The City’s Son by Tom Pollock
Jun. 6th, 2012 09:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Expelled from school, betrayed by her best friend and virtually ignored by her dad, who’s never recovered from the death of her mum, Beth Bradley retreats to the sanctuary of the streets, looking for a new home.
What she finds is Filius Viae, the ragged and cocky crown prince of London, who opens her eyes to the place she’s never truly seen.
But the hidden London is on the brink of destruction. Reach, the King of the Cranes, is a malign god of demolition, and he wants Filius dead. In the absence of the Lady of the Streets, Filius’ goddess mother, Beth rouses Filius to raise an alleyway army, to reclaim London’s skyscraper throne for the mother he’s never known.
Beth has almost forgotten her old life – until her best friend and her father come searching for her, and she must choose between the streets and the life she left behind.
When Beth Bradley takes artistic revenge on the teacher making life hell for her best friend Pen Khan, the last thing she expects is for Pen to grass her up. Expelled from school and with her father grief-consumed by her mother’s death, she turns to the streets where she meets Filius Viae who shows her a world filled with rail wraiths, Sodiumites, pylon spiders and pavement priests.
But Filius’s world is a dangerous one. Reach, the god of demolition, wants Filius dead and has been extending his control of London since Filius’s mother, the Lady of the Streets, disappeared years earlier. To stop him, Filius must raise an army and he needs Beth to help him. But Pen needs Beth too. And when she goes to make things right with her friend, Beth finds both her worlds coming apart …
Tom Pollock’s debut YA novel, the first in a trilogy is a stunningly creative tale filled with wonderful imagery and fascinating characters.
Filius has a strong, original first person voice and the linguistic flourishes to his speech helped to ground him. I liked how his cockiness hides the insecurity caused by his mother’s abandonment and how grows into his own skin. I actually wanted more of his point of view because he is so interesting.
Beth’s character arc is well handled and I liked how her mix of pragmatism and fierce loyalty. Her friendship with Pen is strongly depicted and while I’d have liked to see more of her relationship with her dad, there’s enough there to give a good sense of it.
The imagination in this book is astounding. Pollock takes the familiar elements of London and makes them magical such that you can’t walk around the city and not see it as Filius does.
It’s a fast paced read, perhaps a little too fast-paced towards the end as I needed time to breathe and reflect (but this is a petty gripe). If I’ve got any criticism it’s that I didn’t quite buy Pen’s backstory, which is a shame because she’s a fascinating character and it’s great to see a Muslim character who isn’t defined by her faith and whose journey is emotionally painful.
This is one of the best YA fantasies I’ve read in years and one of the best debuts I’ve read in 2012. I’d definitely recommend checking it out.
The Verdict:
Tom Pollock’s debut YA novel, the first in a trilogy is a stunningly creative tale filled with wonderful imagery and fascinating characters. It’s one of the best YA fantasies I’ve read in years and certainly one of the best debuts of 2012. Read it. You’re in for a treat.
THE CITY’S SON will be released in the UK on 2nd August 2012. Thanks to Jo Fletcher Books for the ARC of this book.
Expelled from school, betrayed by her best friend and virtually ignored by her dad, who’s never recovered from the death of her mum, Beth Bradley retreats to the sanctuary of the streets, looking for a new home.
What she finds is Filius Viae, the ragged and cocky crown prince of London, who opens her eyes to the place she’s never truly seen.
But the hidden London is on the brink of destruction. Reach, the King of the Cranes, is a malign god of demolition, and he wants Filius dead. In the absence of the Lady of the Streets, Filius’ goddess mother, Beth rouses Filius to raise an alleyway army, to reclaim London’s skyscraper throne for the mother he’s never known.
Beth has almost forgotten her old life – until her best friend and her father come searching for her, and she must choose between the streets and the life she left behind.
When Beth Bradley takes artistic revenge on the teacher making life hell for her best friend Pen Khan, the last thing she expects is for Pen to grass her up. Expelled from school and with her father grief-consumed by her mother’s death, she turns to the streets where she meets Filius Viae who shows her a world filled with rail wraiths, Sodiumites, pylon spiders and pavement priests.
But Filius’s world is a dangerous one. Reach, the god of demolition, wants Filius dead and has been extending his control of London since Filius’s mother, the Lady of the Streets, disappeared years earlier. To stop him, Filius must raise an army and he needs Beth to help him. But Pen needs Beth too. And when she goes to make things right with her friend, Beth finds both her worlds coming apart …
Tom Pollock’s debut YA novel, the first in a trilogy is a stunningly creative tale filled with wonderful imagery and fascinating characters.
Filius has a strong, original first person voice and the linguistic flourishes to his speech helped to ground him. I liked how his cockiness hides the insecurity caused by his mother’s abandonment and how grows into his own skin. I actually wanted more of his point of view because he is so interesting.
Beth’s character arc is well handled and I liked how her mix of pragmatism and fierce loyalty. Her friendship with Pen is strongly depicted and while I’d have liked to see more of her relationship with her dad, there’s enough there to give a good sense of it.
The imagination in this book is astounding. Pollock takes the familiar elements of London and makes them magical such that you can’t walk around the city and not see it as Filius does.
It’s a fast paced read, perhaps a little too fast-paced towards the end as I needed time to breathe and reflect (but this is a petty gripe). If I’ve got any criticism it’s that I didn’t quite buy Pen’s backstory, which is a shame because she’s a fascinating character and it’s great to see a Muslim character who isn’t defined by her faith and whose journey is emotionally painful.
This is one of the best YA fantasies I’ve read in years and one of the best debuts I’ve read in 2012. I’d definitely recommend checking it out.
The Verdict:
Tom Pollock’s debut YA novel, the first in a trilogy is a stunningly creative tale filled with wonderful imagery and fascinating characters. It’s one of the best YA fantasies I’ve read in years and certainly one of the best debuts of 2012. Read it. You’re in for a treat.
THE CITY’S SON will be released in the UK on 2nd August 2012. Thanks to Jo Fletcher Books for the ARC of this book.
