In a city suspended over the void by chains of steel, angels hunt in the night…

The decaying city of Deepgate hangs suspended over the abyss by a mass of chains. It is ruled by a theocracy supported by the mythology of a god who will eventually return with a host of dead souls to kill his brother and save the world. The reality is somewhat darker, and this gritty fantasy is as blood-soaked as it is compelling.

The story starts as a dark mystery, attempting to find a soul thief in the city who murders innocents and bleeds them dry. Every eye is aimed at a mad angel named Carnival who stalks the city streets once a month for a victim to sustain herself, but the murders just don’t fit her pattern.

I’ve read – or attempted to read – this book twice. Both times, I’ve ended up quitting halfway through. I really loved the worldbuilding – this world is easily one of the most unique I’ve ever experienced, but also deeply flawed. The one thing I couldn’t get past in this book was, “Why?” Why on earth did these guys suspend their city over a giant pit? Where do the chains connect to? Why not build on the edge and just kick the dead over? I just kept yearning for an explanation, any explanation at all, no matter what it was, and it was a need that was never fulfilled.

I loved some of the characters – Dill, the innocent, hapless angel who has been brought up by the church to be an armed defender of the church but who spends most of his time pretending to be his ancestor, an angel who saved the world. I loved the story (and the backstory) of Deepgate’s resident poisoner. I appreciated the conflicted character of the head of the church, who is protecting a secret that would throw the entire world into question. I really appreciated some of the elements of steampunk that were occasionally included – the zeppelins, the war with a distant enemy fought with poisons and gas, the decaying city with parts that occasionally fell into the deeps, the scroungers… And I really liked elements of the story itself – betrayal, a social mythology built on a lie, and a lie that’s about to bite back… But somehow the execution fell a little flat.

If you’re up for a truly unique, gritty and bloody read, this is definitely a good book. But in a lot of ways, I think this would work better as a tv series, a movie, or a video game, instead of a novel. ( )

To quote the blurb: "Suspended by chains over a seemingly bottomless abyss, the ancient city of Deepgate is home to a young angel, an assassin, and a psychotic murderer hungry for revenge—or redemption. But soon a shocking betrayal will unite all three in a desperate quest...."

There is so much more to this book. I felt that it had a great premise and intriguing characters. I thought it was tightly plotted and I was never bored while reading it.

I won't say that IT WAS THE BEST BOOK EVAR!!!1!!! or anything, bu ti really did like it and would recommend it to people who like this genre. ( )

I've read this book twice. Unlike a couple of other reviewers, I found enough to interest me that I bought the rest of the series.

Scar Night has a lot of possibility. Campbell has built an intriguing, steampunk-ish, 'is it F or SF?' world around the city of Deepgate, suspended above a truly deep and dark abyss. He's put interesting people in the world, and the story itself was strong enough to leave me wanting answers to some of the mysteries.

Unfortunately, Campbell also skimps on some of the scene setting. Even after the second read-through, I'm still not entirely clear on how the city is suspended. Campbell spends quite a lot of time talking about chains, ropes, and rings, but it's only very late in the book that we get much in the way of helpful description. So I spent much of the first reading trying to figure out what was where, what all the chains connected to, and why.

[not really a spoiler, but ...] As far as I could tell, there are 99 chains made out of a meteorite alloy, and hooked at one end to various points along the sides of the chasm (which may be circular and really more of a pit). At the other end, the 'foundation' chains are supporting one or more huge rings of the same metal. These rings form the support for the Deepgate cathedral. The chains are cross-linked, and these links support the various neighbourhoods of the city.

The story is similarly opaque on a number of other fronts. The uncertainty only works in the story's favor on the F or SF angle; the rest of the time it's more frustrating than intriguing. (An exception is the deliberate mystery about the base of the abyss. The reveal is a bit of a letdown, but a few pages into the sequel, [b:Iron Angel|2598001|Iron Angel (Deepgate Codex #2)|Alan Campbell|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1266953288s/2598001.jpg|2895252], that may improve.)

Deepgate exudes a very Gormenghastian feel, but it's not clear to what end. The writing is not as polished as one might hope. Still, I'm happy to say that it does improve on a second reading. There's quite a lot of detail - if not quite world-building, at least world-ornamenting.

I can recommend this for fans of Mervyn Peake and steampunk. For readers who have trouble working out the engineering, as I did, I recommend looking at the above spoiler, and letting it go at that. ( )

I probably wouldn't have purchased this book, but it was a selection of my sci-fi book group for August 2011. It was darker than I would select for beach read, but it was an easy read that held my interest. The story is old, a fight between good and evil. It also addresses superstitions and blindly following faith due to fear. The descriptions are vivid and lead you through Scar Night, a night feared by most of the inhabitants. ( )

Meh. ( )