The Scar

A Stunning, Thought Provoking Read

China Mieville has got to be one of the hardest working authors I've ever read. He puts stunning little side plots and nuggets into his fiction that would be a whole novel to a lesser writer! Anyway...

The Scar is a fascinating story that develops around a lady running away from her home city and finding a city like she never dreamed. Full of danger, intrigue, the strange and familiar it calls to our heroine (Bellis) and she is torn between love and fear of her lost home.

When the chance comes to betray her new, floating, home in Armada she does but ultimately is a pawn in a larger game. The small cog in a larger wheel is a recurring theme in CM's work and is appealing as a starting point for character development. On the subject of characters, the diversity, depth and sheer imagination of CM's vision is amazing.

My only criticism of CM's stories is, and please bear in mind I'm a fan of Perdido Street Station, Iron Council and The Scar, that I never like the way the stories end. It's my personal opinion only.

This is a great, sweeping, imaginative story that will take you from the familiar ie politics (Mr Mieville like the theme) to philosophy to religion and beyond, all in an easily accessible 'steampunk' past-present.

Give it a try, you'll enjoy!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

not too bad

I wasn't sure about carrying on with this series because I had mixed feelings about Perdido St Station (long, exhausting but ultimately quite satisfying). I should say that The Scar is not at all a sequel to the previous book, it's simply set in the same world with the occurrences from Perdido only peripheral comments to this story. In The Scar, I liked some of the concepts, and many of the characters had potential but they never really followed through. For all that the story should have been epic, it actually all felt a bit pointless by the end. The narrator was ok but I much preferred the chap who did the previous novel. I think his grandiose style better suited the story. In summary, it was ok, some good bits, some tension but, to be honest, I was a bit indifferent about the fate of the characters by the end. I'd say it's worth a credit if you enjoyed the Bas Lag setting but I wouldn't put it at the top of your wishlist.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

A great series of books let down by the narration

I love China Mieville but I can't recommend the audiobooks.

There seems to have been a lot of odd choices when it comes to the narrators and I feel Damian Lynch's reading style, even voice, doesn't really suit the theme.

I've read a lot of similar sentiments about this and his other audiobooks in the series and that is what spurned me to write this short comment and confirm what others have said.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Compelling story, poor narration

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The story is great but Lynch seems to struggle to handle what sounds like a clumsy sight reading of the text.

What did you like best about this story?

As usual Mieville's work crackles with great ideas, weird landscapes and a rich, deep world building

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The contrast between the dialogue, which pops with personality, and the narrative which stumbles under a stilted delivery of two to three sentence chunks really grates after a while.

Did The Scar inspire you to do anything?

Sadly, it inspired me to stop listening

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Good overall, but.....

Good overall, but there is some very careless editing where several passages are read twice (presumably due to the reader making an error such as using an incorrect inflection the first time which has subsequently not been edited out)....only a sentence or so each time, but detracts from an otherwise enjoyable listen.....

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Appalling choice of narrator

After the superb experience of listening to perdido street station I immediately went on to buy the sequel. If only they had kept the same reader. Damien Lynch's narration has no sense of awe, drama or any real emotion stronger than mild boredom. It's as if this is the first time he has read the text and is unaware of the power of the words he is speaking. Shame, this book deserved more. Definitely one to read rather than to listen to.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Sorry to say ...

What disappointed you about The Scar?

This is just not read well: I've thought about this a lot, and I think the problem is that he doesn't sound as though he believes what he's reading (always tricky, of course, with Mieville's amazing worlds). It sounds as though he's reading a children's story..Harry Potter maybe, where the grown-ups know it's not real ...

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Scar?

I love Mielville's writing and the battle scenes are excellently written.

What didn’t you like about Damian Lynch’s performance?

see above

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment, I think

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Once you crack how to listen to this it's great

run this at .85 speed and you will love it. The reader reads too fast and I found myself rewinding and relistening to the beginning maybe four times.

I eventually realised that slowing it down would make it readable.

Great story. I preferred the first of the trilogy but this was a close second. I'll try the third soon, with the same narrator so I suspect I'll have to slow that one too

Apalling Reader. Ruined the Book.

Damien Lynch completely ruined this for me and I couldn't get beyond the first couple of hours. When he's using his own voice, for the narrative, as opposed to putting on an accent, he sounds bored and flat and is just hurrying through what he obviously considers to be a tedious task. I even checked to make sure that I wasn't playing it at more than 1x speed. I liked Perdido Street Station (first part of this trilogy) very much, but I'm only guessing that the story here is 4 stars because as I said, I couldn't get remotely near the end

Mieville on splendid form

Being a fan of his other work, I am very probably biased, but everything I love about China Mieville's work is present here.

I found the opening chapters tricky to get into. The mood of this book is quite different from Perdido Street Station. The claustrophobia of the densely packed city is gone and replaced with a sense of freedom and adventure, in keeping with the piratical theme in the book.

What is very much still present is the weird and wonderful world of Bas-Lag, and the variety of races that live there. Mieville's writing is always at it's best when describing the bizarre. He manages to do so in a way that never reaches absurdity, and his descriptions evoke a strong idea of what creatures and races look like - although I have a hunch those ideas may vary from person to person.

The plot ebbs and flows, moving at a varied pace throughout the novel without ever becoming too slow or feeling too rushed. The characters are relatable - despite some of them being non-human - and it's hard not to become invested in their fates.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. I would wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the more eldritch end of fantasy or science fiction.

My only real megative comment is that, having read Perdido Street Station, I found the narrators voice didn't feel quite right to me in the beginning - in the same way an actor cast as your favourite character might have the "wrong" face. However, a few chapters in and any reservations I had were gone.