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The Scar
Reaching far beyond sword and sorcery, The Scar is a story of two people torn by disaster, their descent into despair, and their reemergence through love and courage.
Sergey and Marina Dyachenko mix dramatic scenes with romance, action and wit, in a style both direct and lyrical. Written with a sure artistic hand, The Scar is the story of a man driven by his own feverish demons to find redemption and the woman who just might save him.
Egert is a brash, confident member of the elite guards and an egotistical philanderer. But after he kills an innocent student in a duel, a mysterious man known as "The Wanderer" challenges Egert and slashes his face with his sword, leaving Egert with a scar that comes to symbolize his cowardice. Unable to end his suffering by his own hand, Egert embarks on an odyssey to undo the curse and the horrible damage he has caused, which can only be repaired by a painful journey down a long and harrowing path.
Plotted with the sureness of Robin Hobb and colored with the haunting and ominous imagination of Michael Moorcock, The Scar tells a story that cannot be forgotten.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Sergey and Marina Dyachenko mix dramatic scenes with romance, action and wit, in a style both direct and lyrical. Written with a sure artistic hand, The Scar is the story of a man driven by his own feverish demons to find redemption and the woman who just might save him.
Egert is a brash, confident member of the elite guards and an egotistical philanderer. But after he kills an innocent student in a duel, a mysterious man known as "The Wanderer" challenges Egert and slashes his face with his sword, leaving Egert with a scar that comes to symbolize his cowardice. Unable to end his suffering by his own hand, Egert embarks on an odyssey to undo the curse and the horrible damage he has caused, which can only be repaired by a painful journey down a long and harrowing path.
Plotted with the sureness of Robin Hobb and colored with the haunting and ominous imagination of Michael Moorcock, The Scar tells a story that cannot be forgotten.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
452 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1996
59 people are currently reading
2,984 people want to read
About the author
Marina Dyachenko
117books694followersМарина Дяченко
Marina and Serhiy Dyachenko - co-authors of novels, short fiction, plays and scripts. They primarily write in Russian (and in the past also in Ukrainian) with several novels translated into English and published in the United States. These include, Vita Nostra (2012), The Scar (2012), The Burned Tower (2012), Age of Witches (2014) and Daughter from the dark (2020). The primary genres of their books are modern speculative fiction, fantasy, and literary tales.
Marina and Serhiy Dyachenko - co-authors of novels, short fiction, plays and scripts. They primarily write in Russian (and in the past also in Ukrainian) with several novels translated into English and published in the United States. These include, Vita Nostra (2012), The Scar (2012), The Burned Tower (2012), Age of Witches (2014) and Daughter from the dark (2020). The primary genres of their books are modern speculative fiction, fantasy, and literary tales.
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March 12, 2022This was a wonderful read. It's got that folktale quality, with a really intense slightly dreamlike story structure, along with favourite fantasy tropes like the scary deity cult. But it's mostly a fable about toxic masculinity and how it could just not.
Egert is a handsome talented loudmouthed egocentric braggart, brave and heroic and absolutely bloody awful. Really, we hate him. He's a rancid bully masquerading as a typical old school fantasy hero (rancid bullies) right up to the point where he kills an inexperienced student in an unfair duel because he was sexually harassing the student's fiancee. And he gets cursed with appalling, heart-stopping cowardice. And his life goes to shit.
Not going to lie, the first part of this is incredibly satisfying because Egert deserves everything he has coming. The triumph of the book is how it works through the process of Egert coming to realise how his actions have affected others, accepting his guilt, developing real friendships, learning kindness and altruism, and showing genuine courage in confronting his incapacitating fear. He turns into a decent person, which could be preachy in the wrong hands, but here is just a profound pleasure to watch.
Hugely readable (excellent translation). I'd say, if you like T Kingfisher, this will almost certainly float your boat.
Egert is a handsome talented loudmouthed egocentric braggart, brave and heroic and absolutely bloody awful. Really, we hate him. He's a rancid bully masquerading as a typical old school fantasy hero (rancid bullies) right up to the point where he kills an inexperienced student in an unfair duel because he was sexually harassing the student's fiancee. And he gets cursed with appalling, heart-stopping cowardice. And his life goes to shit.
Not going to lie, the first part of this is incredibly satisfying because Egert deserves everything he has coming. The triumph of the book is how it works through the process of Egert coming to realise how his actions have affected others, accepting his guilt, developing real friendships, learning kindness and altruism, and showing genuine courage in confronting his incapacitating fear. He turns into a decent person, which could be preachy in the wrong hands, but here is just a profound pleasure to watch.
Hugely readable (excellent translation). I'd say, if you like T Kingfisher, this will almost certainly float your boat.
December 24, 2014
This was a unique and beautifully written story. It was more like a dark fairytale than a regular epic fantasy. It's the story of a vain and selfish man's painful journey through the depths of despair in order to find both redemption and love.
Egert Sol is a cold, cruel, and arrogant young lieutenant in the Kavarin Guard. His good looks, bravery, and martial prowess have made him incredibly popular in his home town. They overlook his every fault. Sol's selfishness leads him to chase the beautiful fiancee of a visiting scholar. The girl, Toria, rejects his advances and in a rage Sol provokes her gentle, unskilled in weaponry, husband to be into a duel. After taunting and humiliating the scholar for a while an unfortunate slip sees the scholar score a small scratch on Sol. The baying mob react with laughter. Sol's pride is stung to the point that he reacts with rage and kills the terrified and over matched Scholar. Unfortunately for him the mysterious mage The Wanderer witnesses the duel. He proceeds to place the curse of cowardice upon Sol. From then on Sol's life is changed in an instant and his life takes a new path. One that leads through the darkness of pain and despair, but also one that leads to redemption, love, and a greater understanding of compassion.
I loved the story. It had a very melancholic feel to it, but was always laced with the undercurrent of hope. To start with Egert was so easy to hate, but soon the Dyachenkos' had me feeling sympathetic towards him and then, more impressively, actually liking and rooting for him to beat his curse! I loved the way both Toria and Egert grew as characters throughout the story. It was well done and it made it easy to believe in their developing feelings for each other.
This was a story unlike any other I have ever read. It was very enjoyable.
Rating: 4.5 stars. I've rounded up to 5 stars because the book deserves it.
Audio Note: Jonathan Davis is an excellent narrator and he almost matches his incredible performance of The Shadow of the Wind while narrating this book. He has a smooth voice and was able to coney a wide array of emotions. His performance really enhanced my enjoyment of the book as it was almost like I could feel Egert's every emotion!
Egert Sol is a cold, cruel, and arrogant young lieutenant in the Kavarin Guard. His good looks, bravery, and martial prowess have made him incredibly popular in his home town. They overlook his every fault. Sol's selfishness leads him to chase the beautiful fiancee of a visiting scholar. The girl, Toria, rejects his advances and in a rage Sol provokes her gentle, unskilled in weaponry, husband to be into a duel. After taunting and humiliating the scholar for a while an unfortunate slip sees the scholar score a small scratch on Sol. The baying mob react with laughter. Sol's pride is stung to the point that he reacts with rage and kills the terrified and over matched Scholar. Unfortunately for him the mysterious mage The Wanderer witnesses the duel. He proceeds to place the curse of cowardice upon Sol. From then on Sol's life is changed in an instant and his life takes a new path. One that leads through the darkness of pain and despair, but also one that leads to redemption, love, and a greater understanding of compassion.
I loved the story. It had a very melancholic feel to it, but was always laced with the undercurrent of hope. To start with Egert was so easy to hate, but soon the Dyachenkos' had me feeling sympathetic towards him and then, more impressively, actually liking and rooting for him to beat his curse! I loved the way both Toria and Egert grew as characters throughout the story. It was well done and it made it easy to believe in their developing feelings for each other.
This was a story unlike any other I have ever read. It was very enjoyable.
Rating: 4.5 stars. I've rounded up to 5 stars because the book deserves it.
Audio Note: Jonathan Davis is an excellent narrator and he almost matches his incredible performance of The Shadow of the Wind while narrating this book. He has a smooth voice and was able to coney a wide array of emotions. His performance really enhanced my enjoyment of the book as it was almost like I could feel Egert's every emotion!
February 10, 2017
The Scar is the type of book that makes you weep for the limitations of sub-genre delineations. Not epic in scope and apparently intended to stand alone despite being part of a larger cycle. The epic and fantastic elements that presumably tie together the larger cycle are there, but very much in the background. This is really a novel about three people. Where so much fantasy is so very epic, The Scar is incredibly intimate. At the same time, it does not share the heavy reliance on action and violent conflict of most Sword & Sorcery. It perhaps better resembles a fully formed, and in many ways very traditional, fairy tale.
At its heart, The Scar is a tale of two people (and another person linked to both) whose lives are eternally altered and inextricably linked by a senseless murder. It is a tale of a terrible and well deserved curse. It is a tale of arrogance, fear, humiliation, cowardice, and redemption. It is a tale of pride, grief, and forgiveness. The great strength of Russian literature is its ability to plumb the depths of the tortures of the human condition. The Scar shares this ability and brings it to a fantasy setting.
The other tremendous strength of Russian literature is, oddly enough, the language. The prose is halting, haunting, and lyrical, as that of all great Russian literature seems to be. E.g., “A delicate, sweetish, slightly smoky fragrant was soon added to the bitter smell of the velvet. As he gazed at the black partition in front of him, Egert’s hearing became unusually acute. He heard a variety of sounds: far and near, subdued and susurrant, as if a horde of dragonflies were creeping about the inside of a glass jar, brushing their wings against the transparent walls.�
As I implied above, The Scar is very light on action and very heavy on character development and depth and the interrelations of the characters. All three main characters are exceptionally well drawn and three-dimensional. Of course not everyone cares for this sort of thing and it’s hard to do for any author not named Dostoevsky, but when it’s done right it can, to my mind, create something of spectacular beauty that leaves an imprint on one’s soul, a true artistic masterpiece. I humbly submit that The Scar is such a work (and it still reads much easier than Dostoevsky, not the least because it dispenses with Russian naming conventions).
The world of The Scar is adroitly drawn, albeit only with the broadest of strokes. The book takes place almost entirely within two cities. Fantastic elements are largely limited to mages and the mysterious and ominous Order of the Lash (neither of which are fully explained), oblique references to some great threat to the entire world, and the enigmatic Wanderer.
At its heart, The Scar is a tale of two people (and another person linked to both) whose lives are eternally altered and inextricably linked by a senseless murder. It is a tale of a terrible and well deserved curse. It is a tale of arrogance, fear, humiliation, cowardice, and redemption. It is a tale of pride, grief, and forgiveness. The great strength of Russian literature is its ability to plumb the depths of the tortures of the human condition. The Scar shares this ability and brings it to a fantasy setting.
The other tremendous strength of Russian literature is, oddly enough, the language. The prose is halting, haunting, and lyrical, as that of all great Russian literature seems to be. E.g., “A delicate, sweetish, slightly smoky fragrant was soon added to the bitter smell of the velvet. As he gazed at the black partition in front of him, Egert’s hearing became unusually acute. He heard a variety of sounds: far and near, subdued and susurrant, as if a horde of dragonflies were creeping about the inside of a glass jar, brushing their wings against the transparent walls.�
As I implied above, The Scar is very light on action and very heavy on character development and depth and the interrelations of the characters. All three main characters are exceptionally well drawn and three-dimensional. Of course not everyone cares for this sort of thing and it’s hard to do for any author not named Dostoevsky, but when it’s done right it can, to my mind, create something of spectacular beauty that leaves an imprint on one’s soul, a true artistic masterpiece. I humbly submit that The Scar is such a work (and it still reads much easier than Dostoevsky, not the least because it dispenses with Russian naming conventions).
The world of The Scar is adroitly drawn, albeit only with the broadest of strokes. The book takes place almost entirely within two cities. Fantastic elements are largely limited to mages and the mysterious and ominous Order of the Lash (neither of which are fully explained), oblique references to some great threat to the entire world, and the enigmatic Wanderer.
January 30, 2018
Excellent! All those comments telling that this is how it'd be like if Dostoyevsky had writen a Fantasy book are quite right: it really does read so.
Nobody weaves bleak and soul-crushing yet hopeful plots like Russians can, and the style of the Dyachenkos does resemble Fyodor Mikhailovich's in two ways: the bleak/hopeful narrative and in how they handle redemption arcs. Those who have read Dostoyevsky will remember that when he is bent on redeeming a character, he believes in redemption through suffering, mental and/or physical. And so do Marina & Sergey Dyachenko, to judge from how they wrote the redemption of Egert Soll, the incorrigible and easy-to-hate rake, drunkard, seducer of honest women, and overall piece of work that is the protagonist here. Me, I love redemption stories, second opportunities and the will to better one's lot in life, so when I read in the blurb that The Scar had such a plot, it didn't take much convincing to pick it up. And I'm glad that it turned out to be a very good story, rather traditional when it comes to genre conventions, but with personages so well characterised that they drive forth the story themselves. There's romance to add to the character redemption and a good dose of swashbuckling derring-do as well, all with very little fantasy as to be taken for a normal medieval or Renaissance novel.
Nobody weaves bleak and soul-crushing yet hopeful plots like Russians can, and the style of the Dyachenkos does resemble Fyodor Mikhailovich's in two ways: the bleak/hopeful narrative and in how they handle redemption arcs. Those who have read Dostoyevsky will remember that when he is bent on redeeming a character, he believes in redemption through suffering, mental and/or physical. And so do Marina & Sergey Dyachenko, to judge from how they wrote the redemption of Egert Soll, the incorrigible and easy-to-hate rake, drunkard, seducer of honest women, and overall piece of work that is the protagonist here. Me, I love redemption stories, second opportunities and the will to better one's lot in life, so when I read in the blurb that The Scar had such a plot, it didn't take much convincing to pick it up. And I'm glad that it turned out to be a very good story, rather traditional when it comes to genre conventions, but with personages so well characterised that they drive forth the story themselves. There's romance to add to the character redemption and a good dose of swashbuckling derring-do as well, all with very little fantasy as to be taken for a normal medieval or Renaissance novel.
February 13, 2013
Wow. What an unexpectedly great read. I was hoping for some basic fantasy that might be a little bit different since this novel was originally written in Russian. The Scar is indeed basic fantasy � basic, solid fantasy with no great innovations in worldbuilding or ideas, nothing that fantasy readers aren't thoroughly familiar with � but the writing, the descriptive details, and the character arcs that drive the story, are all so deft and evocative that The Scar is like a shiny, perfect apple sitting in a cart full of apples of acceptable but clearly lesser quality.
I would compare The Scar somewhat with Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind, not in terms of style or story, as the Dyanchenkos' writing is quite different from Rothfuss's, but in the way it takes a story that's old hat, old school fantasy and still makes it new and interesting. Part of this is the writing, which was particularly delightful since translations are always a bit iffy, but while of course I can't compare it to the original Russian, there was a ton of evocative imagery, descriptive detail, and strong emotions conveyed in prose that pushes this book into something of true literary quality.
The story is mostly about Egert Soll, a brash, philandering swordsman who's basically every jock bully writ large: he steals his friends' girls, he bullies and brags and treats the world as his playground, full of mud puddles that exist to be splashed in other peoples' faces, and he gets away with it because everyone loves him.
Then he kills an innocent student in a duel that's murder in all but name, the ultimate act of jock-on-nerd bullying. He leaves the student's fiancee bereft and heartbroken.
This is all the set up for Egert's oh-so-very-well-deserved smackdown. His comeuppance is delivered by a mysterious mage called the Wanderer, who goads Egert into a duel and inflicts a magical scar on Egert that curses him with cowardice.
While this has the feel of a traditional fairy tale (or perhaps a Russian folk tale), it's Egert's curse that makes the story. Until that point, Egert has been a completely unlikable schmuck, someone you can't wait to see get dirt rubbed in his face. And when he kills Toria's fiancee, you figure he's passed the moral event horizon and you can't possibly feel anything but disgust for him and a desire to see him suffer.
And suffer he does. And pretty soon you are feeling sorry for Egert Soll. The curse soon turns him into a feeble husk of a man, a hollowed-out shell of his former self who can't even take his own life. And as things get worse and worse, a remarkable thing happens: not only does Egert become sympathetic, but he becomes likable. By a cruel and ironic twist of fate, he is brought face to face with Toria again, the fiancee of the student he killed. And Toria, who also feels nothing but disgust for him initially, comes to feel sympathy for him as well.
By the time the fate of their city, and of Toria, hangs on Egert's ability to overcome his curse, you are not just rooting for him, you're cheering for him. The climax is both epic and again resonant of traditional fairy tales: Egert is given very specific instructions as to what he has to do to get out from under his curse, and of course things do not turn out quite the way he expects.
On the surface, this is a swords & sorcery novel, but the sorcery is treated the way sorcery should be, as something vague and mysterious and not usually seen, a plot device rather than a suit of powers. And there are only a few swordfights, and each one serves a very specific and dramatic purpose in the plot.
So, this isn't really a swords & sorcery novel at all, though it has all the trappings. It's a very psychological novel about egotism, courage and cowardice, grief, and redemption. It's a heroic epic and a romance, and a dark Russian fairy tale with shades of Rothfuss, Wolfe, and Dostoevsky. There's some action and a little bit of magic, but the character arcs are more important than the plot arc.
Apparently the Dyanchenkos are very popular fantasy authors in Russia, yet this novel is the first one to be translated into English. I hope more follow. While this book may not appeal to you if you have no interest in traditional fantasy, I highly recommend it for all fantasy readers, and I'd argue that it has a psychological depth that transcends its genre.
I would compare The Scar somewhat with Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind, not in terms of style or story, as the Dyanchenkos' writing is quite different from Rothfuss's, but in the way it takes a story that's old hat, old school fantasy and still makes it new and interesting. Part of this is the writing, which was particularly delightful since translations are always a bit iffy, but while of course I can't compare it to the original Russian, there was a ton of evocative imagery, descriptive detail, and strong emotions conveyed in prose that pushes this book into something of true literary quality.
The story is mostly about Egert Soll, a brash, philandering swordsman who's basically every jock bully writ large: he steals his friends' girls, he bullies and brags and treats the world as his playground, full of mud puddles that exist to be splashed in other peoples' faces, and he gets away with it because everyone loves him.
Then he kills an innocent student in a duel that's murder in all but name, the ultimate act of jock-on-nerd bullying. He leaves the student's fiancee bereft and heartbroken.
This is all the set up for Egert's oh-so-very-well-deserved smackdown. His comeuppance is delivered by a mysterious mage called the Wanderer, who goads Egert into a duel and inflicts a magical scar on Egert that curses him with cowardice.
While this has the feel of a traditional fairy tale (or perhaps a Russian folk tale), it's Egert's curse that makes the story. Until that point, Egert has been a completely unlikable schmuck, someone you can't wait to see get dirt rubbed in his face. And when he kills Toria's fiancee, you figure he's passed the moral event horizon and you can't possibly feel anything but disgust for him and a desire to see him suffer.
And suffer he does. And pretty soon you are feeling sorry for Egert Soll. The curse soon turns him into a feeble husk of a man, a hollowed-out shell of his former self who can't even take his own life. And as things get worse and worse, a remarkable thing happens: not only does Egert become sympathetic, but he becomes likable. By a cruel and ironic twist of fate, he is brought face to face with Toria again, the fiancee of the student he killed. And Toria, who also feels nothing but disgust for him initially, comes to feel sympathy for him as well.
By the time the fate of their city, and of Toria, hangs on Egert's ability to overcome his curse, you are not just rooting for him, you're cheering for him. The climax is both epic and again resonant of traditional fairy tales: Egert is given very specific instructions as to what he has to do to get out from under his curse, and of course things do not turn out quite the way he expects.
On the surface, this is a swords & sorcery novel, but the sorcery is treated the way sorcery should be, as something vague and mysterious and not usually seen, a plot device rather than a suit of powers. And there are only a few swordfights, and each one serves a very specific and dramatic purpose in the plot.
So, this isn't really a swords & sorcery novel at all, though it has all the trappings. It's a very psychological novel about egotism, courage and cowardice, grief, and redemption. It's a heroic epic and a romance, and a dark Russian fairy tale with shades of Rothfuss, Wolfe, and Dostoevsky. There's some action and a little bit of magic, but the character arcs are more important than the plot arc.
Apparently the Dyanchenkos are very popular fantasy authors in Russia, yet this novel is the first one to be translated into English. I hope more follow. While this book may not appeal to you if you have no interest in traditional fantasy, I highly recommend it for all fantasy readers, and I'd argue that it has a psychological depth that transcends its genre.
November 22, 2011
Some 15 years ago I'd got the original manuscript of THE SCAR from Marina and Sergey - it meant to be published soon, one of the novels initiated "Spellbound Worlds" series of Russian fantasy books, Terra Fantastica and AST publishing houses joint project.
In 1996 I'd read Dyachenkos' debut novel already, THE GATE-KEEPER, and I liked it. Some of their shorts and novellas were really nice too. But THE SCAR turned to be something completely different. Absolutely new level of artistry. Not just good, but literally masterpiece - compelling, deep and sharp, frighteningly strong. Could it be the second novel of the newcomers? It was really hard to believe.
Being published in 1997, THE SCAR got a notable success and immediately placed Dyachekos' name on the list of most valuable domestic writers, border-breakers of the genre. In fact, the book never was out-of-print since the first edition in Russia, and it's no wonder that it was translated abroad in time - for example, in Poland, the country with a strong traditions of genre reading.
And now THE SCAR casts overseas, thanks to Tor Books. I just hope the novel in translation of Elinor Huntington will be as impressive as original was, but my English is far from perfect and I cannot judge this.
But you can. And you will.
To get the first impression you can read online.
And then we'll wait for February, 28.
I'll read you soon. Take care.
In 1996 I'd read Dyachenkos' debut novel already, THE GATE-KEEPER, and I liked it. Some of their shorts and novellas were really nice too. But THE SCAR turned to be something completely different. Absolutely new level of artistry. Not just good, but literally masterpiece - compelling, deep and sharp, frighteningly strong. Could it be the second novel of the newcomers? It was really hard to believe.
Being published in 1997, THE SCAR got a notable success and immediately placed Dyachekos' name on the list of most valuable domestic writers, border-breakers of the genre. In fact, the book never was out-of-print since the first edition in Russia, and it's no wonder that it was translated abroad in time - for example, in Poland, the country with a strong traditions of genre reading.
And now THE SCAR casts overseas, thanks to Tor Books. I just hope the novel in translation of Elinor Huntington will be as impressive as original was, but my English is far from perfect and I cannot judge this.
But you can. And you will.
To get the first impression you can read online.
And then we'll wait for February, 28.
I'll read you soon. Take care.
May 12, 2012
It's like when you see a beautiful performance, but one that is sad or haunting. Someone singing or dancing, some artistic expression, that moves you profoundly, but in such a way that when it's over, you don't know if you should applaud or not. It is not a performance that inspires a burst of jubilation, but it was so good that you know you should applaud.
This book had an interesting meandering quality to the plot. Something I think that if it had been presented to an American publisher, they may have torn right out of it in their great efforts to make every book unique and exactly like every other out there. This was originally published in Russian, but I find that the Russian-to-English novels I've read have a very unique feeling that I like.
I felt this book very strongly. I think perhaps Egert's struggles with his curse resounded with me because I fight a chronic and sometimes nearly crippling Anxiety Disorder. While it is not as pronounced or like his, anyone whose fought that intense, irrational, uncontrollable fear will, I think, understand this book best.
But the wandering -- an appropriate word for it -- never lets you fall out of the book. You flow with it in it's haunting, lyrical sense. And yet it's very... direct, like the dust jacket calls it. It is indeed lyrical and direct. You just... flow along with the characters, over the passing of time, in this tragic, beautiful, strange tale.
In the end you realize that when the performance is truly that beautiful, jubilant or not, you must applaud. I don't think I'll be forgetting this story any time soon.
This book had an interesting meandering quality to the plot. Something I think that if it had been presented to an American publisher, they may have torn right out of it in their great efforts to make every book unique and exactly like every other out there. This was originally published in Russian, but I find that the Russian-to-English novels I've read have a very unique feeling that I like.
I felt this book very strongly. I think perhaps Egert's struggles with his curse resounded with me because I fight a chronic and sometimes nearly crippling Anxiety Disorder. While it is not as pronounced or like his, anyone whose fought that intense, irrational, uncontrollable fear will, I think, understand this book best.
But the wandering -- an appropriate word for it -- never lets you fall out of the book. You flow with it in it's haunting, lyrical sense. And yet it's very... direct, like the dust jacket calls it. It is indeed lyrical and direct. You just... flow along with the characters, over the passing of time, in this tragic, beautiful, strange tale.
In the end you realize that when the performance is truly that beautiful, jubilant or not, you must applaud. I don't think I'll be forgetting this story any time soon.
July 25, 2019
One of those rare (hahahahaha) cases when people love it and I don't love it.
I think we will need some spoilers here.
I think it's psychology-fantasy genre (and now I am sure I don't like it). I think authors only uses fantasy setting to spend their time just exploring how shallow one character is. I didn't believe it. The whole transformation was somehow too soft and had zero impact to me as a reader. Few things didn't make sense at all. At first it seem a great read about how fear transforms human, but it turned to pathetic and repetitive to the point that it was simply boring. Also, noticed some people call it "generic fantasy" - have to agree. Nothing is very new or very inventive or particularity creative. I think with editing done right this books was at least half shorter.
I think we will need some spoilers here.
I think it's psychology-fantasy genre (and now I am sure I don't like it). I think authors only uses fantasy setting to spend their time just exploring how shallow one character is. I didn't believe it. The whole transformation was somehow too soft and had zero impact to me as a reader. Few things didn't make sense at all. At first it seem a great read about how fear transforms human, but it turned to pathetic and repetitive to the point that it was simply boring. Also, noticed some people call it "generic fantasy" - have to agree. Nothing is very new or very inventive or particularity creative. I think with editing done right this books was at least half shorter.
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December 18, 2022“It is no misfortune if you do not know where you are going; it is far worse when there is no longer anywhere to go. He who stands on the path of experience cannot step away from it, even when it has come to its end. For the path is without end.�
So What’s It About?
Reaching far beyond sword and sorcery, The Scar is a story of two people torn by disaster, their descent into despair, and their reemergence through love and courage. Sergey and Marina Dyachenko mix dramatic scenes with romance, action and wit, in a style both direct and lyrical. Written with a sure artistic hand, The Scar is the story of a man driven by his own feverish demons to find redemption and the woman who just might save him.
Egert is a brash, confident member of the elite guards and an egotistical philanderer. But after he kills an innocent student in a duel, a mysterious man known as “The Wanderer� challenges Egert and slashes his face with his sword, leaving Egert with a scar that comes to symbolize his cowardice. Unable to end his suffering by his own hand, Egert embarks on an odyssey to undo the curse and the horrible damage he has caused, which can only be repaired by a painful journey down a long and harrowing path.
What I Thought
The more I think about this book, the less convinced I am that it worked for me. This is one of those cases where an objectively well-crafted book simply didn’t work for me because of my individual opinions and tastes as a reader.
My first problem is that the themes of reconciliation and punishment present here do not feel very satisfying or convincing to me. Egert starts the book by committing an unjust, cruel murder, and he is cursed to suffer extraordinarily because of it. While the idea of the curse is definitely to try to teach Egert a lesson, I Dz’t actually feel like he does a satisfactory amount of learning or unlearning over the course of the story. To be clear, I do absolutely belive that redemption and growth are possible for the perpetrators of terrible crimes and that it is possible for the loved ones of murder victims to reconcile with the perpetrators. But I think that these processes must involve an absolutely extraordinary amount of honesty, vulnerability, insight and commitment to growth and change that are simply never present in Egert’s character development or his relationships with Toria and her father. This is especially true in Toria’s case as she ends up in love with him, and it is especially unconvincing to me because Egert actually frees himself of the curse by going on a massive killing spree at the end of the book.
I’m also frustrated by what an incredible exploration of toxic masculinity this could have been, and how it instead ended up sticking to a very old-fashioned notion of chivalry as the masculine ideal. The authors could totally have leaned into how Egert starts out the story with an inflated ego because of his prowess for senseless violence, sexual conquests and cruelty to those less powerful than him. His curse even makes it clear that these ideals are hollow and toxic and meaningless - that a person who uses his power so cruelly is really a coward at heart; that if you have to rely on bullying others to feel powerful, your power doesn’t really mean all that much.
The problem is that Egert is “unmanned� with his curse of cowardice and then frees himself of the curse and reclaims his masculinity by saving his helpless love interest Toria through a bloodbath of slaughter. My reading of this is that Egert is freed and vindicated when he learns to be chivalrous, which is a frustrating choice even for a book written before 2000. Any reading of this book as being about unhealthy standards of masculinity is somewhat crushed by that conclusion - at least if you see benevolent sexism as a bad thing! There are also littler things like how a woman’s horrific gang rape exists in the story for the sole purpose of showing how unmanly Egert is, or this line about how Toria looks “more feminine� once she falls in love. I’m still scratching my head over that one.
This is a story about character development far more than it is about external plot, but the external plot is still fairly unremarkable to me. I never really understood what Lash actually was, and all the lore surrounding the Third Power and the Amulet felt very awkwardly implemented. That being said, I did think that the writing of Egert’s psychological torment was very powerful, and it was enjoyable to see him gradually grow braver and start to develop real relationships. The writing itself was also lovely. In sum, though, I ended the book largely unconvinced and frustrated by wasted potential.
So What’s It About?
Reaching far beyond sword and sorcery, The Scar is a story of two people torn by disaster, their descent into despair, and their reemergence through love and courage. Sergey and Marina Dyachenko mix dramatic scenes with romance, action and wit, in a style both direct and lyrical. Written with a sure artistic hand, The Scar is the story of a man driven by his own feverish demons to find redemption and the woman who just might save him.
Egert is a brash, confident member of the elite guards and an egotistical philanderer. But after he kills an innocent student in a duel, a mysterious man known as “The Wanderer� challenges Egert and slashes his face with his sword, leaving Egert with a scar that comes to symbolize his cowardice. Unable to end his suffering by his own hand, Egert embarks on an odyssey to undo the curse and the horrible damage he has caused, which can only be repaired by a painful journey down a long and harrowing path.
What I Thought
The more I think about this book, the less convinced I am that it worked for me. This is one of those cases where an objectively well-crafted book simply didn’t work for me because of my individual opinions and tastes as a reader.
My first problem is that the themes of reconciliation and punishment present here do not feel very satisfying or convincing to me. Egert starts the book by committing an unjust, cruel murder, and he is cursed to suffer extraordinarily because of it. While the idea of the curse is definitely to try to teach Egert a lesson, I Dz’t actually feel like he does a satisfactory amount of learning or unlearning over the course of the story. To be clear, I do absolutely belive that redemption and growth are possible for the perpetrators of terrible crimes and that it is possible for the loved ones of murder victims to reconcile with the perpetrators. But I think that these processes must involve an absolutely extraordinary amount of honesty, vulnerability, insight and commitment to growth and change that are simply never present in Egert’s character development or his relationships with Toria and her father. This is especially true in Toria’s case as she ends up in love with him, and it is especially unconvincing to me because Egert actually frees himself of the curse by going on a massive killing spree at the end of the book.
I’m also frustrated by what an incredible exploration of toxic masculinity this could have been, and how it instead ended up sticking to a very old-fashioned notion of chivalry as the masculine ideal. The authors could totally have leaned into how Egert starts out the story with an inflated ego because of his prowess for senseless violence, sexual conquests and cruelty to those less powerful than him. His curse even makes it clear that these ideals are hollow and toxic and meaningless - that a person who uses his power so cruelly is really a coward at heart; that if you have to rely on bullying others to feel powerful, your power doesn’t really mean all that much.
The problem is that Egert is “unmanned� with his curse of cowardice and then frees himself of the curse and reclaims his masculinity by saving his helpless love interest Toria through a bloodbath of slaughter. My reading of this is that Egert is freed and vindicated when he learns to be chivalrous, which is a frustrating choice even for a book written before 2000. Any reading of this book as being about unhealthy standards of masculinity is somewhat crushed by that conclusion - at least if you see benevolent sexism as a bad thing! There are also littler things like how a woman’s horrific gang rape exists in the story for the sole purpose of showing how unmanly Egert is, or this line about how Toria looks “more feminine� once she falls in love. I’m still scratching my head over that one.
This is a story about character development far more than it is about external plot, but the external plot is still fairly unremarkable to me. I never really understood what Lash actually was, and all the lore surrounding the Third Power and the Amulet felt very awkwardly implemented. That being said, I did think that the writing of Egert’s psychological torment was very powerful, and it was enjoyable to see him gradually grow braver and start to develop real relationships. The writing itself was also lovely. In sum, though, I ended the book largely unconvinced and frustrated by wasted potential.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 28, 2017
It is no misfortune if you do not know where you are going; it is far worse when there is no longer anywhere to go. He who stands on the path of experience cannot step away from it, even when it has come to its end.
For the path is without end.
*Possible spoilers*
I loved this story. I have to be honest. I’m a total sucker for stories of redemption. There’s nothing more satisfying than to see someone, no matter how despicable, change for the better. In this instance though the main character, Egert, is not changing of his own volition. He's cursed - forced to be the kind of man he has always despised, forced to view life from a different perspective. I felt a lot of emotions throughout this book, but pity was probably the strongest. There was no doubt this man deserved at least a portion of his plight, but with every new experience it became harder and harder to watch Egert slip into hopelessness and despair. It had me wishing he could find some way of overcoming this horrible existence.
This story is a little bit different from the usual fantasy. With the exception of the magical curse, and a few events that happen toward the end, the story focuses more on the emotional and physical turmoil of the main character than any of the usual fantasy elements. There’s not a whole lot of action, the reader spends a good amount of time in Egert’s head, and a growing romance becomes central to the last portion of the story. If that sounds just like something you Dz’t want to read, please Dz’t let that deter you. It’s a very good book.
This is the second book in a series that was originally published in Russian, and the only one of the series translated into English. But not to worry if you're thinking of picking it up. With the exception of one character, who definitely deserves his own book, this reads as a standalone. And, hopefully with enough reader interest maybe the publishers will see it in their hearts to make the translations available in the future.*fingers crossed* But for now this is all us English speakers/readers will get.
October 15, 2018
Devoured in two days. Believable people taken on a journey far from their first selves. The fantasy elements were rather conventional and extraneous, but that didn’t matter. The plot didn’t teeter off into conventionalities but drew me in tighter, so that I was genuinely nail-biting for the sake of these people.
Engagement rating 5
Style rating 4
PS. No, it’s nothing like ‘if Dostoyevsky did fantasy�, except, I suppose, he liked a redemption story too.
Engagement rating 5
Style rating 4
PS. No, it’s nothing like ‘if Dostoyevsky did fantasy�, except, I suppose, he liked a redemption story too.
February 22, 2012
Here's a extract from my review, full link:
It is not evident to witness and follow the setbacks and adventures, which are not particularly extravagant, of a person under this wasting condition during a whole novel. The feelings of the young and pitiful captain are at the heart of the account and the complete pallet of possible reactions and state of mind come to pass. Sergey mentioned that he added a layer of psychology and even of psychiatry to the story. This element is literally palpable. Doubtlessly, the real interest of The Scar can truly be found in the quest of Egert and all the difficulties he has to cope with. It is by pondering this aspect that you should decide if this kind of tale is for you. We are far from an epic account, it is personal, very human and emotional, slightly too much for me in retrospect. I think that the core of the novel is probably from the mind of Marina more than Sergey. It is all assumptions but the feminine writing is felt all over the narration in the depiction of the characters behaviors.
June 21, 2012
Full review on my podcast, SFBRP episode #161.
Just so you know, this is a *really* fun book! I understand why Jonathan Davis (the narrator) recommended it as one of the most interesting books he has read recently.
Just so you know, this is a *really* fun book! I understand why Jonathan Davis (the narrator) recommended it as one of the most interesting books he has read recently.
November 24, 2017
I would give this book 10 stars if I could. Amazing, lovely, expertly written. It takes so many "rules" of fiction and stands them on their heads and ends up with a beautiful story of love and courage.
January 17, 2019
This book alongside 'The Winter of the Witch' shall be the second book (in a row) where I give it five stars. I give this book five stars because I have never read something like it before, but I've heard of similiar stories in faerie tales. The authors (husband and wife duo) have taken a trope and turned it on its head.
The focus of the story, or our 'hero' is someone that I would never want as a hero. Frankly, I was quite afraid of how they would make the character likeable. The character is a 25 year old man who is leader of a troupe of soldiers in a city that plays off both medieval period and Rome. He reminds me a bit of Jaime Lannister when you first meet him - he is rude, handsome, sleeps with the married women of his generals, and frankly, gets away with anything and everyone. You meet him in a tavern, drunk as fuck, and showing off his excellent skills at the dagger (he has a woman with her back to wall and he throws 15 daggers outlining her frame - none hitting her). He loves when people fear him and remain afraid of him because of the power he holds.
One day, he sees a woman in town with her fiance. He chooses then and there to woo her because he had never fallen in love with someone so beautiful. She wants nothing to do with him and she dismisses his advances. Because this angers him, he eggs her fiance on and has him engage in a duel in the public square. The fiance accepts, but our 'hero' is a proud and talented swordsman that he inadvertently kills the fiance. This does not go unlooked by our 'witch' or 'magician' of the story who then challenges our 'hero' to a duel, bests him, and the marks his face with a scar... from that point on, everything changes... and our hero, well, his curse is one that is quite interesting. Is it mental or is it supernatural? Or is it both?
I loved that I truly hated this character but watched him go from top of the world to rock bottom within chapters (the chapters are long btw) and at one point the curse affects him so deeply that he wishes to kill himself to end it. The story reminded me of a vague, loose Beauty and the Beast... where the cursed one must learn to change or be forever doomed to be the way he is.
There is also a mysterious group of followers who believe the end of the world is to come and this may or may not be connected to the mysterious stranger who cursed our 'hero'.
What of the woman? What becomes of her? Does she meet him again? Are things the same or are they different between the two of them?
I mentioned the parallels between mental and supernatural, and there are so many ties to mental and human strife that I don't want to spoil the curse but just tease you enough to read the review and grab yourself a copy of the book. I will say that the final chapter had me on the edge of my seat and I finished the book wanting, pleading for it to be made into a movie. The only character I was able to cast in my head was the part of the Wanderer (the witch) as Mads Mikaelson.
So, if you were this intrigued by my review and you are looking for something fresh and unloved by the fantasy communities - pick this book up. If it weren't for the newly translated into English book by this couple I would have never known about it. I didn't rate Visa Nostra very highly (I think the translation was quite awful) but this solidified me on their books from now on. I can see why they won so many European Sci-Fi/Fantasy awards and I eagerly hope for more of their books to be adapted into English if they're as good as this one - hopefully by the same translator or equal that of.
The focus of the story, or our 'hero' is someone that I would never want as a hero. Frankly, I was quite afraid of how they would make the character likeable. The character is a 25 year old man who is leader of a troupe of soldiers in a city that plays off both medieval period and Rome. He reminds me a bit of Jaime Lannister when you first meet him - he is rude, handsome, sleeps with the married women of his generals, and frankly, gets away with anything and everyone. You meet him in a tavern, drunk as fuck, and showing off his excellent skills at the dagger (he has a woman with her back to wall and he throws 15 daggers outlining her frame - none hitting her). He loves when people fear him and remain afraid of him because of the power he holds.
One day, he sees a woman in town with her fiance. He chooses then and there to woo her because he had never fallen in love with someone so beautiful. She wants nothing to do with him and she dismisses his advances. Because this angers him, he eggs her fiance on and has him engage in a duel in the public square. The fiance accepts, but our 'hero' is a proud and talented swordsman that he inadvertently kills the fiance. This does not go unlooked by our 'witch' or 'magician' of the story who then challenges our 'hero' to a duel, bests him, and the marks his face with a scar... from that point on, everything changes... and our hero, well, his curse is one that is quite interesting. Is it mental or is it supernatural? Or is it both?
I loved that I truly hated this character but watched him go from top of the world to rock bottom within chapters (the chapters are long btw) and at one point the curse affects him so deeply that he wishes to kill himself to end it. The story reminded me of a vague, loose Beauty and the Beast... where the cursed one must learn to change or be forever doomed to be the way he is.
There is also a mysterious group of followers who believe the end of the world is to come and this may or may not be connected to the mysterious stranger who cursed our 'hero'.
What of the woman? What becomes of her? Does she meet him again? Are things the same or are they different between the two of them?
I mentioned the parallels between mental and supernatural, and there are so many ties to mental and human strife that I don't want to spoil the curse but just tease you enough to read the review and grab yourself a copy of the book. I will say that the final chapter had me on the edge of my seat and I finished the book wanting, pleading for it to be made into a movie. The only character I was able to cast in my head was the part of the Wanderer (the witch) as Mads Mikaelson.
So, if you were this intrigued by my review and you are looking for something fresh and unloved by the fantasy communities - pick this book up. If it weren't for the newly translated into English book by this couple I would have never known about it. I didn't rate Visa Nostra very highly (I think the translation was quite awful) but this solidified me on their books from now on. I can see why they won so many European Sci-Fi/Fantasy awards and I eagerly hope for more of their books to be adapted into English if they're as good as this one - hopefully by the same translator or equal that of.
June 20, 2015
I came to this cold, more or less (it came heavily recommended by a couple of friends, and I'd enjoyed Sergey and Marina Dyachenko's fantastic "Vita Nostra", but I had no idea what to expect). This is the story of Ergert Soll, a braggart and bully who goes one step too far and accidentally kills Dinar, the fiancé of student Toria. Egert finds himself cursed by the Wanderer to be a coward--so swamped by fear he's totally unable to function. Meanwhile, Toria struggles with the loss of her fiancé; and with the appearance in Egert in her life when the latter comes to the city where her father is the Dean of the University. But all is not well: in the background, fanatics known as the Order of Lash seek to bring about the end of the world; and are ready to do anything for this..
This is a tight, character-driven study of two people and how they cope with loss and fear and the rising madness brought by the Order of Lash. I loved the intimate scenes at the university and how they opened up on a larger world, while remaining intimately focused on Toria/Egert. The theme of redemption is one I'm personally always happy to read, and here I thought it was well done if not 100% surprising (but the catharsis at the climax is wonderful done and had me on the edge of my seat). I expected this to be larger-scale and to deal with the brotherhood of Lash; but I'm really it didn't--part of why it works is the tight focus, and Egert and Toria both having to make stands. I wish we'd seen more from Toria at the climax; the narrative ends up feeling a little unbalanced. But it's well worth a read, and it's quite unlike anything else I've ever read. Recommended.
This is a tight, character-driven study of two people and how they cope with loss and fear and the rising madness brought by the Order of Lash. I loved the intimate scenes at the university and how they opened up on a larger world, while remaining intimately focused on Toria/Egert. The theme of redemption is one I'm personally always happy to read, and here I thought it was well done if not 100% surprising (but the catharsis at the climax is wonderful done and had me on the edge of my seat). I expected this to be larger-scale and to deal with the brotherhood of Lash; but I'm really it didn't--part of why it works is the tight focus, and Egert and Toria both having to make stands. I wish we'd seen more from Toria at the climax; the narrative ends up feeling a little unbalanced. But it's well worth a read, and it's quite unlike anything else I've ever read. Recommended.
July 7, 2013
Sometimes grabbing things off the shelf randomly pays off. Sometimes translations are done seamlessly. Sometimes collaboration’s Dz’t completely suck. Sometimes the guy behind my computer screen doesn’t have a damn clue how to open a review.
Perhaps with comparisons to other well-known fantasy works of recent history? I guess I could try. Egert has the wit and brains of Locke Lamora combined with the arrogant assholeness of Jezal dan Luther... Scratch that comparisons are no good if everyone doesn’t know the source.
Well hell, I have been on vacation for a week, I am taking the lazy way out and opening with a summery. Egert is living the good life in the elite guards. Perhaps not loved by all, but certainly the man many aspire to be. He has a way with the ladies, more talent than he knows what to do with and an almost unquenchable thirst for thrills (with no problem risking the lives of others to satisfy his thirst). We first meet him engaging in a barroom knife throwing contest; using a young serving girl to hold his props. A short run of his exploits are given, many resulting in him making a fool out of someone else while basking in his own glory.
So it continues when Egert notices a pretty young student visiting town with her fiancé. Always wanting what someone else has he pokes and prods until the young man feels compelled to challenge Egert to a duel. When the duel ends the visitor is dead in the street, fiancé Toria is crying, and a mysterious stranger remembers Egert’s face. When this wanderer leaves a mark on Egert’s face in a later duel the book takes off.
Take a look at what the authors have done here. A thoroughly unlikable character without being a complete psychopath. Not an antihero, we are not supposed to like him. Not a villain either, no cheap clichés are employed to make us hate him. No murders, tortures, rapes, or cussing out of elderly in his path. Instead we see a realistic bully, high on the praise he consistently gets, who’s ‘crime� is seen as completely defensible by the laws he has grown up with.
So when this unlikable man is marked by the wanderer the change we see is shocking. Our brash lead character is suddenly unlikable in a completely different way; a sniveling coward. Which is more horrible, the death he caused? Or pushing a woman out of a hiding place as he dives into it when the bandits come? It will be a long path to get back what he once had. Along the way he will fail test after test, including some particularly cruel actions made by former friends.
Egert’s possible redemption story is only half of the book though. That fateful night didn’t just affect him and the dead man; a young lady watched her life plans changed completely with the thrust of a sword. Toria also falls into the lowest point of her life. Of course she eventually meets Egert again. Of course their story becomes intertwined. To speak of it would spoil half the book, but be sure it was moving. Sacrifices must be made by both, lives are saved and bonds are made over the worst of starting circumstances. Toria's arc never over takes Egert's, but rather than playing second fiddle it eventually merges into one cohesive story. Very well done.
In the background of this story of redemption and rebuilding is an interesting fantasy backdrop. A cult makes a major power play. A lone mage uses everything he can to stop some serious forces. And the Wanderer comes back for a rare ending that both does what I was hoping but surprised me in how it was done.
A real gem of a story found by accident, smart and full of heart, and recommended for anyone looking for a fantasy outside the norm.
4 stars
August 15, 2012
This was one extraordinary book, one that I could not stop reading / listening to.
While this husband and wife team have been writing and receiving awards for books since 1994, their works are, for the most part, in the Ukrainian and Russian languages. Written in 1997, The Scar is apparently the first to be translated into English and has only come to Western shores this year. While this is the middle book of a trilogy, unlike other trilogies, this installment stands quite well on its own though I hope that the remaining installments become available in English. I cannot wait to read them. These are masterful writers.
While not one for spoilers, I will only say that this is a book of the fantasy genre that, while there is sorcery and sword-fighting, none of it is gratuitous. While there is a great deal about love, there is not too much romance. For my liking, all of these were good attributes. The book is about great courage and great cowardice, self-discovery and redemption. This is a wonderfully rich and vivid story about our humanity, our psychology and the nature of both. For me, perhaps the most powerful aspect of the book had to do with the power of forgiveness. This is story-telling at its best.
When beginning to listen to this book, I was already engaged (but not engrossed) in listening to one and reading another literary work of fiction. I was becoming drained by the complexity and work that I had to put into both. The Scar’s simplicity allowed me to just relax and enjoy one of the more remarkable books I have read/listened to. While simple in its parable-, morality play-like nature, it still had the depth and richness of quintessential Russian literature. The characters are richly and completely drawn. The plot is riveting, surprising and unpredictable to the end. The prose, perhaps owing to the translation by Elinor Huntington, is engrossing, lyrical and poetically beautiful.
The narration by Jonathan Davis did justice to the book. Sometimes narrators are so good that they draw one’s focus away from the book and toward the performer. For the most part, that was not the case with this selection. The narrator disappeared and the book revealed itself in all of its beauty. I will say this, though, there are passages in which the narrator’s voice became possibly a bit too stentorian. That was a distraction for me but the passages were few and far between. I think that it was a personal thing and I will not dock him for it. He did a superb job.
Rating this book is difficult for me. Thinking out loud, I would like to give it 5 stars but I gave that number to The Brothers Karamazov. 4 stars might suggest that the book was less than stellar. I would like to rate it within the context of the rest of the trilogy because of some unmentioned comments but two-thirds of that are unavailable. So, in the interest of enticing you to rather than dissuading you from reading this masterpiece, my fine reader of reviews, 5 Stars it is. You will not be disappointed.
While this husband and wife team have been writing and receiving awards for books since 1994, their works are, for the most part, in the Ukrainian and Russian languages. Written in 1997, The Scar is apparently the first to be translated into English and has only come to Western shores this year. While this is the middle book of a trilogy, unlike other trilogies, this installment stands quite well on its own though I hope that the remaining installments become available in English. I cannot wait to read them. These are masterful writers.
While not one for spoilers, I will only say that this is a book of the fantasy genre that, while there is sorcery and sword-fighting, none of it is gratuitous. While there is a great deal about love, there is not too much romance. For my liking, all of these were good attributes. The book is about great courage and great cowardice, self-discovery and redemption. This is a wonderfully rich and vivid story about our humanity, our psychology and the nature of both. For me, perhaps the most powerful aspect of the book had to do with the power of forgiveness. This is story-telling at its best.
When beginning to listen to this book, I was already engaged (but not engrossed) in listening to one and reading another literary work of fiction. I was becoming drained by the complexity and work that I had to put into both. The Scar’s simplicity allowed me to just relax and enjoy one of the more remarkable books I have read/listened to. While simple in its parable-, morality play-like nature, it still had the depth and richness of quintessential Russian literature. The characters are richly and completely drawn. The plot is riveting, surprising and unpredictable to the end. The prose, perhaps owing to the translation by Elinor Huntington, is engrossing, lyrical and poetically beautiful.
The narration by Jonathan Davis did justice to the book. Sometimes narrators are so good that they draw one’s focus away from the book and toward the performer. For the most part, that was not the case with this selection. The narrator disappeared and the book revealed itself in all of its beauty. I will say this, though, there are passages in which the narrator’s voice became possibly a bit too stentorian. That was a distraction for me but the passages were few and far between. I think that it was a personal thing and I will not dock him for it. He did a superb job.
Rating this book is difficult for me. Thinking out loud, I would like to give it 5 stars but I gave that number to The Brothers Karamazov. 4 stars might suggest that the book was less than stellar. I would like to rate it within the context of the rest of the trilogy because of some unmentioned comments but two-thirds of that are unavailable. So, in the interest of enticing you to rather than dissuading you from reading this masterpiece, my fine reader of reviews, 5 Stars it is. You will not be disappointed.
December 25, 2014
This is the story of an arrogant and villainous young man who happens to get cursed for killing an innocent man and then walks all the way to love and redemption.
I started The Scar without many expectations. I actually thought I would find it easy to associate with because of the Russian authors. What I got was a dark and a bit weird story that read more like a fairytale than a fantasy book.
I had a hard time with the book to start with. I was horrified by the grotesquely negative MC, Egert, started as. I found all his actions exaggerated and unrealistic. Things didn't change when Egert got cursed. I started to warm to any of the characters way past the middle of the book. I ended up enjoying the latter part and I found the ending quite satisfying.
On the whole, I had problems with both the characters and the story. For me, the characters lacked depth and this was a story whose sole purpose was to deliver an equivocal and loud edifying message to the reader. Combined with the dark feel of the story (I expected Baba Yaga to appear in her claw-legged cottage any time!), I was annoyed for the better part of the book.
I think the story benefited a lot from Jonathan Davis' narration.
My overall rating is 3.5 stars. I'm rounding up because of the latter part of the book and the narration.
I started The Scar without many expectations. I actually thought I would find it easy to associate with because of the Russian authors. What I got was a dark and a bit weird story that read more like a fairytale than a fantasy book.
I had a hard time with the book to start with. I was horrified by the grotesquely negative MC, Egert, started as. I found all his actions exaggerated and unrealistic. Things didn't change when Egert got cursed. I started to warm to any of the characters way past the middle of the book. I ended up enjoying the latter part and I found the ending quite satisfying.
On the whole, I had problems with both the characters and the story. For me, the characters lacked depth and this was a story whose sole purpose was to deliver an equivocal and loud edifying message to the reader. Combined with the dark feel of the story (I expected Baba Yaga to appear in her claw-legged cottage any time!), I was annoyed for the better part of the book.
I think the story benefited a lot from Jonathan Davis' narration.
My overall rating is 3.5 stars. I'm rounding up because of the latter part of the book and the narration.
September 16, 2016
This is such a unique book. It has a fable-istic, almost Grimm’s fairy tale feel to it, with its story of a proud, selfish young man humbled by an arbitrary magician’s curse of cowardice. It’s beautiful and well-plotted, with just enough weirdness to feel original. The downside is that it does grow tedious following the poor, cowardly wretch around all book long—but it’s worth it for his redemption scene in the end!
November 25, 2019
I started this novel carefully one early evening last week - based on my experiences with and - especially - with the Ritual, I was expecting that I wouldn't get much sleep that night, considering how impossible it was to put down those other two novels.
In the end, I did get to sleep - and I have to blame the translation for this. It's not an absolutely horrible translation, not at all, but it keeps alienating me from the text, and that's bad enough. Damn, don't alienate me, I wanna say. At least not to the extent that I even have to force myself to finish the book.
There's this mysterious style which I tend to associate with Russian-language literature - this slightly fairytale-like, slightly mystical, slightly timeless, very poetic but at the same time very direct style which doesn't shy away from either beauty or ugliness - and I think the Dyachenkos' style is like this, too.
The problem is that Elinor Huntington doesn't do a very good job recreating this style in English. Her translation makes the fairytale-like feel childish, the mystical feel inane, and she tries to recreate the feeling of timelessness by using too-obscure, never-before-used words. And let's not even talk about how she handles poetry and metaphorical language - well, OK, let's talk about it: she handles it quite badly.
Anyway, I liked this novel. Despite the translation.
Again, when it comes to fantasy, the fantasy created by the Dyachenko couple is my favorite kind - the kind which isn't really fantasy at all - it's mostly a lot of human good and evil and good-and-evil, and psychology, and thinking, and all the things of the soul & heart. And anyway, I'm usually more interested in the characters than in the plot, and this novel is very character-focused.
And I especially love that the authors like - no, not happy-ends, that would be too simple, but - these tiny wandering hopeful feelings that it's possible to change. Redemptions, if you like.
In the end, I did get to sleep - and I have to blame the translation for this. It's not an absolutely horrible translation, not at all, but it keeps alienating me from the text, and that's bad enough. Damn, don't alienate me, I wanna say. At least not to the extent that I even have to force myself to finish the book.
There's this mysterious style which I tend to associate with Russian-language literature - this slightly fairytale-like, slightly mystical, slightly timeless, very poetic but at the same time very direct style which doesn't shy away from either beauty or ugliness - and I think the Dyachenkos' style is like this, too.
The problem is that Elinor Huntington doesn't do a very good job recreating this style in English. Her translation makes the fairytale-like feel childish, the mystical feel inane, and she tries to recreate the feeling of timelessness by using too-obscure, never-before-used words. And let's not even talk about how she handles poetry and metaphorical language - well, OK, let's talk about it: she handles it quite badly.
Anyway, I liked this novel. Despite the translation.
Again, when it comes to fantasy, the fantasy created by the Dyachenko couple is my favorite kind - the kind which isn't really fantasy at all - it's mostly a lot of human good and evil and good-and-evil, and psychology, and thinking, and all the things of the soul & heart. And anyway, I'm usually more interested in the characters than in the plot, and this novel is very character-focused.
And I especially love that the authors like - no, not happy-ends, that would be too simple, but - these tiny wandering hopeful feelings that it's possible to change. Redemptions, if you like.
April 24, 2022
This took me longer than necessary but WOW. An epic, powerful, humorous story of redemption. Egert Soll is a unconventional protagonist as he becomes someone you actively hate to rooting for him by the end. The writing was amazing, it really captured his fear and cowardice and his self loathing as a result. This author duo definitely needs more of their books translated ASAP
May 17, 2012
The Scarby Marina and Sergey Dyachenko appears to be the authors� first translation into English. The Dyanchenko’s are rather prolific in the non-English European market and particularly in those states whose members are part of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Translation isn’t an easy thing but I’m always saddened when it takes works like this (well reviewed, and a recipient of prestigious awards in its home market) more than a decade to get translated and even further depressed by the fact that I never bothered to expand my borders by learning a new language (something never really emphasized in the American Education system, but that is still a poor excuse). Elinor Huntington deserves some serious recognition for doing a superb job with the translation. Not that I can compare against the Russian but I never noticed any major bumps that threw me out of the story.
The publisher’s blurb for The Scar places under the umbrella of the sword and sorcery genre and that works to an extent. There is a certain traditional feel to the prose (here I’m assuming that is intended rather than a consequence of the translation) but one that definitely calls to mind the works of the more lyrical swords and sorcery of yesterday like Howard or Moore (the blurb cites Robin Hobb and Michael Moorcock). However, The Scar is a more direct study of character and consequence than modern fantasies and leans much less heavily on action than traditional sword and sorcery. This novel is its own unique fantasy (not quite heroic not quite epic) and one that is a breath of fresh air amongst the grim and gritty (which I still love) and even the more traditional epic fantasies available today.
The Scar introduces readers to the rather despicable character Egert and arrogant, womanizing, and generally all around disgusting member of the an elite town guard. Egert, a textbook narcissist, is by-and-large our hero. One fateful day Egert provokes a not-so-martial student into a dual and winds up killing him. Egert, seeing this as no big deal is even more surprised when he is himself challenged to a duel by a mysterious Wanderer. The Wanderer leaves Egert a live but with a scar; one both tangible and not-so-tangible. From there the novel follows Egert’s journey towards possible redemption.
The authors do a wonderful job in setting up Egert as a complete and total ass. Indeed I was glad to see him get his comeuppance so early in the novel. However, it wasn’t long before I started to wonder if Egert’s scar had slipped past just into the realm of cruel and unusual. You are left wondering whether or not the scar, should it ever be removed, would have any lasting impact on Egert or whether he would return to his old way. Was the Egert seen during the majority of the novel simply someone produced by the magic of the scar or were the changes precipitated by the scar something deeper than what could initially be seen. Egert’s own uncertainty and the author’s deft and consistent refusal to hint one way or another certainly aids this aspect of the plot. Of course about halfway through the book you get a glimpse, or at least hear the echo, of wheels within wheels.
It is worth noting that The Scar is actually the second book in a three book sequence (note I’m not using the word trilogy). The first is a book called The Gate-Keeper. There is some mention of a Gate Keeper in a story told by Toria’s father and I suspect he does an apt job of summarizing that early untranslated novel. I didn’t know about this when I read The Scar and the novel work’s amazingly well as a stand-alone. The Archmage’s story is tied to the mysterious figure of The Wanderer. If The Wanderer, under another name, played a bigger part in the first novel I’m not sure I would have enjoyed The Scar quite as much as I did. His role as sort of mysterious and inscrutable force in The Scar works perfectly unburdened by any prior knowledge on the part of the reader. I have to wonder how such of foreknowledge of who or what The Wanderer is or was would impact my reaction to his appearance in The Scar. Furthermore, as is the Archmage’s tale of the Gate Keeper draws a rather subtle parallel to Egert’s situation that I feel would not work nearly as well if it were revealed in a more overt fashion; it would certain ruin some of the rather lyrical ending sequence. As is The Scar is an engaging and moving fantasy that hopefully marks the beginning of the Dyachenkos� translation into English.
The publisher’s blurb for The Scar places under the umbrella of the sword and sorcery genre and that works to an extent. There is a certain traditional feel to the prose (here I’m assuming that is intended rather than a consequence of the translation) but one that definitely calls to mind the works of the more lyrical swords and sorcery of yesterday like Howard or Moore (the blurb cites Robin Hobb and Michael Moorcock). However, The Scar is a more direct study of character and consequence than modern fantasies and leans much less heavily on action than traditional sword and sorcery. This novel is its own unique fantasy (not quite heroic not quite epic) and one that is a breath of fresh air amongst the grim and gritty (which I still love) and even the more traditional epic fantasies available today.
The Scar introduces readers to the rather despicable character Egert and arrogant, womanizing, and generally all around disgusting member of the an elite town guard. Egert, a textbook narcissist, is by-and-large our hero. One fateful day Egert provokes a not-so-martial student into a dual and winds up killing him. Egert, seeing this as no big deal is even more surprised when he is himself challenged to a duel by a mysterious Wanderer. The Wanderer leaves Egert a live but with a scar; one both tangible and not-so-tangible. From there the novel follows Egert’s journey towards possible redemption.
The authors do a wonderful job in setting up Egert as a complete and total ass. Indeed I was glad to see him get his comeuppance so early in the novel. However, it wasn’t long before I started to wonder if Egert’s scar had slipped past just into the realm of cruel and unusual. You are left wondering whether or not the scar, should it ever be removed, would have any lasting impact on Egert or whether he would return to his old way. Was the Egert seen during the majority of the novel simply someone produced by the magic of the scar or were the changes precipitated by the scar something deeper than what could initially be seen. Egert’s own uncertainty and the author’s deft and consistent refusal to hint one way or another certainly aids this aspect of the plot. Of course about halfway through the book you get a glimpse, or at least hear the echo, of wheels within wheels.
It is worth noting that The Scar is actually the second book in a three book sequence (note I’m not using the word trilogy). The first is a book called The Gate-Keeper. There is some mention of a Gate Keeper in a story told by Toria’s father and I suspect he does an apt job of summarizing that early untranslated novel. I didn’t know about this when I read The Scar and the novel work’s amazingly well as a stand-alone. The Archmage’s story is tied to the mysterious figure of The Wanderer. If The Wanderer, under another name, played a bigger part in the first novel I’m not sure I would have enjoyed The Scar quite as much as I did. His role as sort of mysterious and inscrutable force in The Scar works perfectly unburdened by any prior knowledge on the part of the reader. I have to wonder how such of foreknowledge of who or what The Wanderer is or was would impact my reaction to his appearance in The Scar. Furthermore, as is the Archmage’s tale of the Gate Keeper draws a rather subtle parallel to Egert’s situation that I feel would not work nearly as well if it were revealed in a more overt fashion; it would certain ruin some of the rather lyrical ending sequence. As is The Scar is an engaging and moving fantasy that hopefully marks the beginning of the Dyachenkos� translation into English.
December 27, 2011
In full disclosure, I won an Advanced Uncorrected Proof edition of this book as part of a ŷ Giveaway.
This book is the story of Egert. He begins as a confident, somewhat cruel, aggressive, womanizing youth who is a member of the guards. One day, he kills the fiance of a woman he is pursuing and as a result is challenged to a duel by a mysterious stranger. The stranger leaves Egert with a scar and a curse that leaves him a coward. The bulk of the book deals with Egerts downfall and attempt to overcome his curse.
There is no hint that this book has been translated from another language. It is beautifully written the language is almost poetic at times. A big congratulations should go to Elinor Huntington who wrote the translation, and to Sergey and Marina Dyachenko who wrote the original story. The details are fantastic, close attention has been paid to character traits, for example, after Egert has been cursed, he has a number of habits that he has to perform to help him overcome his nervousness in a stressful situation. The descriptions of the locations and events are also wonderfully detailed and helps the reader visualize the world.
The pacing of the book is excellent. Egert goes through a number of stages during his journey and each is just about the right length. Not so short that you feel like you missed out or that he takes unrealistic jumps in his development, not too long as to become dull. Although I would like to have seen shorter chapters (each chapter is about 30 pages long) as it would make it easier to get to the end of a chapter in a single sitting.
The character of Egert is interesting, initially he is quite unlikeable but for several reasons this is okay. We know this is a story of redemption so he needs to start off with some bad traits, he is only bad for the early part of the book and he is loved by those around him so his character for the setting he is in, isn't seen as a bad person.
From reading the outline of the book I was concerned that this would be more of a romance story, this wasn't the case however. It was more of a fantasy with romantic elements in it, no more than many other fantasy novels. It was done much more intelligently than in other fantasy stories and was much more believable.
The ending is fantastic, the tension is really cranked up and you cannot stop reading because you want to find out what happens to the characters you have grown to love.
This is more of a thinking-persons fantasy story than a action adventure, which as it turns out is actually a good thing unless of course you want to read only high action stories.
The book is excellent, the story is very interesting and so very intelligently written with superb details and descriptions. With so many great qualities and hardly any problems I can confidently give this book 5/5 stars.
For the benefit of the publisher I will include a few of the errors I spotted.
p. 19 "He learned to swim and walk on ropes," I believe this is missing a comma after swim.
p. 54 "Tail, Nutty, be moderately greedy," This doesn't make sense.
p. 86 "'Oink, oink.' The collectors returned yesterday from the suburbs" From the context at this point in the story 'yesterday' doesn't seem right, possibly it should be 'the next day'
p. 152 "But as chance would have it, one day an old man, white-haired as the moon, road through the village on a horse." 'road' should be 'rode'
This book is the story of Egert. He begins as a confident, somewhat cruel, aggressive, womanizing youth who is a member of the guards. One day, he kills the fiance of a woman he is pursuing and as a result is challenged to a duel by a mysterious stranger. The stranger leaves Egert with a scar and a curse that leaves him a coward. The bulk of the book deals with Egerts downfall and attempt to overcome his curse.
There is no hint that this book has been translated from another language. It is beautifully written the language is almost poetic at times. A big congratulations should go to Elinor Huntington who wrote the translation, and to Sergey and Marina Dyachenko who wrote the original story. The details are fantastic, close attention has been paid to character traits, for example, after Egert has been cursed, he has a number of habits that he has to perform to help him overcome his nervousness in a stressful situation. The descriptions of the locations and events are also wonderfully detailed and helps the reader visualize the world.
The pacing of the book is excellent. Egert goes through a number of stages during his journey and each is just about the right length. Not so short that you feel like you missed out or that he takes unrealistic jumps in his development, not too long as to become dull. Although I would like to have seen shorter chapters (each chapter is about 30 pages long) as it would make it easier to get to the end of a chapter in a single sitting.
The character of Egert is interesting, initially he is quite unlikeable but for several reasons this is okay. We know this is a story of redemption so he needs to start off with some bad traits, he is only bad for the early part of the book and he is loved by those around him so his character for the setting he is in, isn't seen as a bad person.
From reading the outline of the book I was concerned that this would be more of a romance story, this wasn't the case however. It was more of a fantasy with romantic elements in it, no more than many other fantasy novels. It was done much more intelligently than in other fantasy stories and was much more believable.
The ending is fantastic, the tension is really cranked up and you cannot stop reading because you want to find out what happens to the characters you have grown to love.
This is more of a thinking-persons fantasy story than a action adventure, which as it turns out is actually a good thing unless of course you want to read only high action stories.
The book is excellent, the story is very interesting and so very intelligently written with superb details and descriptions. With so many great qualities and hardly any problems I can confidently give this book 5/5 stars.
For the benefit of the publisher I will include a few of the errors I spotted.
p. 19 "He learned to swim and walk on ropes," I believe this is missing a comma after swim.
p. 54 "Tail, Nutty, be moderately greedy," This doesn't make sense.
p. 86 "'Oink, oink.' The collectors returned yesterday from the suburbs" From the context at this point in the story 'yesterday' doesn't seem right, possibly it should be 'the next day'
p. 152 "But as chance would have it, one day an old man, white-haired as the moon, road through the village on a horse." 'road' should be 'rode'
September 30, 2012
1. I listened to this as an audiobook and the narration was absolutely fantastic. This is definitely a book I would recommend to someone starting out with audiobooks.
2. The translator for this book did a bang up job. I (obviously) couldn't translate from Russian, so I have no idea how well or specifically Russian translates to English, but the world was complete, the word usage was never "off" or simple. I never felt like I was reading a translated book.
3. I don't know why they specifically referred to Hobb and Moorcock in the book description, I would not have (not that I don't love Hobb or Moorcock?)
And onto the review story-time.
This story is largely character driven. Not to say there isn't a crap-ton of action, it's just not the central point of the story. There are no great quests to get things done to win the girl. This is character. How a character changes and grows.
The pacing was a little weird. Most of it was OK. There was the action at the beginning to set up the character and story of Egert. Then there was the distinct lack of action as Egert was no longer a man of action. And I was fine with all of it, because it made sense, but the end got a little rushed (and I'm not sure why).
I found the whole story charming, and deep. Serious and still fun. It's original and different, which I adore.
The only thing that bothered me (other than the random pacing issues at the end) was that This quibbly issue could probably be answered if the rest of the tetralogy were in English and I could read them.
I wish more of the Dyachenkos' works were available in English. I want to read more of their books so bad it hurts (especially knowing this novel is 2nd in a series of 4).
May 26, 2013
One of the better fantasy novels I've read - this is a translation of a book by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko - a husband and wife team that write primarily in the Russian and Ukranian languages. I listened to the unabridged audio version by narrator Jonathan Davis, who did a marvelous job. "The Scar" is a stand-alone novel (which seems rare in fantasy these days) and well worth the effort for those who want a fantasy story that feels epic without the commitment to multiple books. The somewhat Russian flavor of the book serves its themes of character flaw and the hope for redemption very well.
September 10, 2013
Honestly this book was barely 2 stars, it was super slow and the ending was very contrived. It hald my interest for about the first quarter and then is just got really boring.
This book seems like it is trying to be a classic and fantasy book both at the same time, however it doesn't do either particularly well.
This book seems like it is trying to be a classic and fantasy book both at the same time, however it doesn't do either particularly well.
April 30, 2016
I very much enjoyed this book. To me, this is what fantasy could be if people got away from only caring about cool magic. Much of this book is a character study. I enjoyed the development of the characters and the broader ideas presented. It is one of the best books I've read in fantasy according to my taste. It's a shame the authors haven't translated any more of their books!
January 25, 2014
The Scar seemed a little one dimensional to me. I liked the first part of the book a little past the point that he meets the Wanderer (for the action), and I liked the ending. But, the middle was a bit directionless and agonizing.
July 10, 2012
Great story about redemption with a gorgeous eastern-european perfume. The english-language SFF genre desperately needs this kind of infusion.
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