Campbell, Alan 1971-

PERSONAL:

Born 1971.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Scotland

CAREER:

Writer and video-game designer. One of the designers and programmers for the video game Grand Theft Auto.

WRITINGS:

Scar Night (fantasy), Tor (London, England), 2006, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Also author of the Web blog An Urban Fantasy. Contributor to periodicals, including the London Telegraph.

SIDELIGHTS:

In his first novel, Scar Night, author Alan Campbell tells the fantasy story of Deepgate, a city that is suspended by chains over an abyss. The religious teachings of the city say that Ulcis, who lives at the bottom of the abyss and claims all bodies and souls, will eventually be leader of an army that will one day open the gates of heaven again, which have been closed since the God Ayen threw all of the other gods out. In the meantime, various angels, or archons, have spent centuries helping to defend Deepgate from invading barbarians. The plot also involves an effort to achieve mortality through the production of "angelwine" made out of blood and souls.

Reviewers widely praised Scar Night, noting the author's ability to create a multilayered plot with numerous interesting characters, comparing Campbell to both Charles Dickens and fantasy writer Mervyn Peake. "What wins me over with this book is both the depth and the breadth, something very unusual with a writer's first book," commented a contributor to SFFWorld.com. A Kirkus Reviews contributor referred to the novel as "inventive and eye-filling." Reviewers also had high commendations for Campbell's overall prose style. For example, Finn Dempster, writing on the Strange Horizons Web site, noted: "His prose is vivid and evocative; Deepgate in particular is lovingly depicted, in passages which are as aural and tactile as they are visual." London Guardian contributor Keith Brooke wrote that "if [Campbell] carries on writing at this level he's bound to become one of serious fantasy's leading names."

When asked who or what influences his work, Campbell told CA: "Probably [writers] Mervyn Peake and Clark Ashton Smith, and maybe [the band] the Pixies."

When asked to describe his writing process, Campell said: "Write. Panic. Rewrite."

He said that the most surprising thing he's learned as a writer is that "people want to speak to you when they learn what you do for a living. Before I became a writer I worked as a computer programmer. Conversations about algorithms and data structures don't go down very well at parties, for some odd reason.

"Penny Devil, the sequel to Scar Night is currently my favorite [of my books]. I think this is because it's been more of a challenge to write."

When asked what kind of effect he hopes his books will have, he said: "I only hope people enjoy them."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 2007, Frieda Murray, review of Scar Night, p. 69.

Guardian (London, England), May 19, 2007, Keith Brooke, review of Scar Night.

Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2006, review of Scar Night, p. 1106.

Library Journal, December 1, 2006, Jackie Cassada, review of Scar Night, p. 114.

Publishers Weekly, November 6, 2006, review of Scar Night, p. 40.

ONLINE

Agony Column,http://trashotron.com/agony/ (June 12, 2007), review of Scar Night.

Bookreporter.com,http://www.bookreporter.com/ (January 5, 2007), interview with author; (June 12, 2007), Stephen Hubbard, review of Scar Night.

Pan Macmillan Web site,http://www.panmacmillan.com/ (June 12, 2007), interview with author.

SciFi.com,http://www.scifi.com/ (December 25, 2006), Paul Di Filippo, review of Scar Night.

SFFWorld.com,http://www.sffworld.com/ (June 12, 2007), review of Scar Night.

Strange Horizons,http://www.strangehorizons.com/ (October 10, 2006), Finn Dempster, review of Scar Night.