The Scar [Deckle Edge] [Paperback]

China Mieville (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 25, 2002

A mythmaker of the highest order, China Miéville has emblazoned the fantasy novel with fresh language, startling images, and stunning originality. Set in the same sprawling world of Miéville’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 Miéville is a writer for a new era—and The Scar is a luminous, brilliantly imagined novel that is nothing short of spectacular.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the third book in an astounding, genre-breaking run, China Miéville expands the horizon beyond the boundaries of New Crobuzon, setting sail on the high seas of his ever-growing world of Bas Lag.

The Scar begins with Miéville's frantic heroine, Bellis Coldwine, fleeing her beloved New Crobuzon in the peripheral wake of events relayed in Perdidio Street Station. But her voyage to the colony of Nova Esperium is cut short when she is shanghaied and stranded on Armada, a legendary floating pirate city. Bellis becomes the reader's unbelieving eyes as she reluctantly learns to live on the gargantuan flotilla of stolen ships populated by a rabble of pirates, mercenaries, and press-ganged refugees. Meanwhile, Armada and Bellis's future is skippered by the "Lovers," an enigmatic couple whose mirror-image scarring belies the twisted depth of their passion. To give up any more of Miéville’s masterful plot here would only ruin the voyage through dangerous straits, political uprisings, watery nightmares, mutinous revenge, monstrous power plays, and grand aspirations.

Miéville's skill in articulating brilliantly macabre and involving descriptions is paralleled only by his ability to set up world-moving plot twists that continually blow away the reader's expectations. Man-made mutations, amphibious aliens, transdimensional beings, human mosquitoes, and even vampires are merely neighbors, coworkers, friends, and enemies coexisting in the dizzying tapestry of diversity that is Armada. The Scar proves Miéville has the muscle and talent to become a defining force as he effortlessly transcends the usual clichés of the genre. --Jeremy Pugh

From Publishers Weekly

In this stand-alone novel set in the same monster-haunted universe as last year's much-praised Perdido Street Station, British author Mieville, one of the most talented new writers in the field, takes us on a gripping hunt to capture a magical sea-creature so large that it could snack on Moby Dick, and that's just for starters. Armada, a floating city made up of the hulls of thousands of captured vessels, travels slowly across the world of Bas-Lag, sending out its pirate ships to prey on the unwary, gradually assembling the supplies and captive personnel it needs to create a stupendous work of dark magic. Bellis Coldwine, an embittered, lonely woman, exiled from the great city of New Crobuzon, is merely one of a host of people accidentally trapped in Armada's far-flung net, but she soon finds herself playing a vital role in the byzantine plans of the city's half-mad rulers. The author creates a marvelously detailed floating civilization filled with dark, eccentric characters worthy of Mervyn Peake or Charles Dickens, including the aptly named Coldwine, a translator who has devoted much of her life to dead languages; Uther Doul, the superhuman soldier/scholar who refuses to do anything more than follow orders; and Silas Fennec, the secret agent whose perverse magic has made him something more and less than human. Together they sail through treacherous, magic-ridden seas, on a quest for the Scar, a place where reality mutates and all things become possible. This is state-of-the-art dark fantasy and a likely candidate for any number of award nominations. (July 2). Forecast: Perdido Street Station won the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the British Fantasy Award. A major publicity push including a six-city author tour should help win new readers in the U.S.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (June 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345444388
• ISBN-13: 978-0345444387
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.3 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (128 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #249,656 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

202 of 208 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another remarkable achievement by Mieville, June 25, 2002

By 

J. N. Mohlman (Barrington, RI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Scar (Paperback)

In "The Scar" China Mieville has proven that "Perdido Street Station" was no fluke, he is a force to be reckoned with in the literary world. Once again he returns to the world of Bas Lag, although this time he journeys outside the confines of the city of New Crobuzon. In fact, his characters travel the length and breadth of Bas Lag, as they are the occupants (willing and unwilling) of the floating pirate city, Armada.

It would be nearly impossible to recount the plot here, both because of its complexity, and the risk of spoiling it. However, there are a few general points that I think bear mentioning. First, while this is not a sequel to "Perdido Street Station" it does reference events in that book; there are no common characters, but the protagonist, Bellis Coldwine, is fleeing the city as a direct result of the happenings in the prior novel. While one could easily read "The Scar" without any knowledge of "Perdido Street Station" I would still recommend reading it first, as your appreciation of "The Scar" will be greatly enriched as a result.

Second, "The Scar" is a darker, more ambiguous novel than its predecessor (which was by no means cheery to begin with). It is not an easy beach read for the summer; while it is immensely entertaining, it is also monstrously complex and intensely thoughtful. This is really a novel that needs to be read without distractions and with a great deal of thought as to what is going on. There are a lot of subtle themes and messages in this book, and it needs to be approached in a manner more befitting "literature" rather than your average "sci-fi" (I use quotes because SF can obviously be literature, I'm just speaking in stereotypical terms).

Which brings me to the writing; anyone who read "Perdido Street Station" would have to agree that Mieville is a master of his craft. There are few writers today who have the same grasp of the English language; Mieville absolutely revels in the descriptive abilities of the written word. I would read an atlas if Mieville wrote it just to see how he described the landforms contained therein.

He is also intensely interested in exploring human nature across its entire spectrum. From compassion to cruelty, Mieville is fascinated by our motivations. If one reads an interview with him, it becomes obvious that Mieville wouldn't mind being cast as the anti-Tolkien. While giving a nod to Tolkien's creation of an entire world down to the smallest details, Mieville revels in his characters' moral ambiguity and indecision, as opposed to Tolkien's characters who always know where they stand. Furthermore, while Tolkien used his races to highlight different ideals, Mieville uses his vast panoply of creatures to highlight the absurdities of racism and the nature of "humanity".

Finally, Mieville is a master of the metaphor. I can say, without, giving anything away, that the Scar, of the book's title, is an actual place, but also a recurring theme throughout the novel. All of the characters (which are so diverse and beautifully realized it is nothing short of breathtaking) have scars, physical and mental. Some rise above them, some never come to grips with them, and some are brought low by them. In the end, the Scar is, at its most simple level, a double entendre. It is the heart of darkness of the world of Bas Lag, but it is also that heart of darkness within the primary characters that draws them to their destiny. In the end, some of the characters refuse to have their future dictated by the scars of their past, while others wallow in their pain and meet their end.

I could go on indefinitely, and not even scratch the surface of the message in this book. However, I have covered the key elements I took away from the novel; I'll leave it for others better versed than I to continue the discussion. Ultimately, "The Scar" is a novel of immense emotional depth. The characters are brilliantly written and act upon a world stage that is breathtaking in its scope. It is a highly entertaining adventure in the finest nautical tradition, but it is so much more. It is an exploration of the depths of our ambition and the foundations of our humanity. Do yourself a favor and read this novel (and carefully), it will not disappoint and it will leave you thinking for a long time to come.

Jake Mohlman

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Thing, October 9, 2002

By 

schapmock (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Scar (Paperback)

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.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely writing, vivid world, wildly original, but depressing, July 1, 2002

By 

Almagordo (San Antonio,TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Scar (Paperback)

THE SCAR is even more original and twice as artful as Mieville's previous PERDIDO STREET STATION. If you like great writing, get it. If you like wondrous, original, vivid imaginary worlds, get it. I haven't seen such a marvelous imaginary world in years.

However, if you like characters who set out to make a positive difference in their world and succeed, don't get this book. Mieville likes to write about good guys who aren't really good and who lose even when they win. If he had to do a Churchill biography he'd write about everything except World War II. If he had to do a Presidential biography he'd choose Clinton over Lincoln or Washington every time.

I think he prefers to close his eyes to heroes.

But the world he creates in THE SCAR is gorgeous. It's wonderful. A floating city, a whale as a steed, two different kinds of underwater civilizations, battles with magic and ironclads and airships, an isle of mosquito people, catcus pirates, a magic based on probability theory and oil drilling as a means of magical power--there's just so much stuff in this book. If you want a world you haven't seen before, one wonderfully written, full of life, completely different and completely believable--this is for you.

It's got drama, too, plenty of it, even if Mieville likes to put lots of depressing bits in alongside the successes. There's heroism and war and titan-scale engineering and mysterious magic.

Did I mention that this book is packed full of stuff? And that the world is wonderfully original?

THE SCAR is set in the same universe as PERDIDO STREET STATION, but it goes leagues beyond that in quality. It's the tale, more or less, of a woman who gets hijacked to a fantastic city whose rulers are embarked on an even more fantastic quest, a quest she gets caught up in and that puts half the rest of the world at war with the city -- not to mention the battles within the city itself...

If you want a book that'll leave you smiling, go find some other book. Mieville's too in love with misfortune. His main characters are pretty ordinary people, and even if he lets the good guys more or less win, he leaves you feeling that the characters you were reading about have been left used and broken and mostly defeated. He can't stand to imagine triumph as a good thing. But if you want a world that will absolutely blow your mind and plenty of scenes to leave you breathless, get THE SCAR.