So many new books have been coming out lately that I haven't been able to catch up on my book reviews. Currently I'm reading the newest Artemis Fowl, the sequel to Old Man's War (more on that in a future review) and a new Conan Doyle mystery (whose name escapes me at the moment).
The last book I finished, though is called Scar Night, by Alan Campbell. Campbell's actually one of the designers of the game Grand Theft Auto, so there was a sort of expectation that this book would read like a video game. Reading Scar Night only reinforced the fact--it reminded me of Planescape.
Not that Campbell ripped off Planescape; heck, it could just be me thinking that it's an homage (references to "cutters", "mazes", and a deity who could be an aspect of The Lady, although that last one is a stretch). His Deepgate is actually a living, breathing city, suspended over an abyss by chains. It's populated by all sorts of people--priests, poisowners, desert people, assassins and angels. There are actually only two; a boy, who's the last of his line, and a deranged one who feeds on souls on a certain night--thus the title.
The setting is well-imagined; the story? Well, like I said, it reads like a video game--an RPG to be exact. It feels like a campaign setting, kind of like Dragonlance was actually just a big ad for TSR (now Wizard of the Coast). There's a story lurking there somewhere, mainly about what's in that abyss the city's hanging over. But it takes a backseat to the setting.
The book's quite enjoyable, though. It doesn't quite feel like the author was shooting for an "epic fantasy" in the vein of A Song of Ice and Fire or Wheel of Time. He succeeds quite well in writing a book with a memorable setting; it reminds me a bit of Perdido Street Station, only without the pretentiousness. I wouldn't mind visiting this world again.
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