A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin

3.75 AVERAGE

lottie1803's review against another edition

3.75
adventurous dark mysterious
tuesnxt's profile picture

tuesnxt's review against another edition

This book doesn't deserve to be on my "read" column since I only made it 40 pages before bailing out. I was getting so frustrated with the switch between "I" and "we" that I could never be bothered to wait for the explanation for the grammatical train wreck.

I finally read some reviews by other GoodReaders to discover that the shift in pronoun had something to do with the main character being possessed by a posse of angels. If that wasn't off-putting enough, the review went on to say that while the concept was interesting, the delivery was completely boring. So no. Life's too short.

tea_cats_books's review against another edition

3.0
Great concept. Loved the world. I just didn't connect with the main characters. To the point where their feud was rendered almost irrelevant.

karenrj's review against another edition

4.0
This is another book by Clare North, aka Catherine Webb. I really liked The Sudden Appearance of Hope and The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, so I decided to try this one, even though I am not a big fan of fantasy. There is much to love in this book, not least the evocation of London. Other reviewers have disliked the descriptions, but I loved them.

elsjefiederelsje's review against another edition

4.5
dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

bluebec's review against another edition

4.0
If it were for a completely pointless fridging, this would have gotten 5 stars. I learnt about it at Continuum in Melbourne this winter, and wanted to read a book about a city (London) that actually recognised that more than white people live in it, and that any city is a thriving den of writing, energy, magic, and people.

Kate Griffin has done a great job of making modern London real, the dark, the light, and the people who live there from many different backgrounds and beliefs.

lzad's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 65%
Interesting plot, eccentric characters - lots to enjoy but so many, many, many words. Desperate for a good edit. I put the book down for a moment and six months later hadn't come back. Not for me

rilina's review against another edition

4.0
These days the term "urban fantasy" generally refers to a certain type of paranormal romance-lite. What I wished it meant--and what I wish there was more of--was fantasy defined to certain extent by an urban setting. A Madness of Angels is urban fantasy in that sense: you can't separate this novel's characters or plots from the magical London they live in. The worldbuilding here has depth, complexity, and a convincing internal logic, and Griffin isn't afraid to play with language to convey Swift's experiences upon being resurrected two years after his murder. This is a novel that requires some attention and energy to read, but it's well worth the effort. I've just placed a library hold on the sequel.

nobodyatall's review against another edition

4.0
Brilliant. Original, detailed and gripping. A pleasure to read. As much of a love of for London as Ben Aaronvitch's series with a large extra helping of magic.

I had a few issues with the description of Chapel Market and the RBS building would never have graffiti on it and there are no benches on the bit of the Reagents Canal where he sat talking to foxes, and if youre heading to Piccadilly in a rush from Charing Cross there are quicker ways to go than via Leicester Square. But other than that... :p

goblinkore's review against another edition

4.75
adventurous challenging mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes