|
Scar Night (Deepgate Codex Trilogy): Bk. 1 | 
 enlarge | Author: Alan Campbell
Publisher: Tor
Category: Book
List Price: £6.99
Buy New: £2.99
You Save: £4.00 (57%)
New (22) Used (13) from £0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  39 reviews
Sales Rank: 12895
Media: Paperback
Edition: New
Pages: 550
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.5
ISBN: 033044476X
EAN: 9780330444767
ASIN: 033044476X
Publication Date: May 4, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 34 more reviews...
Promising December 25, 2008
Great concept with enough of a twist on the surreal to lift this above the average fantasy/sci-fi crossover. Initially the story unfolds as a grim almost steam punky horror with fantasy undertones, however as one reads on through the book it's clear that this is not entirely the case. I guess it does add some interest and I certainly devoured the book but there is a juxtaposition that some may find unsettling and in a way I found that the author has tried too hard to include fantasy, horror and sci-fi that ultimately loses some of the depth of each. That's not to say it's not very good, because it is, however the story ends up perhaps too far away from the begining to be entrirely cohesive. Initially the story is that of a fantasy horror with a savage killer on the loose in a surreal city suspended on chains above a pit where the dead are disposed of by the religeous authoritarian state. However this gradually encompasses elements of alternative Victorian genres and leads to an obvious science fiction plot device. Still, there are a miriad of threads and interest twisting through the book which should, if this first book is any indication of, lead to a great series far from the normal. Recommended for people who like fantasy and sci-fi and who appreciate a well written book.
A fast paced and refreshing debut October 2, 2008
Ok first up I have to say I loved this book. The world Campbell creates is dark and sinister but full of intrigue.
The first few chapters are a little slow and a tad confusing but once it gets rolling it really rolls well! The pace of the book is perfect if you are the sort of person who just reads a chapter here and there. Every chapter moves the story along well and leaves you waiting for more.
The characters in Scar Night are also very interesting. Mr Nettle and Carnival being two of the best. However, although the characters grabbed my imagination they are also the source of the only negative thing I have to say about this book. Although the characters are great, they never seem to climb into something special, and at times the character development seems a bit lacking, and although the characters have potential some of them never really seem to fly, which is a shame.
But don't let this put you off, overall this is one of the best books I have read in ages, Its fast paced full of action and enjoyable and I will Ill definitely read the second one. (I even gave my copy to my mate so I have someone to talk to about this book! lol)
 Scar Night October 2, 2008
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
 Had Potential September 9, 2008
I bought this book basically on a whim and despite the low rating I don't regret it. Why?
Basically because this book had "potential", I loved the characters in this, the ideas behind them were excellent, amazing and I felt he could have done so much with them.
But he didn't. The worst thing in my mind about this book was the fact that he couldn't really make his characters *personalities*. He had the perfect mold but couldn't fill it in. Character development was... to be frank pathetic, his characters didn't have any real personalities and what they had he just changed to suit the plot if needed.
The plot itself also sadly had potential but again, I felt he could have done better. All I feel is he needs a good editor who will take him aside and explain some things to him and he'd be awesome. As it is.... it's in some ways even worse than trying to read a bad book because I can see the gooodness... that spark of greatness...... It's just at the bottom of a well
Not bad though.... just not that good
Dark, slightly implausable, but very, very good September 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I finished Scar Night in Oxford, on a balcony, at three in the morning, mug of cider in one hand, surrounded by spires lancing into the sky, glorious architecture and scenery; the perfect setting. Unfortunately, the cider (and the time, but mostly the cider) meant I understood very little of what was actually happening! I read it again on the train and was blown away.
Deepgate is a city, suspended entirely by chains, above a seemingly bottomless dark abyss. At the bottom of the pit, it is said, lies Ulcis, their benevolent god. He was betrayed and cast out of Heaven, but will soon rise up and make war and restore his rightful place there. With his army of corpses...
Anybody who dies in Deepgate is ceremonially unceremoniously thrown into the pit -- having been blessed by the Church -- where it is said they will be born again and live forever... Note to the people of Fantasy: things that live in pits aren't good.
A dark fantasy, with some few elements of humour, and a traditional coming-of-age story thrown in, Scar Night also has many elements of horror. For example, a blood-drinking psychopathic -- and yet scarily sympathetic -- angel, with the wonderful name, Carnival, who preys on the populace of Deepgate at night. The insane scientist/poisoner, Devon, who's been mad with grief for many years.
The Church dominates in Deepgate, being also in control of the army and air force. They also have a real angel, Dill, an orphaned teenager, who, for some reason, against all Church protocol, hasn't been trained in war or intrigue yet, and has been assigned a semi-failed Spine warrior, Rachel, to teach him.
With characterisations, Carnival was particularly intriguing, especially when she wasn't (just) in psychopathic mode, and Rachel, a warrior who, unlike her fellow Spine, has not been tempered to leave all emotions aside forever, proved a good contrast again Dill's nave nature. He was one of the weaker characters, and the second half of the book soon picked up pace once it switched further away from him.
I'm not normally averse to characters being killed in multitudes of different ways, but one particular death, of the many in Scar Night, felt almost wasted. Part of me would have liked that character to live; there are still some questions to be answered about him and his role in the events; and another other part of me was pleasantly surprised at how unexpected-yet-obvious the death was.
The city of Deepgate, a characterisation in itself, with all it's Gormeghast overtones, was the most developed of the book. It's a great premise, and a wonderful visual image: a city suspended in chains above a bottomless pit. The actual pit itself, after we'd seen rather a lot of it towards the end, isn't actually bottomless. And there are things in it. The descriptions suffered a bit when we moved into the actual pit, and the wild desert peoples and their lands weren't too fresh to me, either. It is, though, a testament to the speed with which I was churning through these pages that it was only after I'd finished the book, staring at the cover in my inebriated state, that I asked to an empty room, puzzled and mildly offended, what are the chains attached to?
I'm looking forward to reading Iron Angel, but I'm also a little nervous: after all, most of the setting of Scar Night is rather irrevocably changed! I expect that Iron Angel will show all the consummate skill and deft touches that Alan Campbell employed in this, his rather excellent dbut.
|
|
|
shop uk online
Copyright ©2004-2007 All rights reserved.
| Links | |
video game uk, shop uk online, books online uk, music uk, toys uk, outdoor living uk, dvd uk, dvd uk online, electronics uk, digital camera uk, pc games uk,
software shop uk, magazines uk, jewellery shop uk, baby shop uk, vhs to dvd uk, kitchen shop uk, fashion shop online, video cameras uk, camcorders uk,
dvd player uk, plasma tv uk, portable dvd uk, portable dvd player uk, portable electronics, pda phone uk, pda phone gps, gps systems uk, sound of music uk,
books uk online, tools shop london, hardware tools store, jewellery shops uk, gold jewellery sets, gold jewellery uk, watches online uk, computer software shops london,
beauty personal care, beauty health care, kitchen shop uk, audio shop uk, tv shop uk, home theater uk, cell phones uk, ipod shop online, video cameras cheap, department store uk, best buy uk,
online shopping uk
department store uk
best buy uk
electronics uk
car parts uk
music uk
links
Shipping Information
Privacy Policy
Disclaimer
|
|
|
|
| |
