The Scar

By: Sergey Dyachenko, Marina Dyachenko, Elinor Huntington - translator

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 15 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Reaching far beyond sword and sorcery, The Scar is a story of two people torn by disaster, their descent into despair, and their re-emergence 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.

©2012 Marina and Sergey Dyachenko (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Rich, vivid, tactile prose, with a solid yet unpredictable plot—and an extraordinary depth and intensity of character reminiscent of the finest Russian literature." (Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review)

Its beauty lies in its simplicity

In my opinion ???The Scar??? is a beautiful gripping fairy tale. It has a simple storyline with very subtle twists at exactly the right places. The themes of love and hate, valour and cowardice, curses and blessings, vengeance and forgiveness, integrity and falsehood is woven in an integrate pattern of beautiful storytelling.

I enjoyed how Sergey Dyachenko and Marina Dyachenko used metaphors and similes to describe the life experiences of the main character Egert. I caught myself every now and then thinking, ???This description or that way of saying something is spot on.??? I couldn???t help myself to rewind to listen again to some of the ???ear candy??? in this book.

The story is woven around a man called Egert. The tremendous development that Egart undergoes through the story kept me spellbound for hours. It felt very authentic. I liked the fact that the authors didn???t rush to resolve tensions in the story. Instead, the story builds up to grant finale that satisfy the listener. It makes you hope that there will be a sequel to this book.

Where books in the English world tend to have more complicated plots, ???The Scar???s??? beauty lies in its simplicity. It???s an unpolluted minimalistic gem.

I am pleasantly surprised on how well Jonathan Davis narrated the book. I???ve listened to him narrating a Political Science book previously. It would have said that it is the same person. Here he comes to right.

This book comes highly recommended! If you are looking for good storytelling, a gripping story with subtle twists, don???t hesitate to buy ???The Scar.??? Be warned, you might not want to stop listening until you???ve finished the story.

Crime and punishment

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 at the beautiful fiancee of a student, he ends up in duel with the student, and kills the young man, who isn’t a very capable fighter. This attracts the attention of a mysterious traveler, who curses Egert with the affliction most shameful to him: cowardice.

At first, Egert’s reduction to a terrified, contemptible wretch seems like his just deserts, but slowly the authors get us to pity, then empathize with him. Driven out of his hometown, he discovers a crushing human truth: that everyone has problems, and that his are of no great concern to the world. Ironically, the only place that welcomes him is the university he once disdained, where a kind professor and a few friendly students take him under their wing. But, troubles remain: he must once again face Toria, the fiancee of the student he killed, and a mysterious cult that has its own designs on him. Meanwhile, the curse of cowardice keeps its claws in him, its cure seemingly requiring that he find the one who bestowed it.

The Dyachenkos’ level of artistry is impressive. Even in translation, the writing, imagery, and metaphor have a timeless, lyrical quality that make the world breath with familiarity and meaning. The central characters struggle with their inner conflicts in a way that's complex and has thematic depth. As with other (translated) Russian-sphere novels I've read, there seems to be some implicit commentary on the human condition, though I lack the cultural insight to grasp the full perspective.

The world-building is a little basic compared to other fantasy, but the universe that the Dyachenkos create has enough colorful bits that I'd be glad to visit again (apparently, they’ve set other books in it). I enjoyed the dramatic conclusion, which offers a chance at redemption to Egert, though not without cost to him, Toria, and other characters, and left me contemplating the differences between simple fear and true moral cowardice. I thought there were also good questions about how bad experiences, even deeply regrettable ones, can lead to purpose that might not have been found otherwise.

While The Scar isn't quite complex enough to break out of its fairy-tale-for-grownups mold, it's very good, and I'd recommend it to fans of Patrick Rothfuss, Gene Wolfe, and Paolo Bacigalupi's The Alchemist. I should also mention that I've gotten to be a fan of audiobook narrator Jonathan Davis, who has read for several of the aforementioned authors, and has a languid, almost hypnotic, yet expressive voice that I consider an excellent fit for fantasy-that-gets-you-to-think. In fact, I have a hard time separating his performance from several books I've enjoyed in the recent past.

a truly outstanding novel. a notable performance

The story and the reader are outstanding. this is a story that has true meaning in todays world

Entertaining

The narrator was great, beautifully written tale,the story carries you along in a vaguely fantasy world, a very entertaining listen.

Perfection.

By far one of the best things I've ever read. These authors are truly amazing. Vita Nostra by them is a must read as well. Wow I'm blown away.

Excellent Book

A good look at the human soul. A bit slow at parts, but a really fascinating journey.

Hard to figure out the point

So, I did end up finishing it, but I couldn't figure out what its point was. My best guess is: "How much toxic masculinity can you get away with?" The one and only female lead had zero personality. It was pretty hard to follow. Not for me. The performance was very good, though. He spoke very clearly, and the pacing was great.

Stunning book

If you could sum up The Scar in three words, what would they be?

Fluid, Robust and Beautiful.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Egert, the author made me hate him and then pity him then in the end he was the man that he deserved to be.

What does Jonathan Davis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Great character vocalization! He really brought out the pain and the angst that Egert felt and made it a real weight bearing thing for me.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

yes, reactions from anger at Egert in the begining, to the gut wrenching realization of the plans of the tower.

Any additional comments?

the was the first story I have had the pleasure to listen to by Jonathan Davis and the first book by Sergey Dyachenko that i have listened too.. and it was just awesome.

drags on

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

the story was well written from an environment point of view. But the plot took forever to get to the climax. It was too long winded.

Started so well

This book has a promising beginning with the main character starting off being so annoying you hate him instantly. He deserves everything he gets! The two duels are engaging and well written. The idea is a good one and I read on fascinated at how he was going to learn to become a better person. He can only get better from where he starts, but lessons are hard learnt and from here the character development is slow, and the story begins to drag a little. I found the love interest hard to believe, even the way it was written.