A Scruffian Primer

by Hal Duncan

Meet the Scruffians, workhouse tykes and street arabs scrobbled by the Waiftaker General, dragged to the Institute and put to the Stamp, Fixed ageless, imperishable. . . the perfect child labour. Meet the scruffs escaped to live free & fight back: Flashjack and Puckerscruff; Squirlet Nicely and Vermintrude Toerag; Yapper, the Scruffian what speaks Dog; Whelp, the dog Fixed as a scruff; and Rake Jake Scallion, not a scruff, but the finest friend a scruff ever had. Park yer arse, stray, and we'll learn yer the ABCs of being a scruff. We'll learn yer how us Scruffians STAMP.

Genres: Fantasy

106 pages, Paperback

Published November 22, 2017

About the author

Hal Duncan is the author of Vellum, which was a finalist for both the William H. Crawford Award and the Locus Award for Best First Novel. He is a member of the Glasgow SF Writers’ Circle. He lives in the West End of Glasgow.

Reviews

[Phoenix Scholz-Krishna · Rating 5 out of 5]

New collection of all the basic stories, suitable for new Scruffian readers.
I love Hal Duncan's writing style. It makes you want to read them all out loud.

[Buttercupp77 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an introduction to the universe of the Scruffians, including major players, lore, elements of culture, and an idea of how "members" are initiated. I would highly recommend reading it before diving into this universe!

What strikes me as especially brilliant is the use of language, and the creation of a just-off-kilter vernacular.

An understanding of Classical Mythology would also be a benefit - the layering over myths is doubly brilliant for the reader who knows mythological figures!

This certainly whet my appetite for more more of the Scuffians' adventures! (I also not-so secretly yearn to have a Scruffian alter-ego - or at least a name!)

I received a copy of this book through the author.

[Pete Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raw and darkly humorous and queer. An introduction to the series and characters, that led me to immediately pick up the next one.

[James Harding]

A punk found family in a dark but adventuresome world. The pervasive Scruffians’ lingo of hellions, groanhuffs and fabbles is really fun, and it’s managed brilliantly - I never once got lost in it.

[Sam Worby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Punk. Odd and affecting. Duncan’s style with word play is always a delight. There wasn’t really enough story here to hook me, but it’s a good intro to the world.