Blood Red Angel

Found this one in a 2ndhand bookstore and kept it in my bookshelf for a few years to ferment like fine wine...dusted it off recently...and, I must say, vintage sword, sorcery and sci-fi...al the ingredients for a good read for any fan of sci-fi/fantasy.To begin with: this book is a one-off by Adrian Cole (seems he's writtem several other fairly popular sci-fi/fantasy series but which I have not come across). Actually, I would find it hard to classify this one. Its not really sci-fi, not really sword and sorcery. Put in a spot, I'd say that this would make a great script for a graphic novel; and I won't be surprised if it has been made into one - I note that it was first published in 1993; plenty of time for someone to have discovered its potential as a graphic novel...or..dare I say it...a movie?In a nutshell the story goes like this: Conan-the-Barbarian type berserker (from the Magmannon clan) in a Scotland-like place gets captured along with two other brothers-in-arms by strange men who are obviously more civilised - since they have gun-like weapons and breathing apparatus - and sent through a warp/rift in the fabric of space/time called The Overlap into a hellish world. How hellish you might ask: well, this world is covered by perpetual dark storm clouds called Skydown; there's a dusk but that's as bright as it gets. Almost the entire surface of this world is covered by a tall reeds and swamp. There is a very long, very wide elevated road going in a straight line thru' the reeds and swamp. It takes the traveller to what can only be described as the only city in this world; called "Thousandreach" a labrynthine city of immense proportions and towers that rise above Skydown, There are also giant trees that the city seems to have merged into and which also rise above Skydown and these trees are held as sacred.Interestingly there is no flora (besides the reeds) and some very strange fauna - which we later are given hints that these creatures are genetically-modified humans...which brings us to the really hellish part: see if there are no plants and animals what do the inhabitants in this world eat? We are told fairly early on that they eat "Fodda" (a shortened way of saying "fodder", I guess) and Fodda is human!!! See in this world there's a serious pecking order...right at the bottom of the food-chain literally, we have Fodda who are human-cattle (and we are given hints that being eaten is not all the Fodda have to put up with). Then above them there are various ranks (e.g Drones, Overseers, Tormentors, etc). Near the top of the food-chain we have the Providors who each serve to one of the many Elevates who, in turn serve, the Lightbenders - the head honchos of this world. The Lightbenders (it is unquestionably believed) serve Absolute Light, which I interpreted to be the collective of gods of this world - and there are glimpses of these gods near the end of the story.The Providors, Elevates and Lightbenders all have their respective private armie