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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
”Devils in the stones. All around us … “
London, 1592 – a teeming warren of tradesmen, thieves and cut-throats. But when scrunty Jack the nipper cuts the wrong purse, he stumbles into a more dangerous London than he has ever imagined – a city where magic is real and deadly.
An outbreak of Satanist atrocities has led to a wave of anti-witch fervour, whipped up by Preacher Webb, the charismatic Puritan leader. Webb promises to purge London of an ancient evil. But things are not as they seem. And Jack has good reason of his own to hate Webb.
Moving through a shadow world of criminals and fanatics, spies and magicians, Jack seeks his revenge. But since his first encounter with Webb there has been something wrong with his eye. Now he sees London for what it really is.
A city of devils.
It’s 1592. Jack’s a thief who’s employed by Sharkwell’s crime gang and works the streets of London. But when he picks the pocket of a wealthy foreigner, a strange powder is released into his eyes and he finds himself seeing strange things that can’t possibly be real – demons, imps and magic.
It couldn’t have happened at a worse time because London’s gripped in a Puritanical revival with the charismatic Preacher Webb promising to rid the city of magic and witchcraft. If lucky, suspected magicians are arrested. The unlucky are found dead, gruesomely killed by their own magic.
But Preacher Webb isn’t as good as he appears and Jack has special reasons for hating him. Determined to take his revenge, Jack finds himself balancing his work as a thief with a growing involvement with the Queen’s astrologer, Doctor Dee and freelance spy and mercenary, Kit. As London’s whipped up into an anti-Satanic fever, Jack discovers that ancient forces are at work in the city and he’s caught right in the middle of them …
Andrew Prentice and Jonathan Weil’s dark middle-grade fantasy, the first in a trilogy, is a well researched story that, for me, got a little too bogged down in historical detail with the result that the story lacked tension and excitement.
The authors have clearly done a lot of research on Elizabethan England. The descriptions feel very authentic and the characters all use period terms, which gives the book a strong sense of place and time. I loved the patois used by Mr Smiles, a thief who helps Jack pass his tests to join Shakwell’s crew. However the history alienated rather than engaged me as the book went on and stifled the magical world-building that the story hinges on.
I found Jack a bit of bland. His motivation for hating Preacher Webb is well set-up, but their encounters lacked zip because Webb is so two-dimensional. Similarly, a romance between Jack and Shakwell’s daughter, Beth, is under-developed because they lack page time together, making it difficult to buy their supposed mutual attraction. More believable is Jack’s friendship with fellow-thief Rob, which gives the book some much needed warmth.
The magical elements didn’t convince me and the involvement of an imp in the final quarter felt bolted on.
All in all, this is an okay read, but I’m not in a hurry to read the rest of the trilogy.
The Verdict:
Andrew Prentice and Jonathan Weil’s dark middle-grade fantasy, the first in a trilogy, is a well researched story that, for me, got a little too bogged down in historical detail with the result that the story lacked tension and excitement. In particular, I felt that the historical setting stifled the magical world building that was needed to set up the main themes in the story and I found the villain to be two-dimensional and the love story unconvincing. It’s an okay read, but while I’d check out what the authors produce next, I’m not in a hurry to continue this trilogy.
BLACK ARTS was released in the UK on 29th March 2012. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
London, 1592 – a teeming warren of tradesmen, thieves and cut-throats. But when scrunty Jack the nipper cuts the wrong purse, he stumbles into a more dangerous London than he has ever imagined – a city where magic is real and deadly.
An outbreak of Satanist atrocities has led to a wave of anti-witch fervour, whipped up by Preacher Webb, the charismatic Puritan leader. Webb promises to purge London of an ancient evil. But things are not as they seem. And Jack has good reason of his own to hate Webb.
Moving through a shadow world of criminals and fanatics, spies and magicians, Jack seeks his revenge. But since his first encounter with Webb there has been something wrong with his eye. Now he sees London for what it really is.
A city of devils.
It’s 1592. Jack’s a thief who’s employed by Sharkwell’s crime gang and works the streets of London. But when he picks the pocket of a wealthy foreigner, a strange powder is released into his eyes and he finds himself seeing strange things that can’t possibly be real – demons, imps and magic.
It couldn’t have happened at a worse time because London’s gripped in a Puritanical revival with the charismatic Preacher Webb promising to rid the city of magic and witchcraft. If lucky, suspected magicians are arrested. The unlucky are found dead, gruesomely killed by their own magic.
But Preacher Webb isn’t as good as he appears and Jack has special reasons for hating him. Determined to take his revenge, Jack finds himself balancing his work as a thief with a growing involvement with the Queen’s astrologer, Doctor Dee and freelance spy and mercenary, Kit. As London’s whipped up into an anti-Satanic fever, Jack discovers that ancient forces are at work in the city and he’s caught right in the middle of them …
Andrew Prentice and Jonathan Weil’s dark middle-grade fantasy, the first in a trilogy, is a well researched story that, for me, got a little too bogged down in historical detail with the result that the story lacked tension and excitement.
The authors have clearly done a lot of research on Elizabethan England. The descriptions feel very authentic and the characters all use period terms, which gives the book a strong sense of place and time. I loved the patois used by Mr Smiles, a thief who helps Jack pass his tests to join Shakwell’s crew. However the history alienated rather than engaged me as the book went on and stifled the magical world-building that the story hinges on.
I found Jack a bit of bland. His motivation for hating Preacher Webb is well set-up, but their encounters lacked zip because Webb is so two-dimensional. Similarly, a romance between Jack and Shakwell’s daughter, Beth, is under-developed because they lack page time together, making it difficult to buy their supposed mutual attraction. More believable is Jack’s friendship with fellow-thief Rob, which gives the book some much needed warmth.
The magical elements didn’t convince me and the involvement of an imp in the final quarter felt bolted on.
All in all, this is an okay read, but I’m not in a hurry to read the rest of the trilogy.
The Verdict:
Andrew Prentice and Jonathan Weil’s dark middle-grade fantasy, the first in a trilogy, is a well researched story that, for me, got a little too bogged down in historical detail with the result that the story lacked tension and excitement. In particular, I felt that the historical setting stifled the magical world building that was needed to set up the main themes in the story and I found the villain to be two-dimensional and the love story unconvincing. It’s an okay read, but while I’d check out what the authors produce next, I’m not in a hurry to continue this trilogy.
BLACK ARTS was released in the UK on 29th March 2012. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
