In The Scar, Miéville returns for a second time to New Crobuzon (or more accurately, Bas-Lag and the floating pirate city called Armada) in a novel that is far more refined and entertaining than Perdido Street Station, although I enjoyed that novel very much. The narrative spends most of its time with Bellis Coldwine, a peripheral character from the first book (I don’t recall if she actually appears, although her name is familiar, so I presume she was at least mentioned) and Tanner Sack, a Remade criminal (although he is possibly the most honest character in the book, and his crime is never once mentioned). I think it’s fair to say that these two characters are high among the reasons that I enjoyed The Scar more than Perdido Street Station. They are both flawed, with complex inner lives that can shift from cold selfishness and blind wrath to pity to sadness or ambivalence in real human ways, but at the core they are more-or-less honest people doing the best they can, and for that they are likable. Isaac, Yagharek, Lin, and the others in Perdido Street Station were interesting, but generally they were opportunist jerks, and it took me a long time to give a damn about any of them.
I think another reason I enjoyed this book so much (and read it so quickly) was the nautical setting. Folks who know me will know that I am a great fan of the late Patrick O’Brian’s work, and anything well-written about adventure on the high seas is almost guaranteed to strike my fancy. Miéville is obviously not a sailor, and there were many times where I’m sure he was pushing the physics of his fictional world past the breaking point, but still he handled the naval bits with tremendous and convincing gusto, if not necessarily with skill.
I know that’s not a lot to say about a novel this large and complicated, but it’s late, I’m tired, and you should really just go out and see for yourself. I’ll try to do better with the next one. And since I still crave excitement, adventure, and really wild things, I’m going to read the last China Miéville book in my possession (and the only of his adult works I have yet to read), Iron Council
