Scar Night

This is one of the best fantasy books I've read in a long while. The author balances his in-depth descriptions and highly illustrative style with rapidly successive scenes, providing a flicker-book approach to telling his involved story of supernatural beings in and below the city of Deepgate, which is suspended by chains above a gaping chasm that is, according to almost forgotten recent history, the pit bored by a falling angel who disagreed with the god above as heaven closed its doors to the souls of Deepgate's dead. Naturally the complex religious network that Deepgate is founded on sides with the fallen angel, who exists as "the god of chains" far beneath the city. The storytelling is excellent, and gallops through what looks like a huge text of 550 pages, towards an ending that actually comes all to soon. It's thoroughly enjoyable, mostly because the author skillfully keeps us entertained by providing an almost film-like skipping between characters, but also becuase of the characters themselves. Each of them is strong, clearly defined, and likeable in their own way, even the sinister or misguided ones. Dill is the only surviving angel in Deepgate, bar the monstrous scarred fallen demi-god Carnival, who hurls herself about the city in her rage every Scar Night, when the moon is darkest, to feed her unslakable bloodthirst. Rachel is an assassin-in-training, leather-bound and skillful despite having not taken her initiation into the sinister society of the Spine. Devon is the Chief Poisoner of the Poison Kitchens, a smoky, toxic quarter of the city devoted to the development and distribution of deadly substances to the assassins of the church. And Mr Nettle is the hulking father of a dead girl, whose soul has been taken for a sinister purpose; he only wants to get it back, and will do whatever is necessary. I can't praise this book enough. It's essentially flawless, apart from the odd page of clumsy exposition, but in a volume this size it's forgivable. Recommended to all fans of the grimy fantasy style of authors like China Mieville, of whom this book is strongly reminiscent. For a debut, this title is remarkably accomplished and genuinely unmissable. Thankfully, a second volume in what has become a series is already available - "Iron Angel". 9.5 / 10

Enjoyable book with some cool morally grey characters and unexpected twists. Campbell may draw comparisons to Neil Gaiman and China Mieville, in itself a compliment, nevertheless, original on its own.

I agree with previous reviewers that the plot could use a little more flesh. However, Campbell has an amazing gift for describing his action sequences and very unique setting. That alone makes up for any failure in plot. Simply, this book reads like a summer blockbuster movie with all the special effects you could ever ask for. I was quite pleased with Campbell's addition to the fantasy genre, and I look forward to more of this unique and compelling storyline.

Oftentimes when the term "fantasy" is bandied about, people conjure up immediate Tolkien-esque images: wizards, Elvish warriors, Rings of Power, trolls, and other elements of the genre that have become very typical. It is because that imagery is so commonplace that when someone comes along like, say, Mervyn Peake or China Mieville, and darkens the notion of fantasy with grit, gloom and intensity, readers really take notice. Alan Campbell may soon tire of comparisons to Peake and Mieville, but that doesn't mean they are not deserved. Campbell weighs in to the fantastic, giving us the dreary and spectacular city of Deepgate in his debut novel, SCAR NIGHT. This endeavor, upon first inspection, could have been buried by its premise, but instead Campbell deftly weaves a startling and mysterious story through the dark streets of an equally mysterious city and leaves readers groaning for the sequel. Deepgate is like no other city you've visited. It hangs suspended over a black abyss that is supposedly the realm of Ulcis, a God known as the Hoarder of Souls. Great chains hold the city in place...though what they're connected to none can rightfully say. Airships bring business and travelers to and fro, though why anyone would come here is another story. Deepgate is a wound, a dilapidated and sinister city where every road is an alley and every walk out is a potential last trip. Then there is Scar Night. The foolish fail to stay hidden behind locked doors, for on this night, as she has for thousands and thousands of years, the angel Carnival comes to Deepgate to feed. While this all may seem enough for a novel, there is oh so much more. Enter Dill, the last archon and now just old enough to begin his duties. Rachel, an assassin who is part of a force trying to hunt down Carnival, takes Dill under her charge. She is hard, cold and demanding. And then there is Devon, the Poisoner, who has his own devious plot to concoct a potion of immortality, which requires the gathering of souls. Dill may seem to be the eternal youthful hero, but he is really far more detailed than you expect. In fact, one of the great aspects of Campbell's writing is that each of his characters is so well defined and so interesting that it is hard not to be drawn to them, even Carnival and Devon. Dill is likable in his naivete and his desire to succeed, as well as the weight of the burden of being the last of his kind. Rachel, though rough, has a side she refuses to yield to fully, holding back a piece of herself out of fear of losing herself forever. Campbell's most outstanding creation, however, is Carnival, the scarred angel who feeds and enjoys what she does but feels despair afterwards. None of these characters is cookie-cutter nor are they paper thin. A second strength of the author is his utter disregard for laying out the bare bones of his story for readers. Getting into SCAR NIGHT may seem like work initially, but that is only because you are made to feel like you've just