[Fuxxy Elf]

Ok, I finished this yesterday. Read the last 150 pages in one sitting too, absolutely wonderful I must say. I didn't feel like the book dragged at all, the passages that were just description added brilliantly to the mood and the scope of the novel. I'd actually compare the pacing of the novel to a (don't all shout at once) Stephen King novel, in that it all starts slow and peaceful, getting to know the characters quite in depth and then the **** hits the fan.

I love the ambiguity in the characters, no one is truly likeable or dislikeable, I know it's a cliche but everything is grey in this book. And Mieville doesn't tell you what to think but leaves it up to the reader to decide. Was Isaac unfair on Yag? Should Yag be forgiven after his heroics? These aren't easy questions or answers, but people in the novel make choices some are bad, some are good. Good choices lead to bad consequences and vice versa. It's nice to see a bit of realistic drama in a fantasy novel, with totally human characters, even if they aren't human by appearance.

Superb, recommend it to everyone and very much look forward to reading the Scar.

[juzzza]

You are in for a treat, Fuxxy... I personally feel that The Scar is the best Bas Lag book.

There is literally a whole ocean to exlpore in Mieville's universe!

[Jack]

PSS is a great book, but I enjoyed The Scar much, much more. I think a lot of this had to do with the setting I read them in: PSS was read at a much more turbulent time in my life, and was the first book of the "New Weird" school that I'd read. I just recently finished The Scar and am honestly still awestruck by it, a truly amazing read. The biggest difference between The Scar and PSS is The Scar uses the more traditional fantasy motif of the journey; in other words we are not in New Crobuzon the entire book (in fact we aren't there at all).

You are in for a treat, ser, if you love Mieville's fantastic creations! The Scar is chock FULL OF THEM!

Happy reading!

[Gildor]

The Scar is essentially there and back again .. in a veeeeeery tiny nutshell.

Though PSS remains my favourite (merely because of the slake-moths!), though the Scar ran it extremely close.

[Brahm_K]

I loved the first two hundred pages, the epilogue and selective parts of the middle of the book. Mievelle has some great worldbuilding, ideas and characterization in here; unfortunately, about 200 pages in, it becomes a "chase the monster" type story, which I really didn't find that interesting, minus a few parts (I really liked the Council). I'm about to read Iron Council, so I'll see how I feel about Mievelle after that.

[Monty Mike]

Since I never commented on this book...

It's been a while since I read it, but looking back it was a very distinctive read. I do remember getting bogged down at times with the length and heavy descriptions which seemed to go on and on, but you can't really deny that Meiville is a good writer. Some of the ideas were fun to read and interesting, the characters felt well-realised and, if you flowed with it, the city came alive in your imagination. When I was reading this book, I had a lot of free time and not too many other distractions in terms of entertainment. This definitely helped me finish the book in a fairly short time. If conditions had been different, it certainly could have been a book that I got bored of and tossed aside. As it happened, that wasn't the case.

I would recommend it with reservations. Know that it's a long read and requires patience. Perhaps leave it for a time when you don't have much else going in the way of reading. Also, it's probably a book that is quite hard to come back to after having put down for a while.

All in all, there is something unique about Meiville's writing style and the world he creates. He says Mervyn Peake had a large influence on him and I think that definitely shows. A year after finishing it, I can still quite vividly recall the world of Perdido Street Station and its characters and inhabitants. That's more than I can say for a number of other books I've read since then. There's a definite 'odour' to it, if I can use the word. Quite distinct and one that will probably stand the test of time fairly well.