God of Clocks (Deepgate Codex (Numbered)) [Mass Market Paperback]

Alan Campbell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Deepgate Codex (Numbered) | Publication Date: June 22, 2010

In the cataclysm of the battle of the gods, a portal to Hell has been opened, releasing legions of unnatural creatures that have pushed humanity to the edge of extinction. While warring deities clash with fallen angels, the only hope for mankind’s survival lies with the most unlikely heroes: Former assassin Rachel Hael has rejoined blood-magician Mina Greene and her little dog, Basilis, on one last desperate mission to save the world from the ravages of Hell. 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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the dramatic third and almost certainly concluding volume of Campbell's Deepgate Codex (after 2008's Iron Angel), an apocalyptic battle between warring gods puts the very existence of humankind in jeopardy as gore-splattered battlefields spill over from the realm of mortals and the depths of Hell to the labyrinth of Time itself. Featuring an ensemble cast of richly described characters, including a soul-eating giant and an angel trapped inside a 400-foot-tall golem, the numerous story lines eventually converge in a finale involving a multiverse of time paradoxes and mind-bending plot twists. Campbell's experience in video game design is evident in the relentless pacing and highly imaginative settings as well as his meticulous attention to detail in the many fight sequences. Readers will thrill to the hellishly dark imagery and labyrinthine plot lines. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Highly imaginative . . . Readers will thrill to the hellishly dark imagery.”—Publishers Weekly
 
 
“A blisteringly good read . . . If it were ever to transform to the wide screen, you would need a director that combined Peter Jackson’s scale with Terry Gilliam’s surrealism.”—Scotland on Sunday

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (June 22, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553589334
• ISBN-13: 978-0553589337
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #606,988 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Alan Campbell: Same originality and same mistakes, June 5, 2009

By 

George H. Mcardle - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God of Clocks (The Deepgate Codex) (Kindle Edition)

The trouble and delight of reading Alan Campbell is you're never sure why he includes anything. While he avoids the downfall of so many authors, where you can tell who will live/die/emerge as a secret villian, Campbell spends too much time in this book distracting you with imaginative but pointless side stories. The real questions go unanswered: What is Rachel and Dill's relationship? What is Basilis? What is Ayen? While Campbell has done this before, introducing characters and plots then summarily abandoning them, this time he does not provide a compelling central storyline to follow.

In both books Campbell has delivered a satisfactory ending where although the reader is sad and only understands 60% of what is said, they are connected with the characters and are glad for those who made it out alive. In this book the reader understands 20% of what goes on, and only Rachel Hael is a fully developed person. John Anchor is turned from a tragic, saddened hero to a bloodthirsty avenger who's best friend is Cospinol. Harper serves no purpose and Mina is something of an empty person.

While Campbell once again brings mind-bending ideas to his world (the River of the failed, and the Temple Obscura) his conclusion almost insults the reader for being drawn in. The main events at the culmination of the book are not described (as in the previous two books), but are bypassed and then alluded to in the fashion of a very self-serious piece of literature. While Campbell may be trying to prove that life is conducted without omniscience and does not contain storybook endings, using the conclusion of a three book series to do that is a little selfish.

I enjoyed the book but it may take a while for me to stop resenting the ending.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A disappointing finale to a great series, July 7, 2009

By 

A. Whitehead "Werthead" (Colchester, Essex United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God of Clocks (Deepgate Codex (Numbered)) (Hardcover)

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 (***) 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.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More great Deepgate lunacy - mild spoilers, April 18, 2009

By 

C.B. (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God of Clocks (Deepgate Codex (Numbered)) (Hardcover)

A definite improvement over Iron Angel, but not as strong as Scar Night or Lye Street, God of Clocks brings the Deepgate Codex to a pretty rousing conclusion. Minus Deepgate, of course.

Campbell's world grows ever more inexplicable, with a return to the bizarre hell of Iron Angel (more convincing and less self-indulgent this time, although not without those truly peculiar moments that make you think "...why? what's the point?"), and time paradoxes galore.

This time, the story is tighter and more focused, and thankfully, the angel Carnival - in my opinion this series' most fascinating character - has a role much expanded from her disappointing cameo in Iron Angel. The setpieces are as cinematic and unhinged as ever, the pace breakneck (I read this in three short sittings), and the humor as twisted as ever.

Said setpieces can be a little over-the-top at times: one example being when cheerful giant John Anchor runs across a ghost-collecting little girl living in a grass-and-pony-filled submarine and working for the remains of an old series villain who is now in a box on wheels, leaving you to wonder what goes through the author's head - particulary when most of this weirdness is just taken in stride by the characters. Still, its all part of that deranged Deepgate charm that has really grown on me, and that I will certainly miss now that its over.

The ending, unfortunately, felt very rushed, though I find this is a fault of many series' in their final act.

All in all, unsatisfying ending aside, I found this to be much a much stronger and more involving entry in the series than Iron Angel. Alan Campbell is a highly original voice in fantasy, and I will definitely be following his post-Deepgate career eagerly.