Rating: 4 1/2 stars (Spotlight Review)
Two years ago, sorcerer Matthew Swift died in a vicious magical battle that left nothing of him behind except shreds of flesh. Now he's awakened -- reborn -- in his old bed, and with an electric-blue, angelic inhabitant in his body. Swift doesn't know the whys and wherefores of his resurrection but he intends to find out, even if it means lighting up the entire city of London to do it.
At the time of his death Swift was a sorcerer under the apprenticeship of Robert James Bakker, the most powerful magician in London. Swift is an urban magician, pulling his power and spells from the very things so many of us take for granted, like the electricity that arcs above our heads and the refuse that floats at our feet. He also has the ability to hear "voices" in the wires; telephones speak to him in the quiet hum of the electric-blue angels. Bakker knows this and believes that the angels are his only way to live on when he is dying from cancer. Swift refuses to pull the angels out of the wires for Bakker and in so doing, signs his own death warrant. His death is ugly, bloody, and without mercy. But Swift isn't without resources, even on the edge of death.
Upon his rebirth, Swift starts to unravel the threads that led to his return; he knows Bakker is responsible but to get to Bakker he will have to work his way upwards through a gauntlet of magical beings, each with his own nasty power. To that end, Swift recruits help from the unnoticed and underground beings that embody the magic of London, from graffiti artists to beggars, bag ladies to weremen. They all come together to defeat an evil that threatens every one of them.
Urban fantasy has taken a huge leap forward in recent years and though the field is normally glutted with female protagonists, more and more men are coming to the fore. None of them however, holds a candle to Matthew Swift. Swift is the embodiment of urban magic, seeing beauty and potential in every grimy street corner and neon light. Griffin's descriptive ability leaves the reader with such a visceral impression of the story that it's impossible to not picture everything so clearly and completely.
While the characters themselves lack a certain depth, this is easily forgiven in light of the story and mythology that Griffin has created. One needn't go out into the forest to find fairies and trolls; they exist in the city as well, if only we take the time to see them.
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Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: Orbit; 1 edition (April 6, 2009)
ISBN-10: 0316041254
ISBN-13: 978-0316041256