Adult/High School-Even better than the author's Perdido Street Station (Del Rey, 2001), The Scar is also set in the alternate world of Bas-Lag, where linguist Bellis Coldwine is fleeing the city of New Crobuzon. On her journey, pirates capture her ship, and she and the slaves onboard are taken to the floating city of Armada, ruled by the twisted Lovers. The Lovers have a plan that will change the lives of more than the inhabitants of Armada forever, and the quest to find the mysterious reality-shifting place called the Scar begins. The world of Bas-Lag is dark and dangerous and its odd and macabre inhabitants are fully formed, however alien they seem. But even if the noir story and characters were merely ordinary, Mieville's writing would set this book apart. If poetry can have internal rhymes, the prose has an internal structure that uses sound and syllable repetitions, resulting in brilliant and biting word combinations that produce a style more analogous to music than to writing. The author's technique is something akin to Lewis Carroll's use of portmanteau. Sophisticated readers will be engrossed not only by the story but also by the very words used to detail the plot, and they will never think of the fantasy genre, or fantasy authors, in quite the same way again.-Jane Halsall, McHenry Public Library District, IL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Already own this item? Sell Yours and earn some cash.
It's fast and free to list! (Learn More.)
Reviews
–
This is a really exceptionally written and very original fantasy novel, which follows Bellis Coldwine, an intelligent, though rather anti-social woman who reluctantly leaves her beloved New Crobozun to deflect those who are hunting anyone who has a connection with a scientist friend of hers. She boards a ship and plan to hide out in the more remote places in the world for a while, however her ship is captured by pirates from Armada, a strangely beautiful city made entirely out of salvaged ships. However Bellis resents the fact that she'll never make it home to New Crobozun, and becomes swept up in the conspiracy that surrounds the Lovers, the joint rulers of Armada, and what their plans are for the floating city.
This is really a wonderful achievement of the imagination, as I've personally never read of a world that's as different in so many ways, and so intricately described as this one. The characters were all a bit bland, however; no one showed all that much emotion, and the plot, bogged down with detail as it was, could be a bit confusing at times. Despite this, there are a few touching moments, the twists are brilliant and the language is ponderously beautiful. It's also a rather interesting character study of the dynamic of cities; Armada is almost a character in itself, it's so intricately and convincingly portrayed. I will recommend reading Perdido Street Station before this one; I didn't, and I found myself confused at times, though my overall enjoyment of the book wasn't too badly affected. A wonderful, intricate and sometimes disturbing jaunt into the modern, trend-setting fantasy of today.
Take a peripheral character from Perdido Street Station. Throw her into a job that soon leads her into a fantastic floating city, that is on its own Moby Dick style quest.
War, crime, local politics, possibility swords, espionage and more combine in this epic. A very interesting book, if not as absorbing as the previous effort.
You can earn a 5% commission by selling The Scar paperback book on your website. It's easy to get started - we will give you example code. After you're set-up, your website can earn you money while you work, play or even sleep!
Authors/Publishers
Are you the Author/Publisher? Improve sales by submitting additional information on this title.
This item ships from and is sold by Fishpond.com, Inc.
Help
My Cart
Ships within 24 hours from USA supplier
– 