THE NEW WEIRD JOINS STEAMPUNK

Miéville, China (1972– )

The Scar [Signed] [New Crobuzon #2] [Steampunk]

Norwalk, Conn: Easton Press, 2002. Limited edition of 1000. First Edition, Thus,
A FLOATING CITY AT THE EDGE OF THE KNOWN WORLD

A finely produced signed limited edition of one of the defining works of twenty-first-century weird fiction. The Scar, the second novel set in China Miéville’s Bas-Lag universe, expands the visionary industrial fantasy introduced in Perdido Street Station into a vast maritime epic of floating pirate cities, impossible creatures, political intrigue, and metaphysical terror.

Issued by Easton Press in a signed limitation of 1000 copies, this edition reflects the growing early recognition of Miéville as a transformative voice in speculative fiction. Signed by the author and preserved unopened in the original factory seal, the volume remains in untouched collector condition.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Full dark brown leather binding decorated in 22kt gold. Hubbed spine with raised bands. Octavo format. Acid-neutral archival paper with gilt page edges.Satin moiré endpapers and sewn satin ribbon marker. Collector’s Note, certificate of authenticity, and unused Easton Press bookplate laid in. Limited edition of 1000 signed copies.

CONDITION: No flaws or blemishes. Still factory sealed and unopened. Gift quality. Signed by China Miéville.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE —
China Miéville emerged as one of the most influential voices in contemporary speculative fiction, helping reshape fantasy through the fusion of science fiction, horror, surrealism, Marxist theory, and urban dystopian imagery.

The Scar won the British Fantasy Award in 2003 and was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, Hugo Award, and Philip K. Dick Award. Together with Perdido Street Station and Iron Council, it helped establish the Bas-Lag sequence as a landmark of modern weird fiction.

Set immediately after the events of Perdido Street Station, The Scar follows linguist Bellis Coldwine into the floating pirate-armada city of Armada, one of the most imaginative settings in modern fantasy literature. Miéville blends elements of steampunk, political allegory, horror, maritime adventure, and grotesque invention into a densely layered narrative that helped redefine literary fantasy in the early 2000s.

Unlike conventional epic fantasy grounded in medieval archetypes, Miéville’s Bas-Lag novels embrace industrial decay, radical politics, hybrid species, and urban complexity. The Scar is often considered among his most ambitious and stylistically accomplished works, balancing intellectual experimentation with large-scale adventure storytelling.

The novel became central to the emergence of the ‘New Weird’ movement, which rejected rigid genre boundaries in favor of darker, stranger, and more politically conscious speculative fiction.

SUBJECTS: China Miéville, Bas-Lag, New Weird fiction, steampunk fantasy, signed limited editions, Easton Press, speculative fiction, pirate cities in fiction, literary fantasy, British fantasy fiction, modern weird literature, New Crobuzon series, Fantasy, Weird Fiction, Steampunk, Speculative Fiction, Science Fantasy.

Item #19351

Price: $250.00