The Scar

The Scar is one of the most original and most intriguing fantasy novels I ve read in quite some time It s a shame that the cover blurb tries so hard to compare it to the likes of Robin Hobb and Michael Moorcock, because the comparison really does the novel a disservice I love them both, but they are truly unique authors with a style that s almost entirely their own If you make the mistake of reading The Scar with those expectations, you re bound to be disappointed However, if you go into it expe [...]

This was a unique and beautifully written story It was 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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 suff [...]

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 satisfying than to see someone, no matter how despicable, change for the better In this instance though the main character, Egert, is not ch [...]

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 [...]

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 ho [...]

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.

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 lit [...]

Here s a extract from my review, full link afantasyreader 2012 02 scar reviewml spref twIt 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 sto [...]

In full disclosure, I won an Advanced Uncorrected Proof edition of this book as part of a 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 h [...]

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

I came to this cold, 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 fianc 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 fianc and with the a [...]

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 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 [...]

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.

Great story about redemption with a gorgeous eastern european perfume The english language SFF genre desperately needs this kind of infusion.

Fantastic Unexpectedly fairytale esque, which turned out to be a really good thing.

I haven t read a book quite like this before The themes of pride, arrogance, justice, cowardice, love, forgiveness, and redemption are all familiar, of course But the use of language is stunning especially when held up against most modern fantasy writing There is a formality to the writing that is rare I can only compare it to some of Michael Scott Rohan s magnificent prose in his Winter of the World trilogy But beyond formality is the rich use of metaphor yes, metaphor, not it s lesser cousin s [...]

I wasn t quite sure at first what to make of the odd way that the words flowed in this book, almost poetic or musical in nature, but once I got accustomed to it, I became enveloped in this tale of redemption, magic, mystery, and death At times, I had to slow down a bit to understand a few things, but I attribute those moments to translation choices I found myself finishing this book long after I should have gone to bed, still moved by the ending This book is unlike practically any other fantasy [...]

This novel is like a folk tale than traditional fantasy Egert is a young man who is on top of his world A womanizer and a talented duelist Full of pride with no empathy for others His prideful actions seeking one women leads to an action that troubles his conscience in no way, but a later encounter with a mysterious man changes his life forever.Just a wonderfully told story with a strong moral depth Held me captivated throughout.

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.

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 than a decade to get translated and even further depressed by the fact that [...]

Fantasy Review BarnSometimes grabbing things off the shelf randomly pays off Sometimes translations are done seamlessly Sometimes collaboration s don 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 e [...]

Several people whose opinions I respect gave this novel high marks, and I agree with them The Scar was originally written by Ukrainian authors in the 1990s, and has a folkloric, parable like character that makes for a somewhat different reading experience from typical American or British fantasy.Its protagonist is a young, swaggering nobleman named Egert, who s quite skilled with a sword and at seducing the wives of other men, but has little real respect for anyone After making a bullying pass a [...]

I expected a lot from The Scar The idea of a book translate from Russian and being hailed as a breath of fresh air , but all I seemed to receive was a face full of hot air that has been spewed from the mouths of aging plots and characters countless times The main character is painfully mundane, the classic overconfident and conceded soldier that is praised throughout the first twenty or so pages by local townsfolk as he duels with his enemies and bathes in glory and praise Then, of course, some [...]

Absolutely captivating 8 5 stars is what I d give it No other words can describe how much fun it was to read The Scar It was such a rush and I just don t even know where to start Egert Soll is the best character in the oddest of ways He s the best because he s a man who was once great, and became a coward He was great in all the physical aspects Egert once held an incredible power over the soldiers in Kavarren, where he s from, he s handsome which has lots of women entertaining him, and he had a [...]

This is one of those books that leaves a reviewer conflicted 4 stars but, well, maybe not The book has an enjoyable Russian folklore feel, especially in the beginning, and in the enumeration of the curses The protagonist s descent into obsessive compulsive behavior to cope with his psychological burden is great, and triggers twinges of sympathy The relatively sparse cast and constrained settings let the authors evoke what was there colorfully and thoroughly I liked the way the main characters r [...]

what a pity of the great thrills of reading international fiction is that when the writers are good and you are lucky, you run across a lot of juicy new ideas, new takes on old ones, a different slant of seeing that than makes up for any effort expended on trying to understand a different culture or viewpoint.you won t get that heree main character, Egert, is about as stereotypical as a young swordsman can be vain, thoughtless, and cruel, but lovely and skilled with a blade, yadda yadda yadda a [...]

This book The Scar is added to my bestest book library I cannot get over the story This story has depth of human tragedy and the ability to conquer one s fear to arise to the become a hero It is a story of redemption, forgiveness, and love.Egert Soll, a elite guard, is the town Kavarren s golden boy Anything he does, whether it s a cruel practical joke or something daring, the town people worshiped him All the girls and women fawned over him until Toria came into town She was one woman that reje [...]