London Falling

This started a little slow and procedural for me, but picked up amazingly.
Pro Tip - read the glossary in the back at the beginning if you are not totally familiar with British slang and police terms.

This starts out as a gritty and dark police procedural, but after about 70 pages takes a supernatural turn. The horrors in the book are strange and some how work into your psyche.

I during the last 150 pages I couldn't put the book down.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC PDF of this book from netgalley.com. It's something I've been wanting to read and I'm so glad I got the chance to write this review.

Wow... just wow. London Falling is Paul Cornell's first novel and it's described as “urban fantasy.” However, it's more than just this. Parts urban fantasy, horror, and police procedure, this book is vastly unique and different than anything else in the genre today. It's the story of a British police unit trying to track down a “serial killer,” who just happens to be a paranormal entity. Our team is sharp, using police logic and good knowledge to active their goals, rather than turning to magic or unknown fantasy means. I loved how well this worked and am very amazed that it was pulled off so well in writing. I'm sure that if this becomes a series we'll see a bit more of fantasy but this is a great way to push the reader into the world that Cornell is slowly building around us.

This book kept me guessing the entire way through. Cornell is an amazing author and I'm surprised at the intricate book he's written for all of us. As I live on “the other side of the pond,” some of the slang was hard to digest but thankfully there's a glossary included for some of the more obscure stuff. Everything about this book was tight. The story flowed, the action was fun, and the characters flawed but with good purpose. The ending, left wide open, begs for more books to come. I know I'm hoping that we'll get more about this new perspective on urban fantasy.

Bottom Line: This is a genre changer for urban fantasy. I'm sure not everyone will like it but I think everyone should read it. It's that impressive.

This is not your typical Urban Fantasy. Nor is this your typical Police Procedural. Lastly, this is not your typical UF/Procedural mash-up (see: [a:Diana Rowland 852078 Diana Rowland https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1235174372p2/852078.jpg]'s Kara Gillian series, or [a:Ben Aaronovitch 363130 Ben Aaronovitch https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1308855588p2/363130.jpg]'s Peter Grant series). Instead, this is the wow-inducing freak show of a lovechild of [a:Christopher Fowler 3912 Christopher Fowler https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1270484988p2/3912.jpg]'s Bryant & May Peculiar Crimes Unit procedural and [a:Mike Carey 9018 Mike Carey https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1334894864p2/9018.jpg]'s Felix Castor UF books.These series share a certain subdued wit, a cynicism tinged with hope, and a certain amount of a-typical characters for their respective genres. But more importantly for this comparison, they share a richness, appreciation for, and dependence upon London's geography, culture and history (particularly the bits that few people know about, which are rife for use/manipulation in fiction). If that doesn't sum up Cornell's work, I'll eat a Union Jack emblazoned hat.Oh, also, the more I read of Bryant & May, the less I understand the London Police Force's organization and slang (which any number of British TV police shows and other novels convince me I'm pretty familiar with). Cornell outdoes Fowler on that score. Sure, there's a glossary at the end of this book, but that's not advertised anywhere, and I didn't realize it until it was too late. But sussing all that out is part of the charm of these books – I appreciate how little they feel compelled to hold the audience's hand a little more than I'm frustrated at the extra work.Enough preamble. What starts off as the ill-advised attempt to wrap up a major undercover operation (based more on economics than police work) turns into a child serial killer case that ends up captivating and frightening the residents of London while a band of four policemen (one of which is technically a civilian aide – or maybe she's a different type of officer, but I don't think so, see previous paragraph) track the killer that has the rest of the force completely befuddled. These four spend as much time battling their own demons – within and without, metaphorical and otherwise – as they do working the cases. Oh, and you can forget about any real esprit de corps amongst these four, just to complicate matters further.The major reason for the befuddlement of the rest of the force is that the killer is using all sorts of magic – in truly horrific ways, for even more horrific reasons, and only our four heroes (for lack of a better word) can see that. These four didn't start the novel being able to see magic, and spend a good deal of time trying to figure out what's going on with their eyes and ears now – and not in a fun montage-y way the way they do in Spider-Man movies. Theirs is a real baptism by fire, learning as they work desperately to save children and footballers both from being the killer's next victims.Yes, I said children and footballers. Just roll with it.In the wrong hands, this could be the makings of a mess. Cornell doesn't play any of this for laughs, or lighter moments – there is practically no joy to be found in this grim novel of a grimmer world of miserable people. But his are the right hands, and Cornell handles all these bits and pieces like a seasoned pro and deftly shapes them in to a kiester-kicking read.Highly recommended.