656 pages. Publisher: Del Rey. Date: June 25, 2002. OVERALL GRADE: A/A+. PLOT: A+. IMAGERY: A+. IMPACT: A-. WRITING: A.

Great book. Dark and grity. I found Perdido Street Station to be faster paced. Could be me. Anyone who likes Bas-Lag I hope you will or have read Railsea.

First of all, I found this book to be vivid and engaging. I love the story and characters, and the picture Mieville paints of this world is just gorgeous. However, I find his writing to be alternately beautiful and amatuerish. Some passages are virtually poetic and some are plain ridiculous. And really, how many times can one author use the words puissant, and juddering in one book? Apparently an infinite, exhausting, countless number of times. My point is, he strives to employ unusual descriptives and then just beats them to death. If the story wasnt so good, it would have been laughable. So, yes, I am torn--is The Scar a veritable work of art or a pretentious, overwrought vocabulary exercise? Maybe its both, which is why I found myself re-reading particularly beautiful passages for the sheer enjoyment and then finding myself snickering and rolling my eyes.