Lots of Moving Pieces That Fit Together Nicely

Looking at reviews of this book and comments about this book I see a lot of rhapsodizing, which is warranted, but not a lot of guidance about why you might or might not want to give it a go. So here's my try.

At the outset this looks like another sentient/ghost train urban adventure, (of which there are a surprisingly large number), in which street kid wanders the dark underside of a Neverwhere-Un-Lun-Dun in search of his destiny. That's not a bad summary, but there's a lot more going on.

While there's a "normal" reality around the edges of this book everything important happens in the totally unrealistic, "magical", and ineffably bizarre fantasy world that underlies all of London. So, this isn't the usual urban fantasy that has bits of the uncanny, alien and odd peeking into our world. This is a completely alternate world, that just has bits of reality peeking in. That makes everything a bit confusing at the outset, but also completely opens up the storytelling and the world building.

And that's strength number two. Every single character, event, scene, and bit of action is filled with wildly creative, imaginative and satisfying bits of fantasy improv. This book has enough strange, appealing or compelling creatures to populate a dozen standard urban fantasy books. It's pointless to even try to list them all, or name a favorite, because the list just goes on and on. On every single page, literally, some neat little wrinkle or throwaway detail is introduced.

And that leads to strength number three. It takes a while to settle into this world and get comfortable with how it works and who occupies it. But, at some point it all clicks into place and you begin comfortably to navigate the world and you see how it all fits together. Once that happens you realize that the book has a plot, that the plot makes sense, and that the story is headed somewhere and will have a satisfying resolution.

Many readers get into the lead characters. They all start out a little angsty and dramatic, and then they settle down a bit and just get dramatic when the story calls for it. That was good enough for me. I appreciated the author trying to give the characters some depth and weight, but I didn't need too much of that because I was digging the alternate world. If you, as a reader, are more character oriented, I think these characters will work for you.

So, this is not three-good-ideas-and-a-romance, or anything like that. This is a substantial and extravagantly imagined alt-world with lots going on. It's fast paced, twisty, and unpredictable. It's admirable and entertaining, and unlike a railwraith it pretty much stays on the tracks as it careens along. A very nice find.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

This is a squishy "Thank you, but no" - it's perfectly serviceable urban fantasy for younger readers but some of the writing (not just the phrasing but the writing style) was nails on a chalkboard for me. The overuse of italics for emphasis these days is a real bugaboo for me - make your point with words not fonts. Anyway, as I was grinding my teeth through most of this I find it hard to recommend but perhaps a reader without that hang up would enjoy it.