Rating: 
Summary: The Obsession of the Possible
Review: China has once more returned us to the land of the wildly weird, the stuff of nightmares, the packaging around an intensely complicated plot of obsession, mystery, betrayal, and twisted desire. Set in the world of Bas-Lag that he first introduced to us in Perdido Street Station, this work shows us a much wider view, a diorama of images and creatures that at first blush seem incredibly impossible, not related to our world at all, but one quickly finds motivations and emotions that ring around both your heart and your head. Tinges of Melville surround the overarching story of the hunt and capture of a true miles-wide Leviathan, but trying to pigeonhole China is an impossible task, as one finds elements from Bram Stroker to Dickens to Richard Burton all thoroughly churned into this mix that China makes uniquely his own. Trying to predict what will happen or what a character will do is an exercise in futility, doomed to failure as China continuously surprises you. His characters, for all their incredible physiognomy, are recognizably human, richly detailed while maintaining depths that are just out of reach. Uther Doul is a true man of mystery, wielding his Possible Sword and twisting events (and possibilities?) for his own unknown desires, the prime mover of the events in this story. Bellis Coldwine is the main viewpoint character, in some ways equivalent to Ishmael of Moby Dick, an observer who nonetheless takes important actions that have definite influences on the final outcome; cold, distant, but yet one who gets caught in more than one love affair. The Brucolac, a real, practical vampire; Silas Fennac, the New Crobuzon spy; Tanner Sack, a Remade man who is the epitome of loyalty yet will still betray his chosen country of allegiance; each character adds their own touch of flavor and complexity to this bitter and compelling tea. And in the distance are The Lovers, erstwhile commanders of the motley collection of ships that make up the Armada, defined by their odd sexual practices, practices that leave them mirror-image scarred, a metaphor in flesh of China's thematic investigation of the cuts and scarring that happen to and are part of the definition of everyone. China's strength is his incredibly descriptive prose, much in evidence here, but the picture he paints is not as monochromatically dark as it is Perdido Street Station, as he dips his pen with bits and swirls color, highlights poking out of his black felt. His pictures of his diverse creatures are not as detailed as they were in the earlier novel, especially not for those creatures and near-human species that not new to this book. For this reason alone, I recommend reading Perdido Street Station first, so that one comes to this book steeped in the environment, the depressive bleakness of the earlier work. The plot is a continual set of twisting surprises and seeming diversions, but each part is fully tied to the climax of this work. In this area, this book far exceeds his earlier work, showing all the signs of meticulous planning, where each element is necessary to the story, and events are driven by the complex interaction of each of his characters, rather than mere happenstance or coincidence. My only real complaint with this book was the Coda that is tacked on after the main climax. While this Coda neatly wraps up all the unanswered questions and provides closure to some of the splinter stories, I felt it was unnecessary and spoiled the power of the highly emotional main ending line. With this book, I feel that China has entered the top flight of today's speculative fiction writers, mature, confident of his mastery of the art of story telling, with a voice that uniquely and compellingly his own. I predict this book will take all the various awards for this year, and I can look forward to many more years and many more great reads from this brilliant new fable spinner.
Rating:
Summary: Fact Or Possible Coin
Review: China Mieville is one of the very few writers I have come across whose work can not be compared to that of others creating novels. His work may be placed in genres that attempt to define what he and other writers are offering readers, but so far they are just attempts. Neil Stephenson's work in, "Snowcrash", is brilliant, Neil Gaiman, and Richard Powers also have truly unique and inventive writing styles. I would still say that Mieville creates the most fantastic and unique worlds that have as little in common with more traditional fictionally constructed places in time than other writers. I say this not to diminish the work of others, rather to express how hard Mieville works to create a world that has as few easily recognizable reference points, and by so doing comes as close to creating a truly unique world without leaving readers completely lost. His reading is incredibly detailed and dense without becoming frivolous. He takes you to his imagined events far from where you have ever been, but he never loses the reader, and his creations are plausible in the sense they can be followed. Complex has nothing to do with the poor excuse for talent that requires smoke and mirrors and surreal writing, not because the author is a master of it, rather he needs to hide what is essentially weak writing. I believe readers should enjoy, "Perdido Street Station", prior to taking on, "The Scar". Mieville does not write any detail he does not need, and there are enough references in this new book to, "Perdido", that enhance the reading of, "The Scar". I also found this new book more complex than the previous adventures in New Crobuzon. When it comes to naming his characters he is the 21st century Dickens, The Brucoloc, Ab-Men, and Vampir, riverthing, Waterman from The Cold Claw Sea, and Hedrigall who speaks in Sunglari-accented Salt, and my favorite Uther Doul. A plan becomes a chain of whispers, a chain of meaning, whose links will lead to the Truth. In, "Perdido", the concept of choice-theft was introduced, and the author's presentation was brilliant. In, "The Scar", the concept starts with the blade, the sword that Uther Doul wields. It is known simply as the Mighty Blade to the ignorant or perhaps a blade from the Ghosthead techniques, but it is so much more. Those who know a bit more call it the Mightblade, not in an effort to describe its lethality, rather its potentiality. Uther knows what his blade is; it is a, "Possible Sword". A coin that falls on either its head or tail or even on edge is a, "Fact Coin". But what of all the possibilities not accounted for? When they are included there are an infinite number of outcomes, or what the author terms, "a possibility circuit". A simple sword is directed by he who wields it; the mind makes the decision, a planner. But the Possible Sword turns the planner in to an opportunist, a person who fights from the heart not the mind, a swordsman that can exploit all possibilities with speed approaching the simultaneous. Utilizing multiple dimensions at the same time, if you will, the swordsman is infinitely capable and lethal. This one idea I found fascinating is a very small portion of this work. Uther Doul is one of dozens upon dozens of wildly creative characters. If you have not read this man's work, you have not read anything like it, perhaps something that approaches or approximates his work. But you never have actually experienced his unique talents.
Rating:
Summary: Watery Weirdness
Review: China Miéville proved himself a master of atmospheric dark fiction with his previous two novels, and the award-winning British author just keeps getting better. THE SCAR, set in the same world as PERDIDO STREET STATION, introduces the coolest setting ever--the floating, libertarian city of Armada. New Crobuzoners Bellis Coldwine and Tanner Sack--two of the best antiheroes in modern fantasy--are pressganged by Armadan pirates and put to work on a strange plan that forces them to confront terrifying mosquito-people, delve into thaumaturgical secrets, and parlay with a deadly killer wielding a sort of quantum sword. Miéville reveals the whole truth of what's going on with Armada achingly slowly, letting the reader soak luxuriously in a bath of grotesque detail and internecine intrigue as vast as the ocean. The book's titular theme--scars--is woven throughout, in character, setting, and plot, with a subtle touch. Miéville perfectly blends material horror, complex characters, and a delicious steampunk milieu to create another brilliant novel.
Rating: 
Summary: A brilliant book but certainly not for everyone
Review: China Mieville's PERDIDO STREET STATION was one of my five favorite books of 2001, so it's only natural that THE SCAR got shunted to the top of the stack when I bought it. It's an excellent book, but my reaction to it was slightly more ambivalent than with the earlier novel. In many respects, Mieville's writing is a vast improvement over the earlier novel. Though the descriptions of horror and grotesquerie are as plentiful as in PERDIDO, the overall effect is more rarefied, possibly because the prose is somewhat more ornate and remote - less out-and-out pulpy. No one setting in the book is as compelling as PERDIDO's instantly iconic New Crobuzon, but THE SCAR delivers such a wide range of indelible sights and wonders that we don't really miss Crobuzon as much as we might at first think. The ending is far less deus-ex-machina than PERDIDO, as well - a definite plus. However, all of this goodness has an obverse side. The prose is more polished and less pulpy, yes, but also a bit colder, a bit more like an edifice. The ending is satisfying - not happy, certainly, but satisfying - but the plot leading up to it is full of little frustrations. Mieville consciously set out with THE SCAR to confound what he sees as the annoying contrivances of most heroic fantasy, such as the likeable, activist hero who inevitably saves the day (which still figured in PERDIDO, although the day was not fully saved); but some of his workarounds are not particularly endearing, such as a heroine who is not only not likeable (I can live with that - I read Ellroy, after all) but is not particularly interesting. And in Uther Doul, Mieville creates a supporting character who is more interesting than the lead, but who seems to have stepped in from another story altogether. The novel's overarching theme, that of painful change and growth, is a worthy one, and handled very intelligently in terms of characterization and plot movement, but the central metaphor - embodied in the mental and physical scars that every character carries, and the global Scar of the title - feels a bit obvious and a bit overdone. Nonetheless, I'm not about to fault Mieville for having genuine literary ambition in a field where most writers are seemingly content with telling anaesthetizing stories primarily intended to start or maintain a franchise. The plot here is strong, the characterization believable, the prose muscular, and the descriptions vivid. As fantasy or as literature, THE SCAR is eminently worth your time and money.
Rating:
Summary: Mieville's imagination knows no bounds!
Review: China Mieville, the author who astonished me with his vision with Perdido Street Station has wowed me again with this equally unforgettable masterpiece:The Scar. The author who could had taken the easy route and just write a sequel to his first instead takes us back to his world of Bas-lag but in a different place. Bellis Coldwine, a linguist is escaping her city of New Crobuzon because of her brief relationship with a certain scientist named Isaac Dan der Grimmnebulin.If you want to know why read Perdido Street station. Bellis's ship that she is traveling on is attacked by pirates and she and the survivors are taken to Armanda, a city constructed from the hull of pirates ships. While Bellis is there she finds out that rulers of this strange shipcity: a S&M couple called Lovers are planning on a epic project that will change the face of this world forever! Mievielle's epic masterpiece is filled with scenes of terror and wonder as his obvious love of the sea shows on every page. This novel can be described as combination of Herman Mieville and H.P. Lovecraft in design. The characters of this epic novel come alive in these pages. Bellis Coldwine, the unlikely heroine who is manipulated by the various forces upon Armanda. Silas Fennac-the spy and Bellis sometime lover who's agenda no one can fanthom and who holds a deadly secret that will threaten everyone on the Armada. Uther Doul-the Lover's powerful warrior henchman with a incredible weapon at his command.Tanner Sacks-the sailor who becomes less than human and who's loyality to the Armada is set in stone. Brucolac, the sinister vampire who rebels against the power of the Lovers. I mentioned earlier that this book is combination of Herman Mieville and Lovecraft. Like Mieville's moby dick the Lovers obsession with their endeavor it will threaten the lives of all of the inhabitants of this city and the menace of a group of terrifying aquatic demons called grindylow who seek something stolen from them by one of the inhabitants of the city chilled the blood.Mieville's skills as a world-builder are more evident in this book than in perdido street station as he creates alien beings like a race of mosquito people who feast upon blood and
raising of giant ancient creature called Avanc from it's resting place under the ocean.This novel is the one to beat as best fantasy novel of 2002 and further cements China Mieville place as one of the premier fantacist of this generation and century!
Rating:
Summary: The Real Thing
Review: For anyone who spent days in the nightmarish thrall of Perdido Street Station, China Mieville's breathtakingly literate and imaginative monstravaganza, the first question about The Scar must be, was he able do it again? The answer is no, but this turns out to be a good thing. Particularly in its opening, this sea quest tale disappoints in relation to Perdido Street: though the floating city of Aramada is a marvelous creation, it lacks the incredible density of detail and heights of grotesquerie of New Crobuzon, which here plays a supporting, offstage role. One appreciates Armada without loving and fearing it like New Crobuzon. Yet as the novel picks up steam we find these feelings precisely mirrored in perfectly named protagonist Bellis Coldwine. As the wickedly sharp plot begins to twist and turn, Mieville again conjures tales of wonder from the far corners of Bas-Lag, provides us with lovingly bizarre set-pieces and characters, and his story begins to fascinate. The Scar isn't the once in a lifetime book of nightmares Perdido Street Station was, but it is a better novel. The characters are far stronger: Coldwine, Uther Doul, Tanner Sack, Sheckel and Angevine, drive the story rather than vanishing beneath it. The narrative is purposeful, surprising and satisfying. Mieville has taken his protean talents of worldbuilding and description and harnessed them to a serious, adult story. Perdido Street, for all its genre-blending, was a horror story at heart. The Scar is less gruesome and nihlistic, though still refreshingly far from sentimental. It's palette and worldview are broader, its characters its heart. One could argue that among its few flaws, the book is too brief -- I could have gladly learned more of The Lovers, the Brucolac. With this intelligent, exhilarating adventure story, Mieville stakes his claim as a first rate novelist -- no apologizing for genre -- he's the real thing.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely wonderful
Review: Frankly, I was a little skeptical in trying to read this book. Afterall, how can a story that takes place on a bunch of boats tied together be interesting? Leaving my skepticism aside, because, of course, for Mieville's resounding success with Perdido, I bought the book. I could not have been any more happy. I thought Perdido was great, but The Scar is much better.
Taking place shortly after the events of Perdido, the plot quickly moves forward with enough suspense and emotion to want to continue to read, regardless of the time. Again, as with my review for Perdido, the strangeness of the characters brings so much flavor to this book, breathing life into an arena of literature that could be seen as lackluster, or becoming so at least.
Either way, if you read and liked Perdido Street Station and want to read another by Mieville, then definitely read this one. And, if you haven't read Perdido, I would recommend reading this one. The events take place after Perdido, but you don't need to know what happened in Perdido to understand The Scar. If anything, Perdido Street Station would be a good place to start because it gives more detail into the types of races and structure of society that you don't receive as much of in The Scar.
Either way, a fun and exciting read. A recommend for everyone, regardless of their genre preference.
Rating: 
Summary: stodgy new age gothic...
Review: Givvus a break, China. I was smothered under your sour and sodden blanket of words. Anyone fancy hardcore gothic then look to the real masters: Jean Genet and Mervyn Peake. That's offbeat...
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, and very heavy.
Review: Great book. Very dark, but I really liked the last 50 pages. I will have to re-read it later cause there are so many sub plots. I will read his other work now. I suspect we will see more of Doul.
Rating: 
Summary: Too "organic" if you ask me.
Review: Here we are whit this once friend of the classical crazy scientist who unwittingly wreaked a catastrophic plague in that lankmarish city who is New Crobouzon ( though the Lankhmar of Fafhrd and Gray Mouser was almost cheerful in comparison).China Mieville didn't try to make the protagonist a sympathetic character: self centered, petty, refusing at first to make company whit fellow passengers, Bellis Coldwine meets her match in the not very kind Captain of the ship that would bring her to a seemingly Lalondish tropical colony of New Crobouzon. From there,among deported prisoners turned in thaumathurgic cyborgs and mysterious passengers,and after unespected detours and a canonical pirate attack, the action shifts to a strange floating pirate city, governed by a sinister couple called "The Lovers". This pirate city is uncanny and fascinating, and Chinas's writing, hinting strange horrors and mysterious powers,reporting the intrigue and the unraveling of human passions, is truly exquisite. But all this is strangely muted, subdued, the action drags on, the characters are less than charming, and there is little of the colour and vivacity a pirate city,in my opinion,would have. The world of The Scar (and of Perdido Street Station) is indeed a gloomy world. Still,China Mieville's writing is marvelous,intense and crystal-clear, which makes a strange effect while describing so murky a planet(and personae). Even the names of the days of the week are depressing (e.g.Dustday,Shunday)! To conclude,I'll say that, although it leaves you whit mixed feelings, "The Scar" is worth reading for the originality of the ideas and the writing.But let me say that Chin Mieville's world is the most putrid, full of organic excretions, full of repulsive, oral aggressive beings (the anophelii women are very similar to Perdido's Slake moths), in short,a world that's yucky to the highest degree. China Mieville just hates women and sex.There's not one pleasant female persona in the book. Give me Storm Constantine every day!
|
