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A review by mineden10
Poison City by Paul Crilley
4.0
A very gritty, hard hitting take on the fantasy/crime genre. The action hits you in the face from the word go and before you've even had time to take in the characters, they're already being thrown into a fight.
Durban as a setting, fits the feel of the book as a whole and it's easy to imagine a second skin of spellcraft and magical creatures, both good and bad (mostly bad), existing within the city. It's made even more believable by the detail Crilley puts into giving each creature/side character. Even the characters that aren't focused on within the story still feel as if thought has been put into the 'why' and 'how' they exist in the universe of the story. The archangels are a particular favourite of mine.
Gideon/London is a well fleshed out main protagonist with genuine flaws that fit alongside his positive traits and whilst, at times, he makes decisions that could potentially frustrate the reader, they seem justified and within his character. Despite him fitting the 'hard drinking depressed cop' stereotype, he lacks the ever present gloominess and it only seems to effect him when memories of his past potential failures rise to the surface.
Crilley breathes further life into dispelling the possible stereotypes the book could fall into with his supporting cast. Armitage is a walking broken stereotype and her side arc is also developed well enough you understand her motivations, as well as Gideon's. The dog is kept a little mysterious when it comes to his own back story but it's not something the book lacks for. Conversations between the dog and Gideon are fast paced, witty and never get old.
Poison City does contain it's fair share of gore, violence, and swearing with one scene in particular being a stand out point of this. In my opinion, this fits the universe the book operates within but it may be uncomfortable for some readers.
The ending is intriguing and definitely shows there is a lot of room for sequels and further expansion within the series.
Overall, a really good read and I'm looking forward to the next installment.
Durban as a setting, fits the feel of the book as a whole and it's easy to imagine a second skin of spellcraft and magical creatures, both good and bad (mostly bad), existing within the city. It's made even more believable by the detail Crilley puts into giving each creature/side character. Even the characters that aren't focused on within the story still feel as if thought has been put into the 'why' and 'how' they exist in the universe of the story. The archangels are a particular favourite of mine.
Gideon/London is a well fleshed out main protagonist with genuine flaws that fit alongside his positive traits and whilst, at times, he makes decisions that could potentially frustrate the reader, they seem justified and within his character. Despite him fitting the 'hard drinking depressed cop' stereotype, he lacks the ever present gloominess and it only seems to effect him when memories of his past potential failures rise to the surface.
Crilley breathes further life into dispelling the possible stereotypes the book could fall into with his supporting cast. Armitage is a walking broken stereotype and her side arc is also developed well enough you understand her motivations, as well as Gideon's. The dog is kept a little mysterious when it comes to his own back story but it's not something the book lacks for. Conversations between the dog and Gideon are fast paced, witty and never get old.
Poison City does contain it's fair share of gore, violence, and swearing with one scene in particular being a stand out point of this. In my opinion, this fits the universe the book operates within but it may be uncomfortable for some readers.
The ending is intriguing and definitely shows there is a lot of room for sequels and further expansion within the series.
Overall, a really good read and I'm looking forward to the next installment.