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ausbelle's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant supernatural crime. Fast paced and beautifully descriptive. Looking forward to seeing it on a screen someday.
songwind's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book, and I can sum up why in one quote:
Four London coppers unwittingly stumble from a 4-year undercover investigation of an organized crime family into the hidden world of the occult. They discover an entire world they had no idea had existed - including its criminals.
Review
Paul Cornell's prose is straightforward, with a tight rhythm and excellent characterization. The cast is well realized and complex, as well as being diverse.
The four character viewpoints are cohesive enough not to make for jarring transitions, but each has its own tone that makes it separate from the others.
As the police pursue their new suspect, all the while trying not to be taken off the case as obviously insane by their still-mundane coworkers, each struggles in different ways with it. The book encompasses family drama, abuse, the struggle for identity, conflicts between who one is and who one wishes to be, and more.
Narrator Damian Lynch did an excellent job as well. The accents and vernacular of different London populations and races were reproduced skillfully and without condescension.
Highly recommended for any fans of police procedurals or urban fantasy.
Warning: The book contains violence against children and sexual violence, though neither in great detail.
Oi! You, wif da tentacles! You're nicked!
Four London coppers unwittingly stumble from a 4-year undercover investigation of an organized crime family into the hidden world of the occult. They discover an entire world they had no idea had existed - including its criminals.
Review
Paul Cornell's prose is straightforward, with a tight rhythm and excellent characterization. The cast is well realized and complex, as well as being diverse.
The four character viewpoints are cohesive enough not to make for jarring transitions, but each has its own tone that makes it separate from the others.
As the police pursue their new suspect, all the while trying not to be taken off the case as obviously insane by their still-mundane coworkers, each struggles in different ways with it. The book encompasses family drama, abuse, the struggle for identity, conflicts between who one is and who one wishes to be, and more.
Narrator Damian Lynch did an excellent job as well. The accents and vernacular of different London populations and races were reproduced skillfully and without condescension.
Highly recommended for any fans of police procedurals or urban fantasy.
Warning: The book contains violence against children and sexual violence, though neither in great detail.
being_b's review against another edition
5.0
An ensemble cast from a gritty police procedural encounter the supernatural. Well-observed, fascinating, well-written, with the world and character depth I crave.
geekwayne's review against another edition
3.0
'London Falling' by Paul Cornell is part police procedural and part supernatural thriller and it's all pretty good.
When DI James Quill completes the drug bust of his career, his suspect, Rob Toshack, dies in custody. Assembling a team including a couple undercover cops and an intelligence analyst, he starts looking into the murder. What he finds leads him into a shadowy London where he learns that Toshack made a deal with darker powers that gave him his luck, until it ran out and the price of his life was paid. Using their skills, they track down something that may not want to be tracked, and may not even be able to get tracked. Along the way they gain a kind of "sight" that lets them see the hidden parts of the city and they run into a truly evil villain known as the Smiling Man.
I liked the combination of procedural with urban fantasy. It comes across a lot more serious than other series of its type. The characters could have been a little more rounded out for me. Also, he adds in a historical element to what's happening, but they aren't explained well enough so they just seem to be in the way of the main story being told. So, high marks for style, but the execution left me feeling a bit mediocre about the book.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
When DI James Quill completes the drug bust of his career, his suspect, Rob Toshack, dies in custody. Assembling a team including a couple undercover cops and an intelligence analyst, he starts looking into the murder. What he finds leads him into a shadowy London where he learns that Toshack made a deal with darker powers that gave him his luck, until it ran out and the price of his life was paid. Using their skills, they track down something that may not want to be tracked, and may not even be able to get tracked. Along the way they gain a kind of "sight" that lets them see the hidden parts of the city and they run into a truly evil villain known as the Smiling Man.
I liked the combination of procedural with urban fantasy. It comes across a lot more serious than other series of its type. The characters could have been a little more rounded out for me. Also, he adds in a historical element to what's happening, but they aren't explained well enough so they just seem to be in the way of the main story being told. So, high marks for style, but the execution left me feeling a bit mediocre about the book.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
callunavulgari's review against another edition
4.0
I almost, almost gave up on reading this book today. For months I have tried to slog through this. Months of losing interest and forgetting characters and setting it aside all over again.
Today I picked it up and when I put it back down again I told myself that I was done trying. That I'd call it quits and return the book to the library and that woild be that. Only I gave it one more chance.
Maggie Stiefvater has great taste in books. I've liked almost everything that she's recommended, and she even warned in her review that the first fifty pages are a slog to get through, but that it's well worth it to push through.
And she was right. Today, somewhere between page 60 and page 80, it clicked and I was hooked. The magic presented in this book is wonderful. Creepy in all the right ways, very stereotypical witchy but with a grittier, modern twist. I found myself actually interested in what I was reading instead of trying to remember who was who.
I do still think the football thing is dumb, but you know what, whatever. Mora's backstory might have been my favorite part of the novel, and well, as Ross said, none of that excuses a damn thing, but you're overwhelmingly aware at that point of how fucking crazy she is.
Over all, I liked it. I was rooting for that cat though.
Today I picked it up and when I put it back down again I told myself that I was done trying. That I'd call it quits and return the book to the library and that woild be that. Only I gave it one more chance.
Maggie Stiefvater has great taste in books. I've liked almost everything that she's recommended, and she even warned in her review that the first fifty pages are a slog to get through, but that it's well worth it to push through.
And she was right. Today, somewhere between page 60 and page 80, it clicked and I was hooked. The magic presented in this book is wonderful. Creepy in all the right ways, very stereotypical witchy but with a grittier, modern twist. I found myself actually interested in what I was reading instead of trying to remember who was who.
I do still think the football thing is dumb, but you know what, whatever. Mora's backstory might have been my favorite part of the novel, and well, as Ross said, none of that excuses a damn thing, but you're overwhelmingly aware at that point of how fucking crazy she is.
Over all, I liked it. I was rooting for that cat though.
bruntosaur's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
themanfromdelmonte's review
4.0
I liked this book a lot. I got it cheap on Kindle but I’ll be buying the real thing. One review I saw said that if Rivers Of London was The Bill then The Shadow Police are The Sweeney and that’s about right. I love Ben Aaronovitch’s books but they’re a bit gentler than this. This is dark and gritty and downright unpleasant in places. I like the fact that the protagonists are out of their depth, thrashing around trying to find their bearings (and trying not to die!) and I’m looking forward to the sequel(s)
The only criticism I have is that I did get a bit lost at times trying to work out what was going on. There are a few plot strands that you need to pay close attention to if they’re not to trip you up later.
The only criticism I have is that I did get a bit lost at times trying to work out what was going on. There are a few plot strands that you need to pay close attention to if they’re not to trip you up later.
libwinnie's review against another edition
3.0
A host of evil characters terrorizes London and are pursued by a group of damaged, misfit officers. Though some of the plot points are just plain ridiculous, this is well-written and engaging and even though it was not really my kind of book, I had to read to the end to find out what happens.
lesterb09's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
2.0
This started out slow. The middle was a bit more interesting but I couldn't connect with it. The voice of the witch is horrible on audible - very off-putting. I don't think I'll be continuing the series.
abiofpellinor's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0