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amnesiack's review against another edition
4.0
4/5
Would be five stars with fewer overblown descriptions of London neighborhoods that all read exactly the same with a few minor shifts in detail.
Would be five stars with fewer overblown descriptions of London neighborhoods that all read exactly the same with a few minor shifts in detail.
belanna2's review
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
I think the publisher told her to tone down the purple prose. Thank god. This book is an improvement from the first installment.
tacita's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Gore, and Racism
gharrethadekyn's review against another edition
4.0
A much better read than the first. I imagine part of it is due to understanding the nature of Matthew Swift this time around, and not having been thrown into the middle of his "madness" right from the beginning. Again, though, a fun read, with an interesting take on modern sorcery, with characters that leave you wanting to know more about them.
theaurochs's review against another edition
4.0
I absolute love Kate Griffin's world! Which is to say, she makes me love our world, and our London- she fully sells me on the true magic of real life and the real life of magic in her works. It is absolutely my favourite Urban Fantasy series, and I'll happily argue with anyone that it is, in fact, the best UF series. I am of course willing to be proved wrong on that one, I'm just yet to encounter anything superior.
The descriptions throughout are lavish to a fault; totally necessary to conjure up the living, breathing city that serves as a main character in this deeply atmospheric novel. Like the sorcerors within, you can almost smell the smog, and the dirt from the river; you can feel the pulsing of the commute and the roar of the underground wind as a train passes by beneath your feet. She somehow manages to create this magnificent, magical world that I desperately want to visit and then I remember that I actually can, because it's London. Her deep passion for the place is highly evident and highly contagious. Even the negative sides of the city, of which there are a lot, feel lived-in and entirely authentic.
Plot-wise then, we follow our main man Matthew Swift, half dead-sorceror resurrected, and half Blue Electric Angels, gods of the telephone summoned and bound in human flesh. His/their internal dialogue is pretty great, with the continuing uncertainty of "I am us and we are me"; which entity is in control at any given time, and is it actually relevant, is there a distinction any more? It is a really interesting situation, and fun to follow along. After an opening that is possibly too obfuscated (my main reason for giving this 4* rather than 5; the In Media Res worked amazingly in the first book given the situation, but here it feels redundant and frustrating), he soon finds that someone or something is destroying the magical barriers that defend the city from supernatural threats. Only slightly reluctantly, he is dragged into the search for the cause, along with the Midnight Mayor; supernatural protector of London and boss of the mysterious Aldermen.
What follows is a fantastic search and chase through the various boroughs of London, trying to piece together what is happening, and how to save London. Despite the very life of the city being on the line, most of the book is suprisingly low stakes, with things only really kicking off in the final quarter. This gives us plenty of time to explore the wondrous world that is being offered to us, and it's worth the ride. The ending, when it comes, is immensely satisfying (even if does feel slightly like only set-up for the next one); the explanation of events deeply believable and grounded in humanity.
So overall, a novel of just brilliant imagination, a magnificent sense of place and location, lavish descriptions, and fun characters; with enough of a fun thrill ride of a plot to drag you through all the wonders without getting bored.
The descriptions throughout are lavish to a fault; totally necessary to conjure up the living, breathing city that serves as a main character in this deeply atmospheric novel. Like the sorcerors within, you can almost smell the smog, and the dirt from the river; you can feel the pulsing of the commute and the roar of the underground wind as a train passes by beneath your feet. She somehow manages to create this magnificent, magical world that I desperately want to visit and then I remember that I actually can, because it's London. Her deep passion for the place is highly evident and highly contagious. Even the negative sides of the city, of which there are a lot, feel lived-in and entirely authentic.
Plot-wise then, we follow our main man Matthew Swift, half dead-sorceror resurrected, and half Blue Electric Angels, gods of the telephone summoned and bound in human flesh. His/their internal dialogue is pretty great, with the continuing uncertainty of "I am us and we are me"; which entity is in control at any given time, and is it actually relevant, is there a distinction any more? It is a really interesting situation, and fun to follow along. After an opening that is possibly too obfuscated (my main reason for giving this 4* rather than 5; the In Media Res worked amazingly in the first book given the situation, but here it feels redundant and frustrating), he soon finds that someone or something is destroying the magical barriers that defend the city from supernatural threats. Only slightly reluctantly, he is dragged into the search for the cause, along with the Midnight Mayor; supernatural protector of London and boss of the mysterious Aldermen.
What follows is a fantastic search and chase through the various boroughs of London, trying to piece together what is happening, and how to save London. Despite the very life of the city being on the line, most of the book is suprisingly low stakes, with things only really kicking off in the final quarter. This gives us plenty of time to explore the wondrous world that is being offered to us, and it's worth the ride. The ending, when it comes, is immensely satisfying (even if does feel slightly like only set-up for the next one); the explanation of events deeply believable and grounded in humanity.
So overall, a novel of just brilliant imagination, a magnificent sense of place and location, lavish descriptions, and fun characters; with enough of a fun thrill ride of a plot to drag you through all the wonders without getting bored.
anemone42's review against another edition
Evidently a person *has* to read this series in order. I have not read the first book in the series. I made it about 25 pages into this one, realized I still had no clue what was going on, and gave up. If I can find the first book, I'll give the series another shot.
claire_loves_books's review against another edition
4.0
Brilliant and bizarre book. Matthew is not quite sane and it's really fun to read the half delirious but very gritty London that he lives in, the writing is weirdly poetic about the grimy underside of a city because Matthew sees beauty there. It's also a slightly easier read than the last one, Matthew still has multiple personalities (the Angels and Matthew Swift) but they seem less separate and there were less disconcerting switches between.
I love the way that magic works in these books, sorcerers are swept away by the city- by exhaust fumes, pigeons and the grumbling machines that keep a city going and their power comes direct from that source, using the underground and oyster cards as wards, life is magic and cities are full of life and power. It's such a modern way of imaging magic and I really enjoyed it.
The plot was fast paced and fun- there was always something happening but we didn't know what for most the book, it took quite a while for the characters to figure out what was going on. It was a bit confusing in places but I didn't mind, I was still caught up in the story.
I love the way that magic works in these books, sorcerers are swept away by the city- by exhaust fumes, pigeons and the grumbling machines that keep a city going and their power comes direct from that source, using the underground and oyster cards as wards, life is magic and cities are full of life and power. It's such a modern way of imaging magic and I really enjoyed it.
The plot was fast paced and fun- there was always something happening but we didn't know what for most the book, it took quite a while for the characters to figure out what was going on. It was a bit confusing in places but I didn't mind, I was still caught up in the story.
mx_parall_el's review against another edition
5.0
Delightful urban magic. Deep love of London and really city life in general.
weweresotired's review against another edition
4.0
See the full review at Short & Sweet Reviews.
Once again, this book starts out with Matthew being dropped into the middle of a completely unexpected situation. Just like last time, he has no idea where he is or how he got there; all he knows is that something is trying to destroy him. It seems to be a pretty common situation for him to be in; maybe he should start getting used to it. Matthew is quickly plunged into the shadowy world of the Midnight Mayor, who's tasked with protecting London from all sorts of malevolent types of magic. And something wicked is bent on destroying London, and poor Matthew is the only one who can stop it.
Swift is a fascinating main character because he's not your typical sort of hero. He's never described as dreamy or really, anything other than ordinary; he doesn't have women lined up to chase after him (indeed, his priorities are mostly along the lines of "staying alive" rather than "finding a girlfriend"). He's a very powerful sorcerer but sometimes doesn't quite know how to control it or what to do with it, but he's otherwise got no special skills other than "getting in trouble" and "still not dying". He's sarcastic and kind of bitter and very annoyed with everyone around him. (Just my type, really!)
Griffin's created a rich new world of urban magic that draws on the every-day and the ordinary in the city and turns it into something fantastic and otherworldy. The prose is the same dense, descriptive style that you hopefully came to love in the first book. Griffin's really got an eye for hiding important little details in amongst all those thoughts and observations of Matthew's, and even without that, the writing is so thorough that it's easy to get lost in the very real streets of London that she describes. This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites, and I can't wait to move on to the next book.
Once again, this book starts out with Matthew being dropped into the middle of a completely unexpected situation. Just like last time, he has no idea where he is or how he got there; all he knows is that something is trying to destroy him. It seems to be a pretty common situation for him to be in; maybe he should start getting used to it. Matthew is quickly plunged into the shadowy world of the Midnight Mayor, who's tasked with protecting London from all sorts of malevolent types of magic. And something wicked is bent on destroying London, and poor Matthew is the only one who can stop it.
Swift is a fascinating main character because he's not your typical sort of hero. He's never described as dreamy or really, anything other than ordinary; he doesn't have women lined up to chase after him (indeed, his priorities are mostly along the lines of "staying alive" rather than "finding a girlfriend"). He's a very powerful sorcerer but sometimes doesn't quite know how to control it or what to do with it, but he's otherwise got no special skills other than "getting in trouble" and "still not dying". He's sarcastic and kind of bitter and very annoyed with everyone around him. (Just my type, really!)
Griffin's created a rich new world of urban magic that draws on the every-day and the ordinary in the city and turns it into something fantastic and otherworldy. The prose is the same dense, descriptive style that you hopefully came to love in the first book. Griffin's really got an eye for hiding important little details in amongst all those thoughts and observations of Matthew's, and even without that, the writing is so thorough that it's easy to get lost in the very real streets of London that she describes. This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites, and I can't wait to move on to the next book.