The Scar is more accessible and easier to get into from the beginning than Miéville’s Perdido Street Station. Once again Miéville delivers a book full of vivid, descriptive, and engaging pros. He shows us several more creative races and creatures. The Cray, the Grindylow, the Anophelii are all fascinating in their own way. The idea of possibility mining and the ridiculously awesome Uther Doul all added immensely to this story. 

While I really enjoyed The Scar, I still think Perdido is a more unique, superior work for a number of reasons. For one, I think the tension was not as earned here as it was in Perdido. In Perdido, you understood the threat…it was freaky…it was fascinating.  In the Scar you never really got a sense of what the tension was about. The battles were cool, the idea of the Scar itself was great, but it never resonated at the same level with me.

I also did not find the city of Armada as engaging as New Crobuzon (which is an impossible standard because I have yet to find a city in fantasy/science fiction that is) and there certainly was no entity to match The Weaver.  The Scar is a fabulous novel and worthy successor to Perdido Street Station. However, for me Perdido Street Station is still Miéville’s best work. 

Felan’s Rescue is now available on Audiobook!

Felan’s Rescue is now available in Ebook form (and Kindle Unlimited), Hardback, and Paperback!