Ghosts! Goblins! Murder! The FBI (in London)! The LONDON UNDERGROUND!
I do continue to really love the feel of these books. It feels like a British cop show with a combination of magical elements and the science of magic, which are all delightful things.
Characterwise, it’s mostly the same, although this time around, we get a lot more of Lesley stepping up to learn magic again, which is something I was hoping would happen. I’m looking forward to seeing how those two grow together.
“That was Seawoll,” she said. “Stephanopoulos is on her way down and you’re not to do anything stupid until she gets here.”
You burn down one central London tourist attraction, I thought, and they never let you forget it.
It’s also interesting seeing the bits of London as a city built on people from all manners, histories, and walks of life.
My mum translated this in her head to “witchfinder,” which was good because like most West Africans, she considered witchfinding a more respectable profession than policeman.
😄
Worldbuildingwise, I like seeing ever more of teh magical world of London. There really is a feel of ’this could be’ that urban fantasy doesn’t always get right. And I enjoy finding out that even the magical folks don’t know how a lot of what they do works, but our main character is not going to let that stand.
This is why magic is worse even than quantum physics. Because, while both spit in the eye of common sense, I’ve never yet had a Higgs bosun turn up and try to have a conversation with me.
It’s fun to see even more of the magical underground (literally). It’s neat to see how different authors play with old stories (and make up their own!)
“My dad was a fairy," said Zach. “And by that I don’t mean he dressed well and enjoyed musical theatre.”
One oddity: There are a ton of Lord of the Rings references throughout this book, some blatent and some more subtle. I was really fully expecting that to Chekhov's gun… but they were just references all along? That seems weird to me and I can’t quite my finger on why.
Overall, I loved it and am looking forward to the next one! Onward!
Aside; favorite line of the book?
I saw a dark void under the platform and had just enough time to think: “Fuck me he’s a earthbender.”