What, in your mind, made it a better story than Perdido Street Station? Less worldbuilding? The more pronounced criticism of capitalism? I'm genuinely curious; your opinion isn't one I've seen before.
Doesn't take 100-150 pages for the story to get moving full-force plus the tragic nature of the story was done better here than in his other works.
I've attempted to read it at least 3 times now, getting a hundred+ pages each time, and losing interest. It's too unevenly paced. Unbalanced in tone. Can't decide what it wants to be.
I certainly don't agree, the pace of the Scar is more evenly distributed than PSS... It's been a few years since I read them, but it made much more sense than PSS. The story is told with a certain disconnect, but flows more readily as you read it - it is a stark contrast to PSS, which is much more disjointed and moving in different directions suddenly. The somewhat tighter focus of the Scar does not in the same way digress into irrelevant details about the world-building which I am sure Mr. Mièville is most proud of. Also, the plot is somewhat more logical, and less of a horror story, which I am sure is part of the whole thing.
"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world" - Calvin.
Oh, and since I urged a few in another thread to read more standalones, here's a list of them
- 06/12/2009 06:53:21 AM
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You didn't mention Perdido Street Station. I'm shocked! 
*NM*
- 06/12/2009 07:21:05 AM
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*NM*
- 06/12/2009 07:21:05 AM
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I thought The Scar was a better story
- 06/12/2009 07:40:38 AM
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I find that surprising.
- 06/12/2009 08:58:41 AM
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I am disappointed
- 06/12/2009 01:34:15 PM
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Because it wasn't as enjoyable as the 50 I did list?
- 06/12/2009 09:11:05 PM
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I wouldn't hesitate to rate it above The Scar for example.
- 06/12/2009 09:13:23 PM
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Wow! Thanks. Part of my biggest problem in trying out new fiction is that...
- 06/12/2009 08:46:29 PM
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All of four, though a few of those are wish-list/ haven't read. *NM*
- 07/12/2009 08:07:28 PM
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Thank you Larry, I have saved this thread as my first, "My Favourite Threads"
- 12/12/2009 01:43:52 AM
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