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The Scar (New Crobuzon 2) by China Mieville
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The Scar (New Crobuzon 2) (original 2002; edition 2011)

by China Mieville (Author)

Series: Bas-Lag (2)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
4,9871262,187 (4.11)248
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.… (more)
Member:Mieiri
Title:The Scar (New Crobuzon 2)
Authors:China Mieville (Author)
Info:Pan (2011), Edition: Main Market, 816 pages
Collections:Your library
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Work Information

The Scar by China Miéville (2002)

  1. 20
    The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway (vwinsloe)
    vwinsloe: New weird remade people. Plus pirates.
  2. 00
    City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett (davisfamily)
    davisfamily: A mystery within a unique setting. Interesting mix of Religion and Politics.
  3. 12
    The Book on Fire by Keith Miller (MyriadBooks)
    MyriadBooks: For the depiction of the city.
  4. 03
    Scar Lover by Harry Crews (bertilak)
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» See also 248 mentions

English (121)  French (2)  Spanish (1)  Dutch (1)  All languages (125)
Showing 1-5 of 121 (next | show all)
I liked this quite a lot. I believe the author calls this weird fiction, and I can see where he's coming from. To me, it is fantasy, but admittedly, it is one of a kind fantasy. The many different races unlike any other make this world unique (try imagining a centaur, but instead of a horse, the animal part is a lobster...). The pirate city is unlike anything I've ever read about as well, and I love how the author has worked out what it is like to live in it. And I love how despite of all the strangeness going on, the major motivations at least are nothing strange: money and power. A strange thing to love, perhaps, but it completely fits in this world that isn't pulling any punches. It is intriguing and amazing, but it is definitely not a fairytale. There is some definite ugliness going on, and even the main character is hardly lovable. In a way, I almost wonder why I liked this so much, but the truth is, I did. Bellis may have been prickly and difficult at times, but I could sympathize with her. She does the best she can with what she has. I can't say I fully understand the motivations of some of the others: Uther Doul and the female Lover. They are intriguing, though. That's probably the main attraction of the book, it's intriguing. The city, the characters, the races, the world.

I haven't read Perdido Street Station, but this book is enough of a standalone that it wasn't a problem. Some friends of mine found that book depressing, but since I like this book so much, I will definitely give it a go in the future... ( )
  zjakkelien | Jan 2, 2024 |
I loved this. Fun story, wild characters, cool world. I really enjoy the way Miéville writes. ( )
  jbaty | Dec 29, 2023 |
Bellis Coldwine has fled New Crobuzon, using her skills as a translator to live on the frontier of the sea until things cool down enough for her to go back home. On the Swollen Ocean, her ship is seized by the pirate city of Armada, where she finds herself trapped as citizen in name and prisoner in reality.

This gorgeous fantasy novel overflows with lush language which paints a breathtaking world full of intrigue and intricacy. Fully autonomous as well as morally and emotionally complex, the protagonist is fully human and truly credible. The language is stunning, which made this book an even greater pleasure to share with my love as a book we read aloud to one another.

(NOTE: While considered the second book in the Bas-Lag series, it is not necessary to have read the first book to fully appreciate it as the novels are not dependent upon one another.) ( )
  Zoes_Human | Oct 26, 2023 |
Let's be clear here - for me personally this book barely rates two stars... But I'm Waaay in the minority on this one. This type of fantasy has almost nothing for me.

The first third of the book is as drab and depressing as possible. The word grey appears more often than 'the'! The first time we see the sun it's called an assault on our senses...

While it perks up a bit later on, it never really lifts itself out of the mire.

Then there's the best/worst part - the awesome imagination of the authour shows up again and again in these little glimpses of background material, then it's ignored or at least not explained further for the rest if the book. I felt like he was teasing me over and over - "Look how cool this is! Whoops, Sorry, said too much already!"

And the ending? Plot twisted to make a bunch of points all with the subtlety of a car crash.

Odds are you'll like this book - most people do. Odds are it's the last Miéville book I'm buying.
( )
  furicle | Aug 5, 2023 |
I loved everything about this book. It's like he took a half-remembered and beloved dream from my childhood and wrote a fully-realized story about it, complete with a female protagonist who manages to be a complex human. Even the writing has developed since the last book. Love love love. ( )
  Kiramke | Jun 27, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 121 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (5 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Miéville, Chinaprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Jackson, GildartNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lynch, DamianNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mège, NathalieTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Miller, EdwardIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Miller, EdwardCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Villa, ElisaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Wood, AshleyCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Yet the memory would not set into the setting sun, that green and frozen glance to the wide blue sea where broken hearts are wrecked out of their wounds. A blind sky bleached white the intellect of human bone, skinning the emotions from the fracture to reveal the grief underneath. And the mirror reveals me, a naked and vulnerable fact. --Dambudzo Marechera, Black Sunlight
Dedication
To Claudia, my mother.
First words
A mile below the lowest cloud, rock breaches water and the sea begins.
Quotations
I am the Brucolac, and your sword won't save you. You think you can face me?
Last words
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Wikipedia in English (1)

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.

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Book description
Haiku summary
New Weird pirate yarn:
Floating collectivist state/
Sea-beast chariot!
(Longshanks)

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