[LeMort]

Well, I've just finished reading The Scar by China Mieville. It's the follow up (but not a sequel) to Perdido Street Station.

China received a huge amount of critical acclaim for PSS, and rightfully so. It was that damned good.

I was wondering how he'd follow it up, and if the hype and expectations would affect his next book. So I purchased The Scar as soon as it was available (Amazon, thanks for making it available before the release date!) and I decided to take my time reading it - to squeeze the maximum enjoyment out of it, if you will.

So, did I like it? Well... Yes I did.

Did it live up to the hype? No, not at all.

And that's a shame, because it's a perfectly good book in its own right. Perhaps, because PSS was so good, I was more critical of The Scar. I wanted it to equal the dizzying brilliance of PSS and unfortunately it didn't quite manage that.

To keep this short (because this isn't meant to be a book review) the shortcomings were:

1) The pacing is off, the first half of the book drags and the second half races by too quickly.

2) The writing style is, at times, too self consciously flashy. It can seem a bit forced.

What I liked about it was:

1) Great characterisation.

2) An interesting, intricate plot that kept me guessing.

3) A fantastic setting - Not just a stale re-cycling of the city, New Crobuzon, from PSS.

4) Sometime breathtaking displays of originality.

So the good outways the bad, but my point is, do you think that the negative aspects of the novel could be a result of the pressure that China was under to deliver a novel that is as good as PSS? And do you think that this type of pressure has a negative influence on the work of other popular authors?

[This message has been edited by LeMort (edited May 20, 2002).]

[This message has been edited by LeMort (edited May 20, 2002).]

[CrazyReader]

There's a sequel??? I haven't even read the first one!! Too many books, not enough time!!

[BoxingGriffin]

While I haven't read either book (I plan to!) I would agree that the pressure to make each book better than the last can have a negative influence on writers who are following up a very successful book. Or anyone, for that matter. Look at poor George Lucas! No one could live up to the hype his fans have thrown upon him.
I think the "big name" writers have to deal with this all the time. Some deal with it well and use it to push themselves, but some may be trying a bit too hard.

Sounds like life in general, for everyone, actually!

[This message has been edited by BoxingGriffin (edited May 20, 2002).]

[LeMort]

The Scar isn't a sequel to Perdido.

The two books can be read in any order because they are pretty much unrelated apart from sharing the same world.

[estranghero]

To keep this short (because this isn't meant to be a book review) the shortcomings were:

1) The pacing is off, the first half of the book drags and the second half races by too quickly.

2) The writing style is, at times, too self consciously flashy. It can seem a bit forced.


LeMort:

Though I haven't read The Scar, I have read PSS and if I remember it correctly, PSS also suffered the same problems you mentioned above.

Mind you, I liked PSS also (better than sliced bread! http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/wink.gif) but it did have its own shortcomings.

[Eventine]

How would you rate it for those that thought PSS was average?

[LeMort]

Eventine,

Well, if you thought that PSS was merely average then there's really no hope for you http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/wink.gif

But...

It's a completely different book.

It's not set in an urban environment like PSS and there is greater emphasis on thaumaturgy (magic) in The Scar, in part due to the setting. Due to this, if you're a fan of traditional high fantasy then you'll probably prefer it to PSS. Having said that, you shouldn't expect high fantasy because it's light years ahead of that sort of cliched waste of paper.

Think vampires, pirates, all manner of wierd creatures, the hunt for a legendary sea creature, and the quest to find the source of unimaginable power. Great stuff!

[Cannon Fodder]

I would have said that Perdido Street Station had exactly the same problems and strengths mentioned here. Some bad pacing and overdone prose but a great setting bursting with heaps of original ideas and charcters. Though if it follows suit The Scar should be worth a look. Despite the problems I had with PSS, I was mostly impressed and I'm certainly interested in Mieville's next work.

I'm not sure how much such expectations would influence an author, or any creative person, although high expectations can really affect the reader. I would guess that such expectations are more likely to get to a relatively inexperienced author, particularly one who had sudden success (And acclaim) than an old hand who might be used to it and would have had their comparative successes and failures.