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A review by lynseyisreading
Shadow City by Diana Pharaoh Francis
4.0
I am once again bowled over by the incredible imagination of Diana Pharaoh Francis.
The vivid backdrop of the Shadow City and its inhabitants in this instalment was as wacky as it was wonderful. If you've read the previous two books, Bitter Night and Crimson Wind, you'll know that Francis' word building is highly original and unusual as are the creatures and supernatural beings that reside within. In Shadow City, this is taken to an even higher extreme.
Some of these creatures were adaptations of beings from myth and legend, others were spawned directly from Francis' mind and they were many and varied. As was the scenery. Each new place Max visited was as intriguing as the last, every building, every sight, every smell was brought to life in full technicolour.
The setting of the book was equally split between Horngate and the Shadow City. In Alexander's POV for the former, and Max's for the latter. This kept both storylines moving along at an equal clip and it was great how the ramifications of events from one side were experienced from the other.
The only slight negative to this split is that I missed the camaraderie between Max and the rest of the gang. I wanted her reunited with them, especially Alexander, with an almost frightening intensity and it just couldn't happen soon enough for me. Even though I enjoyed Max's foray out on her own, and Francis kept me interested throughout, I was still counting the pages until it happened.
On the plus side, the time spent alone did serve to give Max the chance to reflect on how she feels about certain things and certain people: Giselle, her family, Alexander. As well as her role and her forced servitude. I felt there was yet more growth for her as a main character in this story. The bitter, resentful woman from book one is slowly thawing and letting people in and it's great to witness.
Recommended for all Urban Fantasy and Fantasy adventure fans.
The vivid backdrop of the Shadow City and its inhabitants in this instalment was as wacky as it was wonderful. If you've read the previous two books, Bitter Night and Crimson Wind, you'll know that Francis' word building is highly original and unusual as are the creatures and supernatural beings that reside within. In Shadow City, this is taken to an even higher extreme.
Some of these creatures were adaptations of beings from myth and legend, others were spawned directly from Francis' mind and they were many and varied. As was the scenery. Each new place Max visited was as intriguing as the last, every building, every sight, every smell was brought to life in full technicolour.
The setting of the book was equally split between Horngate and the Shadow City. In Alexander's POV for the former, and Max's for the latter. This kept both storylines moving along at an equal clip and it was great how the ramifications of events from one side were experienced from the other.
The only slight negative to this split is that I missed the camaraderie between Max and the rest of the gang. I wanted her reunited with them, especially Alexander, with an almost frightening intensity and it just couldn't happen soon enough for me. Even though I enjoyed Max's foray out on her own, and Francis kept me interested throughout, I was still counting the pages until it happened.
On the plus side, the time spent alone did serve to give Max the chance to reflect on how she feels about certain things and certain people: Giselle, her family, Alexander. As well as her role and her forced servitude. I felt there was yet more growth for her as a main character in this story. The bitter, resentful woman from book one is slowly thawing and letting people in and it's great to witness.
Recommended for all Urban Fantasy and Fantasy adventure fans.