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sylvilel's review
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
***ARC REVIEW***
Ran is thrown arse over kettle out of his academic pursuit. All hopes and dreams shattered, he wanders the streets, and nearly offs himself off a bridge. Until Gouger Nebb - the most notorious gang boss in the city - finds him, and upends his life completely.
All I’m left with right now is a profound sense of «this is the sweetest book I’ve read all year!»
Because if there is such a thing as a cute gangster gaslamp fantasy novel, then this is is. Lighthearted and mid-paced, but not silly. Serious enough to stay interesting, but not so serious to become dark. Everything is very tastefully written, and neither gets hyperbolic nor graphic, as it sometimes does in stories of this format. I really like how down to earth Lewis appears on the page, even as we enter this cutthroat fantasyverse.
I kept being reminded of works like «Tintin», «Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Seas,» and sometimes «Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate».
Ran and Nebb - one academic-turned-gutter-rat, the other an ironhearted gangster boss - are somehow just the adorablest pair I’ve encountered all year (yeah, I said it).
The most interesting phenomenon I encountered in this book was that it didn’t APPEAR like Lewis was putting too much effort into making me care about the characters (especially the side characters), but I still found myself mentally saluting each and every one as they went down. Even the bad ones. Which was a curious feeling indeed.
If this was to merit a full five stars from me, I’m missing some more complexity in the characters, and a little more consistency in the plot. But that would take the easygoingness out of it, and we don’t want that either.
Even so, all in all this might be one of the most memorable books in my reading year so far, just because of the sweet tone of the story contrasted with the gritty backdropping.
Ran is thrown arse over kettle out of his academic pursuit. All hopes and dreams shattered, he wanders the streets, and nearly offs himself off a bridge. Until Gouger Nebb - the most notorious gang boss in the city - finds him, and upends his life completely.
All I’m left with right now is a profound sense of «this is the sweetest book I’ve read all year!»
Because if there is such a thing as a cute gangster gaslamp fantasy novel, then this is is. Lighthearted and mid-paced, but not silly. Serious enough to stay interesting, but not so serious to become dark. Everything is very tastefully written, and neither gets hyperbolic nor graphic, as it sometimes does in stories of this format. I really like how down to earth Lewis appears on the page, even as we enter this cutthroat fantasyverse.
I kept being reminded of works like «Tintin», «Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Seas,» and sometimes «Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate».
Ran and Nebb - one academic-turned-gutter-rat, the other an ironhearted gangster boss - are somehow just the adorablest pair I’ve encountered all year (yeah, I said it).
The most interesting phenomenon I encountered in this book was that it didn’t APPEAR like Lewis was putting too much effort into making me care about the characters (especially the side characters), but I still found myself mentally saluting each and every one as they went down. Even the bad ones. Which was a curious feeling indeed.
If this was to merit a full five stars from me, I’m missing some more complexity in the characters, and a little more consistency in the plot. But that would take the easygoingness out of it, and we don’t want that either.
Even so, all in all this might be one of the most memorable books in my reading year so far, just because of the sweet tone of the story contrasted with the gritty backdropping.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
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