This grabbed me in a way very few books have recently. One of those books you read despite the fact you have other important things to do. This is very well written with great pace and believable characters.
It is hard-boiled, in the tradition of Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler. A man working on his own against impossible odds and in a world with no moral certainties. What is the right thing to do is never clear, and some of the brutal things he has to do to get the job done weigh on his concience. Enemies surround him, and only a quick wit, a quicker right hook and instant action keep him alive.
This has a typical twisty Urban Fantasy Noir plot, with double crossing baddies creating a complex problem for the straight talking hero. Whenever the pace slows, someone comes through the door with a gun, or perhaps a nameless horror from the places outside of time. The hero (Ray Lilly) always has a wise-crack ready to greet them.
Ray Lilly isn't one of those ridiculous super-powered wizards (yet). He is human, and vulnerable. That is what makes him tough. The people he fights are the wannabe Harry Potters, obssessed with getting power and a trick bag full of flashy effects. Ray just wants to save the greatest number of people, and agonises over those he can't save and those he is forced to kill.
One of the things I love about the series is the way it is being miserly with the underlying story about the nature of how magic exists and the Twenty Palace Society which polices it. The Twenty Palace Society is a great invention, such a self-absorbed and brutal secret society. Almost as bad as the horrors they fight. Except their enemy is truly terrifying. Lovecraftian Horrors from the 'Deeps'.
The first reviewer says he wants a more thorough description of the monsters. They are invisible so description is tricky. They are also in the tradition of Lovecraft, so are supposed to be a bit mysterious. On the other hand, how they feed is quite specific and really quite disturbing. A good reason too for Ray Lilly to fight as hard and as toughly as he does.
I like the fact that Ray is growing in power and knowledge slowly, almost reluctantly. Every decision he makes is another moral puzzle, with power he gains from victories often being dangerous and corrupting, yet neccesary to fight the worst evil.
I'm always really glad when his boss, Annalise, turns up, because she is also a complex and interesting character, and their relationship brings out much of the world-view of the novels. Even as an unstoppable killing machine, she sometimes has to rely on Ray Lilly to finish the fight (although it is good that she isn't in all of them, as they are tenser when Ray has only his wits and his single spell to rely on.)
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Brilliant stuff and great central characters.
I am in withdrawal and need my next fix. Looking forward to how things will progress in the next one.
