This is what you get when someone with a rich and powerful imagination is able to combine it with a marvellous command of descriptive language.
Set in the immediate post-war period in a heavily bomb scarred London our hero, Dennis, inadvertently takes possession of a book from a bizarre alternate London. In his attempts to return it and thus undo the rift it has opened up he meets a range of brilliantly drawn characters, many of whom speak in a surprisingly readable cockney vernacular, and all of whom have real depth.
I like that the ostensible “story” (returning the book “McGuffin”) is actually resolved about halfway through and a completely new and unexpected story arc takes over. I also like that, at least in this first volume, there is no real redemption for Dennis; indeed he ends in very much the same state as he started, minus his bad frame. Nothing about this book follows the standard tropes – it is an amalgam of Neverwhere, Rivers of London and Unlundun but arguably better than all of them, at least in terms of imagination and the beauty of language.
I’ve already bought the second volume, in a beautiful special edition Waterstones hardback, and recently found it that another three are planned.
I commend this book to anyone interested in urban fantasy, or just having an appreciation for the craft of writing. Interesting, enjoyable and far from predictable. Great work!