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Stray Souls (Magicals Anonymous #1)

3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 · rating details · 258 ratings · 64 reviews

'Don’t look back. It wants you to look back.’

London’s soul has gone missing. Lost? Kidnapped? Murdered? Nobody knows – but when Sharon Li unexpectedly discovers she’s a shaman, she is immediately called upon to use her newfound powers of oneness with the City to rescue it from a slow but inevitable demise.

The problem is, while everyone expects Sharon to have all the answer...more

Paperback, 464 pages

Published October 30th 2012 by Orbit (first published October 1st 2012)

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Apr 04, 2013 Elspeth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, favorites, kindle, own, witty-banter, urban-fantasy

You can also read mine, and MLE's reviews on our blog.

This book kind of makes me sad. I love the Matthew Swift novels, and it looks like these are taking over, which sucks. I want Swift back. I mean Griffin can do both, I will understand switching back and forth between series.
Please.
So in saying that, this is why I gave this book four stars. I liked it, but I didn’t like it as much as the Matthew Swift series.
Sharon is not Swift.
Sharon (Hello Sharon) is a new age, walking self help book, which...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-by-michelle

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A familiar setting filled with new characters, but has a few distracting qualities.

Opening Sentence: It was raining when Sharon Li became one with the city.

The Review:

Stray Souls by Kate Griffin is a new series set in a similar London as the Midnight Mayor series. Magic and paranormal beings are a norm in this world, complete with new characters in an urban world. I was a fan of the Midnight Mayor series, so I couldn’t wait to dive into Stra...more

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Apr 14, 2013 Aspen Junge rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ripping-good-yarns

While this is in the same world as the Matthew Swift novels, Matthew and the electric blue angels are only a bit character. Once again, the City of London is great peril, but a sorcerer isn't of any particular use solving this problem; it needs a more subtle touch. A shaman's touch. Too bad there aren't too many creditable shamans around.

Well, there's the gal who started that Facebook group, the one named Magicals Anonymous but was very nearly named Weird Shit Keeps Happening to Me and I Don't...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Andrew rated it 4 of 5 stars

This begins a new series in the same magical-London setting as the Midnight Mayor books. We have a new central character: Sharon Li, failing barista and (suddenly) urban shaman. Attempting to deal with unexpected at-one-ness with the entire city and an occasional tendency to walk through walls, Sharon does what anyone would do: she starts a Facebook group for people with magical problems.

This new series is a distinct shift in tone and story-shape. The Matthew Swift books were fire, terror, wild...more This begins a new series in the same magical-London setting as the Midnight Mayor books. We have a new central character: Sharon Li, failing barista and (suddenly) urban shaman. Attempting to deal with unexpected at-one-ness with the entire city and an occasional tendency to walk through walls, Sharon does what anyone would do: she starts a Facebook group for people with magical problems.

This new series is a distinct shift in tone and story-shape. The Matthew Swift books were fire, terror, wild magic, and Matthew Swift generally getting the crap kicked out of him -- plus an undercurrent of humor. "Magicals Anonymous" has the humor on top. It is distinctly Douglas Adams, in fact: hapless, flustered people attempting to make sense of their lives. A hypochondriac vampire, a druid with hay fever, an extremely polite banshee, and a foodie troll walk into a support group meeting, right?

(But the fire and wild magic are still there, underneath. This author *does* know when to pass over the snarky comeback and scare you.)

I would say this introductory book takes a little bit too long to get started. Adams introduced Arthur Dent as a hapless prole, but a prole who lies right down in front of a bulldozer -- you start cheering for him immediately. Sharon Li spends quite a while stammering, second-guessing, trying to get enough biscuits for the meetings, and reading terrible self-help books. I was worried that she would be a nonentity, swamped by the colorful crowd around her. Nah. Eventually she gets fed up, starts shouting at people, and the narrative pace goes zoom like a rocket.

(The colorful crowd includes Matthew Swift, finally seen from the outside. Unsurprisingly, he's both scary as hell and a minor pain in the butt. He *doesn't* steal the show, which is the important thing.)

There is a crisis, of course. It is a crisis beyond the remit of the Midnight Mayor -- why? Because story; this isn't the sort of logical worldbuilding where you draw charts. Go read Sanderson for that. This is a newcomer shaman and her tribe, I mean Facebook group, flung in at the way-too-deep end and coping because they're basically decent people who refuse to give in. Did I say Douglas Adams? I meant Terry Pratchett, of course, my mistake. Adams was a cynical bastard. Pratchett loves people. That's this book.
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Nov 17, 2012 Ade Couper rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've been a big fan of Kate Griffin's "Matthew Swift" novels , & so was keen to read this : the story of Sharon Li , apprentice Shaman , & her attempts to thwart the plans of the mysterious (& frankly unpleasant) Mr Ruislip....

Ok , the bad points 1st : I wasn't keen on the structure of the work : it's written in mainly very short chapters, some of which were only a page long , which I found made it too easy to put the book down rather than persevere . I also found some of the charact...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Julia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, fantasy, arcs, urban

Finding yourself can be hard enough for any person, without magical "extras" making you feel all the more isolated and alone. Kate Griffin puts the epic and the mundane side by side in STRAY SOULS. As Sharon's support group gropes for connection in a crumbling city, a terrible magic is killing those around them.

Unfortunately, it was just this snapshot writing style that made it hard for me to get into STRAY SOULS. 100 pages in, Sharon was still a cypher and I resented only getting spare glimpse...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Wealhtheow rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, pocmaincharacters, urban-fantasy

One day, for one moment, Sharon Li knows every thing about her city. It's too much for her mind to handle, so she forgets, but the experience leaves her with the unsettling ability to walk through walls or become invisible. A fan of self-help books, Sharon decides to start a support group using a facebook invite. This is the start of Magicals Anonymous, a strange mix of creepy (a necromancer constantly in search of new skin-care products, who measures his magical output in the body mass index it...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Dave Higgins rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

Set in the same magical London as Griffin’s Matthew Swift novels , this novel skilfully introduces a cast of low powered or inept protagonists, giving a new and exciting perspective on the city.

The plot focuses on Sharon Li, a newly awakened shaman and self-help book addict, and the other members of Magicals Anonymous, a support group for those who have issues with integrating the magical and the mundane. When the spirit of London disappears ancient feuds and political struggles prevent Swift or...more Set in the same magical London as Griffin’s Matthew Swift novels , this novel skilfully introduces a cast of low powered or inept protagonists, giving a new and exciting perspective on the city.

The plot focuses on Sharon Li, a newly awakened shaman and self-help book addict, and the other members of Magicals Anonymous, a support group for those who have issues with integrating the magical and the mundane. When the spirit of London disappears ancient feuds and political struggles prevent Swift or other established powers from directly investigating, so Sharon is given the task and the rest of MA are drawn in.

As with the Swift series, the plot contains many real challenges without losing the feeling that magic is both powerful and close.

Unlike some urban fantasy series containing more than one supernatural species, Griffin manages to include several of the standard creatures of legend and types of magicians without either losing plausibility or requiring complex explanations.

As well as the core challenge of recovering the spirit, the book portrays the mundane challenges of being magical but not a power: Sharon struggles with a low-wage job to make the rent on a shoddy flat even before her schedule is disrupted by the need to save the city.

Although Sharon is the lead protagonist, other members of MA are equally fleshed out, both directly through their involvement in events and by short chapters in the style of Alcoholics Anonymous testimonies detailing their issues. Some of the characters have the potential to be slapstick, for example a hypochondriac vampire who wants to sue for adequate dental services; however, Griffin makes their concerns seem real issues and so the humour, when it comes, only serves to highlight how dark their world is.

The villains of the book are equally well developed. The non-human threats clearly have very inhuman mindsets but also have backgrounds and desires that caused me to understand, and even sympathise with, some of their actions.

This is clearly written to be the first book in a new series so does not resolve all of the sub-plots; however it does bring each of them to a natural rest point.

It is also set in the world of an existing series and so obviously runs the risk of either over-explaining to established readers or under-explaining for first time readers. Griffin seeks to address this with the trope of inexperienced protagonists and I found myself sympathising with their search for answers without cursing needlessly unhelpful background characters. As I have read the Swift series I am unsure whether it would lack clarity on its own.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly both for its plot and its vivid descriptions of urban magic. I recommend it to any fan of either urban fantasy or magical systems.
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Dec 01, 2012 JJ DeBenedictis rated it 3 of 5 stars

I've really been enjoying Kate Griffin's Blue Electric Angels series, and this book is written in the same world. Unfortunately, I didn't find it as good as the other books, although I'm not sure why.

It may just be a matter of taste. The books in the series are darker in tone; this one is quite a bit funnier. Some readers will undoubtedly like it better than the series. The characters in particular are pretty awesome in their quirkiness.

There are a lot of characters to keep straight in the book...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf

I think the author always does a very good job of capturing the tone of people and places and she has really excelled herself in that respect here. However, that does mean the structure may not be to everyone's taste. It is about a self-help/AA-type group and the short interludes that introduce members of the group really emphasise that but some may dislike the interruptions to the flow of story.

I think the concept of Our Lady of 4am/Greydawn is spot on. When the author points it out to you, you...more

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Nov 21, 2012 Van rated it 4 of 5 stars

4 1/2 stars. For my complete review, check my blog. I included snippets from the book, so readers can get a feel of the novel.

Stray Souls is the first in a new series, ‘Magicals Anonymous’ by Kate Griffin. This book takes place in the same world as Griffin’s Matthew Swift novels (Yes, the Midnight Mayor does make an appearance), but with a different narrator this time. Our main heroine, Sharon Li has just discovered that she is a Shaman, a seer, who can see the truth in all things, and can walk...more 4 1/2 stars. For my complete review, check my blog. I included snippets from the book, so readers can get a feel of the novel.

Stray Souls is the first in a new series, ‘Magicals Anonymous’ by Kate Griffin. This book takes place in the same world as Griffin’s Matthew Swift novels (Yes, the Midnight Mayor does make an appearance), but with a different narrator this time. Our main heroine, Sharon Li has just discovered that she is a Shaman, a seer, who can see the truth in all things, and can walk in the shadows (between worlds). Within in a couple of hours of finding out she’s a Shaman, she’s given the biggest task ever…find the missing souls of London. Someone is ripping souls out of London’s foundation, and among the souls missing is their lady of 4 A.M. Greydawn. Greydawn is one of London’s biggest player, she guards the wall between what is there, and isn’t there (creatures/things that live in the shadows, unseen to the human eyes). It is up to Sharon and her band of misfit, Magical Anonymous help group to find the one responsible, and the missing souls.\

The layout of the book was extremely different than any other books I’ve ever read, there were chapters that were only one page long (did a double take at one point LOL), and chapter ‘confessions’ from the many of the secondary characters. While this is an urban fantasy, and one of the genres I love reading in..I had to put my normal expectations in the back seat because Stray Soul is written more with British humor. At the beginning of the novel, I was a little skeptical on whether I’d enjoy the book or not…since one had to get use to the writing style and humor. As the story went on, and I met/learned more about Sharon’s Magical Anonymous group, I began to really love the plot, world, characters. Magical Anonymous is a help group for magical beings with issues. There’s only one word to describe these delightful bunch….Quirky. They’re all oddballs but it what makes them different and stand out. Readers will encounter an ‘almost’ druid, a gourmet foodie troll, a germaphobe-OCD vampire, and a goblin who’s the second greatest Shaman to walk the earth.

Stray Souls was a great start to a new series; I enjoy this world and the characters and am thinking about picking up the Matthew Swift novels now LOL. I highly recommend this series to anyone who’s looking for different, and funny. While this isn’t your typical urban fantasy, (leaning more on the not too serious side), I’d say give it a try…I guarantee it’ll make you smile and laugh. (less)

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May 08, 2013 Allison rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy-steampunk

This book should not be attempted unless you've at least read A Madness of Angels and The Midnight Mayor by the same author. Otherwise the way magic works in Kate Griffin's urban fantasy universe will probably confuse. Those two books also explain the unusual nature of Matthew Swift, why he talks about himself in plural and singular tense interchangeably, why some characters refer to him as 'undead' and 'angel' in the same breath, and what it means that he's the Midnight Mayor (Defender of the C...more

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Feb 23, 2013 E J Frost rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: english-urban-fantasy

Fabulous new entry in Kate Griffin's magical London. When I read about the book I was afraid it wouldn't compare to The Minority Council, which I've added to my 'favourite books of all time' shelf, but I was pleasantly surprised. I very much liked seeing Matthew Swift from Sharon Li's perspective. The narrative structure of this story is both fitting and highly entertaining, and gave me a break from the sometimes overwhelming stream-of-consciousness style that Griffin employs when her characters...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Tal rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-fantasy

London’s soul has gone missing. Lost? Kidnapped? Murdered? Nobody knows – but when Sharon Li unexpectedly discovers she’s a shaman, she is immediately called upon to use her newfound powers of oneness with the City to rescue it from a slow but inevitable demise.

The problem is, while everyone expects Sharon to have all the answers – from the Midnight Mayor to Sharon’s magically-challenged self-help group – she doesn’t have a clue where to start.

But with London’s soul missing and the Gate open, th...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Shdnx rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, light-reads, magic, urban-fantasy

Kate Griffin's books are just plain amazing. I really loved the Matthew Swift series, and I like the sequel series, Magicals Anonymous as well.

Stray Souls was a great disappointment for the first about 30% of the book. Nothing was really happening, and you - the reader - can't really decide what's going on and who is this book even about. This isn't like the uncertainty of the Matthew Swift books, because those at least always had a sense of where they were going. Stray Souls, in contrast, begin...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Tamara added it

Shelves: author-female, female-protagonist, humour, urbanist, urban-fantasy, fantasy, london, vampire, a-bunch-of-lonesome-heroes, action, community-or-something-like-it, england, inherent-sadness-of-being-human, you-can-choose-your-friends, europe

Like all the other Kate Griffin books i've read, this one is a fast, entertaining, wonderfully imaginative extravaganza. And it's a bit disappointing. It's almost entirely, really, a sequence of action scenes. They're peppered with intense but tiny moments of characterization and story, glimpsed out of the corner of the narrative eye. I always wish - always expect, actually - that sooner or later the book must turn to them, that these are what it's all about! The problem is, what arrives instead...more

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Nov 20, 2012 Thara rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was a tasty, satisfying read. I locked myself away from the family and forced myself to read slowly to give myself the chance to savor it. As far as I'm concerned, Griffin's urban sorcery series sets the bar for the genre, even above Butcher and deLint. There is a larger cast of active (and likable) characters in this story than in the Matthew Swift books but Griffin handled them well. I was glad to see Matthew back, even in a supporting role. I like Griffin's perspectives on our relat...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Christal rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs, urban-fantasy, goblins-trolls-gnomes, lesser-known-creatures, magic, multiple-leads, necromancers, shamans-and-druids, vampires, witches-warlocks-and-mages

See this mini review and others like it at BadassBookReviews.com!

STRAY SOULS had a very interesting premise, but it did take me a little while to get used to the narrative device. The story is told from multiple viewpoints, with Sharon’s being dominant, and often breaks up the main story with excerpts from the self-help group; some chapters are basically confessionals from the group members. Though I found it to be pretty original, it did make the overall flow seem a bit choppy. I found myself s...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Kevin Mantle rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-magic

I really enjoy the Matthew Swift series of books, currently the best of the contemporary urban fantasy set in London. However, this is bit of a misstep. Kate has shown that she has powerful descriptive prose, a great Love of London and an original protagonist in Matthew Swift; unfortunately this is lacking in Stray Souls. Although still good, it's let down by a use of short chapters and the inclusion of humorous characters, which are not. Also, Welsh people don't constantly put 'see' into every...more

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May 10, 2013 Gail rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: demons, e-book, fantasy, library-book, magic, urban-fantasy, vampires

I was thinking I'd read something by this author before, and I have--The Madness of Angels... They have a similar voice. One that's kinda hard to read, but I shoved my way through it, and actually liked it. Says it's #1 in a series. I'll be interested in seeing the next ones. Even if the language of the book is a pain. (What's a breeze block in Brit English? ) (and it's not the Britspeak that's the pain--it's more the voice & phrasing. oh well. Probably just me being plebian and lazy) This i...more

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Mar 06, 2013 Qertiane rated it 3 of 5 stars

A different way of framing a story in the already established world of Matthew Swift. In large parts it works. A lot of the new characters are very likeable and it's fun to read about more of an ensemble of people rather than it become more infeasible as to how Matthew Swift could be so powerful and important and still be surprised by so much. Sharon is brilliant as are most of Magicals Anonymous, it's a ludicrous idea, their support group, but it is acknowledged as being as such. Very likeable...more

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Nov 05, 2012 Catherine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-time-favourites, good-supernatural-fiction, selective-recommendations

LOVED IT! What a fabulous read - thank you Kate! I didn't put it down, apart from for emergencies, from the time I picked it up and began reading.
Lots of snicker moments along with the grimmer side of fighting a supernatural evil for the city of London. There were so many lines and moments I really enjoyed reading, that I actually began reading it again straight away.
A fantastic read, and highly recommended to anyone who has enjoyed Kate's Midnight Mayor series (which you really should have read...more

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May 02, 2013 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: f, hum, uf

I almost didn't finish this book. The tangential, minuscule, character-study-esque chapters meant the narrative dumped momentum faster than a drag racer with a deployed parachute. Actually, the direction of change for the plot's momentum was inversely related to the amount of information (however useless) imparted.

I really wasn't feeling it.

But I persevered! Because despite being filled with inarticulate characters ("I'm pleased to see what a good response we got from the Facebook campaign and o...more

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Apr 23, 2013 ReD rated it 3 of 5 stars

Actual Rating: 3.5

You can read the synopsis in the book description, so I will not be posting a description.

Recommended For: YA Readers, Older-teens, 20-something's feeling too old for YA, but not in the mood for the sex-detective-plotlines of adult paranormal fiction.

Comments:
I actually had this book since early January, but I just didn't have the time I needed to sit down and finish it. I haven't read any of Kate Griffin's other work, so the whole thing about the Midnight Mayor was lost on me....more

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May 17, 2013 Ellie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

It started with a Facebook group; Weird Shit Keeps Happening to Me And I Don’t Know Why But Figure I Need Help. When Sharon Li starts to find herself turning invisible as she walks the streets of London, she has no one to turn to for help. So she starts a support group, with tea and biscuits. But there is something missing in the city and as a shaman, it’s up to Sharon to do something about it. Sharon would just like to keep her crappy job serving coffee, but the Midnight Mayor and the goblin Sa...more It started with a Facebook group; Weird Shit Keeps Happening to Me And I Don’t Know Why But Figure I Need Help. When Sharon Li starts to find herself turning invisible as she walks the streets of London, she has no one to turn to for help. So she starts a support group, with tea and biscuits. But there is something missing in the city and as a shaman, it’s up to Sharon to do something about it. Sharon would just like to keep her crappy job serving coffee, but the Midnight Mayor and the goblin Sammy have different ideas.

I didn’t realise the Magicals Anonymous series was a spin-off from the Matthew Swift one but I don’t think it matters; this is the first of her books I’ve read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love the idea of the support group and the fact that these mythical creatures embrace the modern world. How often do we read in fantasy that something about their very nature stops them from using mod-cons? It’s refreshing that Sharon googles stuff to find out her answers (even if it’s not always that helpful).

There’s a vampire with a rare condition who can only drink group O blood, a situation only made worse by his obsession with hygiene and screening his victims first. There’s a wonderful banshee who loves modern art and, in order to be polite, writes everything down on a whiteboard instead of wailing like a banshee. A girl who turns into a flock of pigeons and a druid who is allergic to magic. A troll with a taste for human food. And the fate of London in in the hands of this motley crew.

The dialogue is fantastically real. People don’t talk in complete, grammatically correct sentences all the time. The speech is broken, punctuated by uhs and ums. Little snippets of the city filter through to Sharon, presented in incomplete sentences but somehow completely capturing the mood of a city; all the secrets it contains and tableaus of everyday life. The city itself is a character and I love these sorts of fantasy books that are creeping out of the UK recently. Even down to the rubbish; I just adored the scene where they are attacked by plastic bags. Not to mention the evil bankers. Brilliant!

I did find Sharon overly negative. She has a real attitude problem and the tone is a bit snarky in places, but as her tribe rallies around her, she starts to become more likeable. Her anger is her shield. I don’t think it helped that Sammy had a similar personality, so when it was just them it was a bit much to take. When interacting with the other characters, things picked up.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for book two this summer, The Glass God, and I might well be tempted to check out her other books for adults. Kate Griffin is the pen-name of children's writer Catherine Webb.(less)

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Apr 03, 2013 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dft, fiction, paranormal, read-2013

Posted on Dark Faerie Tales.

Stray Souls by Kate Griffin is a new series set in a similar London as the Midnight Mayor series. Magic and paranormal beings are a norm in this world, complete with new characters in an urban world. I was a fan of the Midnight Mayor series, so I couldn’t wait to dive into Stray Souls. The synopsis drew me in, filling my mind with ideas of what could take place in this new series. And the cover? Guys, the cover is eerie and captivating at the same time.

Sharon Li is a...more Posted on Dark Faerie Tales.

Stray Souls by Kate Griffin is a new series set in a similar London as the Midnight Mayor series. Magic and paranormal beings are a norm in this world, complete with new characters in an urban world. I was a fan of the Midnight Mayor series, so I couldn’t wait to dive into Stray Souls. The synopsis drew me in, filling my mind with ideas of what could take place in this new series. And the cover? Guys, the cover is eerie and captivating at the same time.

Sharon Li is a barista and a shaman. With a tendency to walk through walls, Sharon attempts to deal with her issues with the city and advertises on Facebook for a group. She starts a support group for the paranormal, magical beings with problems and issues of the like. Matthew Swift, otherwise known as the Midnight Mayer talks Sharon into saving the city. Sharon has quickly realized that her support group and herself is the only thing that is able to help the city soul from being destroyed.

Sharon is an optimistic character, creating a common place for paranormals. She is a bit of a pushover at first, but that didn’t last long. Once Sharon gained a little back bone, I saw what she was capable of. I was concerned that Sharon would be a main character who got lost in the background, amidst the many other characters in the book, but Griffin knew what she was doing.

The other characters had distinct personalities, and the witty banter was amusing. Sometimes, I felt it was too much too fast. The short chapters that introduced them were interesting, and honestly, I’m not really sure if I liked them or not. Just when I felt the pace picking up, it moved on to a new chapter or a new character. But I will say that the humor is great. It alleviated a lot of the issues that I had and made Stray Souls more enjoyable to read.

Even though Stray Souls is set in a familiar setting, there are elements that are new to me. Griffin describes the city in a different way as well, allowing me to see it a brand new light. The essence of the city is clear and defined. While the Midnight Mayor books had a darker, maybe even more serious tone, Stray Souls has a lighter, more humorous feel to it. Just from reading about the characters and their personalities, you would understand what I mean.

Griffin’s writing style has evolved in Stray Souls. While previously she had written in first person, Stray Souls is written in a third-person narrative. Each chapter alternates from focusing on the main plot and then to a newly introduced character. At first, it is distracting, and I often found myself disconnecting from the story. I felt the pacing was a little slow to start, but quickly moved its way to be on par with the Midnight Mayor books.(less)

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Dec 02, 2012 All Things Urban Fantasy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: september-2012-hotp, reviewed-by-julia

Defining your identity can be hard enough for any person, without magical “extras” making you feel all the more isolated and alone. Kate Griffin puts the epic and the mundane side by side in STRAY SOULS. As Sharon’s support group bumbles through their neurosis in a crumbling city, a terrible magic is killing those around them.

Unfortunately, it was just this snapshot writing style that made it hard for me to get into STRAY SOULS. 100 pages in, Sharon was still a cypher and I resented only getting...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was an enjoyable read. The magical London world of Matthew Swift is greatly expanded with this book and we get a new lead character, Sharon Li an untrained shaman who is about to find that she and her magical self-help group may be the only thing standing between the city soul being destroyed. Matthew Swift does appear in this book but he is only a secondary character in a cast of magical eccentrics. Time-wise this book takes place after the events in The Minority Council A second book in t...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy

Sharon Li, shaman, starts a support group for magical beings with issues, and then gets pushed into saving the city by Matthew Swift, Midnight Mayor, a character from Kate Griffin's earlier books. The support group is composed of the most delightfully absurd characters and the book is exciting, inventive and hilarious. It helps to have read the earlier books, but I think you could start with this one and still really enjoy it.

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Apr 13, 2013 Cris rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club-selection, creatures-with-magical-properties, contemporary-fantasy, british, fantasy, magic

While I think Stray Souls was well-written, I didn't like it at all. I would never have finished the book if I hadn't been reading the book for my book group.

Stylistically I think Griffin had a firm grasp on what she wanted and achieved it. I just didn't like the results. (Someone else described it as a snapshot writing style.)

I also don't think it makes a very good book for discussion groups. My group struggled a bit to find enough to talk about.

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About Kate Griffin

Kate Griffin is the pen name under which Catherine Webb writes fantasy novels for adults.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

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Books by Kate Griffin

The Minority Council (Matthew Swift, #4)

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Trivia About Stray Souls

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title link	preview: Stray Souls
avg rating	preview: Stray Souls Goodreads rating: 3.96 (258 ratings)
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Stray Souls (Magicals Anonymous #1)

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