This is the most engaging fairytale redux I've ever read. Not the sweetest, nor the most twisted - those being the two directions that fairy tale reteThis is the most engaging fairytale redux I've ever read. Not the sweetest, nor the most twisted - those being the two directions that fairy tale retellings usually go - but maybe the cleverest. I could have done without some of the descriptive language - HELP me, that fur coat had me wanting to hurl. I don't know how that girl didn't get an infection. But that aside. Liked the girls' voices. Liked their interplay. They all had very different personalities and I think their voices stayed consistent, AND, despite being slotted into a modern setting, the fairy tale elements didn't feel anachronistic.
HUGELY entertaining. The plot is intricately woven together, in ways you can't appreciate til you get to the end. There is a lot of playing with time.HUGELY entertaining. The plot is intricately woven together, in ways you can't appreciate til you get to the end. There is a lot of playing with time. Our protagonists come off as jackasses at first, and for quite a while, and actually probably til the very end. But you have to judge them on their actions, not on the really bang-on bro voice that is our window onto their souls. And I guess they're kinda, actually, really... heroes.
It's hard to get past that voice. I imagine some people can't get past it. But it erminds me of Buffy's Valley Girl persona; it's the dichotomy between your perception of them (and even their own self-perception) and their revealed badassery that makes the story.
I love PC Grant's voice. He's completely unemphatic, and despite being first person narration, there are times when we see more clearly than him (partI love PC Grant's voice. He's completely unemphatic, and despite being first person narration, there are times when we see more clearly than him (particularly when he's dealing with Beverly Brooks); it feels as though we're hanging out with a smart, capable friend who can be slightly thick. His tone is wry and dry and at times sarcastic, but always compassionate and intelligent.
Aaronovitch is really good at lingering consequences; Peter's partner Lesley is dealing with the horrific facial injuries she incurred a couple of books ago (becoming a human Punch, of all the really unlikely things), and that there will be further fallout we soon come to understand.
At one point, several trees are girdled during a crime and later we're told that they'll take years to die, but die they will. They're effectively already dead. That's an aspect of his writing skill; we are present for the event, but we don't immediately understand the consequences. We're allowed to see them only when Aaronovitch chooses.
There's a fabulous magical battle (Nightengale gets just the right amount of screentime, and never disappoints), and an assortment of magical creatures, believably inhabiting a London in which magic is real and has for many years been an asset to the crown in a James Bond kind of way. Great world-building, and the charm of the sentient Rivers is only one part of it.
Great series. So interested to see what comes next.
I love the way Clark crafted a world where Djinn have changed the course of world history. In western culture, djinn have always been third class citiI love the way Clark crafted a world where Djinn have changed the course of world history. In western culture, djinn have always been third class citizens - what do you even do with an all powerful magical creature, something that can warp the fabric of reality in order to grant your wishes, and yet can be trapped in a bottle? They snuck into our fantasy by way of Aladdin and I Dream of Jeannie, much watered down.
Clark makes them dangerous and sexy - but also vulnerable. He's crafted a really beautiful steampunk world....more
As I was reading this, I wondered why it felt so slight; it was a laborious retelling of the Holmes canon, but with no Holmes - instead, an 'angel' naAs I was reading this, I wondered why it felt so slight; it was a laborious retelling of the Holmes canon, but with no Holmes - instead, an 'angel' named Crow - and narration by a Dr Doyle, different in more ways than one from Watson but still pretty much the same character.
The retelling was so true as to be tiring even while it was different in really inventive ways. Addison is a good storyteller and has created some deeply imagined worlds of her own, so I wasn't sure why the story isn't more engaging.
Til the very last page, where she explains that this novella began as a wingfic, and that explains it. There are some very powerful, weighty fanfics out there, but there are far more that are just lighthearted or quirky or homages to the original material. You don't expect any real weight. In retrospect this story feels like exactly what it is, a fanfic, a story that piggybacks on the original characters and stories without digging very deep.
Far be it from me to complain that these are not more original, I read a ton of SH pastiches. But SH pastiches are generally attempts at new stories and deductions, and these are not that. I wish Addison had gone on to take this fanfic and change it enough to make it entirely original and her own. ...more
I'm darned if I can explain why this is really entertaining as opposed to silly, but so it is. I'm darned if I can explain why this is really entertaining as opposed to silly, but so it is. ...more
It's the end of an era in the Nightside; Walker's regime is on its way out, and Green manages to make the enigmatic Walker - another generally flat chIt's the end of an era in the Nightside; Walker's regime is on its way out, and Green manages to make the enigmatic Walker - another generally flat character - both sympathetic and surprising.
We also get some events - such as the Lord of Thorn's defeat at Lilith's hands - explained that I hadn't actually realized need explaining. These stories seem a bit thin in places, but they are absolutely full of events and detail, and Green always knows where he's going. ...more
The best of these books since the first - the Walking Man is such a stereotype, the good man driven to avenge his family. And the Nightside being whatThe best of these books since the first - the Walking Man is such a stereotype, the good man driven to avenge his family. And the Nightside being what it is, God is not on his side in just a metaphorical way - he's there to destroy every sinner in the Nightside.
And unless you see in shades of grey, there are nothing BUT sinners in the Nightside.
A pretty good discussion of situational morality, and what it means to be a good man. ...more
I do not enjoy the on and on and on of the Lilith subplot, BUT I do like Larry Oblivion quite a lot. He's either the reason or the excuse for the firsI do not enjoy the on and on and on of the Lilith subplot, BUT I do like Larry Oblivion quite a lot. He's either the reason or the excuse for the first sign I've seen of character growth in John Taylor. ...more
Something Green does quite well is narrating the clash of large forces. He doesn't do a lot of description, things tend to end very abruptly, with TaySomething Green does quite well is narrating the clash of large forces. He doesn't do a lot of description, things tend to end very abruptly, with Taylor using his gift, but the fights don't seem anticlimatic.
As often, I think the character development in these books is little to nil, but the relationship between Sinner and Pretty Poison was rather lovely in the end.
Maybe in the long run these books are about redemption. Maybe that's why all the religious appurtenances are so inoffensive....more
In a very weird way, Green does religion very well. Somehow he manages to bring in angels, demons, a church that predates Christianity, an unholy GraiIn a very weird way, Green does religion very well. Somehow he manages to bring in angels, demons, a church that predates Christianity, an unholy Grail - and doesn't make it about religion, as such, at all....more
Having read much further in the series, I can appreciate how far ahead these books were plotted, now.
This second book starts to establish the NightsiHaving read much further in the series, I can appreciate how far ahead these books were plotted, now.
This second book starts to establish the Nightside as a place where people actually live, where the first book made it feel like a place where dirty people can go to do dirty things (both are true). As such, it's not as entertaining but some of the plot points - Rossignol's horrible gift, Sylvia Sin's far more horrible one - are pulled right out of the abbatoir....more
This book is such a good entry into the Nightside, London's dark sister, where you really can find anything at any time of day - as long as the time iThis book is such a good entry into the Nightside, London's dark sister, where you really can find anything at any time of day - as long as the time in question is 3 am, because it's always 3 am in the Nightside.
In my opinion, Green is not a great writer, but his well of imagination is deep and he throws EVERYthing at this book. And his first-person protagonist, with his third eye, his private eye, and his mysterious gift of finding things, is a precursor of all the magical private eyes since.
Quick easy read with a vivid cast of flat but well-named and interesting characters. I think it's a lot of fun. ...more
It's a mix of dragons, bureaucracy and boys-adventure, and is pretty unique as dragon stories go. Once the book hits its stride it's well done; it canIt's a mix of dragons, bureaucracy and boys-adventure, and is pretty unique as dragon stories go. Once the book hits its stride it's well done; it can't have been easy to make a story basically about an animal shelter for exotic animals, and wild-baby-rearing, and a bit about communicating with an alien species - as told in hindsight - as legitimately exciting as this is. Also, to present enough of the world-building for us to understand the politics of a world in which dragons are real and endangered, without doing a lot of explaining which shouldn't be necessary for a man who's writing a memoir for people who live in that world already.
Mostly McKinley manages it; I think a good edit and maybe stripping it down by like a quarter? a fifth? would have done the story good. The first 20 pages are hard going.
All of that aside, it's a familiar story, of large and beautiful animals endangered not only by people who want to kill them, but sometimes by people who just don't know any better. The fences aren't to protect us from them; the fences are to protect them from us.
That's a bit sad.
This book is really honest about that, while ending with some hope. That's what makes it something beyond pure fantasy, I think there's a little something being said about our relationship with our very real planet and the very real animals on it. ...more
