- Mass Market Paperback: 528 pages
- Publisher: Angry Robot; Original edition (2 Sep 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0857660284
- ISBN-13: 978-0857660282
- Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 3.6 x 17.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 230,847 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
"I came away from this read feeling like I'd taken a stroll through Mike Shevdon's imagination. Is this bad? Not at all, because it's a great place to visit and poke around."
- "Examiner.com
"
""Sixty-One Nails" is "Neverwhere" for the next generation. The pacing is spot-on, the characters engaging, and the world fits together beautifully to create a London that ought to be. I stayed up too late finishing it." - C.E. Murphy
"Mike Shevdon strikes sparks from the flinty core of English folklore, as a hero every reader can relate to finds he's part of an incredible and scarily believable parallel realm. If you've been thinking urban fantasy has nothing fresh to offer, think again." -Juliet E. McKenna
"This book is magnificent in every way. "Sixty-One Nails" is a novel I will remember for a very long time. 5*****" - "ScienceFictionandFantasy.co.uk"
"I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes for something different in the urban fantasy genre." - "Fantas
- "Examiner.com
"
""Sixty-One Nails" is "Neverwhere" for the next generation. The pacing is spot-on, the characters engaging, and the world fits together beautifully to create a London that ought to be. I stayed up too late finishing it." - C.E. Murphy
"Mike Shevdon strikes sparks from the flinty core of English folklore, as a hero every reader can relate to finds he's part of an incredible and scarily believable parallel realm. If you've been thinking urban fantasy has nothing fresh to offer, think again." -Juliet E. McKenna
"This book is magnificent in every way. "Sixty-One Nails" is a novel I will remember for a very long time. 5*****" - "ScienceFictionandFantasy.co.uk"
"I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes for something different in the urban fantasy genre." - "Fantas
Review
"The pacing is spot-on, the characters engaging, and the world fits together beautifully to create a London that ought to be." - C.E. Murphy
--This text refers to the
Paperback
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Niall Petersen is not having a good day - there's trouble on the tube, he's about to miss his morning meeting and he's just argued with his ex-wife. A heart attack is just typical with his bad luck. Until he wakes up being attended to by a brisk older woman, and is feeling better by the moment. Any gratitude he might have felt is pretty short lived as Blackbird tells stories or a strange faerie world, full of peril, and insists he's in danger. The worst thing is it's true.
Life as Niall knew it is over, and now it's up to him - with a lot of help from Blackbird, and glimpses of his future - to make sure he survives long enough to make a new one.
Packed with the gritty darkness of real folklore, there's nothing cute about Shevdon's magical descent from the streets of London to the world of the Feyre. Niall is a suitably bewildered, cynical and frightened in turn as the shadows around him come to life. His concern for his daughter drives him on, while his natural curiosity and instincts keep his troubles fresh and possible.
His own growth and progression is matched in Blackbird, as her own knowledge and prejudices are tested to the limit. Glimpses of other Feyre and the casual use of magic slip in until they become the norm, blending in with the quick pace, like the best of Urban Fantasy.
Taking full advantage of the more obscure points of English law and ceremony, Shevdon's story is an excellent beginning to what I hope will be a brilliant series. If you like your Urban Fantasy close to the world we live in, and your faeries dangerous, you'll like this.
Life as Niall knew it is over, and now it's up to him - with a lot of help from Blackbird, and glimpses of his future - to make sure he survives long enough to make a new one.
Packed with the gritty darkness of real folklore, there's nothing cute about Shevdon's magical descent from the streets of London to the world of the Feyre. Niall is a suitably bewildered, cynical and frightened in turn as the shadows around him come to life. His concern for his daughter drives him on, while his natural curiosity and instincts keep his troubles fresh and possible.
His own growth and progression is matched in Blackbird, as her own knowledge and prejudices are tested to the limit. Glimpses of other Feyre and the casual use of magic slip in until they become the norm, blending in with the quick pace, like the best of Urban Fantasy.
Taking full advantage of the more obscure points of English law and ceremony, Shevdon's story is an excellent beginning to what I hope will be a brilliant series. If you like your Urban Fantasy close to the world we live in, and your faeries dangerous, you'll like this.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
There is a plethora of novels out at the moment about the Fey (Faerie, Feyre, Sidhe) and their Courts and some of them just don't quite cut the mustard. However, this book did it for me.
Niall Petersen is going about his everyday life juggling work with trying to make time for his daughter Alex, when suddenly in the tube station he suffers a major heart attack. From seemingly nowhere, comes his salvation, a little old lady who appears to save his life but there is a price to pay for this and a very high one indeed.
In the course of a day, Niall becomes a fugitive from both our world and the world of the Feyre and can he trust his companion who although never lies, doesn't quite tell him everything he ought to know.
The title Sixty One Nails is slightly obscure but all is revealed partly in the middle of the book but mostly towards the end. There is also an interesting and true story behind the knives that are mentioned in the book. Our history dating way back to William the Conquerer never ceases to amaze me.
The book moves along swiftly and fluidly and I have to wonder at the authors vast knowledge of the various Courts including the secretive and deadly 7th Court. These are the Courts of the Feyre sometimes known as the Unseelie and the Seelie Courts. Wherever there is folklore, there is usually an element of truth and do be warned, The Feyre aren't the cute, plump little creatures that flutter around flowers........they can be cruel and capricious.
For a first novel this is truly exceptional and for its historical interest woven into the story alone, I would highly recommend it. I am truly looking forward to the sequel.
Niall Petersen is going about his everyday life juggling work with trying to make time for his daughter Alex, when suddenly in the tube station he suffers a major heart attack. From seemingly nowhere, comes his salvation, a little old lady who appears to save his life but there is a price to pay for this and a very high one indeed.
In the course of a day, Niall becomes a fugitive from both our world and the world of the Feyre and can he trust his companion who although never lies, doesn't quite tell him everything he ought to know.
The title Sixty One Nails is slightly obscure but all is revealed partly in the middle of the book but mostly towards the end. There is also an interesting and true story behind the knives that are mentioned in the book. Our history dating way back to William the Conquerer never ceases to amaze me.
The book moves along swiftly and fluidly and I have to wonder at the authors vast knowledge of the various Courts including the secretive and deadly 7th Court. These are the Courts of the Feyre sometimes known as the Unseelie and the Seelie Courts. Wherever there is folklore, there is usually an element of truth and do be warned, The Feyre aren't the cute, plump little creatures that flutter around flowers........they can be cruel and capricious.
For a first novel this is truly exceptional and for its historical interest woven into the story alone, I would highly recommend it. I am truly looking forward to the sequel.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Tolkein would have been proud to see this book published. I think it was one of the documentaries on a LOTR DVD that I remember hearing about the lack of genuine British mythology and how that was one of the main reasons for writing LOTR. This book certainly meets that criteria and must have taken a great deal of research into folklore. The whole premise for this book appears to be based around an ancient legal ceremony called the Quit Rents.
The story starts with Niall, a typical workaholic in London well on his way to his first heart attack. Unfortunately for him this happens in rush hour on the underground. Niall is saved by a mysterious stranger, but that is just the start of a different kind of trouble. Niall finds himself thrown into a world of magic and the Courts of the Fey with only his saviour as a guide. Hated and hunted is never a good start to a new life, but Niall is propelled along a path to save not only himself but the whole of humanity. OK it is a bit more complicated than that but to explain would require a lot of spoilers, and we wouldn't want that.
Most of the books I really enjoy are fast-paced action filled stories, this however is something different for me. The plot and background takes a long while to build and weave the threads together before you get to the climax. Normally I wouldn't touch a book like this, especially after reading the reviews on how long it takes to get going. To be honest though I was so absorbed in the background that I didn't really notice that the story was trickling along until the pace started to increase in the final quarter. I tried to work how the book was going to end, but did not expect the eventual outcome, and there is great scope for follow-ups (The Road to Bedlam) is on my wish list.
This book is an enthralling and uplifting read that shows painstaking attention to detail and a love of British folklore. I enjoyed it and will read The Road to Bedlam soon.
The story starts with Niall, a typical workaholic in London well on his way to his first heart attack. Unfortunately for him this happens in rush hour on the underground. Niall is saved by a mysterious stranger, but that is just the start of a different kind of trouble. Niall finds himself thrown into a world of magic and the Courts of the Fey with only his saviour as a guide. Hated and hunted is never a good start to a new life, but Niall is propelled along a path to save not only himself but the whole of humanity. OK it is a bit more complicated than that but to explain would require a lot of spoilers, and we wouldn't want that.
Most of the books I really enjoy are fast-paced action filled stories, this however is something different for me. The plot and background takes a long while to build and weave the threads together before you get to the climax. Normally I wouldn't touch a book like this, especially after reading the reviews on how long it takes to get going. To be honest though I was so absorbed in the background that I didn't really notice that the story was trickling along until the pace started to increase in the final quarter. I tried to work how the book was going to end, but did not expect the eventual outcome, and there is great scope for follow-ups (The Road to Bedlam) is on my wish list.
This book is an enthralling and uplifting read that shows painstaking attention to detail and a love of British folklore. I enjoyed it and will read The Road to Bedlam soon.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Can't understand the hype
I was looking for a good fantasy seies and looked at the huge amount of positive reviews for 61 nails.Can't understand how everybody thinks its so great. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Shamrover
Fantastic fantasy debut
Highly recommended, for anyone with the slightest interest in fantasy or urban fantasy.
Fun to read, with enough interesting characters and plot developments to keep the... Read more
Fun to read, with enough interesting characters and plot developments to keep the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by joevascotia
A fun urban fantasy
The book is about an ordinary Londoner who discovers the magical, secret world that he never knew existed. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Cathy Hill
A surprisingly good read
When Niall Petersen has a heart attack on the tube he is healed by a lady called Blackbird who tells him that the healing woke his latent Feyre powers and now he will be hunted. Read more
Published 8 months ago by K. Maxwell
good start
good start to another seris [the fantsy world hates a stand alone book doesn't it]. well paced, a few good twists, plenty of action, dark enough to be 'real' but with and... Read more
Published 9 months ago by ross
Excellent !!!
Having exhausted all my usual authors I bought this on a recommendation from Amazon based on my purchases - I was so glad I had. Read more
Published 14 months ago by V. Dodd
Fast Paced Fantasy Thriller
First off, if you are looking at this book and thinking "Oh it says it's like Neverwhere" then look away now as it's noting like a Neil Gaiman book - this is a fantasy book paced... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Richard Kelly
No No No no NOT Neil Gaiman!!
Okay, let's get this straight:Neil Gaiman is a fantastic prose stylist who happens to write fantasy fiction. Read more
Published 22 months ago by M. W. Hatfield
Superb fantasy
In a genre over-stocked with fantasy worlds with improbable and unpronounceable names, Mike Shevdon made the wise decision to set his fantasy in today's London, a London distinctly... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Steve Craftman
Harry Potter for grown ups
Well Niall Peterson's life really changes dramatically one day on the London underground, when he dies! Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mr. A. I. Harrison
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