- Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Spectra Books (19 May 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0553590065
- ISBN-13: 978-0553590067
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,817,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
You never know when you’ll find yourself
falling through one of the cracks in the world.…
Two of today’s brightest stars of dark fantasy combine their award-winning, critically acclaimed talents in this spellbinding new tale of magic, terror, and adventure that begins when a young woman slips through the space between our everyday world and the one hiding just beneath it.
Always assume there’s someone after you. That was the paranoid wisdom her mother had hardwired into Jasmine Towne ever since she was a little girl. Now, suddenly on her own, Jazz is going to need every skill she has ever been taught to survive enemies both seen and unseen. For her mother had given Jazz one last invaluable piece of advice, written in her own blood.
Jazz Hide Forever
All her life Jazz has known them only as the “Uncles,” and her mother seemed to fear them as much as depend on them. Now these enigmatic, black-clad strangers are after Jazz for reasons she can’t fathom, and her only escape is to slip into the forgotten tunnels of London’s vast underground. Here she will meet a tribe of survivors calling themselves the United Kingdom and begin an adventure that links her to the ghosts of a city long past, a father she never knew, and a destiny she fears only slightly less than the relentless killers who’d commit any crime under heaven or earth to prevent her from fulfilling it.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
falling through one of the cracks in the world.…
Two of today’s brightest stars of dark fantasy combine their award-winning, critically acclaimed talents in this spellbinding new tale of magic, terror, and adventure that begins when a young woman slips through the space between our everyday world and the one hiding just beneath it.
Always assume there’s someone after you. That was the paranoid wisdom her mother had hardwired into Jasmine Towne ever since she was a little girl. Now, suddenly on her own, Jazz is going to need every skill she has ever been taught to survive enemies both seen and unseen. For her mother had given Jazz one last invaluable piece of advice, written in her own blood.
Jazz Hide Forever
All her life Jazz has known them only as the “Uncles,” and her mother seemed to fear them as much as depend on them. Now these enigmatic, black-clad strangers are after Jazz for reasons she can’t fathom, and her only escape is to slip into the forgotten tunnels of London’s vast underground. Here she will meet a tribe of survivors calling themselves the United Kingdom and begin an adventure that links her to the ghosts of a city long past, a father she never knew, and a destiny she fears only slightly less than the relentless killers who’d commit any crime under heaven or earth to prevent her from fulfilling it.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Jazz is a girl with a lot on her mind. Brought up by her seemingly paranoid mother to trust no one & always be ready to run, her world spins out of control when she returns home one day to find her mother dead & the instruction to hide forever. Lost & confused she finds her way to the underground & the maze of disused & forgotten stations & tracks buried deep beneath London. Befriended by a rag-tag gang of petty young thieves led by a strange old man she begins to unravel the mysteries of her past & that of her parents while all the time being pursued by her mothers killers, the ghosts of old London and a determined young man with an agenda of his own.
Usual a co-written book spells disaster for the reader with a split between the writing styles and conflicting ideas. Here though the writing is seamless & the ideas flow smoothly & seemingly without effort. The characters are well rounded & entertaining and it's never long before some exciting new plot twist or moment of action takes place.
It has to be said though that 'Mind the gap' is not without it;s flaws. At first the gang of kids living underground with their adult mentor guiding their pickpocketing exploits is too often a carbon copy of Fagin & his boys from 'Oliver Twist'. This resolves itself eventually & the differences between the two become increasingly apparent.
The second referrence, and this one remains throughout, is that of Neil Gamans classic 'Neverwhere'. The detailed descriptions of forgotten underground areas is very similar to that novel but in fairness I suppose it would be near impossible to write any fantasy novel involving the London underground & not seem to be mirroring that story.
My one real gripe though has to be the ending which is just to hurried & see's too many villains simply fade out & does not resolve some very important characters story arcs. The ending itself is fair enough but too many people are just dismissed without a second thought after having been so important to the plot.
Overallthough it has to be said that there is much to enjoy here. The plot rattles along at a fair old pace, there are plenty of plot twists & exciting moments & the heroine of the story is likeable & pleasingly fragile & human.
If you fancy a quick read for the summer & are happy to just go along for the ride & not be too critical then this has a lot to recommend it & is likely to be enjoyed & recommended.
Usual a co-written book spells disaster for the reader with a split between the writing styles and conflicting ideas. Here though the writing is seamless & the ideas flow smoothly & seemingly without effort. The characters are well rounded & entertaining and it's never long before some exciting new plot twist or moment of action takes place.
It has to be said though that 'Mind the gap' is not without it;s flaws. At first the gang of kids living underground with their adult mentor guiding their pickpocketing exploits is too often a carbon copy of Fagin & his boys from 'Oliver Twist'. This resolves itself eventually & the differences between the two become increasingly apparent.
The second referrence, and this one remains throughout, is that of Neil Gamans classic 'Neverwhere'. The detailed descriptions of forgotten underground areas is very similar to that novel but in fairness I suppose it would be near impossible to write any fantasy novel involving the London underground & not seem to be mirroring that story.
My one real gripe though has to be the ending which is just to hurried & see's too many villains simply fade out & does not resolve some very important characters story arcs. The ending itself is fair enough but too many people are just dismissed without a second thought after having been so important to the plot.
Overallthough it has to be said that there is much to enjoy here. The plot rattles along at a fair old pace, there are plenty of plot twists & exciting moments & the heroine of the story is likeable & pleasingly fragile & human.
If you fancy a quick read for the summer & are happy to just go along for the ride & not be too critical then this has a lot to recommend it & is likely to be enjoyed & recommended.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mind the Gap follows Jasmine Towne, who following her mother's murder by the mysterious Uncles, hides in the forgotten tunnels of London's underground system. Here she meets a group of children - the United Kingdom - looked after by an old man called Harry. With nowhere else to go she joins them - but the Uncles haven't stopped looking for her.
I'm not sure this is a book I could recommend to others. I would say it's a Young Adult book, except for the use of the f-word throughout, and I'm not sure what adult market it's aimed at. It's also somewhat depressing, painted in monochrome rather than colour. Pardon the pun - but there's little light at the end of the tunnel. It seems whenever Jaz thinks she's found a place or a person for herself something goes wrong. Don't get too fond of any endearing character.
Jaz as a heroine, didn't always ring true to me. In the flashbacks she doesn't always sound like a teenager. Given the circumstances maybe it's likely she would sound older than her years. However, there's the problem of her sounding older in flashback than she does in the present.
There were parts that I enjoyed. I felt like there were many Londons being woven into this story. Quite a lot of it had a Dickensian feel, the United Kingdom gang is reminiscent of Fagin and his boys from Oliver Twist. The use of the passage from Great Expectations towards the end of the book I thought worked really well.
There's also a slight fairy tale feel. Jaz likens herself to Wendy Darling (Peter Pan) and when she first descends into the Underground there is an atmosphere of Alice going down the rabbit hole.
The descriptions are well written and drew me into the book. When Jaz first flees into the Underground we're there on the Tube station with her, feeling the trains screaming past and seeing the unwelcome darkness of the tunnels. On the first burglary I was with Jaz as she entered the house, I felt her exhilaration and fear as she realizes there is another burglar in the house with her, and could almost taste the adrenaline rush as she decides to go ahead with her own robbery anyway.
Although this book isn't a keeper for me, I am glad I read it, after all you shouldn't get too stuck in your reading comfort zone. But I'm not sure whether I'd buy any follow up stories.
I'm not sure this is a book I could recommend to others. I would say it's a Young Adult book, except for the use of the f-word throughout, and I'm not sure what adult market it's aimed at. It's also somewhat depressing, painted in monochrome rather than colour. Pardon the pun - but there's little light at the end of the tunnel. It seems whenever Jaz thinks she's found a place or a person for herself something goes wrong. Don't get too fond of any endearing character.
Jaz as a heroine, didn't always ring true to me. In the flashbacks she doesn't always sound like a teenager. Given the circumstances maybe it's likely she would sound older than her years. However, there's the problem of her sounding older in flashback than she does in the present.
There were parts that I enjoyed. I felt like there were many Londons being woven into this story. Quite a lot of it had a Dickensian feel, the United Kingdom gang is reminiscent of Fagin and his boys from Oliver Twist. The use of the passage from Great Expectations towards the end of the book I thought worked really well.
There's also a slight fairy tale feel. Jaz likens herself to Wendy Darling (Peter Pan) and when she first descends into the Underground there is an atmosphere of Alice going down the rabbit hole.
The descriptions are well written and drew me into the book. When Jaz first flees into the Underground we're there on the Tube station with her, feeling the trains screaming past and seeing the unwelcome darkness of the tunnels. On the first burglary I was with Jaz as she entered the house, I felt her exhilaration and fear as she realizes there is another burglar in the house with her, and could almost taste the adrenaline rush as she decides to go ahead with her own robbery anyway.
Although this book isn't a keeper for me, I am glad I read it, after all you shouldn't get too stuck in your reading comfort zone. But I'm not sure whether I'd buy any follow up stories.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
8 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Atmospheric Story of a Hidden London
6 Oct 2008
Format:Paperback
Mind the Gap follows Jasmine Towne, who following her mother's murder by the mysterious Uncles, hides in the forgotten tunnels of London's underground system. Here she meets a group of children - the United Kingdom - looked after by an old man called Harry. With nowhere else to go she joins them - but the Uncles haven't stopped looking for her.
I'm not sure this is a book I could recommend to others. I would say it's a Young Adult book, except for the use of the f-word throughout, and I'm not sure what adult market it's aimed at. It's also somewhat depressing, painted in monochrome rather than colour. Pardon the pun - but there's little light at the end of the tunnel. It seems whenever Jaz thinks she's found a place or a person for herself something goes wrong. Don't get too fond of any endearing character.
Jaz as a heroine, didn't always ring true to me. In the flashbacks she doesn't always sound like a teenager. Given the circumstances maybe it's likely she would sound older than her years. However, there's the problem of her sounding older in flashback than she does in the present.
There were parts that I enjoyed. I felt like there were many Londons being woven into this story. Quite a lot of it had a Dickensian feel, the United Kingdom gang is reminiscent of Fagin and his boys from Oliver Twist. The use of the passage from Great Expectations towards the end of the book I thought worked really well.
There's also a slight fairy tale feel. Jaz likens herself to Wendy Darling (Peter Pan) and when she first descends into the Underground there is an atmosphere of Alice going down the rabbit hole.
The descriptions are well written and drew me into the book. When Jaz first flees into the Underground we're there on the Tube station with her, feeling the trains screaming past and seeing the unwelcome darkness of the tunnels. On the first burglary I was with Jaz as she entered the house, I felt her exhilaration and fear as she realizes there is another burglar in the house with her, and could almost taste the adrenaline rush as she decides to go ahead with her own robbery anyway.
Although this book isn't a keeper for me, I am glad I read it, after all you shouldn't get too stuck in your reading comfort zone. But I'm not sure whether I'd buy any follow up stories.
I'm not sure this is a book I could recommend to others. I would say it's a Young Adult book, except for the use of the f-word throughout, and I'm not sure what adult market it's aimed at. It's also somewhat depressing, painted in monochrome rather than colour. Pardon the pun - but there's little light at the end of the tunnel. It seems whenever Jaz thinks she's found a place or a person for herself something goes wrong. Don't get too fond of any endearing character.
Jaz as a heroine, didn't always ring true to me. In the flashbacks she doesn't always sound like a teenager. Given the circumstances maybe it's likely she would sound older than her years. However, there's the problem of her sounding older in flashback than she does in the present.
There were parts that I enjoyed. I felt like there were many Londons being woven into this story. Quite a lot of it had a Dickensian feel, the United Kingdom gang is reminiscent of Fagin and his boys from Oliver Twist. The use of the passage from Great Expectations towards the end of the book I thought worked really well.
There's also a slight fairy tale feel. Jaz likens herself to Wendy Darling (Peter Pan) and when she first descends into the Underground there is an atmosphere of Alice going down the rabbit hole.
The descriptions are well written and drew me into the book. When Jaz first flees into the Underground we're there on the Tube station with her, feeling the trains screaming past and seeing the unwelcome darkness of the tunnels. On the first burglary I was with Jaz as she entered the house, I felt her exhilaration and fear as she realizes there is another burglar in the house with her, and could almost taste the adrenaline rush as she decides to go ahead with her own robbery anyway.
Although this book isn't a keeper for me, I am glad I read it, after all you shouldn't get too stuck in your reading comfort zone. But I'm not sure whether I'd buy any follow up stories.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
London's Ghosts
7 July 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
An intriguing idea--all the ghosts of London past passing through the city's Underground system--but not entirely original. I believe CJ Cherryh did something similar with her dying sun stories set in London, Paris, & Russia. The motivation of the main character was very believable but I would have liked this more had the supporting characters been more fleshed out.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
A good read, but never quite goes far enough
1 Aug 2009
Format:Paperback
Mind the Gap is an engrossing book that never quite goes far enough into the fantasy world for my tastes; it merely dances on the edge between fantasy and the real world, keeping more toward the reality side. When Jazz first retreats into the abadoned parts of London's subway system, I expect and hope she's going to hook up with something horrific, or wondrous. But instead she just falls in with a modern-day Fagan and his band of child thieves living in an old bomb shelter, and becomes a female Oliver Twist. She does have a few ghostly encounters underground, but nothing ever really comes of them, until the very end, at least. There are a lot of eldritch sparks flying throughout the book, but they never really catch fire. Jazz is merely an observer of the ghostly, until the end of the book. "Oh, look, ghosts."
It's a fairly pedestrian brush against a fantastical and hidden world that never quite materializes. The things you sense lurking in the shadows never reach out and grab the characters; the things that go bump in the night bump almost too softly to be heard. The authors tease us with abandoned, bricked up tunnels and doorways that hint at secrets beyond, but they never actually tear the bricks away and take us into those tunnels or through the doorways to reveal the secrets. I want to explore these hidden, forgotten places that the authors hint at, but instead they keep taking us back topside to the real London, dragging us along on the main character's adventures in cat burglary, and her involvement with a master cat burglar who turns out to be something more.
The authors do an excellent job of creating numerous moments of supernatural tension. But the tension is never really unleashed in a startling burst; it just sort of fizzles away. But it's a well-told story, extremely well-written, with a lot of tense moments. It hooks you at the very beginning and keeps you hooked, taking you on a fast-paced, entertaining literary journey that reaches a frenzied, satisfying ending. It does its job well enough, so I can't complain if the journey doesn't take me exactly where I want it to.
It's a fairly pedestrian brush against a fantastical and hidden world that never quite materializes. The things you sense lurking in the shadows never reach out and grab the characters; the things that go bump in the night bump almost too softly to be heard. The authors tease us with abandoned, bricked up tunnels and doorways that hint at secrets beyond, but they never actually tear the bricks away and take us into those tunnels or through the doorways to reveal the secrets. I want to explore these hidden, forgotten places that the authors hint at, but instead they keep taking us back topside to the real London, dragging us along on the main character's adventures in cat burglary, and her involvement with a master cat burglar who turns out to be something more.
The authors do an excellent job of creating numerous moments of supernatural tension. But the tension is never really unleashed in a startling burst; it just sort of fizzles away. But it's a well-told story, extremely well-written, with a lot of tense moments. It hooks you at the very beginning and keeps you hooked, taking you on a fast-paced, entertaining literary journey that reaches a frenzied, satisfying ending. It does its job well enough, so I can't complain if the journey doesn't take me exactly where I want it to.
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