TOR/Forge Spotlight Week Day 1: London Falling by Paul Cornell

Many of my Blogger joys come from Tor books. No other company really captures the many facets of my novel cravings like Tor :) I'm also so grateful to be on their reviewers list. This week I'm going to spotlight some of the great Tor books I've been reading over te past few months. Enjoy! 

PUBLISHER:
TOR
I knew this book would be good. Over the past few years I’ve read Paul’s work in comic books and watched his words fuel the characters in my favorite TV show (Doctor Who), so you see I was expecting it to be good. But I was wrong. It was more then good: It knocked my socks of!! Or shall I say knickers in deference to the books location? :)
I finished London Falling in two days. Two glorious days as I discovered the intricate  lives of four police officers linked together by an undercover case and a brutal crime scene, and then bound together by a gift they didn’t seek. Officers Quill, Costain, Sefton and Ross are wrapping up the threads of an undercover operation against criminal boss Toshack.

A strange death during the post sting interrogation leads the four to the home of Toshack’s accomplice Mora Losley.  Or rather one of many homes Losley lives in , each home filled with the skeletons of numerous children and a mounds of dirt. It’s Quill’s hand on the dirt that imbues them all  with the Sight.

Now each of the officers glimpse the true powers of London. Dark creatures that roam the land. Vicious spirits attached to the living whispering words of hate and despair into their minds, ears and hearts.

 The brilliance in this read is how each of the characters react too the gift. The influence on their senses is immense but each of  them are able to overcome it and use it as a powerful investigative tool.
Like a trail of vicious breadcrumbs every path to Mora is filled with the possibility of death and worse sacrifice.

Ah!! Such great writing !  I’m a BBC America addict and so I would compare this novel to a really good episode of Law and Order UK coupled with the creepy creatures from Supernatural. 

Paul’s writing unfurls around the reader, creating an enveloping atmosphere that enhances the action and horror in the book. Initially I did have trouble telling the characters apart and understanding some of the procedural vernacular ( HINT: There is a glossary of many terms in the back of the book), but midway through I was very familiar and greatly attached to them all.

The Diversity in this book is really outstanding. The characters are racially ( and sexually) diverse and the female characters are extremely well written. The city of London itself is a character in this read as well. Paul’s words immerse the reader in the life of the city. It’s strengths and weaknesses, pettiness and community.

Well worth your time! Buy It!