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A review by theaurochs
Stray Souls by Kate Griffin
4.0
Thank you once again Catherine Webb/Kate Griffin/Claire North, for reminding me just how much sheer fun reading can be. After struggling through a few ‘heavy’ classics recently it’s such a delight to read a book that just oozes joy; from the deep love of the setting that you can’t help but get swept up in, to the delightfully over-the-top characters, to the laugh-out-loud jokes and tongue-in-cheek humour that suffuses the whole thing.
We find ourselves back in the magical London of the Matthew Swift series, but the man himself takes a step out of the spotlight for this tale. Metaphorically, and moreso than in previous books also literally, London really is one of the main characters of the book. The thesis of earlier books in the series, that magic is life and life is magic, really shines through. We are treated to lush descriptions of the environments of London, its peoples and its practices. There is such an intensely strong sense of place present in these books, it’s hard not to be drawn completely in, and visualise everything from the dirty alleyways to the gleaming skyscrapers, from the bustling downtown to the neglected suburbs and everything inbetween. The great knack of Webb/Griffin/North is that they really treat these things as if they are magic, with deep reverence and wonder- it holds things in a new light whilst feeling deeply real and familiar. Beneath this brilliantly authentic and wondrous vision of London she layers modern interpretations of classic fantasy tropes- again though in ways that feel deeply authentic and build this magnificently coherent world. She’s asking, in-universe, how would the classic bridge-trolls have adapted to modern infrastructure? What would druids look like if they’ve followed the patterns of life of modernity? How would something like the AIDS epidemic have affected vampires? This all adds up to a world that feels deeply real, almost inevitably real. Like, if vampires and shapeshifters and goblins did exist in our modern world, then of course this is how they’d find themselves.
The cast of characters is really a major part of the joy of this book. The main character Sharon is a newly minted shaman and struggling with exactly what that means- especially as her tutor is an ornery little goblin who lacks some interpersonal skills to say the least. We’ve got a druid with bad allergies, who can’t complete a smell for sneezing, an OCD vampire, a girl who turns into pigeons, a banshee with a taste for modern art, a grumpy necromancer and the whole host of other magically-challenged individuals. It’s the kind of book where I’m shocked that it hasn’t been made into a TV show, as some of the banter between the group is genuinely hilarious and feels like it would be perfect on the screen. It does have to be said that the larger-than-life nature of the characters is also a bit of a drawback, and part of what stops this book from being a full 5 stars. They are for the most part denied the opportunity to either grow or be anything more than fun cameos, and even if they are really fun cameos, this is a bit of a shame. Sharon herself does at least get a bit of a character arc over the course of the book, but it is admittedly fairly perfunctory.
The plot itself is also nothing to really write home about and is unlikely to surprise anyone with an understanding of narrative. Sharon sets up a support group for magically-challenged individuals, and we get the great group scenes of everyone meeting up. She is soon told that things are going awry in the city; the souls of places are going missing, and as a new shaman its up to her to try and sort this out. After a bit of investigating and discovering that a big financial firm are the baddies, led by a distinctly creepy wendigo in more-or-less human form, she finds herself in over her head a bit. Before too long though, we get the realisation that the various members of the magical support group, despite their problems, have the skills needed to work together and take down the big bad as a team. It’s pretty rote, and mainly serves as a vehicle to explore the setting and characters, and furthers the central themes of self-acceptance. It might even be twee if it wasn’t done with such an obvious tongue in the cheek. Interestingly, the villain actually has a really cool motivation that is sort-of foreshadowed throughout the book and really ties the themes together; it would have been great to see this explored earlier or in a little more detail. At the same time though it’s great to see such a scenery-chewing villain having fun playing the part, and it would have been a shame to be deprived of that.
While undeniably lower in quality and depth than some of their other work, it is still an absolute delight to read a book by an author of such great talent who is just having a blast writing. The joy really comes across and its hard not to be infected by it. Add to this the great humour and wry insights, as well as the snappy pace, make this a great read.
We find ourselves back in the magical London of the Matthew Swift series, but the man himself takes a step out of the spotlight for this tale. Metaphorically, and moreso than in previous books also literally, London really is one of the main characters of the book. The thesis of earlier books in the series, that magic is life and life is magic, really shines through. We are treated to lush descriptions of the environments of London, its peoples and its practices. There is such an intensely strong sense of place present in these books, it’s hard not to be drawn completely in, and visualise everything from the dirty alleyways to the gleaming skyscrapers, from the bustling downtown to the neglected suburbs and everything inbetween. The great knack of Webb/Griffin/North is that they really treat these things as if they are magic, with deep reverence and wonder- it holds things in a new light whilst feeling deeply real and familiar. Beneath this brilliantly authentic and wondrous vision of London she layers modern interpretations of classic fantasy tropes- again though in ways that feel deeply authentic and build this magnificently coherent world. She’s asking, in-universe, how would the classic bridge-trolls have adapted to modern infrastructure? What would druids look like if they’ve followed the patterns of life of modernity? How would something like the AIDS epidemic have affected vampires? This all adds up to a world that feels deeply real, almost inevitably real. Like, if vampires and shapeshifters and goblins did exist in our modern world, then of course this is how they’d find themselves.
The cast of characters is really a major part of the joy of this book. The main character Sharon is a newly minted shaman and struggling with exactly what that means- especially as her tutor is an ornery little goblin who lacks some interpersonal skills to say the least. We’ve got a druid with bad allergies, who can’t complete a smell for sneezing, an OCD vampire, a girl who turns into pigeons, a banshee with a taste for modern art, a grumpy necromancer and the whole host of other magically-challenged individuals. It’s the kind of book where I’m shocked that it hasn’t been made into a TV show, as some of the banter between the group is genuinely hilarious and feels like it would be perfect on the screen. It does have to be said that the larger-than-life nature of the characters is also a bit of a drawback, and part of what stops this book from being a full 5 stars. They are for the most part denied the opportunity to either grow or be anything more than fun cameos, and even if they are really fun cameos, this is a bit of a shame. Sharon herself does at least get a bit of a character arc over the course of the book, but it is admittedly fairly perfunctory.
The plot itself is also nothing to really write home about and is unlikely to surprise anyone with an understanding of narrative. Sharon sets up a support group for magically-challenged individuals, and we get the great group scenes of everyone meeting up. She is soon told that things are going awry in the city; the souls of places are going missing, and as a new shaman its up to her to try and sort this out. After a bit of investigating and discovering that a big financial firm are the baddies, led by a distinctly creepy wendigo in more-or-less human form, she finds herself in over her head a bit. Before too long though, we get the realisation that the various members of the magical support group, despite their problems, have the skills needed to work together and take down the big bad as a team. It’s pretty rote, and mainly serves as a vehicle to explore the setting and characters, and furthers the central themes of self-acceptance. It might even be twee if it wasn’t done with such an obvious tongue in the cheek. Interestingly, the villain actually has a really cool motivation that is sort-of foreshadowed throughout the book and really ties the themes together; it would have been great to see this explored earlier or in a little more detail. At the same time though it’s great to see such a scenery-chewing villain having fun playing the part, and it would have been a shame to be deprived of that.
While undeniably lower in quality and depth than some of their other work, it is still an absolute delight to read a book by an author of such great talent who is just having a blast writing. The joy really comes across and its hard not to be infected by it. Add to this the great humour and wry insights, as well as the snappy pace, make this a great read.