The Scar

by China Miéville

Mass Market Paperback, 608 pages

English language

Published June 29, 2004 by Del Rey.

ISBN:: 978-0-345-46001-1
OCLC Number:: 55984213

(78 reviews)

A mythmaker of the highest order, China Mieville has emblazoned the fantasy novel with fresh language, startling images, and stunning originality. Set in the same sprawling world of Mieville's Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning novel, Perdido Street Station, this latest epic introduces a whole new cast of intriguing characters and dazzling creations. Aboard a vast seafaring vessel, a band of prisoners and slaves, their bodies remade into grotesque biological oddities, is being transported to the fledgling colony of New Crobuzon. But the journey is not theirs alone. They are joined by a handful of travelers, each with a reason for fleeing the city. Among them is Bellis Coldwine, a renowned linguist whose services as an interpreter grant her passage--and escape from horrific punishment. For she is linked to Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin, the brilliant renegade scientist who has unwittingly unleashed a nightmare upon New Crobuzon.For Bellis, the plan is clear: live among the new frontiersmen of the colony until it is safe to return home. But when the ship is besieged by pirates on the Swollen Ocean, the senior officers are summarily executed. The surviving passengers are brought to Armada, a city constructed from the hulls of pirated ships, a floating, landless mass ruled by the bizarre duality called the Lovers. On Armada, everyone is given work, and even Remades live as equals to humans, Cactae, and Cray. Yet no one may ever leave.Lonely and embittered in her captivity, Bellis knows that to show dissent is a death sentence. Instead, she must furtively seek information about Armada's agenda. The answer lies in the dark, amorphous shapes that float undetected miles below the waters--terrifying entities with a singular, chilling mission. . . .China Mieville is a writer for a new era--and The Scar is a luminous, brilliantly imagined novel that is nothing short of spectacular.From the Trade Paperback edition.

6 editions

JasonsGrooveMachine reviewed The Scar by China Miéville

There's an interesting story in here behind the writing.

3 stars

This is a book that was recommended to me by a friend. I can understand why they suggested it to me, it's in line with a few things that I'd probably enjoy. Unfortunately I couldn't really enjoy this one. It's been a while but I'm new here so if I get a few things wrong it's not intentional.

Anyway.

I like the premise of this book. I like the world that was created. I like a lot of the characters. There's a "Dark Tower" ness to it in the sense that the world has "moved on". Know what I mean? The world feels rough. Ugly. Ruined in some way. Not in a Mad Max kind of way but in a "we sucked all the life out of it" kind of way. In my mind everything, even the water, is gray. Ya follow?

There's pirates, a floating city, a government run …

Anyway.

There's pirates, a floating city, a government run agency looking for people, scientists, religion, different races, steam punk cyborgs, a very odd sword that could have come from a Frank Herbert book, a race of people with sphincters for mouths, vampires... Sounds pretty good right? And it really is.

However...

The writing is good but I feel like it's overly showy. I understand that China is a linguist and it felt to me like that was the whole reason for the books existence. To flex the linguist muscle. Imagine a book written by a race car driver. When it comes to talking about the racing it's gonna be great. Everything else... well... not so much. That's how I felt about this book.

I'm not going to spoil anything specific here but for the most part the book trudges along just fine but when there's a change it's very jarring. Some 75% through the book we suddenly shift perspectives completely with no explanation or reason given. It lasts about a page. It doesn't do it ever before that, or again after.

For me the writing felt like it was trying to gatekeep the story from me by giving so little of it so often. There's a few moments in the book where we get a decent plot dump and some character development and then there's a lot of drudgery in between.

I liked it. Not enough to read anything else. I didn't hate it, but it was bad enough for me to not really want to search out more.

Aimee Gunther reviewed The Scar by China Miéville

An intoxicating strange fiction, building slowly but finishing well #Bookstodon

4 stars

China Miéville, in standard practice, creates a sepia-toned and detailed world while telling an intricate story

bondolo reviewed The Scar by China Miéville

Review of 'The Scar' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Another banger of a story. This novel stands mostly alone from Perdito Street Station, but there is no reason not to read them in order. I found the pacing perfect, not revealing too much but not boring you waiting for the good parts.

ilchinealach reviewed The Scar by China Miéville

Review of 'The Scar' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

interminable world-building

Jack Baty reviewed The Scar by China Miéville

Review of 'The Scar' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I loved this. Fun story, wild characters, cool world. I really enjoy the way Miéville writes.

Chris M reviewed The Scar by China Miéville

Review of 'The Scar' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Great setting, enjoyable world and theme, but the main character was just not very interesting to me, and I found myself wishing for another POV.

Victor Hugo Kebbe reviewed The Scar by China Miéville

Review of 'The Scar' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I feel really sad finishing this book. It was a long journey, it was such a great book that now I'm feeling empty. Oh Jabber, oh gods.

My favorite quote:

"They had never been each other. They had never been doing the same thing. Perhaps it was only chance that they had traveled together so far."

Kattas reviewed The Scar by China Miéville

Review of 'The Scar' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Miéville has created and peopled a disturbing, horrific, wonderful world. The real problem I have with this particular volume is that the characters are utterly unsympathetic, evoking no pathos for their suffering. While Perdido Street Station presents protagonists who are flawed but lovable - or at least pitiable - the cold, emotionally detached and isolated states of the characters in The Scar prevents any real connection to them.

Scopique reviewed The Scar by China Miéville

Review of 'The Scar' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Books like The Scar are examples of why people have to read over sitting passively in front of a TV or movie screen. There's no way that this kind of book could be turned into moving pictures without reducing it to cheap tricks that attempt to make the imagery that Mieville brings forth acceptable to a wider audience.

Thankfully, this is not the kind of book that a "wider audience" would enjoy. Mieville is very much a pro at world-building. One of the hallmarks of this high-style of "urban fantasy" is to make sure the reader recognizes the environment both as geography AND as a character in the story. The book isn't overdone with flowery description in the Anne Rice vein, thankfully. It's both the description that we DO have, combined with the cadence of the writing, that sets each scene. These descriptions and the writing style felt very much …