Review : Book : The Scar

Book : The Scar, by China Miéville
Data : Finished some time around the end of May 2007
Genre: Steampunk

Brief, spoiler free review : I believe the most vital bit of wisdom I leave this book with is: "Be careful what I wish for." See, I came by this book through a friend with whom I pleaded and begged a reading recommendation from. When asked for what I wanted, I firmly replied with these two facts: "An interesting villain" and "cruelty toward the characters." The first I found makes every good book great and every pithy book bearable. The second is something I don't run across often and am interested in. The lack of cruelty is no doubt simply a symptom of my predominantly fantasy based reading diet- dragons, magic, perhaps the occasional strong female lead, and always a happy ending. Mind you, this particular search had already been narrowed down to the genre of "steampunk". Not only does this book nail my request, it repeatedly beats me over the head with them, nearly leaving me to whimper and regret I asked for them in the first place. Nearly. I came away from the book immensely pleased with the blend of fantasy and clockwork tech, still reeling from the actions within it, and with a ravenous need for more by that author. If you can stomach the nauseous blend of depressing, vicious actions and puffed up pretentious language, I highly recommend it.

Review:

 

Given the medium, the issue of language must be addressed first. What beautiful words! Not only did he use large fancy words, but he took common words that even I use- over use in fact- and cleaned them up. Made them sharp and part of some really biting or vivid text. The best example of this was his use of "idiot" throughout the beginning of the book. Some phrases were over used, yes, but they were few, and given how brilliantly the rest of it reads, very forgivable. The smooth flowing descriptions were very pleasing, especially to me as an artist. Not only did he create fascinating things, but he wrapped them in wild descriptions that made the targeted nouns orders of magnitude more interesting. More then any other book, I felt compelled to sketch what was presented, though of course such radical concepts as he put forth were far beyond my grasp or gift.

Being ignorant of boats and all things nautical, I was amazed at how well he described the environment and more so that he would make it so engaging. I highly approved of the mix of fantasy and the clockwork mech, perhaps due to my ignorance. I struggled to suspend disbelief with the concepts covered in Perdido Street Station because I was too familiar with some of the subject matter. The world was divine, although I'm far fonder of it in this book then the first. The Scar's lack of racial tension pleased me greatly- it's so hard to find a multi-psecies book without getting hit over the head with racial conflicts- especially ones where humans take a leading and discriminatory role. I enjoyed watching the more physical and practical side effects of a multi-race world. Coming into the middle of the series- something I'm starting to realized I'm fond of- was also refreshing. Getting hit so suddenly and fully with this world, where everything isn't described, was a pleasant mental exercise. I enjoy trying to figure out who was what and what was what. The feeling was faintly reminiscent of the original Pirates of the Caribbean- tossed into a story and not yet knowing all the rules.

In regards to the actual story: I went into it absolutely blind and I think that really helped me enjoy it. Not even reading the dust jacket, I had no idea where the story was going- that she would even remain on the ship, that the anvac would become a key plot point, anything. And so my awe built and built until that ending- what a un-shocking shock. It must be noted though that having gone back and read Perdido Street Station, I'm horrified to say it's an improvement over the first. In truth, I felt like the whole book read like a Hans Zimmer song- specifically "The Might of Rome" from Gladiator. It built with such momentum, one fantastical unknown gracefully solved and smoothly passed onto the next larger mystery. I was pleased with the pacing and felt the flow of events to be natural and sensible- a blessing compared to some of the other messes I've waded though recently. But, like Zimmer, there is no where to go with all that force. I much prefer the choice made to let the unknown remain, at the cost of petering out, then to suffer some overly complex attempt at an awe inspiring, all explanations ending that would have only ruined the buildup with its inability to meet expectations.

Belis is, as I asked for, one of the most abused characters I've read. Caught up again and again as nothing more then a pawn- it is rather disturbing in truth to see her stripped of that normal aura of good luck and near meta-knoweledge of the story that characters normally have. The ending in particular makes my heart wrench with pity- though not sympathy for she was most soundly a bitch. Her efforts to declare she will never be a pawn again sound like a promise that she's forever bound to be tricked into the part. Her relationship with Doul was emotionally draining to me as a reader, with the lack of resolution or so long and the absolute way in which she was played. Belis's story was one I'd often wanted to hear- that of a mundane's, looking from the outside into the lives and actions of "real" story characters. A normal book, I feel, would have followed Doul, that dark conflicted hero with a shadowy past and far too much power. As much as I delighted (it was a morbid delight, yes) in watching Belis get kicked around, I understand now why most stories don't do this- far too frustrating.

Tanner I viewed somewhat differently. I enjoyed his development (Belis having none, only a long slide into the realm of pathetic) and was fascinated with the parts of the world he exposed. I found he resembled more the type of character I'm used to, with both up and downs. His arc was interesting and complete. The final "kick" to him however- the loss of the boy- was too much in my opinion. It wasn't required and did not take the character anywhere since we ended so soon after. It was that vicious unproductive move, along with others, that made me somewhat unnerved by the author. Taking into account both the cruelty and beautiful language, he reads like a soundly abused geek. Picked on all through school till the point of breaking. And while some may break for happy escapist realms where they can flee to and be happy, he snapped and painted a picture of suffering for all. A moody individual who has come to the point where they feel their suffering indicates a reality where everything falls apart in the end. Sort of like a Nine Inch Nails song, expect equipped with a better vocabulary.

In the end and to summarize, I loved the book. The conclusion was weak and Belis failed to develop much as a character- she ends as only a slightly more broken version of what she starts as. The world, so vividly described, perfectly scratched that itch I had for steampunk reading material. And while the plot was rather linear and out of our characters' control, I enjoyed the mystery and suspense that built at every stage. The scope of the unknown grew at every turn rather then a sliver of some single puzzle revealed- which gave the feeling of something actually getting accomplished and was ultimately what kept me pinned to my couch for so long reading it.

Inspired Sketches:

Tanner