“The Neon Court”, by Kate Griffin (Orbit)

Reviewed by Emma Newrick

The third Matthew Swift adventure in a magically-charged, alternate London

When the city was founded, he was the mad native spirit that waited in the dark, on the edge of the torchlight. When the streets were cobbled over, he became the footsteps heard on stone that you cannot see. When the Victorians introduced street lighting, he was the shadow who always shied away from the light, and when the gas went out, there he was. The shadow at the end of the alley, the footsteps half-heard in the night.

A daimyo of the Neon Court is dead. So are two warriors of the Tribe. And a freshly-prophesied ‘chosen one’ is missing. Each side blames the other and Matthew Swift is right in the middle of it, trying to keep the peace. Because when magicians go to war, everyone loses. But Swift has even bigger problems. A dead woman is trying to kill him and the city itself is under attack from a force of unimaginable power. As if trying to stay one step ahead of an assassin and juggling magical politics weren’t challenging enough, Swift must also find a way to defeat a primal threat from humanity’s darkest nightmares. Or there may not be a London left to fight over...

Kate Griffin’s London is as memorable as Neil Gaiman’s, and just as dark. Her urban magic ebbs and flows with the rhythms of city life, and her Londoners rub shoulders with sorcerers, oracles and supernatural beings. In The Neon Court, the third novel following urban sorcerer (and not quite human) Matthew Swift is as gripping as The Madness of Angels and The Midnight Mayor.

“The Midnight Mayor”, by Kate Griffin (Orbit)

A grittier, darker Neverwhere, and a sequel that is better than the original

It’s said that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, then the Tower will crumble and the kingdom will fall. As it happens, that’s not so far from the truth...

One by one, the magical wards that guard the city are failing: the London Wall defiled with cryptic graffiti, the ravens found dead at the Tower, the London Stone destroyed. This is not good news. This array of supernatural defences – a mix of international tourist attractions and forgotten urban legends – formed a formidable magical shield. Protection for the City of London against... well, that’s the question, isn’t it? What could be so dangerous as to threaten an entire city?

Against his better judgement, resurrected sorcerer Matthew Swift is about to find out. And if he’s lucky, he might just live long enough to do something about it...

My main problem with The Madness of Angels, the first in this series, was the constant switching between the perspectives of Matthew Swift the wizard and the blue electric angels. The Midnight Mayor is more plot-driven, and Griffin seems more comfortable with her version of London: having set up her mythology, she is now free to play around within it.

The urban magic that her fantasy world runs on is inventive and logical, weaving together fact and fiction with her considerable imagination to create a novel that is both memorable and original. The characters develop throughout The Midnight Mayor; even though Griffin kills a lot of her characters off, I liked the development of Oda from fanatic to a little more human, and Matthew is easier to understand. The denizens of the city that he meets are also compelling: from the Maid, the Mother and the Hag; to the great dragon, the Aldermen and the mysterious Mr Pinner.

It’s difficult to go into too much more detail, as to do so would ruin many of the interesting and surprising twists. Griffin’s overall story is strong, but she is also good at the little details, such as the fox that Swift talks to in order to discover more about the death of the pervious Midnight Mayor, and also the way that you come to see how seemingly-insignificant things add up as the novel progresses.

The Midnight Mayor is a tightly plotted, rich, dark fantasy, and comes highly recommended.

Reviewed by Emma Newrick

“A Madness of Angels”, by Kate Griffin (Orbit)

An exciting new voice in urban fantasy

There’s much more in London than life – there is power. It ebbs and flows with the rhythms of the city and hums with the rattle of trains and buses. It waxes and wanes with the patterns of the business day. It is a new kind of magic: it is urban magic.

Enter a London where magicians ride the Last Train, seek favours from the Beggar King and interpret the insane wisdom of the Bag Lady. Beings of power soar with the pigeons, scrabble with the rats, and seek insight in the half-whispered madness of the blue electric angels…

A Madness of Angels is part fantasy, part thriller with a twist. Sorcerer Matthew Swift is an intriguing character and the novel rattles along at a roaring pace as he tries to uncover the dark side of this London. This is an exceptional debut novel. Griffin writes with a tremendous sense of atmosphere, bringing the sights, sounds and smells of Swift’s London to life. Her imagery is vivid and unusual, especially when describing a pigeon-eye view, or one of the magical constructs of this city: a monster formed from rubbish – chip papers, gum and broken glass. Famous London landmarks appear, but are distorted or made unfamiliar, seen through Griffin’s eyes, reimagining the familiar in weird and wonderful ways.

Unlike in so many fantasy novels, the world she creates is gritty and realistic: our world, but distorted through a lens of urban magic. Her dialogue is well-crafted, often witty, but never gives too much away as she slowly weaves the tale together.

The voices of the blue electric angels, speaking through Swift, work well most of the time. However, if I do have one criticism of this otherwise excellent novel, it would be that this device sometimes becomes confusing – for example, the frequent switching between “I” and “we” within the same sentence.

Overall, though, Griffin’s fantasy world is unusual and distinctive, her authorial voice assured, her plot fast-paced and full of unexpected twists and turns. A Madness of Angels is a gripping and sometimes disturbing read that keeps the reader guessing until the very end. Highly recommended.

For fans of: Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, Susannah Clarke, Jim Butcher, China Mieville’s UnLunDun, Ginn Hale.

Reviewed by Emma Newrick