Interesting little look at Bohemian London from it's inception in the 1870s through to about the 1970s, covering such notables as Algernon Charles SwiInteresting little look at Bohemian London from it's inception in the 1870s through to about the 1970s, covering such notables as Algernon Charles Swinburne and Dylan Thomas.
Meet Dr Greta Helsing, doctor to the supernatural community of London.
Someone has revived an ancient cult that murders supernatural creatures, but noMeet Dr Greta Helsing, doctor to the supernatural community of London.
Someone has revived an ancient cult that murders supernatural creatures, but now, as well as vampires, they are also turning their attention to anyone they consider evil.
They attack Sir Franci Varney who managed to get to the safety of the home of Lord Ruthven, who immediately calls upon Dr Greta Helsing for aid. From this point, it becames a race to identify and stop the cult before London is destroyed.
Yup, that's Varney the Vampire of the penny dreadfuls, and Dr John Polidori's infamous Lord Ruthven. Both are actually rather sweet.
This is a fantastic book. Well plotted and extremely well written. Vivian Shaw has a turn of phrase that is delightful. Her description of vampires as sanguivores is delicious.
There are lots of delightful moments. The notorious case of the Vampire of Croglin Low Hall even gets a mention.
An excellent addition to the range of urban/dark fantasy genre.
I have been waiting with fluctuating levels of patience for "Lies Sleeping" to drop. It was worth the wait.
In "The Hanging Tree" we learned the identiI have been waiting with fluctuating levels of patience for "Lies Sleeping" to drop. It was worth the wait.
In "The Hanging Tree" we learned the identity of the rogue wizard known as the Faceless Man whom former PC Lesley May had gone to work for. In "Lies Sleeping" we learn why Leslie defected to the Dark Side, so to speak, and it's not pretty.
Since learning the identity of the Faceless Man, several things have happened. PC Peter Grant is now DC (Detective Constable), and DC Sahra Guleed is now DS (Detective Sergeant). All the police operations from the previous books have been amalgamated into one operation under the joint heads of Thomas Nightingale and Alexander Seawoll. The task is to find the (former) Faceless Man and stop him. Not an easy task once it becomes apparent that FM has something big, and nasty planned. Peter has to make an unlikely alliance...with the revenant that started it all way back in book 1 - Mr Punch.
"Lies Sleeping" ties up a lot of loose ends from the earlier books, but not all of them, and it sets the scene for the series to go in new directions. Which, since Ben has said he will be writing Rivers of London until he dies, could be almost anywhere.
We meet some new characters, several of which I hope stick around for further books. And we finally learn once and for all exactly what Molly is.
The sly tips of the hat to popular culture continue. On one page alone is both an Asterix reference AND a Terry Pratchett reference.
I am going to state that this is THE best book I have read all year....more
I only went and read this one as I discovered it introduced the characters of Sarah and Nan (and Grey and Neville) to the stories.
I'm glad I read it. I only went and read this one as I discovered it introduced the characters of Sarah and Nan (and Grey and Neville) to the stories.
I'm glad I read it. The story is, ostensibly, about how Lord Alderscroft, known as the Wizard of London, was saved from his own stupidity and the machinations of an evil female Elemental Master. Mostly, though, the book gave us the story of how Sarah and Nan came to be at the Harton School, meet Puck, and develope their Gifts.
A good workman like read, with some facets revisited years later. 10 Berkeley Square reappears in "A Study in Sable" for instance.
I particularly liked the story of have Neville stopped being a Tower of London raven (with the conivence of the Ravemaster) and became Nan's companion instead.
Lots of fun if you love this area of the Elemental Masters series....more
This book comes under the heading of "unsatisfactory".
A book about my favourite city at night I thought would be full of wonder. It's full of depressiThis book comes under the heading of "unsatisfactory".
A book about my favourite city at night I thought would be full of wonder. It's full of depression. It's as if the author can't find a single positive thing to say about London after dark. And almost all the quotes he uses from people he interviewed are negative.
I am giving him the benefit of the doubt because the book was published in 2007 - over a decade ago. Things may have changed for the better.
All I know is his London after dark isn't mine....more
Weird bollocks is happening on the Metropolitan Underground line. People are being harrassed by ghosts of people past. Peter Grant, Thomas NightingaleWeird bollocks is happening on the Metropolitan Underground line. People are being harrassed by ghosts of people past. Peter Grant, Thomas Nightingale, Abigail Kamara, and Jaget Kumar sally forth to de-weird the bollocks.
This novella is delightful and funny. It gives us an update on Abigail's progress at the Folly, and also gives us some lovely backstory for Jaget.
I am old enough to remember when books of this length were called novels, not novellas, so I wasn't worried by the length. I have seen some complaints it was too short. It's a nice way occupy yourself for an hour or so.
Ben has given us somethings to look forward to in future works in a nice, self contained package.
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