City of Light & Shadow - Ian Whates

City of Light & Shadow is the third volume in The City of a Hundred Rows. As with the second volume, City of Hope & Despair, I got an ARC though publisher Angry Robot's fabulous Robot Army. I'm not entirely sure how many volumes Whates means to write in this series but it may be more than three. This one certainly provides a measure of closure for some of the story lines started in the previous two volumes but it also leaves plenty of opportunities and unanswered questions to write more. The series is one that suits publisher Angry Robot perfectly, refusing to stay within the confines of one genre, it contains elements of urban fantasy, steampunk and increasingly, the more classic epic fantasy. It's a very interesting mix but as with the previous two books, I am left with the feeling that perhaps Whates didn't get the most out of the unusual setting he created. It is highly readable, fast paced and entertaining novel nonetheless.

Tom has managed to reach the goddess worshipped by the people of Thaiburley, only to find out she expected to be awoken much earlier. Time is desperately short and soon, Tom's mind is crammed with every bit of knowledge he needs to possess to save the city from doom. The goddess is using him hard and Tom begins to wonder if perhaps he spends a bit too much time listening to others. Kat in the mean time, realizing their extinction is only a matter of time if they keep on going as they have, is preparing to settle her Tattooed Man in one of the vacated street-nick territories. First there is a bit of unfinished business with the Soul Thief to attend to however. Business that will take her in some of the most dangerous territory in the under-City. A region known as the Stain.

One of my remarks on the previous two volumes is that Tom is a bit of a passive main character. He needs others to tell him what to do and then he does them, usually without argument. In this book that is slowly beginning to change when Tom starts to wonder what he wants with his life and how he should employ is powers. Of course he is in way too deep now to back out but it is still a sign he is growing up. One of the things he questions most, if the origin of the goddess (and her brother). This is one area where Whates leave a lot of room to expand his world. He hints at a whole universe besides the world Thaiburley is located in. I guess Whates might well be thinking of adding some more science fiction elements in later volumes.

Where Tom is struggling to understand and harness his powers, Kat is facing up to the burden of leadership. Something she doesn't do with good grace to be honest. It is one thing to be a kick-ass pit fighter, leading a group of people into battle is quite something else. Whates shows us the inner turmoil and how it contrasts with the tough face she puts on in dealing with her own people as well as members from the Kite Guards. Kat can be a bit overbearing at times, especially when she's wrong and doesn't want to admit it, if she wasn't too handy by half with a sword someone would probably have spanked her by now. It is a great way of showing how young these characters are though.

Dewar, the man who Tom has had to leave behind on his way to the goddess, also makes an appearance in this novel. After Tom cuts him loose he decides it is time to settle a few old scores. We come to know a bit more of the neighbouring nation of the Misted Isles. Unfortunately his visit is very brief. Politics appear to be particularly vicious in this part of the world and Dewar's history entirely isn't cleared up yet. I did think a bit more of a link between the activities of Dewar and events in Thaiburley would have been nice though. Dewar's actions do have an impact on Thaiburley, or at least when the novel ends it looks like they will, but nobody in that city appears to be aware of what is going on there. It's the story line which contains the most obvious unresolved bit of business I guess. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy Dewar's ruthlessness but his story is so disconnected from the rest of the tale at this point, that is felt like reading two separate stories at times.

In the previous two volumes, Whates has already shown that he likes to keep the story moving. City of Light & Shadow is a fast paced, fairly straightforward novel, one that does not sacrifice pace to add a bit more detail. Personally I think that is a bit of a missed opportunity, given the interesting setting Whates has created. The nature of the city of Thaiburley becomes a bit clearer, but its history remains as confused as Tom's memory of them for the most part. There is not denying that the fast pace and plentiful action scenes make for a very entertaining story though. It's one of those books you blaze though in a day or two. It is not the most challenging series of books I've ever read but the series is definitely beginning to grow on me. No idea if there will be one but I think I'd like to see a fourth book.

Book Details
Title: City of Light & Shadow
Author: Ian Whates
Publisher: Angry Robot
Year: 2011
Language: English
Format: E-book
ISBN: 978-0-85766-191-3
First published: 2011

City of Hope & Despair - Ian Whates

Publisher Angry Robot was kind enough to send me a review copy of Ian Whates' novel City of Hope & Despair a few weeks back. When I requested it, I somehow failed to notice this is in fact the second volume in The City of a Hundred Rows. Fortunately there are such marvellous things as online book stores so I hurriedly ordered a copy of City of Dreams & Nightmare and managed to read it in time to at least do a somewhat timely review of the second volume. I thought The City of Hope and Despair an entertaining if not particularly challenging novel. Although the story in the second volume branches out a bit, my feelings about the series are more or less unchanged.

Events in the first novel have left The Prime Master of Thaiburly with the uncomfortable feeling that he has failed to uproot the most dangerous player in the recent attempt to take over the City Below. He feels the city is still in danger. The Prime Master is not a man who became the leader of the city of Thaiburley by closing his eyes for signs like these. At some basic level the city is still in mortal peril. He sends the street thief Tom on the road with a number of unlikely companions to find the source of the city's power, the goddess Thaiss. The trip will open Tom's eyes to the wider world.

While Tom is exploring the countryside, Kat faces an entirely different set of challenges. A creature preying on the people sensitive to the goddess Thaiss' power roams the city, killing and feeding at will. Kat and the Tattooed Men mean to stop this creature but it is hard to track down, even for a team as confident, dedicated and talented as the Tattooed Men. To make matter worse, some parties in the city would rather not have Kat and her companions succeed. And then there is the troubled relationship between Kat and her sister, which seems to be heading for an inevitable showdown. The City Below is still far from safe for Kat.

Where City of Dreams & Nightmare was more or less self-contained, with all important story lines converging at the end of the novel, this second volume is a different creature. Tom and Kat's path diverges in this story, with Tom being cast into the wider world, exploring the area upriver from the city of Thaiburly. It's a strange experience for the boy who has never left the city, he definitely gains a deeper understanding of the world around him. What I found more interesting is Tom's confrontation with various aspects of religion. Tom is not religious, disillusioned as he is by his hard youth being forced to make a living through petty theft. Being in the presence of a young, devoutly religious priestess who regularly demonstrates her talent for healing using the goddess' power, tests Tom's conviction. On the other hand, he is not spared the greed and lust for power that corrupts some religious institutions either.

As a whole I thought Tom was a bit of a passive character though. He's a gentle soul, not someone likely to take centre stage without a good shove in the right direction and a good shove is not something Whates provide very often. Quite a contrast to Kat, who is much more confident in her abilities to survive in the City Below. Although both story lines include a number of action scenes, Kat is often in the thick of it, while Tom depends on his trusted talent to hide him. Like in the last novel Tom needs to be put under severe pressure to uses his talent in different forms where Kat might be considered impulsive. I hope Tom's character will develop a bit more towards confidence. He strikes me as a terribly passive main character for a fantasy novel with a young protagonist struggling to explore his magical abilities.

The previous book was a little light on worldbuilding, which surprised me a little for a book that clearly aims to present a fantastical setting to the reader. Historical background information on the city was very scarce in the first book. A few of the pieces are beginning to fall into place in this book, something I expect will continue into the next volume as the impact of Tom's quest becomes clear. It's more a matter of adding to what we already know however, Whates is not spending more words on in than he did in the previous volume. Personally I still feel the world is a bit underdeveloped, he doesn't make the most of his steampunkish, more scientifically advanced society than one would find in most novels. If you prefer a fast paced story without too many embellishments this may be your book.

I wasn't terribly impressed with the first volume and I'm not blown away but this second book either. As I mentioned in the introduction, they are entertaining, tightly plotted novels but fairly light reading. The major difference between the two is that City of Hope & Despair is much more clearly part of a series. The end offer no clear resolution. One of the story lines ends a major cliffhanger and elsewhere in the novel lots of threads in the story are obviously going to continue into the next book. With the expanded scope of the story and hints of a far larger conflict than what we've seen thus far spread throughout the novel, there is something to look forward to in the third volume of The City of a Hundred Rows.

Book Details
Title: City of Hope & Despair
Author: Ian Whates
Publisher: Angry Robot
Pages: 416
Year: 2011
Language: English
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-85766-088-6
First published: 2011

City of Dreams & Nightmare - Ian Whates

I did something incredibly stupid a couple of weeks back. I requested a review copy of Ian Whates' City of Hope & Despair, without realizing that is was the second book in a series. I hadn't read the first part, City of Dreams & Nightmare yet. So I ordered a copy of book one and I'm going to do something I generally avoid on Random Comments: review two books by one author in a row. City of Dreams & Nightmare is Whates' debut novel, he has quite a bit of short fiction to his name though. I haven't read any of his work before so I didn't know what to expect. As it turns out, Whates likes his fantasy with a bit of steampunk on the side and most important, he spares me the ordeal of reading a second book when I didn't like the first. City of Dreams & Nightmare is quite a fun read.

The story is set in Thaibulrey, the city of a hundred rows. It is a vertical city with dozens of levels. Once a wonder of technology, it has been hit hard by a war in its recent past. The city now emanates an atmosphere of decline. Not surprisingly, the higher up in the city you live, the higher your status. At the very bottom reside the poor in what is called the City Below. On the heights, the ruling class of Arkademics reside, in the company it is said, of the demons themselves.

The opening of the story finds young thief Tom on his way up in the city. His gang controls a section of the City Below but tonight Tom is out for bigger game. On his way up he witnesses the murder of one of the city's Arkademics by one of his colleagues. Despite Tom's trick to make people overlook him if he doesn't want to be seen, he is spotted by the murderer. Obviously not pleased with this witness he pursues Tom. The young thief calls of his mission for the night and starts a desperate run for the relative safety of the City Below. What follows will turn Tom's life upside down and change the city forever.

City of Dreams & Nightmare is a book that reads very quickly. Whates' style is to the point, he keeps his plot moving at a good pace. The setting is obviously meant to create a fantastical atmosphere in the novel but Whates doesn't indulge in long descriptions. He keeps the focus on the story and his characters without digressing too much. The city would not be possible without magic and a whole bunch of mysterious machinery and Whates leaves all manner of hints throughout the novel. There's a police force that uses cloaks to do things that defy gravity for instance, a necessity to move quickly between the many levels of the city. Waste management, transport and supplying the huge city all have to take vertical dimension of the city into account. Despite that, the history and inner workings of the city remain something of a mystery. We don't learn all that much about the past of the city either. For people who like their fantasy to include a generous measure of worldbuilding it might be a bit disappointing. It looks like Whates intends to explore some of these issues further in future volumes.

We see most of the story though the eyes of people what are pawns in a very large and dangerous game. Tom clearly has some magical talent. He doesn't seem to understand what he is doing but others have clearly noticed. His presence at the murder scene may seem accidental early on in the book, later on we find out it is anything but. This lack of understanding of what is going on around them also goes for two of the three other important characters, independent street fighter Kat and Kite Guard Tylus are also clearly unaware of the stakes of the game they are involved in. Only assassin and right hand man of the murdering Arkademic, Dewar seems to be a bit wiser in the ways of this fantasy world. The way the author manages to convey the general idea of what is going on over the heads of our heroes is quite well done. I didn't get the idea I was missing thing although it would have been nice to have some of the machinations in the higher rows of the city a little more visible.

Despite there being several characters that get a point of view, Tom is the one the story revolves around. He's very young, his exact age isn't mentioned but apparently he has only recently discarded to opinion that girls are stupid. If I had to guess I'd say about fourteen. He's pretty naive about a lot of things and that is one of his endearing qualities. It does clash a bit with the way he's spent his youth. Tom is apparently an orphan and he is part of a gang that survives by extorting local traders, robbery and theft. Violence, prostitution and crime are part of Tom's direct environment. He's simply too soft to really fit in that world. The author uses this to point out Tom is destined for a different life and to a point this works. I still feel his youth should have scarred him a little more than we get to see in this novel. He strikes me as a bit too pure.

City of Dreams & Nightmare is mostly a quick, fun read. It is not particularly a challenging read and in terms of worldbuilding, I feel Whates leaves a lot of aspects of the city and the world surrounding it a bit underdeveloped. He doesn't quite fulfil the potential his creation offers. That being said, there will be more books in this series and obviously there has to be something left to explore. Tom and Kat's flight through the City Below, trying to keep a step ahead of the nameless players that would see them killed is a thrilling experience. One that has convinced me to see if Whates can put a bit more meat on the bones of his story in the next volume.

Book Details
Title: City of Dreams & Nightmare
Author: Ian Whates
Publisher: Angry Robot
Pages: 427
Year: 2010
Language: English
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-85766-049-7
First published: 2010