Scar Night
First in a trilogy, this magnificently colourful epic of urban fantasy opens up an intricate new world of unforgettable characters and thrilling events, in the best tradition of Gormenghast.
For a hundred generations, the city of Deepgate has hung suspended by giant chains over a seemingly bottomless abyss. In the unfathomable darkness below is said to reside the dread god Ulcis, 'hoarder of souls', with his army of ghosts. Outside the city extend the barren wastes of Deadsands, inhabited by the enemy Heshette, so that safe access is guaranteed only by a fleet of airships.
At the hub of the city itself rises the Temple, in one of whose many crumbling spires resides a youthful angel, Dill, the last of his line. Descendant of heroic battle-archons, yet barely able to wield the great sword he has inherited from his forebears, he lives a sheltered existence under the watchful eye of Presbyter Sypes, who rules the Temple. For despite his sense of purposelessness, Dill has a destiny about to unfold – one that will take him down into terrifying depths of the pit in a desperate quest to save the teeming but precarious city from total annihilation at the hands of a cunning and resourceful traitor.
Alan Campbell
Alan Campbell, born in Falkirk and educated in Edinburgh, now lives in rural South Lanarkshire. Before picking up his novelist’s pen, he worked as a designer/coder on the hugely successful Grand Theft Auto video games.
The Deepgate Codex
The Deepgate Codex consists of three primary works, and includes two additional books that complement the series but are not considered mandatory reads. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.