Monday 3 February 2014

Review: London Falling - Fiction Set in Occult London

I don't normally read fiction - I've usually got such a huge stack of non-fiction books waiting to be reviewed on A Bad Witch's Blog that I don't have time for novels - but over the weekend I found myself engrossed in a real page-turner of urban fantasy. The book I read was London Falling,about four policemen who suddenly find that the gang investigation they are on has turned decidedly supernatural.

Falling London was recommended to me by my hubby, who is a fan of urban fantasy fiction. He said it would be right up my street - and he was right. For a start, it is set in London and involves the kinds of myths, legends and folklore that I blog about.

Of course I tut-tutted a little when I spotted a few things that weren't entirely accurate, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the plot. Neither was I put off by the fact that the villain of the piece is the kind of wicked witch King James I believed really existed - one who is evil through and through, makes deals with the Devil, and boils up babies in her cauldron. Such witches might only exist in fairy tales and horror stories, but they do make scary adversaries.

I enjoyed the book so much I barely got off the sofa until I had read to the end. I'm back to reading non-fiction again now, but I do hope the author, Paul Cornell, brings out his follow-up to London Falling - Severed Streets - soon.

In a similar vein to London Falling, other urban fantasy books set in London that I've enjoyed and would recommend include Mike Carey's fiction series about the ghost hunter Felix Castor, and Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London.

Links and previous related posts
London Falling
http://www.paulcornell.com/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2014/01/review-witches-sorcery-scandal-and.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/11/some-bedside-reading.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/12/the-spiders-bride-great-ebook-for.html
Rivers of London (Rivers of London 1)

3 comments:

Helena Nash said...

I quite enjoyed it. Not as much as a Ben Aaronovitch perhaps, but a good read from the comics/Dr Who writer. Takes about 100 pages to get going, I'd say, when the 'Sweeney vs black magic' theme properly kicks in. Enjoyed the antagonist's secret origin, and {SPOILERS a revelation about one of the main characters' home life a good way into the story SPOILERS}.

Badwitch said...

Helena - Yes, I'd agree with all of those points.

petoskystone said...

More additions to the wish list.