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Deepgate Codex #3
God of Clocks
Alan Campbell has set the new standard for epic fantasy. Now the highly acclaimed author of Scar Night and Iron Angel returns with a new novel of a mythic struggle between man and angel, demon and god—an Armageddon of survival and annihilation that will play out on the fields of time itself.
War, rebellion, betrayal—but the worst is still to come. For in the cataclysm of the battle of the gods, a portal to Hell has been opened, releasing unnatural creatures that were never meant to be and threatening to turn the world into a killing field. And in the middle, caught between warring gods and fallen angels, humanity finds itself pushed to the brink of extinction. Its only hope is the most unlikely of heroes.
Former assassin Rachel Hael has rejoined the blood-magician Mina Greene and her devious little dog, Basilis, on one last desperate mission to save the world from the grip of Hell. Carried in the jaws of a debased angel, they rush to the final defensive stronghold of the god of time—pursued all the while by the twelve arconites, the great iron-and-bone automatons controlled by King Menoa, the Lord of the Maze. Meanwhile, in the other direction, the giant John Anchor, still harnessed to his master’s skyship, descends into Hell itself to meet Menoa on his own ground.
But neither Heaven nor Hell is anything they could ever expect. Now old enemies and new allies join a battle whose outcome could be the end of them all. Rachel’s ally, the god Hasp, finds himself in the grip of a parasite and struggles against conflicting orders to destroy his own friends; and a dangerous infant deity comprised of countless broken souls threatens to overcome them all. As Rachel travels to the final confrontation she has both sought and feared, she begins to realize that time itself is unraveling. And so she must prepare herself for a sacrifice that may claim her heart, her life, her soul—and even then it may not be enough.
War, rebellion, betrayal—but the worst is still to come. For in the cataclysm of the battle of the gods, a portal to Hell has been opened, releasing unnatural creatures that were never meant to be and threatening to turn the world into a killing field. And in the middle, caught between warring gods and fallen angels, humanity finds itself pushed to the brink of extinction. Its only hope is the most unlikely of heroes.
Former assassin Rachel Hael has rejoined the blood-magician Mina Greene and her devious little dog, Basilis, on one last desperate mission to save the world from the grip of Hell. Carried in the jaws of a debased angel, they rush to the final defensive stronghold of the god of time—pursued all the while by the twelve arconites, the great iron-and-bone automatons controlled by King Menoa, the Lord of the Maze. Meanwhile, in the other direction, the giant John Anchor, still harnessed to his master’s skyship, descends into Hell itself to meet Menoa on his own ground.
But neither Heaven nor Hell is anything they could ever expect. Now old enemies and new allies join a battle whose outcome could be the end of them all. Rachel’s ally, the god Hasp, finds himself in the grip of a parasite and struggles against conflicting orders to destroy his own friends; and a dangerous infant deity comprised of countless broken souls threatens to overcome them all. As Rachel travels to the final confrontation she has both sought and feared, she begins to realize that time itself is unraveling. And so she must prepare herself for a sacrifice that may claim her heart, her life, her soul—and even then it may not be enough.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
23 people are currently reading
873 people want to read
About the author
Alan Campbell
7 books44 followersAlan wrote the Deepgate Codex and the Gravedigger Chronicles. He's still alive.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
April 14, 2012
This series read like a dream.
You know how, while you are sleeping you can dream the weirdest things. Often these are things that make no sense at all, they are a string of events that are connected to one another and the contents of them don't necessarily have anything at all to do with what comes after or went before. However, as long as you are still sleeping and dreaming it, everything makes perfect sense.
This is how I imagine it must have been like for the author. As long as he was writing it, it all added up beautifully. For me, reading it? That's a whole other crate of fish.
And that's what I mean about 'reads like a dream.' No, it's not a compliment.
Under the spoiler cut, my problems with this series. In no particular order of priority.
I give it two stars because at least I managed to finish it. Even if for a large part of it that was through sheer stubbornness.
For the series as a whole, I enjoyed the first book. The second had me confused and the third was even worse. The disjointed rambling nature or the last two makes them feel rushed. As if they try to cover way more content than there is really room for in the pages. I think the first book would have been better off as a standalone.
You know how, while you are sleeping you can dream the weirdest things. Often these are things that make no sense at all, they are a string of events that are connected to one another and the contents of them don't necessarily have anything at all to do with what comes after or went before. However, as long as you are still sleeping and dreaming it, everything makes perfect sense.
This is how I imagine it must have been like for the author. As long as he was writing it, it all added up beautifully. For me, reading it? That's a whole other crate of fish.
And that's what I mean about 'reads like a dream.' No, it's not a compliment.
Under the spoiler cut, my problems with this series. In no particular order of priority.
I give it two stars because at least I managed to finish it. Even if for a large part of it that was through sheer stubbornness.
For the series as a whole, I enjoyed the first book. The second had me confused and the third was even worse. The disjointed rambling nature or the last two makes them feel rushed. As if they try to cover way more content than there is really room for in the pages. I think the first book would have been better off as a standalone.
November 6, 2012
Rachel, Dill, John Anchor, Alice Harper and Mina Greene are locked in a battle royale with King Menoa, ruler of the underworld and the victor will determine the fate of all mankind.
This sequel picks up after Scar Night and Iron Angel. Campbell lost most of his momentum with the second of the trilogy and, to be honest, he struggles to regain it in the final part. In fact it could be said that Scar Night is a perfectly acceptable (and very good) stand-alone while Angel and CLocks are sub-par attempts to cash in. I'm sure that's not entirely fair on the author, but I almost wish I had stopped reading at the end of Scar Night.
OK, to be more charitable, Scar Night was always going to be a hard act to follow; although it had plenty of detractors, the atmosphere, the aesthetic and the ideas were innovative, intriguing and well realised and the writing was highly accomplished. True enough, Angel and Clocks are replete with great ideas and fantastic imagery but the characterisation is poor, the characters themselves are poorly developed and the prose veers between leaden and a sort of overwrought hyperbole that makes it seem as if the book was written by a teenager. Add to that the need for a good editor - the novel is at least 30% longer than it needed to be and I would contend that it could have been merged with a similarly redacted part two to present a fine, two part series.
And the "time travel bit". I can only agree with the other reviewers that this inclusion is desperately ill advised. Not only does it appear as a sort of "and then he woke up and it was all a dream" deus ex machina but it needlessly complicates the latter third of the book. At one point there were four Rachels on-stage, each in her own time-frame and each heading towards (or engaged in) a meeting with one or more of the others. Cue much, derivative, discussion about the troussers of time and the butterfly effect and the whole deal sticks out like a sore thumb; a poorly managed mash-up between a sci-fi and a fantasy novel. Time-travel is a great plot device which can be used, front and centre, to explore some interesting concepts and ideas (Ian Watson's The Very Slow Time Machine is a great example of this) or in the background to set up an otherwise unlikely scenario (can't go far wrong with HG Wells' famous device). In Clocks, Campbell threw it away cheaply and I can only admit that I skimmed this sequence.
So much else was thrown away here. The characters continue to be the opportunity that was missed in Iron Angel. To be fair however there are at last a few hints of a deeper life to some of them - John Anchor's past is partially revealed and the relationship between Rachel and Dill is tantalisingly (but oh so shallowly) probed.
Worse still is the setting in Hell (AKA The Maze) and the nature of the "Gods". The Gods themselves are revealed to be little more than humans with wings and special priviledges and this robs them of much of their cachet. Hell is supposedly a horrific place to spend eternity and this is well set up in Iron Angel. Sadly, the overexposure it receives in Clocks dulls its edge somewhat and one of the characters even speculates that "it's not that bad really" and that she would like to "settle down there, in an apartment with a view". What? WHAT? So all those millions of lost, tormented souls are just a buch of moaning minnies who don't like the scenery or the neighbours then? That comment pretty much spoiled what was left of the story for me, I'm afraid.
Look, God of Clocks is a workmanlike fantasy novel and well worth a read. There are plenty more out there far inferior to this, but don't be expecting anything like as fresh and well executed as the first in the series.
This sequel picks up after Scar Night and Iron Angel. Campbell lost most of his momentum with the second of the trilogy and, to be honest, he struggles to regain it in the final part. In fact it could be said that Scar Night is a perfectly acceptable (and very good) stand-alone while Angel and CLocks are sub-par attempts to cash in. I'm sure that's not entirely fair on the author, but I almost wish I had stopped reading at the end of Scar Night.
OK, to be more charitable, Scar Night was always going to be a hard act to follow; although it had plenty of detractors, the atmosphere, the aesthetic and the ideas were innovative, intriguing and well realised and the writing was highly accomplished. True enough, Angel and Clocks are replete with great ideas and fantastic imagery but the characterisation is poor, the characters themselves are poorly developed and the prose veers between leaden and a sort of overwrought hyperbole that makes it seem as if the book was written by a teenager. Add to that the need for a good editor - the novel is at least 30% longer than it needed to be and I would contend that it could have been merged with a similarly redacted part two to present a fine, two part series.
And the "time travel bit". I can only agree with the other reviewers that this inclusion is desperately ill advised. Not only does it appear as a sort of "and then he woke up and it was all a dream" deus ex machina but it needlessly complicates the latter third of the book. At one point there were four Rachels on-stage, each in her own time-frame and each heading towards (or engaged in) a meeting with one or more of the others. Cue much, derivative, discussion about the troussers of time and the butterfly effect and the whole deal sticks out like a sore thumb; a poorly managed mash-up between a sci-fi and a fantasy novel. Time-travel is a great plot device which can be used, front and centre, to explore some interesting concepts and ideas (Ian Watson's The Very Slow Time Machine is a great example of this) or in the background to set up an otherwise unlikely scenario (can't go far wrong with HG Wells' famous device). In Clocks, Campbell threw it away cheaply and I can only admit that I skimmed this sequence.
So much else was thrown away here. The characters continue to be the opportunity that was missed in Iron Angel. To be fair however there are at last a few hints of a deeper life to some of them - John Anchor's past is partially revealed and the relationship between Rachel and Dill is tantalisingly (but oh so shallowly) probed.
Worse still is the setting in Hell (AKA The Maze) and the nature of the "Gods". The Gods themselves are revealed to be little more than humans with wings and special priviledges and this robs them of much of their cachet. Hell is supposedly a horrific place to spend eternity and this is well set up in Iron Angel. Sadly, the overexposure it receives in Clocks dulls its edge somewhat and one of the characters even speculates that "it's not that bad really" and that she would like to "settle down there, in an apartment with a view". What? WHAT? So all those millions of lost, tormented souls are just a buch of moaning minnies who don't like the scenery or the neighbours then? That comment pretty much spoiled what was left of the story for me, I'm afraid.
Look, God of Clocks is a workmanlike fantasy novel and well worth a read. There are plenty more out there far inferior to this, but don't be expecting anything like as fresh and well executed as the first in the series.
August 11, 2013
5 Stars
Alan Campbell has created a wonderful genre blurring series in the Deepgate Codex. This is a series that has roots in fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, and even horror. Each of the three books so far have a very different feel and style. They are filled with Angels, Demons, Gods, and creatures. There are swords and bows, guns and bombs, and cool constructs.
God of Clocks is book three in the series and one that I truly enjoyed. I have enjoyed each book In this series more each time, even though the setting and the story of book one Scar Night is hard to beat. The main cast of characters are an awesome bunch that Campbell makes better with each novel.
Why should you read this? What could be cooler than reading about a giant man that is attached to a floating ship via a massive rope and is dragging through all of Hell by strength and will alone.
“Anchor heaved against his harness until he felt the land around the portal mouth crumble under the insurmountable pressure. Slowly and inexorably, he dragged Cospinol's great skyship down into the depths of Hell.”
The action is all fast and furious and penned with style...
“Or so she hoped. Now would be a really good time, Mina.
From the battlefield to the west arose a new mist. It poured from the mouths of ten thousand slain men and demons like a final cold exhalation. A little blood yet remained in those warriors and, aboard the Rotsward, Mina Greene had used this to her advantage. Tendrils of fog intermingled above the corpses to form a thin grey pall that swelled and heaved and then rolled out over the Larnaig Field like a seawater tide. It consumed the slopes and the railway buildings and the lake and plains beyond in sorcerous mist. It billowed against the walls of Coreollis and swamped the forest where it merged with the Rotsward's own shroud of fog.”
God of Clocks throws even more into the mix of this series by centering on time travel...
““I mean two arrows flew up through that gap, but there's only one here now. And it's not just that. I've been seeing strange things for days now… memories that don't match up with reality, moments in time that repeat themselves. They're likedefects, as if reality… or even time itself has somehow become fractured.” She watched the other woman frown. “Dill experienced the same vision you did—of the world cracked open.”
“That was… odd,” Mina admitted.
“Something strange is happening,” Rachel said. “Thaumaturgy, or…” She waved her hands. “I don't know. Something to do with what happened to Rys's bastion in Coreollis… or else something involving the god of clocks. Doesn't Sabor study time?””
I love the style of this series, the characters, and the action. I have had such a blast reading this series and give them my highest recommendations. Campbell has created a kitchen sink series that will find fans from all genres of fiction... To me a must read set of books.
Alan Campbell has created a wonderful genre blurring series in the Deepgate Codex. This is a series that has roots in fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, and even horror. Each of the three books so far have a very different feel and style. They are filled with Angels, Demons, Gods, and creatures. There are swords and bows, guns and bombs, and cool constructs.
God of Clocks is book three in the series and one that I truly enjoyed. I have enjoyed each book In this series more each time, even though the setting and the story of book one Scar Night is hard to beat. The main cast of characters are an awesome bunch that Campbell makes better with each novel.
Why should you read this? What could be cooler than reading about a giant man that is attached to a floating ship via a massive rope and is dragging through all of Hell by strength and will alone.
“Anchor heaved against his harness until he felt the land around the portal mouth crumble under the insurmountable pressure. Slowly and inexorably, he dragged Cospinol's great skyship down into the depths of Hell.”
The action is all fast and furious and penned with style...
“Or so she hoped. Now would be a really good time, Mina.
From the battlefield to the west arose a new mist. It poured from the mouths of ten thousand slain men and demons like a final cold exhalation. A little blood yet remained in those warriors and, aboard the Rotsward, Mina Greene had used this to her advantage. Tendrils of fog intermingled above the corpses to form a thin grey pall that swelled and heaved and then rolled out over the Larnaig Field like a seawater tide. It consumed the slopes and the railway buildings and the lake and plains beyond in sorcerous mist. It billowed against the walls of Coreollis and swamped the forest where it merged with the Rotsward's own shroud of fog.”
God of Clocks throws even more into the mix of this series by centering on time travel...
““I mean two arrows flew up through that gap, but there's only one here now. And it's not just that. I've been seeing strange things for days now… memories that don't match up with reality, moments in time that repeat themselves. They're likedefects, as if reality… or even time itself has somehow become fractured.” She watched the other woman frown. “Dill experienced the same vision you did—of the world cracked open.”
“That was… odd,” Mina admitted.
“Something strange is happening,” Rachel said. “Thaumaturgy, or…” She waved her hands. “I don't know. Something to do with what happened to Rys's bastion in Coreollis… or else something involving the god of clocks. Doesn't Sabor study time?””
I love the style of this series, the characters, and the action. I have had such a blast reading this series and give them my highest recommendations. Campbell has created a kitchen sink series that will find fans from all genres of fiction... To me a must read set of books.
July 15, 2011
I was pulled along for the ride on this one, and not really in the good way. It was a mess of time travelling (which I don't usually hold with precisely because of the multiple selves running around everywhere) and parallel universes (which just... ugh).
I still like the characters (even though Dill and Carnival, my favorites, were hardly included at all), and I was intrigued by the story. Also, Alan Campbell's ideas, plot twists, and style of writing kept me going. However, the whole thing was just too complicated, with fighting, fighting, and lots more fighting. Aside from a few nice surprises, the entire thing was just... too much. While at the same time being not enough...
Do I sound dumb? Yes, I sound dumb. But I just don't think fantasy has to be this... messy soup of stuff just to explain fantastical things. And I'm not really sure if the series is done...? It ended sort of abruptly...? I probably won't remember a *thing* about it in... a week, tops. And that's not really how I like my fantasy.
I still like the characters (even though Dill and Carnival, my favorites, were hardly included at all), and I was intrigued by the story. Also, Alan Campbell's ideas, plot twists, and style of writing kept me going. However, the whole thing was just too complicated, with fighting, fighting, and lots more fighting. Aside from a few nice surprises, the entire thing was just... too much. While at the same time being not enough...
Do I sound dumb? Yes, I sound dumb. But I just don't think fantasy has to be this... messy soup of stuff just to explain fantastical things. And I'm not really sure if the series is done...? It ended sort of abruptly...? I probably won't remember a *thing* about it in... a week, tops. And that's not really how I like my fantasy.
March 18, 2010
This is for the whole series, including Scar Night and Iron Angel. It's pretty peculiar -- the series barely has a plot, although things happen. It pretty much lacks character development, although there are plenty of characters doing plenty of things for plenty of reasons. The books lack heroes, with the ostensible main characters being blown about, willy-nilly by the authorial winds, and the callow youth sort of grows up by the end, although mostly through the experience of being killed a couple of times. The big villain is pretty villainous, but not as bad as many of the supporting characters and even some of the protagonists. Characters are driven more by quirks than motivations, and they appear and disappear with distracting frequency. The author also seems to relish dumping misery on his characters (I am not sure any angel gets through the novel without getting their wings ripped off at least once -- well, or dying, usually horribly).
Why read this series at all? Campbell runs through more ideas in these relatively short volumes (and thank you for that, Mr. Campbell! The world needs a lot fewer 800+ page fantasy novels) than most series get to in 10 volumes. His somewhat attention-deficit approach to plotting means that as images become boring the author just moves on, often with no justification. That stuff? Maybe it will be back later, maybe not. Who knows? Oddly, that kept the settings fresh. Also, the blankness of most of the characters meant that the horrible fates that befall many don't make the reader itch so badly.
Somehow, I think the author's experience in working on video games might be a factor in all this -- reasonably glorious surface, not much substrate.
Why read this series at all? Campbell runs through more ideas in these relatively short volumes (and thank you for that, Mr. Campbell! The world needs a lot fewer 800+ page fantasy novels) than most series get to in 10 volumes. His somewhat attention-deficit approach to plotting means that as images become boring the author just moves on, often with no justification. That stuff? Maybe it will be back later, maybe not. Who knows? Oddly, that kept the settings fresh. Also, the blankness of most of the characters meant that the horrible fates that befall many don't make the reader itch so badly.
Somehow, I think the author's experience in working on video games might be a factor in all this -- reasonably glorious surface, not much substrate.
June 23, 2020
Oggi vi presento il volume conclusivo della trilogia Codice Deepgate (Il Raccoglitore di anime, Il dio delle nebbie) di Alan Campbell, Il Dio delle Anime, edito da Nord Editrice e Tea, una decina di anni fa.
Si tratta di un'opera che mischia dark fantasy, new weird, steampunk e bangsian fantasy. Per chi non sapesse che diavolo sia il bangsian fantasy, e io ero fra questi fin quando ho scoperto che il genere che adoro scrivere aveva già una definizione ed era proprio questa, è una scuola di scrittura del fantasy contemporaneo che ambienta la trama della storia, del tutto o in parte, dopo la fine della vita.
Ok, scusate la divagazione che serve unicamente per dare una prima e rapida scrematura a favore degli amanti del fantasy classico e non far perdere loro ulteriore tempo.
L’opera di Campbell in effetti non è stata accolta con grande favore, a giudicare dalle poche recensioni ricevute e dai tono non certo entusiasti. Un vero peccato a mio avviso. Si tratta indubbiamente di un’opera originale e a mio avviso una trilogia che nel complesso risulta grandemente sottovalutata. Io ho amato questi bei tomi corposi, ricchi di eventi bizzarri e di personaggi decisamente sopra le righe, fossero essi semi dei dai fragili corpi di vetro che colossali giganti dalla forza tale da poter trascinare con una fune vascelli volanti in giro per il mondo. Recensione completa: https://www.scrittorindipendenti.com/...
Si tratta di un'opera che mischia dark fantasy, new weird, steampunk e bangsian fantasy. Per chi non sapesse che diavolo sia il bangsian fantasy, e io ero fra questi fin quando ho scoperto che il genere che adoro scrivere aveva già una definizione ed era proprio questa, è una scuola di scrittura del fantasy contemporaneo che ambienta la trama della storia, del tutto o in parte, dopo la fine della vita.
Ok, scusate la divagazione che serve unicamente per dare una prima e rapida scrematura a favore degli amanti del fantasy classico e non far perdere loro ulteriore tempo.
L’opera di Campbell in effetti non è stata accolta con grande favore, a giudicare dalle poche recensioni ricevute e dai tono non certo entusiasti. Un vero peccato a mio avviso. Si tratta indubbiamente di un’opera originale e a mio avviso una trilogia che nel complesso risulta grandemente sottovalutata. Io ho amato questi bei tomi corposi, ricchi di eventi bizzarri e di personaggi decisamente sopra le righe, fossero essi semi dei dai fragili corpi di vetro che colossali giganti dalla forza tale da poter trascinare con una fune vascelli volanti in giro per il mondo. Recensione completa: https://www.scrittorindipendenti.com/...
July 27, 2015
God of Clocks picks up soon after Iron Angel leaves off. It doesn't really add much that's new, though the battle continues, and some of the mysteries are revealed. I'm sorry to say that it's only some.
Campbell wove in a number of intriguing threads in books 1 and 2. He leaves quite a lot of them loose in this third volume. There are two other books in this universe, Lye Street and Damnation for Beginners, but they appear to be relatively free standing. With that, I'd have to count this closing book of the trilogy as a disappointment. Where Iron Angel fulfilled its promise in unexpected ways, this book does not. It moves the story forward, but deteriorates at the end into a not very satisfying dead end.
As noted, there are two other books in the universe, but I don't expect to buy either of them. I'd sum up this trilogy as interesting and innovative, but hampered by occasionally inadequate description, and brought down by a substandard ending. I can recommend the first book, Scar Night as a interesting read, but I'd stop there. You could even stop after book 2, Iron Angel. But in my view, this third book will frustrate and disappoint you.
Campbell wove in a number of intriguing threads in books 1 and 2. He leaves quite a lot of them loose in this third volume. There are two other books in this universe, Lye Street and Damnation for Beginners, but they appear to be relatively free standing. With that, I'd have to count this closing book of the trilogy as a disappointment. Where Iron Angel fulfilled its promise in unexpected ways, this book does not. It moves the story forward, but deteriorates at the end into a not very satisfying dead end.
As noted, there are two other books in the universe, but I don't expect to buy either of them. I'd sum up this trilogy as interesting and innovative, but hampered by occasionally inadequate description, and brought down by a substandard ending. I can recommend the first book, Scar Night as a interesting read, but I'd stop there. You could even stop after book 2, Iron Angel. But in my view, this third book will frustrate and disappoint you.
March 1, 2015
I want to say something nice, but all I get is me scratching my head at this, it's supposed to be the 3rd book where all my questions are to be answered, and yet it irks me, ummmmm my ebook says 287 pages, but the one in goodreads says 367, so I maybe just maybe, there were some resolutions from the missing pages
March 2, 2021
This book is a mess. Because of that this mildly spoiler-ish review might be a mess as well. The book’s plot jumps everywhere. The characters are sometimes underdeveloped or overdeveloped and rarely stay in character. From page one, two main characters are made out of fragile glass, and while it is briefly mentioned that they have to be extra careful as they may shatter, they go through battles that would shatter steel yet have no problems surviving. The settings of heaven, hell, and earth are random as none of the three are more or less supernatural than the others. Mortals are godlike in their abilities and gods are disappointingly mortal. There’s steampunk mixed with horror, mixed with on-the-road type tedious travel. There are parts that are repetitive, due to time travel, but there are no consistent rules to this time travel. The god of clocks, Sabor, and his assistant, keep telling us things can’t be done because of dangers and paradoxes, then without reservation, his group goes and does them. There’s a battle through many layers of hell that does resolve in the end but we don’t really know if the victors are better off and there is no explanation of how this victory ties into the other parts of the story. The time travel plot fizzles in the end and the resolution that happens and it’s ramifications are never explained. A main gripe is that while characters fought to survive, it is never explained why. Depictions of the afterlife in hell were horrific for some, but others seemed to be better off with the ability to shape their own surroundings to their liking. No one ever dies except when they do, and even then their souls can be put into others and continue to exist. Yep. This book is a mess.
March 23, 2015
Well, this was a little better than the middle novel. The story continues to plod along to the end. A lot of threads left unfinished or unanswered. The temporal anomalies and time travel aspect added a bit of interest. I liked the final lines. Disappointing to see a trilogy start out so well and then literally crash and burn in the successive installments.
December 17, 2017
Twelve powerful arconites walk the earth, preparing to bring about the destruction of humanity and bringing its souls under the command of Menoa, Lord of Hell. Ahead of their advance, assassin Rachel Hale, blood-witch Mina Greene, the angel Dill and the god Hasp retreat towards the castle of Sabor, god of clocks. Meanwhile, Cospinol, god of brine, decides that he must mount a direct assault on Menoa and orders his slave-champion, John Anchor, to pull him and his immense vessel into Hell, for a very strange voyage indeed...
God of Clocks is the final volume of The Deepgate Codex (possibly the most misnamed trilogy ever: the titular codex is mentioned a couple of times and plays no substantive role in proceedings at all). It picks up after the cliffhanger ending to the second volume and expectations were for a big, epic climax. Instead, we get something different.
This is an odd book. Campbell's grasp of character and plot remains strong, and the revelations of backstory mysteries are mostly effective. But there are long diversions and side-plots that ultimately don't seem to go anywhere. The introduction of time travel is intriguing - fantasy typically doesn't touch it with a bargepole - and there's a lot of humour going on, but ultimately the narrative becomes confused and self-destructs towards the end. Time travel is often used as a get-out clause for lazy writers, something I'd never have pegged Campbell as (based on the strength of his first two novels), but here it fulfils its all-too tempting deus ex machina, narrative-crutch role. Simply put, the revelation that there are billions of alternate timelines in which every possibility is played out does make the reader wonder why he should be caring about this particular timeline and story. Even worse is the danger that time travel can be used to undo all the events of the story so far, meaning that the losses and prices that our heroes have paid are simply wished out of existence. Whilst the ending doesn't quite go that far (it's ambiguous what does get changed and what doesn't), it's still a bit of a cheat.
God of Clocks (**½) is a disappointing finale to the trilogy, which started out superbly but seemed to lose focus and cohesion as it went along, before ending on a decidedly anti-climatic note. There's enough interesting characters and ideas here for the book to be worth reading, but ultimately this is a trilogy that does not deliver on what it promised in the first book. It is available now in the UK and USA.
God of Clocks is the final volume of The Deepgate Codex (possibly the most misnamed trilogy ever: the titular codex is mentioned a couple of times and plays no substantive role in proceedings at all). It picks up after the cliffhanger ending to the second volume and expectations were for a big, epic climax. Instead, we get something different.
This is an odd book. Campbell's grasp of character and plot remains strong, and the revelations of backstory mysteries are mostly effective. But there are long diversions and side-plots that ultimately don't seem to go anywhere. The introduction of time travel is intriguing - fantasy typically doesn't touch it with a bargepole - and there's a lot of humour going on, but ultimately the narrative becomes confused and self-destructs towards the end. Time travel is often used as a get-out clause for lazy writers, something I'd never have pegged Campbell as (based on the strength of his first two novels), but here it fulfils its all-too tempting deus ex machina, narrative-crutch role. Simply put, the revelation that there are billions of alternate timelines in which every possibility is played out does make the reader wonder why he should be caring about this particular timeline and story. Even worse is the danger that time travel can be used to undo all the events of the story so far, meaning that the losses and prices that our heroes have paid are simply wished out of existence. Whilst the ending doesn't quite go that far (it's ambiguous what does get changed and what doesn't), it's still a bit of a cheat.
God of Clocks (**½) is a disappointing finale to the trilogy, which started out superbly but seemed to lose focus and cohesion as it went along, before ending on a decidedly anti-climatic note. There's enough interesting characters and ideas here for the book to be worth reading, but ultimately this is a trilogy that does not deliver on what it promised in the first book. It is available now in the UK and USA.
September 24, 2015
Alan Cambell’s Deepgate Codex is a dark, grimy, Gothic fantasy with elements of dark humor and horror. This thrilling saga is consistently anything but predictable or mundane. It is a madcap tumble through bizarre, lunatic landscapes. Just when you think you know what is coming, guess again!
God of Clocks picks up where Iron Angel left off and sets off at a madcap pace into what should have been a brilliant conclusion to an incredible trilogy. The ending, unfortunately, felt very rushed. It was building to this amazing climax and then it was…over. It just ended. More questions were left unanswered than answered. Plus a whole new set of questions came up! I truly hope that Alan Campbell is not through with these characters and this world.
Despite the disappointing, befuddling ending, Alan Campbell’s Deepgate Codex is still a strange and brilliant trilogy. I’ve left so much out of my reviews for fear of saying too much. Read it!
I highly recommend this trilogy for fans of Scott Lynch, Patrick Rothfuss and George R.R. Martin. Like Martin and Lynch, Campbell is not afraid to kill off main characters… although they do not always stay dead…
God of Clocks picks up where Iron Angel left off and sets off at a madcap pace into what should have been a brilliant conclusion to an incredible trilogy. The ending, unfortunately, felt very rushed. It was building to this amazing climax and then it was…over. It just ended. More questions were left unanswered than answered. Plus a whole new set of questions came up! I truly hope that Alan Campbell is not through with these characters and this world.
Despite the disappointing, befuddling ending, Alan Campbell’s Deepgate Codex is still a strange and brilliant trilogy. I’ve left so much out of my reviews for fear of saying too much. Read it!
I highly recommend this trilogy for fans of Scott Lynch, Patrick Rothfuss and George R.R. Martin. Like Martin and Lynch, Campbell is not afraid to kill off main characters… although they do not always stay dead…
June 6, 2016
Ok, there's no way to sugarcoat it: Campbell doesn't stick the ending.
Basically, the same problems that became evident in "Iron Angel" are present here- the author allowed the scope of the story to overwhelm him.
Campbell clearly has a great and vivid imagination. He comes up with some really cool concepts.
Unfortunately, he can't fit his story around them well. "God of Clocks" starts up quickly resolving the cliffhanger ending from "Iron Angel" by removing a solid chunk of the cast, and then splits the main characters into 2 narrative groups, and has each of them dealing with brand new aspects of the unique and original worldbuilding that spring up out of nowhere.
Using this method makes Campbell's work feel very Deus Ex Machina-y, and the ending especially so. It fits what has been said before, but it still feels kind of like a cop-out.
Overall, it's not the worst ending I've read: compared to the criticism I've seen of it, there's nothing inherently terrible about it. But it does feel weak and all over the place at times.
Basically, the same problems that became evident in "Iron Angel" are present here- the author allowed the scope of the story to overwhelm him.
Campbell clearly has a great and vivid imagination. He comes up with some really cool concepts.
Unfortunately, he can't fit his story around them well. "God of Clocks" starts up quickly resolving the cliffhanger ending from "Iron Angel" by removing a solid chunk of the cast, and then splits the main characters into 2 narrative groups, and has each of them dealing with brand new aspects of the unique and original worldbuilding that spring up out of nowhere.
Using this method makes Campbell's work feel very Deus Ex Machina-y, and the ending especially so. It fits what has been said before, but it still feels kind of like a cop-out.
Overall, it's not the worst ending I've read: compared to the criticism I've seen of it, there's nothing inherently terrible about it. But it does feel weak and all over the place at times.
August 19, 2009
Well, it does seem like just about everything I read and/or watch deal with time travel and alternate universes, so why should this be any different?
I quite liked the way this ended, although I suspect a lot of people won't. I still think the series were lacking in some things, from large-ish things, for example the consequences of the Angelwine were never really explained, to small inconsistencies: I was convinced Rachael was described as dark haired in my copy of Scar Night, and in God of Clocks she's a pale blonde. It might be me misremembering, or me having first editions of book 1 and 3, which might've contained mistakes that were fixed in later editions, but still things that are a little bit puzzling.
Thankfully there's a lot less Dill and a lot more Carnival in God of Clocks than in Iron Angel, and the setting is certainly different, as was the ending, where it went a bit more SF than fantasy at times, even if it very predictably ended with the opening of Heaven.
I quite liked the way this ended, although I suspect a lot of people won't. I still think the series were lacking in some things, from large-ish things, for example the consequences of the Angelwine were never really explained, to small inconsistencies: I was convinced Rachael was described as dark haired in my copy of Scar Night, and in God of Clocks she's a pale blonde. It might be me misremembering, or me having first editions of book 1 and 3, which might've contained mistakes that were fixed in later editions, but still things that are a little bit puzzling.
Thankfully there's a lot less Dill and a lot more Carnival in God of Clocks than in Iron Angel, and the setting is certainly different, as was the ending, where it went a bit more SF than fantasy at times, even if it very predictably ended with the opening of Heaven.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2012
So. Out of a sense of completion, I decided to finish this series. But the truth is, I'm not sure this is actually the last book, because I don't really know what happened at the end. There were...kind of a lot of loose ends. As the title implies, this book deals with time, time travel, and the "god" (angel thing?) of clocks. The time travel doesn't come into play until the second half of the book, but it has a few moments of that aching what-if that you get in good Doctor Who episodes.
Rachel Hael has a large role to play in this book, and I think I know what happens to her in the end, but I'm not sure? And all the sentences in this review should end in question marks because this book was kind of all over the place? But I still kind of liked it, and found it more cohesive than the first two?
Rachel Hael has a large role to play in this book, and I think I know what happens to her in the end, but I'm not sure? And all the sentences in this review should end in question marks because this book was kind of all over the place? But I still kind of liked it, and found it more cohesive than the first two?
June 4, 2009
What the fuck happened here?
I really loved this series. It was new and refreshing, there was no sense of formulaic plot development and I was engaged in the books wondering what would happen next. But, the end of book 3 in the series feels premature. It just... ends. That's it, game over, go home folks.
It's like watching a football game, you're getting down the wire, the score is tied 14-14 and you've got 2 minutes left to go. Then suddenly the ref steps out onto the field, one of the teams is gone and everyone's packing up and leaving.
No other book this year has left me with as big a sense of "WTF JUST HAPPENED?!" than this book.
I really loved this series. It was new and refreshing, there was no sense of formulaic plot development and I was engaged in the books wondering what would happen next. But, the end of book 3 in the series feels premature. It just... ends. That's it, game over, go home folks.
It's like watching a football game, you're getting down the wire, the score is tied 14-14 and you've got 2 minutes left to go. Then suddenly the ref steps out onto the field, one of the teams is gone and everyone's packing up and leaving.
No other book this year has left me with as big a sense of "WTF JUST HAPPENED?!" than this book.
July 25, 2009
The third of a series, this is the most boring book of the three.
All the spark of the first book, Scar Night, is gone. And the intrigue that kept me going through the second book is just smashed into incoherence here. I feel like my own writing is suffering from reading this book....
Read Scar Night and Lye Street as a duo instead of wasting time on this book (or its' predecessor).
All the spark of the first book, Scar Night, is gone. And the intrigue that kept me going through the second book is just smashed into incoherence here. I feel like my own writing is suffering from reading this book....
Read Scar Night and Lye Street as a duo instead of wasting time on this book (or its' predecessor).
August 9, 2011
Myeh. I was initially somewhat disappointed by "Scar Night", but had my hopes lifted with "Iron Angel", which I thought was really well-written. Unfortunately, I feel that "God of Clocks", while presenting some intriguing ideas (I like Campbell's vision of Hell, and his perception of Time and its ability to be manipulated), fails to deliver when it matters most - at the end. Instead we are left with a series of tableaus rather than answers. I only hope that Campbell will either a) write a FOURTH book or b) rewrite/expand GoC to provide a satisfactory conclusion to a trilogy that is full of promises. Until then, I'd have to give this a pass.
September 4, 2023
How did I enjoy the first book in this series so much?! I even gave it five stars for the great world building and fun characters and memorable villains. Then, book two came in with terrible pacing, but an interesting Hell and giant mechanized angel on offer. Now, book three has left smoking rubble in its wake... It was terrible, so terrible.
I don't even know where to start. I think this book could have been compressed into about a hundred pages. The imagery of giant-automaton-Dill walking around carrying everyone in his mouth and an entire inn in his cupped palms through the fog was great while I was there, but what did it actually do for the plot? Then everyone reached the fortress of the God of Clocks and the entire story dissolves into time-traveling nonsense.
I can't believe how far this series has fallen for me. I don't even think I can pretend Scar Night was a standalone. Iron Angel and God of Clocks ruined the magic for me. I'm not changing my review of Scar Night, but I'm so disappointed... 1/5
I don't even know where to start. I think this book could have been compressed into about a hundred pages. The imagery of giant-automaton-Dill walking around carrying everyone in his mouth and an entire inn in his cupped palms through the fog was great while I was there, but what did it actually do for the plot? Then everyone reached the fortress of the God of Clocks and the entire story dissolves into time-traveling nonsense.
I can't believe how far this series has fallen for me. I don't even think I can pretend Scar Night was a standalone. Iron Angel and God of Clocks ruined the magic for me. I'm not changing my review of Scar Night, but I'm so disappointed... 1/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2019
The last book (in story time) in the Deepgate Codex series, God of Clocks was a huge disappointment. It started nicely enough, preparing us for epic battles of wit and weirdness. Reading it, I was about to forget all about the slight drop in quality in the second book, Iron Angel, and was preparing for something grand. Then Mr. Campbell did what he never should have done: he altered the time space continuum. Before I knew it I was thinking at that old sci-fi movie where a ship boards another ship while in hyperspace and because of chaotic relativistic effects they all end up getting old, then young, then meeting themselves, fighting along their older grandsons, fighting the enemy with sticks and so on. For the love of God, I don't remember the name and I did Google it, but got only crap pages.
Anyway, Mr. Campbell, haven't you watched sci fi movies until now? Haven't you read a lot of SF books that make the same mistake, drowning in their own pool of possibilities. Time travel, unless it is the main subject, always messes up a story. And I was already confused with all the gods that were nothing more than angels with over inflated egos that anyone could capture and kill, the assassin that turned into mother-do-good, the boy demon who thought John Anchor was his father and that little child that is older and more powerful than him... so all this became very jumbled. No wonder a lot of the threads just remained hanging. What happened to Devon? Who the hell was the little girl? What did Carnival do? Everything just got negated by a race towards the beginning of time, when Ayen blocked the gates of Heaven. And then poof! A lot of fast scan scenes and the book ended. The fight never took place, or if it did, it was never described. And don't worry, if you preferred any other ending, there must be a broken timeline floating like a dissolving ice cube in a water glass that you can climb on and enjoy whatever reality you desire.
This book must be one of the most (if not THE most) WTF book I have ever read. In the end I was pacing, swearing and regretting my lost time. If the Deepgate Codex series would have been a video game, it would have never been released, with all the lack of documentation and obvious bugs.
My conclusion: what a nice beginning with Scar Night, but what a faltering fiasco up to and through God of Clocks. It did manage to make me think of a book where the main character would be Carnival, and all the rest would be just detail. I just loved her character and I feel so unfulfilled because it was never properly developed.
Anyway, Mr. Campbell, haven't you watched sci fi movies until now? Haven't you read a lot of SF books that make the same mistake, drowning in their own pool of possibilities. Time travel, unless it is the main subject, always messes up a story. And I was already confused with all the gods that were nothing more than angels with over inflated egos that anyone could capture and kill, the assassin that turned into mother-do-good, the boy demon who thought John Anchor was his father and that little child that is older and more powerful than him... so all this became very jumbled. No wonder a lot of the threads just remained hanging. What happened to Devon? Who the hell was the little girl? What did Carnival do? Everything just got negated by a race towards the beginning of time, when Ayen blocked the gates of Heaven. And then poof! A lot of fast scan scenes and the book ended. The fight never took place, or if it did, it was never described. And don't worry, if you preferred any other ending, there must be a broken timeline floating like a dissolving ice cube in a water glass that you can climb on and enjoy whatever reality you desire.
This book must be one of the most (if not THE most) WTF book I have ever read. In the end I was pacing, swearing and regretting my lost time. If the Deepgate Codex series would have been a video game, it would have never been released, with all the lack of documentation and obvious bugs.
My conclusion: what a nice beginning with Scar Night, but what a faltering fiasco up to and through God of Clocks. It did manage to make me think of a book where the main character would be Carnival, and all the rest would be just detail. I just loved her character and I feel so unfulfilled because it was never properly developed.
May 5, 2018
I started with the third book of the Deepgate Codex three-book epic fantasy series, and it works fine as a stand-alone, dumping the reader in the middle of the action. It takes a little while to sort everything out, but no different than the standard dumping a reader in the middle of the action one finds in urban fantasy. With no "recaps" things keep moving at a breathtaking pace, keeping me reading for eight straight hours beginning to end.
The world-building is a creepy Guillermo del Toro feverish dream; Deepgate Codex is unrelentingly dark, horrific place because of the war between gods bleeding onto the firmament of the planet as well as Heaven and Hell. None of the characters are white hats, or even gray, the "heroes" of this multiple point-of-view story are nightmares in-and-of themselves. The nicest of the group are (one) an assassin who starts the story by watching a massacre masquerading as a battle while she eats an picnic and (two) a trapped angel in a mech-suit who accidentally kills people while walking. Really, throughout the story, I never knew which side to root for - the bad guys protagonists or the worse guys antagonists. Several of the protagonists eat souls for power; even the puppy is demonic.
There is no one to actually like in this book. Which is why, even with the amazingly visceral world-building (you can see, smell, and taste this world); and characters who are unique with different goals, motivations, and flaws; I can't give the book five stars. I read the book straight through because I knew if I put it down, I would never pick it up again. It's that uncomfortable.
Note that, as the title of "God of Clocks" implies, time travel kicks in during the book (toward the end) - causing paradoxes, splinter universes, and other time mechanisms. Time paradox combining with being Epic Fantasy and dark-dark-for-the-sake-of-dark, this book manages to hit many of my "dislike" buttons. But I don't feel I can mark it down just for being what it is - the blurb clearly indicates none of the characters are nice people and the title promises something with time. Still, not having any characters to like - except for one little demon (who happens to be the first POV character) - not having any characters to root for, care for, to pick up the book again to finish their story for ... well, that is a problem.
(Giving away book. Not going to ever re-read this one.)
The world-building is a creepy Guillermo del Toro feverish dream; Deepgate Codex is unrelentingly dark, horrific place because of the war between gods bleeding onto the firmament of the planet as well as Heaven and Hell. None of the characters are white hats, or even gray, the "heroes" of this multiple point-of-view story are nightmares in-and-of themselves. The nicest of the group are (one) an assassin who starts the story by watching a massacre masquerading as a battle while she eats an picnic and (two) a trapped angel in a mech-suit who accidentally kills people while walking. Really, throughout the story, I never knew which side to root for - the bad guys protagonists or the worse guys antagonists. Several of the protagonists eat souls for power; even the puppy is demonic.
There is no one to actually like in this book. Which is why, even with the amazingly visceral world-building (you can see, smell, and taste this world); and characters who are unique with different goals, motivations, and flaws; I can't give the book five stars. I read the book straight through because I knew if I put it down, I would never pick it up again. It's that uncomfortable.
Note that, as the title of "God of Clocks" implies, time travel kicks in during the book (toward the end) - causing paradoxes, splinter universes, and other time mechanisms. Time paradox combining with being Epic Fantasy and dark-dark-for-the-sake-of-dark, this book manages to hit many of my "dislike" buttons. But I don't feel I can mark it down just for being what it is - the blurb clearly indicates none of the characters are nice people and the title promises something with time. Still, not having any characters to like - except for one little demon (who happens to be the first POV character) - not having any characters to root for, care for, to pick up the book again to finish their story for ... well, that is a problem.
(Giving away book. Not going to ever re-read this one.)
November 4, 2021
Honestly, I was really hyped at the beginning of this book. The idea of simultaneous attacks on Heaven and Hell was cool, and following each group through their environments gave a better look at the world the series is set in. But then it just went off the rails? I should have expected time travel, seeing as the name of the book is God of Clocks, and at the beginning the small temporal paradoxes or whatever they were called - hair changing colour, multiple reflections, repeating conversations - were actually really interesting, and I was excited to see what would come of them. The rest of the time travel confused me, they said they couldn't do too much because of paradoxes and then did it anyway? And then the ending baffled me, there was a random Rebecca segment and the actual fight in Hell I don't *think* happens fully, although I was so confused I could have missed it to be honest. One big problem with time travel, in my opinion, is the ending becomes a sort of 'it was all a dream', with nothing bad really happening because you can just...undo it. Or leave universes to die, I guess.
There were many characters in this that seemed unnecessary. Isla is apparently powerful but why, and what does that do? Devon had a brief cameo as a box, but not for long, and I really thought that one of the primary antagonists from the first book that cannot die but is constantly wounded would...be important to the plot of the series. Even Carnival doesn't do that much, and Dill is barely a character now since he doesn't talk and just does what Rachel tells him.
God of Clocks, in my opinion, suffers from the same problem as the first two books, which is that it was so insane it was hard to imagine what was going on. This made me feel like I should have been reading each page twice, to make sure I'd absorbed all the information, but I'm lazy and didn't do that. Instead I just vibed with whatever information I didn't recall knowing, because there was a 50% chance it just hadn't been mentioned before.
In conclusion, this was an absolutely insane read, but luckily I like fantasy so I was mostly here for it, except the ending.
There were many characters in this that seemed unnecessary. Isla is apparently powerful but why, and what does that do? Devon had a brief cameo as a box, but not for long, and I really thought that one of the primary antagonists from the first book that cannot die but is constantly wounded would...be important to the plot of the series. Even Carnival doesn't do that much, and Dill is barely a character now since he doesn't talk and just does what Rachel tells him.
God of Clocks, in my opinion, suffers from the same problem as the first two books, which is that it was so insane it was hard to imagine what was going on. This made me feel like I should have been reading each page twice, to make sure I'd absorbed all the information, but I'm lazy and didn't do that. Instead I just vibed with whatever information I didn't recall knowing, because there was a 50% chance it just hadn't been mentioned before.
In conclusion, this was an absolutely insane read, but luckily I like fantasy so I was mostly here for it, except the ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2021
In-and-of itself, this novel is the same level as the previous two. Scatty, good in places, frustrating in others, and ultimately filled with more big ideas that it can actually pull off.
However, as the third book in a trilogy, it’s an absolute failure. So many plot strands and characters simply don’t get a resolution. Groundwork is laid in the earlier books and is given absolutely zero payoff, while even within the confines of this third book alone, so many things are introduced that just go absolutely nowhere. There's a difference between not quite managing to realise an ambitious vision and pull it all off, and simply not even trying to give the reader a satisfying experience or deliver something that feels like a whole.
It all sadly cements my earlier suspicions that Campbell didn’t really know what he was doing here, and simply winged his way through it all. A collection of ideas – some good, some bad – with absolutely nothing tying them all together. There’s zero plot or world coherence; it feels like Campbell gets easily distracted by new ideas, and simply runs with whatever occurred to him most recently, to the neglect of whatever he was previously doing; it puts him somewhere between a magpie and a goldfish. If you were to start pulling on any one of the hundreds of loose threads, the whole thing would unravel so, so quickly.
Perhaps this should’ve been a short story collection all set in the same world, rather than an attempt at weaving everything into a larger, epic narrative. There is some good stuff scattered throughout the trilogy, but the shoddy resolution means it's probably not worth the investment.
However, as the third book in a trilogy, it’s an absolute failure. So many plot strands and characters simply don’t get a resolution. Groundwork is laid in the earlier books and is given absolutely zero payoff, while even within the confines of this third book alone, so many things are introduced that just go absolutely nowhere. There's a difference between not quite managing to realise an ambitious vision and pull it all off, and simply not even trying to give the reader a satisfying experience or deliver something that feels like a whole.
It all sadly cements my earlier suspicions that Campbell didn’t really know what he was doing here, and simply winged his way through it all. A collection of ideas – some good, some bad – with absolutely nothing tying them all together. There’s zero plot or world coherence; it feels like Campbell gets easily distracted by new ideas, and simply runs with whatever occurred to him most recently, to the neglect of whatever he was previously doing; it puts him somewhere between a magpie and a goldfish. If you were to start pulling on any one of the hundreds of loose threads, the whole thing would unravel so, so quickly.
Perhaps this should’ve been a short story collection all set in the same world, rather than an attempt at weaving everything into a larger, epic narrative. There is some good stuff scattered throughout the trilogy, but the shoddy resolution means it's probably not worth the investment.
August 9, 2024
I'm struggling to find the right words for this final book. The series was truly phenomenal—fantastic characters, an immersive setting, and a wonderfully dark tone. But the ending fell short. It felt rushed, as if crucial chapters were missing, leaving me wanting more depth and closure. It’s almost as if the story was cut short, denying us the epic finale we were all expecting. The author seemed to hurry to wrap things up, which sacrificed what could have been a truly memorable conclusion. Despite this, the journey through the series was remarkable, offering intense storytelling and vivid world-building that kept me hooked from the start. It's just unfortunate that the ending left me feeling as unsatisfied as the last season of Game of Thrones.
If you haven't yet, I still recommend diving into this series for its brilliance, even if the ending doesn’t quite live up to the rest.
If you haven't yet, I still recommend diving into this series for its brilliance, even if the ending doesn’t quite live up to the rest.
June 23, 2022
"Carnival couldn't have explained why she was here. She had merely followed the river's current. But reason or motive did not matter while the blood in her veins screamed for battle. Everything around her had become an enemy. she needed to hurt this place."
The final book in the Deepgate codex, and I'm sorry to see the series end. God of Clocks continues with the world building and theology in the first two novels. You see more of the casums of hell and the odd and creepy horrors from the corners of Alan's imagination.
This series is very much plot and world driven, I enjoyed the characters a lot but if you're used to books with long inner monologues and the like this isn't it. In fact, the absence of them is one of the reasons I enjoyed this series so much.
Now lets talk about the ending... this isn't just the ending of a book but of a whole series and I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it. It seemed a bit rushed, the whole novel is them fighting tooth and nail against impossible odds to reach a specific time and place. But once they got there it all seemed a little 'too easy'. I'm not thrilled with how it ended, but it didn't ruin the rest of the series for me. I plan on re-reading these books again and again!
PS the epilogue made me laugh out loud. It was unexpectedly light hearted.
The final book in the Deepgate codex, and I'm sorry to see the series end. God of Clocks continues with the world building and theology in the first two novels. You see more of the casums of hell and the odd and creepy horrors from the corners of Alan's imagination.
This series is very much plot and world driven, I enjoyed the characters a lot but if you're used to books with long inner monologues and the like this isn't it. In fact, the absence of them is one of the reasons I enjoyed this series so much.
Now lets talk about the ending... this isn't just the ending of a book but of a whole series and I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it. It seemed a bit rushed, the whole novel is them fighting tooth and nail against impossible odds to reach a specific time and place. But once they got there it all seemed a little 'too easy'. I'm not thrilled with how it ended, but it didn't ruin the rest of the series for me. I plan on re-reading these books again and again!
PS the epilogue made me laugh out loud. It was unexpectedly light hearted.
December 18, 2019
I enjoyed this highly imaginative series. Campbell writes well and conjures a unique, vivid vision of Hell. I think the second volume, Iron Angel, is the strongest of the three, but it is refreshing to read such an unusual story as a whole. As I read this volume I was reminded several times of Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun series. I'm not sure why, but for me that's a good association. I look forward to reading more of Campbell's writing.
October 8, 2022
This book isnt quite as dark as iron angel, which in my opinion, was the one that crushed my soul the most. Still, we continue to jump between thrilling and nightmare and sorrow. Campbell dosent throw his punches, he will never throw his punches, and somehow they always land straight in your gut.
The ending was great and I did feel satisfied, but with surprise and a need to talk about.
Nothing happened in the way I thought it would. Absolutely nothing.
The ending was great and I did feel satisfied, but with surprise and a need to talk about.
Nothing happened in the way I thought it would. Absolutely nothing.
March 17, 2018
I would have rated this with four stars, but to be honest the biggest disappointment was the ending (of the book AND the series); it seemed as if the author simply could not figure out a way to tie up all the loose ends so he just gives us what appears here.
I have read Scar Night (Deepgate Codex #1) a couple of times, but I am not sure I will ever read parts 2 and 3 again.
I have read Scar Night (Deepgate Codex #1) a couple of times, but I am not sure I will ever read parts 2 and 3 again.
October 1, 2017
I quite enjoyed this one although it has been a really long time since I read the other two books in the series so I didn't remember as much as I would have liked. I found this book to be really fast paced and I just couldn't stop reading so I managed to read it in a couple of sittings.
October 30, 2017
Multiple, oh so many narrative threads left fucking dangling for Ulcis to gum on for the rest of goddamned eternity!
How very dare you, Mr Campbell?! Just, how dare you?
How very dare you, Mr Campbell?! Just, how dare you?
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