The Scar

In continuing with this as my book blog, I just finished "The Scar" by China Mieville.

I give this 3/5. I found the world interesting, made up of a strange mix of legends from our world, and original creations and myths of this one. The setting is a little Industrial Revoution, a little Victorian Horror, but if that era lasted a few hundred years. Magic is a mixture of technology and the arcane. The ambiance is pretty engrossing, weird, dark, and fun.

The plot is dependent on its ability to surprise. And sometimes it succeeds. This is not the first book he's written in this world, so it's possible that he's created deeper characterizations, especially of Bellis, the main character. But without that characterization, the book relies on story twists and world descriptions to keep the reader engaged. There are a couple true emotions and characters to identify with, but they are few and far apart. Luckily, his world descriptions and plot devices are sufficient to entertain.