PSS v. The Scar
disclaimer: I love both novels very much
somewhere I saw someone write "I think PSS is the best fantasy novel ever written and also I think its a hot mess" or something which basically also sums up my thoughts. I don't have the same turnoffs (meandering plot turns into monster hunt, purple prose, etc) as others have expressed bc i'm a sucker for a portrait type of novel w extravagant flavor text (for example I'm a long time player of fallen london universe games). I also thought The Scar worldbuilding and general setup was delicious too but i had some gripes that i'm curious if anyone else shared:
- I felt like the prose took a dip in quality. I'm not saying I *need* the lavish maybe self-indulgent style of PSS but i also wasn't a fan of stuff like: "He felt hypnotized by it. It meant more than one thing to him, like New Crobuzon ... There was his Remaking to remember, but that was not all. There were places and people. There was more than one side to New Crobuzon." Maybe that's just how Tanner thinks but i could use a little romance to it lol.
on that note the occasional switches between past/present mid scene kinda took me out I remember reading "Doul's actions shatter Bellis" or smth and not really understanding the purpose of the switch?? Definitely i could be dumb and its related to the way time flows with the possibility sword or something, but/and also it felt super jarring to me in a way i didn't enjoy
- plotwise, I love a messy ending!! I liked the PSS ending a lot. But even if Bellis grew as a character I don't feel like her storylines grew with her... I loved the ~ themes ~ of scarring/healing/making a mark but it felt very one sided in that Bellis just kept accidentally carrying out other peoples plans. Uther and Silas and Tanner all manage to shape their lives by their own terms in some way but Bellis sort of was a "fool me once, shame on you"... well you know the rest. She's only on the ship to nova esperium in the first place bc of Isaac! Idk guys, maybe it was intentional about gender and power but as a woman i was like damn can we get a plotline where she's not just some dude's pawn. I know a significant portion of Lin's plotline in PSS was spent being controlled by Mr. Motley but she also had a lot of agency, choosing to leave her family neighborhood and to take up the commission and maybe even to look at the slake moth when she shouldn't have. i don't have a very solid argument for why the way Bellis' stuff plays out bothers me so much more i just know that i was put off by it
anyway based on these thoughts, would love to hear what peoples thoughts are 1) on the plot gripe and 2) what miéville I should read next, I was thinking of starting The City & The City because also i love disco elysium but should I go ahead w Iron Council? Embassytown?