I've finished it! Woo Hoo!
I actually thought there were quite a number of passages like the "cable-laying" one, where there were pages of detailed descriptions with no action, followed by a chapter in which the plot advances more in a few pages than in the last 100.
I like the "page-turning" kind of book, the ones that I can't put down because I really must find out what happens next. The fact that this sat in a pile on the edge of my bed for so long is evidence that it didn't do it for me. So I take onboard what you say about 'The Scar', but I won't be reading it very soon.
I don't have much more to add. Obviously some great ideas in the book - the Kephri insect creatures, the Cacti creatures, the Remades, the city of New Crobuzon itself, the crisis engine, the construct, the Weaver.
The suggestion that all of this was a result of some ancient weapons technology that went wrong in the distant past was interesting.
I read that after creating such a world, Mieville should have written more than a "bug-hunt", but that wasn't a problem for me.
I think they were rescued from impossible situations a few too many times by the Weaver for my liking.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vurtperson  Thanks for the answers Brys and j.d.
That's an interesting explanation about why Yagharek did what he did. |
Only he still wasn't human, he could never be fully human, he could not break his beak or remove his clawed feet. So, I would have thought he would have taken up Jack Half-a-Prayer's offer. He had more in common with the Remades.