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A review by theaurochs
The Neon Court by Kate Griffin
5.0
Kate Griffin goes from strength to strength, and continues to prove that Matthew Swift is the coolest urban fantasy series around. In this third outing of the series, her vision of London is just as beautiful and dripping in magical life as previously, and here we get even greater glimpses of some of the sub-cultures that exist within it. A large part of the plot revolves around the conflict between the Neon Court; some more classic faeries who are doing their best to adapt to modern life in the city and are obsessed with beauty; and The Tribe, an aggregate term for those who really find no place in any society, who reject any and all forms of social pressure. It's a clever dichotomy, well used to explore relevant themes for the modern Londoner, and both sides are presented with nuance and are elevated beyond what could have been tropey characters.
What really makes this book a step up compared to the previous entry is the character work- there are much greater emotional stakes this time around, and it really gives us a fantastic chance to see Griffin(/North/Webb)'s real strength which (in my opinion) is empathy. She has such a keen insight into the human condition and presents deeply believable characters as a result; even when those characters are more (or less) than human. Everyone here is great; Swift himself and the struggle he has with his resident Blue Electric Angels; Penny his new apprentice is a real joy; Robert Bakker, the recently-deceased sorceror and former tutor of Swift; even Oda herself, the infamous psycho are all brilliantly rounded people. We have a whole host of great side-characters too, from the slightly too cheery doctor to the unflappable informant Mr Sinclair; and they all make the world feel entirely real and lived-in.
We've also still got the brilliant fantasy imagination that makes this series such a joy; London becomes trapped in an endless night, as the places at the edges of the tube map slowly fade out of existence. Along the way to figuring out the cause, plus the whole Tribe-Neon Court war business, we encounter several more of London's mythical beasts, who are a joy to discover. And all described in Griffin's beautiful prose; which is undoubtedly more refined here than in book 1 of the series; more restrained but still luscious enough to set incredibly vivid scenes. It's been almost a decade since I first read this, and when I got to a particular scene on a dockside, I found I could still picture it perfectly from the first time around.
Just overall brilliant, joyous stuff.
What really makes this book a step up compared to the previous entry is the character work- there are much greater emotional stakes this time around, and it really gives us a fantastic chance to see Griffin(/North/Webb)'s real strength which (in my opinion) is empathy. She has such a keen insight into the human condition and presents deeply believable characters as a result; even when those characters are more (or less) than human. Everyone here is great; Swift himself and the struggle he has with his resident Blue Electric Angels; Penny his new apprentice is a real joy; Robert Bakker, the recently-deceased sorceror and former tutor of Swift; even Oda herself, the infamous psycho are all brilliantly rounded people. We have a whole host of great side-characters too, from the slightly too cheery doctor to the unflappable informant Mr Sinclair; and they all make the world feel entirely real and lived-in.
We've also still got the brilliant fantasy imagination that makes this series such a joy; London becomes trapped in an endless night, as the places at the edges of the tube map slowly fade out of existence. Along the way to figuring out the cause, plus the whole Tribe-Neon Court war business, we encounter several more of London's mythical beasts, who are a joy to discover. And all described in Griffin's beautiful prose; which is undoubtedly more refined here than in book 1 of the series; more restrained but still luscious enough to set incredibly vivid scenes. It's been almost a decade since I first read this, and when I got to a particular scene on a dockside, I found I could still picture it perfectly from the first time around.
Just overall brilliant, joyous stuff.