History Literature / TheScar

* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: ''Literature/TheScar'', being set in both a pirate nation ''and'' [[{{Literature/Bas-LagCycle}} Bas-Lag]] is absolutely rife with these. Cactus pirates, vampire pirates, giant-scarab-headed women librarian pirates... You get the idea.

Creator/ChinaMieville's second book in the ''Literature/{{Bas-Lag Cycle}}'', first published in 2002. Despite being a stand-alone novel, [[{{Sequel}} it takes place immediately]] after the events of ''Literature/PerdidoStreetStation''.

* OceanMadness: Hedrigall decides to leave Armada, the floating city, and spends some time alone at sea. After he is found he has been driven mad by [[AllTheMyriadWays seeing his entire]] [[spoiler: city destroyed]].

* ComeToGawk: The Brucolac is hung up atop a ship's mast and left there. Being a vampire, he is slowly dying of exposure to sunlight before he is finally taken down.

* GiantSwimmer: The avanc.

** The names of all the ships that make up the pirate city of Armada have a connection with other works of literature involving ships. There's the ''Arronax'' (after the narrator of ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea''), ''Wintershaw Market'' (after the protagonist of Creator/WilliamHopeHodgeson's ''Boats of the Glen Carrig'') etc. The New Crobuzon ship that chases Armada is the ''[[Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader Morning Walker]]''.

!!''Literature/TheScar'' provides examples of:

* ShoutOutThemeNaming: The monster hunters are named after the characters from ''TheHuntingOfTheSnark'', but in different languages. Their leader is Tinntinnabulum - the Bellman, and their ship is the ''Castor'' - Beaver.
** The names of all the ships that make up the pirate city of Armada have a connection with other works of literature involving ships. There's the ''Arronax'' (after the narrator of ''TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea''), ''Wintershaw Market'' (after the protagonist of WilliamHopeHodgeson's ''Boats of the Glen Carrig'') etc. The New Crobuzon ship that chases Armada is the ''[[Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader Morning Walker]]''.

* SidenoteFullStory: Bellis gets a one-line mention in ''PerdidoStreetStation''.

* TheUnreveal: We never find out [[spoiler:what is in the eponymous Scar, or how much of the events were due to Doul's ministrations and how much were chance]].

* FridgeLogic: The question of where Armada gets its fresh water is never addressed. The scarcity of drinkable water on the ''Therpsichora'' is mentioned early on, but there's no indication that Armadans use desalination techniques, or even set out catch-basins during rainstorms.

ChinaMieville's second book in the ''[[{{Literature/Bas-LagCycle}} Bas-Lag Cycle]]'', first published in 2002. Despite being a stand-alone novel, [[{{Sequel}} it takes place immediately]] after the events of ''PerdidoStreetStation''.

In the aftermath of [[PerdidoStreetStation The Plague of Nightmares]], [[{{Kuudere}} Bellis]] [[TheStoic Coldwine]], a [[CunningLinguist brilliant linguist]], knows that it will just be a matter of time before New-Crobuzon's terrifying SecretPolice drag her away for a questioning that she will [[ReleasedToElsewhere undoubtedly never return from]]. Bellis negotiates her way on to the ''Terpsichoria'', a ship heading to escape to the colony Nova Esperium, acting as a translator to the captain when liaising with the Salkrikaltor Cray.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_l6fuqd1XjO1qc4pes_9294.jpg

** The names of all the ships that make up the pirate city of Armada have a connection with other works of literature involving ships. There's the ''Arronax'' (after the narrator of ''TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea''), ''Wintershaw Market'' (after the protagonist of WilliamHopeHodgeson's ''Boats of the Glen Carrig'') etc. The New Crobuzon ship that chases Armada is the ''[[VoyageOfTheDawnTreader Morning Walker]]''.

* BloodyMurder: The scabmettlers of are a race whose blood clots extremely quickly. Before going into battle, they cut themselves in certain ritualistic pattern, and the results blood flows harden into armor and weapons. {{Blessed With Suck}} to some extent, since they need to medicate themselves constantly or risk spontaneous clots that will turn them into statues.

* {{Badass}}: Uther Doul, perhaps the only outright badass in the trilogy. The Brucolac may also qualify. Uther Doul ''does'' manage to beat up The Brucolac, but getting beat up by Uther Doul is like getting beat up by {{Godzilla}}.

** She comes up with three very plausible theories about what actually happened. All of them are frustrating to her because all three scenarios involve her being manipulated into changing the fate of Armada, so she doesn't bother verifying which is correct.

** She comes up with three theories about what actually happened. All of them are frustrating to her because all three scenarios involve her being manipulated into changing the fate of Armada, so she doesn't bother verifying which is correct.

* MrFanservice: Uther Doul. Even within the novel.

* FishPeople: The aqautic races, most notably the Grindylow.

** Doesn't make the [[ColdBloodedTorture measures]] [[ShootTheDog they take]] to get the job done any less horrifying, though.

** Doesn't make the measures they take to get the job done any less horrifying, though.

** the description of what [[Silas Fennec's Magus Fin-empowered saliva]] does to a person's flesh is the stuff of nightmares.