Nakijo
fReemade
an angel in Bas-Lag?
Posts: 50
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Post by Nakijo on Oct 14, 2003 20:31:56 GMT -5
@cheryl Did he say why he thought ppl wouldn't like it?
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Post by Cheryl on Oct 15, 2003 16:32:15 GMT -5
He wasn't specific, but I guess it is because it wasn't a big flash-bang ending. Can't say more than that without spoilers.
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Post by knivesout on Mar 19, 2004 8:34:36 GMT -5
I'm almost done with The Scar and I have to say it scores over PSS in two ways - the plot is tighter, more driven and the characterisation is even more complex and intriguing.
As to choosing between the two, all I'll say is that the latter workshows a distinct evolution as a writer, which can only be a good sign.
I hope The Iron Council come along and blows these books out of the water!
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Post by stray on Jun 14, 2004 22:27:41 GMT -5
I loved both PSS and The Scar, but I have to say I liked PSS a tiny bit more. (And I mean tiny!)
Both books were incredibly imaginative, with great characterisation and tremedous stories, but I sort of felt as though the ending of The Scar was rather odd. After all this way, after all these pages, after all these great adventures, to do what the (male) Lover did was sort of anti-climactic. I know that sounds callous of me, but it seems as though the "we're not doing it" (bear with me; I'm trying to avoid spoilers here) was as though Mr. Mieville had written himself into a corner (at least, that's how it seemed to me).
I suppose it's also a bit of my infatuation with cities that leads me to prefer PSS. I have a love affair with cities; I love picturing them, trying to visualize them from the overall aerial view down to the on-the-street look. This may have bent me towards PSS from the start.
Don't get me wrong here; The Scar is a great book and I think many things in it are better than PSS. Hell, I read the last half of The Scar in one night because the plot was roaring along so fast that I couldn't put it down! All I'm saying is that I'd give it a 4 out of 5 because of what the male Lover did, while I'd give PSS 5 out of 5.
I'm waiting with bated breath for Iron Council to come out!
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Post by Deweb on Aug 26, 2004 11:22:16 GMT -5
I am reading now for a year in "the scar" (Dutch version). And, a year is to long. Oke, i don't read every day, but the book can not pick me. It is..to slow. But, it is a good book. Not better than Perdido Street Station, but good. Grt. Deweb
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Post by flakmunky on Jan 1, 2005 15:23:44 GMT -5
Ooh ... that's a tough call to make. ... All three Bas-lag books are so wonderful. Perdido Street Station [read 2x]: Remains my favourite of the series ... but by a very-very-very small margin. Perhaps it made the strongest impression being the first impression! ... I'd never experienced a fictional city quite like New Crobuzon.The Scar [read 2x]: Tighter plot, more satisfying ending ... I enjoyed the book significantly more the second time through. Iron Council [read 1x]: My least favourite to-date because I found myself a bit lost in the opening chapters ... BUT ... this was loaner from the library and I was rushed for time. As soon as I see it in paperback, I will add it to my China Mieville collection ... ;D
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Post by DreamDeva on Jan 10, 2005 17:18:12 GMT -5
My opinions of them books:
Perdido Street Station: Wonderful, New Crobuzon rocks. The book started rolling very late, methinks about 200 first pages were just for setting the scene, but when it started to kick in, it did it hard. Isaac was to my liking, the very idea to use a scientist in a fantasy novel as the main character is a marvellous invention. The ending was a poor one, but PSS is the best of them two (I'm not counting IC in because I'm still reading it).
The Scar: Nice, very entertaining. The book hooked me much earlier than PSS, but it has some very dull moments. The Armada just keeps on going to it's destination and when it reaches it, it just turns to go for another. A kind of megalomania; nothing is enough. First they have to have the plans to get the avanc, they go and get them. Then they head for The Scar. Too straightforward. Seems like Mieville just keeps raising the stakes to a point where nothing impresses anymore. Hopefully that doesn't happen in his future writings.
And then, Bellis, the Cold one. She reminded me of another main character, namely Shadow in Gaiman's "American Gods". Like Shadow, she mostly just sits by idly, doing hardly anything. I found it frustrating.
BUT. But. Doul was more than cool, he was a character written good. And Brucolac. Wow. Mieville did amaze with this book also, but I expected more from it. It had very good characters, a very good setting, but the plot was very thin at times.
Although I gave the book a little beat, it is still a good one. I'd rather go for The Scar, than any black skinned fellow who wields two sabres and cuts through thousands of orcs in few hundred pages. That is boring. The Scar is not.
yours, DreamDeva
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Brys
Wyrman
Posts: 6
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Post by Brys on Apr 20, 2005 14:59:35 GMT -5
I just, very slightly prefer Perdido Street Station. The story felt slightly less contrived (not that the Scar felt contrived), but the main reason was that it went on longer. The scale of PSS though just puts it slightly above the Scar in my opinion.
The Scar had lots of very good points though, and its ending definitely was better (there was one scene towards the end in PSS about a vodyanoi swimming away that seemed to have nothing to do with the story). I read the Scar first though, but part of what I liked about PSS was that it explained lots of the mysteries that I had heard about in the Scar. If I'd read PSS first, maybe I would have preferred the Scar.
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Post by misuly on May 7, 2005 17:41:51 GMT -5
I think The Scar is better written, better plotted, and the the pacing is more even. But I would vote for Perdido Street Station.
I was blown away by the weird, in-your-face ideas in Perdido Street Station. I'll admit it took a while for the story to kick in but when it did, I was pulled in completely. I prefered the New Crobuzon city setting, city girl that I am, to the ocean setting on Armada. I also cared more for the immenient danger in PSS.
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Post by chani on Jun 6, 2005 17:06:38 GMT -5
Maybe this is an obvious point to make, but I felt like in both books he used the "endings" (which never really are the endings) to drive the rest of the action for the books. I was happy with both books' endings as I felt one left my imagination fully interacting with the world he had so laboriously built (Scar) and that the PSS ending reafirmed the character it took me a while to care about. Purely selfish I suppose - but I don't think either book could have ended any other way than the way they did. Both fine by me - and better books because of what China decided not to depict!
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Post by kaelcarp on Jun 7, 2005 7:26:17 GMT -5
I think The Scar is one of the best, if not the best, novels I have ever read. It really had everything for me, and I even loved the somewhat inconclusive ending (actually, I consider it a strength).
PSS was very good and cemented me as a fan, but TS had me in awe of China's talent.
I was not as impressed with IC at first, but after having had time to reflect on it, I would put it on the level with PSS.
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