First novel in what is now a long-running series starring London detective Peter Grant, whose potential as a wizard earns him a place on a secret team who deal with weird occurrences in the capital. In my opinion, suffers from the usual problems of a novel that (the author hopes) will be the first in a long series: some of the characters, including Grant himself, seem a little forced, as if the author knows that we should love this one, or hate that one, but we just have to take his word for it. That improves as the series goes on, and we can make up our own minds.
What I loved, however, is the central premise: in Peter Grant's wizard-world, the rivers, streams, creeks, etc etc that criss-cross London, buried under tarmac and diverted into storm drains, are each represented by a demi-god or goddess. Most of them have adapted comfortably to modern life, holding down jobs, hitting the fashionable clubs at night, raising families, but each one still identifies in some way with the "spirit" of the waterway he or she represents. Lovely idea -- and, as another reviewer has said, a really sharp and interesting depiction of modern London, and how the past there is always just beneath the surface.
What I loved, however, is the central premise: in Peter Grant's wizard-world, the rivers, streams, creeks, etc etc that criss-cross London, buried under tarmac and diverted into storm drains, are each represented by a demi-god or goddess. Most of them have adapted comfortably to modern life, holding down jobs, hitting the fashionable clubs at night, raising families, but each one still identifies in some way with the "spirit" of the waterway he or she represents. Lovely idea -- and, as another reviewer has said, a really sharp and interesting depiction of modern London, and how the past there is always just beneath the surface.
