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The Scar
I'll try not to reveal too much of the plot in this review. It doesn't spoil the book if you know what's going to happen next (I've read it a couple of times myself), but watching it all unfold through the language of China Mieville is far better than reading my bland precis here. I'll just say that it's gripping enough to make you want to keep reading, and to linger over the marvelous settings. It's also a more straightforward narrative than Perdido Street Station, so if you found the twists in that one a bit confusing don't let it put you off The Scar. To get my biases and preferences on the table, I'm normally a straightforward science fiction reader of the usual suspects, for instance William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, some David Webber, Peter Watts (you've got to read Starfish), Ken Macleod, and Richard Paul Russo.
Bas-Lag, the setting for The Scar, is a strange world. Physically it's not clear it's even spherical. Technologically, it's steampunk, with punch card-driven calculating engines, steam-powered heavy industry, and airships. Magic, referred to as thaumaturgy, works in this world, but the understanding of it is like late 19th Century physics. The scientists of Bas Lag know there is a physical underpinning to thaumaturgy, and they understand some of the particles and forces involved. It is manipulated by calculation and machines, not spells and wands, but some are more skilled in its use than others. The inhabitants themselves are of many different races. Some (the beetle headed kepri, the cactacae, and the remade) will be familiar if you've read Perdido Street Station. Others, for instance the ab-dead, the anophelii, and the grindylow, are new. None seems out of place in Bas Lag, and all have a part to play in the story. The richness of the setting, with all of its excellently described details, really brings Bas-Lag to life.
The story is told mostly from the point of view of Bellis Coldwine, a linguist fleeing New Crobuzon on the first vessel she can get passage on, a prison ship taking a cargo of remade prisoners to one of New Crobuzon's colonies. She and the other main characters in the book are interesting -- not just for their strangeness, but for how they adapt themselves to and deal with the situations they find themselves in. For instance, there's Uther Doul, born in the city of High Chromlech, where the reanimated high-caste dead rule over the living; Tanner Sack, remade in New Crobuzon's punishment factories with tentacles grafted to his chest; and the Lovers, the scarred rulers of the most powerful part of a very strange city.
As in Perdido Street Station, China Mieville uses language wonderfully, particularly descriptive language. All the small details have the perfect names, from pubs called "Unrealized Time" and "The Clock and Cockerel" (now isn't that an excellent name for a pub?), to ships called "Grand Easterly" (shades of Isambard Kingdom Brunel) and "Terpsichoria," to the Witchocracy, Hive of the Jet Sorrow. His descriptions of places and characters are just as good. In other reviews of his work, you'll see comparisons to Charles Dickens and Stephen King, and in fact just about every other descriptive writer you could name.
For me, the main theme of the book is scarring -- physical and emotional -- what it means and what its effects are. All of the main characters in the book, and even the land of Bas-Lag itself, have been scarred. For some, as a chirgeon says, "Scars are not injuries, Tanner Sack. A scan is a healing. After injury, a scar is what makes you whole." For others, like the Lovers, scars are a source of power while for the scabmettlers they are protection.
I'd highly recommend The Scar to just about anyone, apart from hard-core space opera fans perhaps. It's an enjoyable read, but it's also a good book in a larger sense. The first two thirds are perhaps superior to the last third but when it's all so good who am I to quibble? It has great descriptive passages combined with a interesting plot involving compelling characters, set in a fully realized world. The only problem is, how is China Mieville going to top it in his next book?
You can purchase The Scar from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
moroons!
Faster than Uther Doul!
It's on my head. I really don't like it. I can't recommend it to anyone.
...scars Slashdot front page.
I think the main page needs a </I>, sorry for the offtopic.
CAn'T CompreHend SARcaSm?
Slashdot Scar'd themselves with the forgotten tag.
He's teh owner of slashdot.org domain name, according to verisign.
Scar (spoken): I never thought hyenas essential
They're crude and unspeakably plain
But maybe they've a glimmer of potential If allied to my vision and brain
I know that your powers of retention Are as wet as a warthog's backside
But thick as you are, pay attention My words are a matter of pride
It's clear from your vacant expressions The lights are not all on upstairs
But we're talking kings and successions Even you can't be caught unawares!
So prepare for a chance of a lifetime Be prepared for sensational news
A shining new era Is tiptoeing nearer
Shenzi: And where do we feature?
Scar: Just listen to teacher
I know it sounds sordid
But you'll be rewarded
When at last I am given my dues
And injustice deliciously squared...
Scar and Hyenas: Be prepared!
Banzai: Yeah, be prepared - we'll be prepared... for what?
Scar: For the death of the king!
Banzai: Why? Is he sick?
Scar: No, fool - we're gonna kill him! And Simba too!
Shenzi: Great idea! Who needs a king?!
Hyenas: No king, no king, la-la-la-la-la-la!
Scar: Idiots! There will be a king!
Banzai: Hey, but you said, that...
Scar: I will be king! Stick with me... and you'll never go hungry again!
Hyenas: Yeah! All right! Long live the king! Long live the king!
It's great that we'll soon be connected
With a king who'll be all-time adored!
Scar: Of course, quid pro quo, you're expected
To take certain duties on board
The future is littered with prizes
And though I'm the main addressee
The point that I must emphasize is
You won't get a sniff without me!
So prepare for the coup of the century
Be prepared for the murkiest scam
(Hyenas: Oooh... La! La! La!)
Meticulous planning, tenacity spanning
(Hyenas: We'll have food, lots of food)
Decades of denial, is simply why I'll
(Hyenas: We repeat, endless meat) Be king undisputed
Respected, saluted, and seen for the wonder I am
Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared
Scar and hyenas: Be prepared!
Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared
Be prepared!
It's not that I am stupid. In fact, I am a card-carrying member of Mensa and my IQ is 145.
Yet, I cannot fully comprehend what motivates women.
Dear Slashdot,
Shut the hell up.
Sincerely,
SPace oP3r@
Let's see, in honor of your .sig and handle...
"The setting isn't the Shire, and the story of Gandalf The White, Frodo Baggins and Samwise is not continued in The Simarilion. Balrog indeed."
(-:
Those who complain about affect & effect on
Right, then.
But his post explains they .sig; I guess he didn't read LOTR, either.
philcrissman.com.