[kaelcarp]

The Scar is my favorite of the Bas-Lag novels. I think it was pretty much a perfect book, at least for my tastes. I liked Iron Council a good deal, but I thought it was a few steps below both The Scar and Perdido Street Station. I read them in the order they came out. I found IC interesting, and it probably had the best ending of the three, but I was not as into the characters or as blown away by the story as I was by the other two. Also, for the first time, while reading it, I actually started to get an "I've already seen that" feeling, which is something I rarely get from Mieville. Particularly when the Weaver showed up, I felt like he'd already used the Weaver very effectively in PSS, and it didn't seem as fresh to me. As much as I'd like to read new Bas-Lag stories, I'm glad he has taken a break from them (though I hope he returns soon enough).