 Lye Street by Alan Campbell |
Normally, I don't pitch things that I like but I heartily encourage anyone who enjoys a rich literary, high fantasy experience to give author Alan Campbell a thorough read.
I found this little novella
, Lye Street, at the small local library. Just over a hundred pages, it seemed interesting so I checked it out and consumed it in a single, ultimately sun-burnt, sitting. And I had to have more. As fate would have it, this little book was a prelude to but written after the first book published in the Deepgate Codex, Scar Night. I place a hold for it and the second book, Iron Angel, and savored every word of them both. Now, I eagerly await the third book to hit the states upon Alan's completion of it.
Campbell's characters each are deep, complex and uniquely motivated, interacting within a rich tapestry of plot lines skillfully woven together. I like that none of them are quite like anything else I've encountered. No tired D&D cliches like orcs, elves, wizards or thieves all questing for this item or that item. There are no supremely good or evil characters but rather a blend of conflicting motives, flaws and potentials that drive the story in unexpected directions. The world Campbell has created is fresh and innovative and readers become as immersed within it as the characters are a part of it. You experience, not merely read, the descriptions that he crafts into being. Not merely observing events as they unfold from one page to the next, the vivid sights, sounds, tastes, sensations and emotions bring readers into the story and you live it.
It's the kind of reading that spoils my palate for other fare. Other books seems so flat, so dead by comparison. It seems like anyone can write a book but a choice few like Alan Campbell are really able to bring the written word to life and spark the imagination in new and wonderful ways.
