Scar Night

Infobox Book |
name = Scar Night


image_caption = 1st edition cover (UK)
author = Alan Campbell
cover_artist =
country = United Kingdom
language = English
series = The Deepgate Codex
subject =
genre = Fantasy
publisher = Tor UK
pub_date = 07 July 2006
media_type = Print (Hardcover)
pages = 528 (hardcover 1st edition)
isbn = ISBN 9781405090353 (hardcover 1st edition)
followed_by = Iron Angel

"Scar Night" is a fantasy novel by Alan Campbell.

Plot

Scar Night is set in the city of Deepgate, a city of pilgrims and priests to Ulcis, God of Chains and Hoarder of Souls. This first book of a trilogy follows the early adolescence of a young angel, Dill, as he tries to discover his destiny. The last of a three thousand year old line of battle archons, he struggles to adapt to a world that seemingly has no need for his kind anymore. With the help of several unlikely allies, however, he begins to explore his potential to find out what he's really capable of.

Title

The title refers to the one night in the month when the moon is dark. When the Darkmoon has risen, the people of Deepgate stay inside, behind bolted doors and closed shutters. For three thousand years, every Scar Night an angel/demon named Carnival has killed one of the city's inhabitants, drinking their blood and life energy to sustain herself for another month. After each kill she cuts herself, inflicting serious injury. Both she and her victims therefore are scarred on this night, hence the title.

Characters

*Dill: The last descendant of Ulcis' warrior Callis, Dill is one of only two surviving angels, destined to become a temple archon. Out of fear that he should come to any harm, the church authorities force Dill to lead a sheltered life. As a result, he grows up regaled by tales of the warrior angels who came before him, yet is completely untrained in the arts of war, and forbidden even to fly.

*Mr. Nettle: A giant of a man and the father of Abigail, a young girl found murdered and completely drained of blood. His mission is simple: to hunt down and kill the person who murdered his daughter.

*Rachel Hael: Daughter of the esteemed General Hael, Rachel is part of the temple Spine, an order of assassins in service of the Church of Ulcis. As a mere Adept of the order, she has yet to be 'tempered', a process that will strip her of her emotions and turn her into a remorseless killer. She is appointed Dill's overseer.

*Presbyter Sypes: Dill's mentor, Sypes is the highest-ranking member of the Church of Ulcis, and keeper of Deepgate's massive codex, or library. He is also party to Deepgate's darkest secrets, several of which threaten to undermine the very foundations of the religion he heads.

*Carnival: One of the last surviving angels. Possessed of an extremely volatile and unstable personality, she drains and consumes the blood of a single human once every Scar Night, an act that prolongs her lifespan for another month each time. This practice has kept Carnival alive for three thousand years, vastly longer than any other angel has been known to live. Her body sports countless scars, one for each of her monthly victims, and a single rope burn mark upon her neck of unknown origin. She is considered the deadliest being in Deepgate, her extraordinary fighting skill and physical prowess enabling her to survive three millenia of Spine attempts on her life.

*Devon: Deepgate's arch chemist and Head Poisoner, a madman consumed by his work. He is slowly dying from the effects of handling the many poisons and plagues that he has made. He lost his wife many years prior.

*Adjunct Fogwill: Sypes' assistant, he is extremely suspicious of Devon.

*Mark Hael: Rachel Hael's brother, commander of Deepgates zeppelin-borne aeronauts. He and his sister are not on the best terms, due largely to his refusal to allow her tempering, a process that would make her a full-fledged Spine at the cost of her emotional capacity.

Publication history

*2006, UK, Tor UK ISBN 9781405090353, Pub date 07 July 2006, hardcover
*2006, US, Bantam Spectra ISBN 9780553384161, Pub date December 2006, hardcover
*2007, UK, Tor UK ISBN 9780330444767, Pub date 04 May 2007, paperback
*2007, US, Bantam Spectra ISBN 9780553589313, Pub date November 2007, paperback

ources, references, external links, quotations

* [http://trashotron.com/agony/news/2006/05-01-06.htm#050406 Agony Column book review]
* [http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1825876,00.html Guardian book review]
* [http://sfrevu.com/Review-id.php?id=4096 SFRevu book review]
* [http://www.sfx.co.uk/page/sfx?entry=scar_night_the_deepgate_trilogy SFX book review]
* [http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780553384161 US publisher catalogue]
* [http://www.panmacmillan.com/titles/displayPage.asp?PageTitle=Individual%20Title&BookID=386157&Category= UK publisher catalogue]