The City's Son
in hidden London you'll find marvels, magic . . . and menace
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
'An impeccably dark parable, endlessly inventive and utterly compelling' M R Carey, author of The Girl with all the Gifts
Beth's world is falling apart. Then she discovers a hidden London, full of marvels, magic . . . and menace. Perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere.
Hidden under the surface of everyday London is a city where wild train spirits stampede over the tracks and glass-skinned dancers with glowing veins light the streets.
When a devastating betrayal drives her from her home, Beth stumbles into the secret city, where she finds Filius Viae, London's ragged crown prince, just when he needs someone the most. For an ancient enemy has returned to the darkness under St Paul's Cathedral, bent on reigniting a centuries-old war. Desperate to find a way to save the city they both love, they find themselves in a desperate race through this bizarre urban wonderland, but when Beth's best friend is captured, she must choose between this wondrous existence and the life she left behind.
The City's Son is the first book of The Skyscraper Throne trilogy: a story about family, friends and monsters, and how you can't always tell which is which.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In debut author Pollock's alternately glittering and gritty urban fantasy, first in the Skyscraper Throne trilogy, London is a secret battleground between the forces of the god Reach, "the Crane King," who would devastate the city with soulless and sterile urban development, and Mater Viae, "Our Lady of the Streets," goddess of London's teeming vermin not just rats and feral cats, but also creatures made from masonry, electricity, and garbage. With the goddess mysteriously absent, her son, Filius, "a skinny boy wearing only a pair of filthy ripped jeans," must oppose Reach, aided by his faithful trash monster, Gutterglass, and Beth Bradley, a delinquent teenager with a genius for graffiti and the courage to stand up to an angry, sentient locomotive. While there can be an overabundance of detail regarding the inner workings of Pollock's modern-day London, the overall effect is that of a city transformed by ephemeral, incandescent magic. Gorgeously written and brimming with bizarre urban creatures, this darkly imagined and sometimes painful tale should delight fans of Neil Gaiman, China Mi ville, and Holly Black. Ages 12 up.
