Mark

What to add to all the words that have been said about this book/series? Really enjoyed all the installments and the ending was powerful/hopeful. Highly recommended.

This books is a solid second book: continues the development of characters and continues world building. Yes, it gets a touch slow but those parts that a slow add depth. Recommended if you have enjoyed the first book.

What to add to what has already been said? Police procedural, supernatural London, likable protagonists, and believably bad villains.

Okay, this audiobook came with a ton of hype - both good and bad. I will lead with a quote from Jason Sheehan's review on NPR: “It is altogether its own thing — brilliantly original, messy and weird straight through.” What is original about it for me? The universe it is set in is completely new to me, the sci-fi/gothy horror/murder mystery/swords & sorcery mash-up, and the way Tamsyn Muir uses language - never seen somebody nail using the language of the present in a novel that is not the present to such great and frankly, funny effect - laugh out loud snarky fun. I found the bouncing around genres and their tropes to be like watching sparks fly from flint - waiting for what was next in the mix. Through parts of this book I thought of Riddick, Mad Max, Bauhaus (the band) and those “just graduated”angst ridden coming of age tales as personal reference points. So many ideas and so much story that the author holds together right at the edge of a chaotic overdone mess. It works for me because the characters' arcs are the center of the novel. Seeing who the characters were/are/become and how that resolves the story held my attention. I can understand why some folks can be let down by this novel, because of everything I just said can be turned around: Pick a genre and stick to it, why so many characters - can't follow them all, and so on. This novel is just brimming with ideas and while it was a bit work to keep up with at times (all those characters) I let the novel take me somewhere rich with new possibilities.

Story: Son of shepherd talks about life in the Lake District in the North of England. How the landscape informs and roots his life. Also how the romantic notions of this landscape over the last 100 years or so has impacted how the land is viewed/used. Discusses that the usage has shaped the land, how the landscape is in fact not very natural at all, and how life is lived for those who are of the land. Spoiler alert: it is not walking about in one of the most romantic landscapes possible, not at all. Also much discussion of sheep and sheepdogs, their roles and that is very interesting, integral in fact.
Language: Evocative of the places and moods of the Lake District. Some specialized terms are present but are always explained. Enjoyable and adds much.
Setting: The Lake District in the North of England.
Characters: The author, family, the landscape, neighbors, sheep, and sheep dogs. All are very much more than just local color; they are all loved or at least respected, given true depth, and are truly what this book is about.