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London Falling

by Paul Cornell (Goodreads Author)

3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 · rating details · 283 ratings · 92 reviews

The dark is rising . . . Detective Inspector James Quill is about to complete the drugs bust of his career. Then his prize suspect Rob Toshack is murdered in custody. Furious, Quill pursues the investigation, co-opting intelligence analyst Lisa Ross and undercover cops Costain and Sefton. But nothing about Toshack’s murder is normal. Toshack had struck a bargain with a vin...more

Paperback, 400 pages

Published December 6th 2012 by Tor

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May 06, 2013 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

so here is where i have to do that thing that i hate to do which is "admit when i am wrong."

i rather boldly declared, after reading Carniepunk, that it made me discover that i was not a fan of the urban fantasy/paranormal romance genre.

so, oops.

because while this is assuredly not paranormal romance, it is definitely urban fantasy. and while i have only read one china mieville novel, perdido street station, i know enough about his particular themes and style to try that "bold declaration" thing...more

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May 14, 2013 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-by-candy

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: This is truly a book about good versus evil and humanity versus monsters. Four cops receive the ability to see what is under the surface of our world and are the only ones who can stop the evil beings there from taking over our world.

Opening Sentence: Costain entered the service station and stopped when he saw Quill standing there, not even pretending to look at the chocolate bars displayed in front of him.

The Review:

This story revolves aro...more Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: This is truly a book about good versus evil and humanity versus monsters. Four cops receive the ability to see what is under the surface of our world and are the only ones who can stop the evil beings there from taking over our world.

Opening Sentence: Costain entered the service station and stopped when he saw Quill standing there, not even pretending to look at the chocolate bars displayed in front of him.

The Review:

This story revolves around four cops and is told in each of their own “voices”. These four cops include Quill, Costain, Sefton, and Ross who are working on a case involving a major mobster. Out of the blue the mobster dies in a very mysterious and unnatural way. As the cops are trying to figure out what happened they stumble upon something that gives them the Sight. Now everywhere they look, they see real witches, ghosts, and things that most people only hear about in myths. One of these supernatural beings, a witch, is the culprit who killed Toshack, the mobster, and countless others, especially children. The only people who can stop her are Quill and his team. Along the way though they all have to sacrifice something of themselves to catch this evil witch and make sure she never harms another person ever again.

This story was ok. Paul Cornell is a good writer and it shows in his work. I could almost feel the cops fear and see the ghosts and other creatures they met. The problem was that I couldn’t really get drawn into the story. This could be because I could not relate to any of the characters. Also, it was a little too gruesome for my taste.

Each of the main characters has had hard lives and nothing has ever been easy for them. Quill is an alcoholic who would rather be at the bar than at home with his wife, but maybe there is more to this than even he realizes until it may be too late. Costain has always been the bad boy, the rotten egg and not until he receives the Sight and sees where he is headed after death does he decide that maybe he needs to change his life style. Sefton is a mulatto gay man who was cruelly picked on when he was growing up. Ross is the only female in the group and she has a very tragic past. When she was a teenager she came home to find her father hanging in his office. Ross knew it wasn’t a suicide, but no one listened. Turns out there was “something other” about his death that she learned about when she received the Sight.

I did like the fact that Paul Cornell added a dictionary in the back of his book for those of us who are very American and did not understand some of the Britain words he used in the story. I think many people would enjoy this book if they gave it a chance. It really is well written, but it is not my favorite book. Give this story a try, you may just enjoy it.

Notable Scene:

The blood exploded into Quill’s face. He fell with the force of it, hit the desk and then fell. Great gouts of blood, far too much, flew around him, covering furniture, the tape recorder, the room as if a bucket of it had been thrown over him. Quill managed to heave himself upright, and found blood still showering like rain. He was covered in it. So was the brief, who was yelling hysterically. Toshack, or what was left of Toshack- no, whole Toshack, for there he was, all of him- was just a mass of blood which had come from that mouth, that had burst from him, from his lolling dead head.

FTC Advisory: Tor/Macmillan provided me with a copy of London Falling. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.(less)

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May 12, 2013 Patty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

London Falling
By
Paul Cornell

My "in a nutshell" summary...

Four policemen see a strange sort of artifact that enables them to see much more than they could ever see before. If this sounds mysterious...wait until you read the book!

My thoughts after reading this book...

Creepy...scary...but oh so good...but...this is, after all, the British author who writes television drama...Dr.Who...among others.

So...the storyline is this...four detectives...Quill, Ross, Costain and Sefton see an artifact and are...more

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May 07, 2013 Burgoo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2013

The most common failing of any mashup is that the parts aren’t true to their origin, & the result is somehow less than the sum of its parts. Paul Cornell’s London Falling combines a police procedural with dark urban fantasy, and retains both the grittiness of the former with the wonder and awe of the latter.

The book opens as a straight police procedural. We see the culmination of a long undercover operation to arrest the leader of a large portion of the organized crime in London. When the su...more The most common failing of any mashup is that the parts aren’t true to their origin, & the result is somehow less than the sum of its parts. Paul Cornell’s London Falling combines a police procedural with dark urban fantasy, and retains both the grittiness of the former with the wonder and awe of the latter.

The book opens as a straight police procedural. We see the culmination of a long undercover operation to arrest the leader of a large portion of the organized crime in London. When the suspect dies a shocking and strange death while in custody, a small group of police officers are tasked with cleaning up the mess that the investigation has become. They follow a lead into an abandoned house, where a strange encounter leaves the police officers with the Sight. That is, the ability to see the hidden supernatural nature of the city. It turns out that their prey is a centuries old witch who has been abducting and killing children, among other victims.

Unlike most urban fantasy, Cornell’s magical London is a horrible place. There is blood sacrifice, murdered children, horrible things in the shadows, and other dangers. The detectives are stumbling around trying to find the rules of this place, and the reader along with them. They struggle to achieve the few answers that they can find, and we are left with as much mystery as the characters themselves.

Rather than having his characters respond with a gleeful acceptance of this other state of reality, Cornell has the characters respond the way that people actually do after a trauma. There is denial, followed by a certain amount of acceptance, and ultimately a reliance on routine. There’s a sense that the familiar procedure of police work is all that is keeping them sane. And their procedure is what they count on to resolve the situation. The difference being that this time it’s (literally) a wicked witch, and not a drug lord or other criminal. Just as this reliance on procedure grounds the characters, it also grounds the story for the reader. The mental reactions of all the police officers are thus relatable.

London Falling is a fast paced gritty dark fantasy that should appeal to fans of both police procedurals and urban fantasy. Despite the dark subject matter, it was a very entertaining read. While the story is complete in his volume, there does seem to be a setup for future stories in this world. Hopefully they’ll be just as compelling.
(less)

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Apr 30, 2013 Terry Weyna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Just when you thought there was nothing new to be done with urban fantasy, Paul Cornell comes along with London Falling and mashes up the police procedural (i.e., a mystery solved by the police, using the tools at their disposal and confined in their scope by the law) with demons and British history. Until you read it, it’s hard to imagine a police officer giving the “right to silence” speech (the British version of the American Miranda warnings) to a creature who is doing her best dispose of hi...more Just when you thought there was nothing new to be done with urban fantasy, Paul Cornell comes along with London Falling and mashes up the police procedural (i.e., a mystery solved by the police, using the tools at their disposal and confined in their scope by the law) with demons and British history. Until you read it, it’s hard to imagine a police officer giving the “right to silence” speech (the British version of the American Miranda warnings) to a creature who is doing her best dispose of him through magical means. But once Cornell gets to that point in his narrative, he has set everything up so well that it seems as natural as can be.

The novel starts as a straightforward police procedural. Costain is an officer who is working undercover for Rob Toshack, the current king of the London criminal classes, the first ever to have united all the bad guys in one organization. Toshack has conquered all his rivals and remained untouched by the law. It’s Costain’s job to get the information necessary to put Toshack away for good, along with his fellow undercover officer, Sefton. Their superior, Quill, is running out of patience, as he makes known to Costain in no uncertain terms in the first pages of the book. Quill wires Costain up with a recorder, which, he tells him, is his last chance to get the goods or the operation will be shut down.

The territory we traverse for the first two and a half chapters or so is entirely in police procedural country. The reader might be forgiven for thinking that she’s picked up the wrong book. But stick with it, because things start to get strange in Chapter Three. Toshack, upon being taken into custody, doesn’t behave the way a crime lord ought to behave. Soon, he doesn’t look the way a crime lord ought to look; in fact, he becomes sort of hard to see, even to the police officers in the same room he’s in. And then things get really weird.

The weirdness is inexplicable to the cops for some time. After all, whose mind would immediately jump to the occult as an explanation for a death, no matter how gory? Lofthouse, the top cop, says the toxicology folks are looking to see whether poison was involved, but no one’s ever seen anything like what happened in their own witness room. The team pulls in Ross, a computer and research guru, in the hopes that she can find something in the transcripts to explain the inexplicable, but she has no greater success than the toxicologists.

Lofthouse puts together a spin-off unit from the undercover squad that captured Toshack, comprised of Quinn, Costain, Sefton and Ross. It’s an uneasy work unit at first, and their assigned task — to find out what killed the victim — is not one any of them relishes. But it still isn’t until they consider the involvement of the West Ham Football Club, and the “urban myth” that anyone who scores a hat trick against them dies, that anyone gives the least thought to the paranormal rearing its head. Once they’ve opened the door to that possibility, though, more strangeness enters their lives and their investigation, until things start happening fast.

It’s exciting to watch this unit accept the possibility of magic infesting London when that very notion seems utterly absurd, just as absurd to them as you would find it absurd to walk into your job tomorrow and be told that you’re to function with magic because your computer is down. These are people who are entirely of the world in which we all reside together, until suddenly they discover that there’s more to the world than they had thought. And they’re also confronted with the notion that they still have to operate within the law, sorcery or no. How do you get a proper search warrant when the target of your investigation has a warren of homes connected by occult pathways? How do you solve a series of serial murders that dates back to the sixteenth century? What do you do when a cat — a dead cat that talks — is your best witness? This is CSI on steroids!

I have some quibbles with the book, such as Cornell’s tendency to shift the point of view from one character to another with alarming rapidity and no warning; one paragraph we’re seeing the world through Quill’s eyes, and the next we’re in Sefton’s brain. The characterization is drawn with broad strokes, so that Sefton is the atheist, Costain is the crooked one, and so on. It’s written rather cinematically, as one might expect from Paul Cornell, who was until now best known for his Dr. Who and other television scripts.

With a lesser plot, these annoyances might have marred my enjoyment of London Falling. But these really are just are quibbles because the story is so fascinating and the story moves so quickly, and is so smart, that it overwhelms my objections. As a result, I’m eager to read the next in the series, and to see what these characters do with their lives and their jobs now that they know there is magic in their world.

Originally published at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi.... 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.(less)

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Apr 26, 2013 Kimberly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In the summer of 2011, I had the pleasure of meeting Paul Cornell at a convention. I stepped up to his table as an ardent Doctor Who fan who wanted to gush about "Family of Blood" parts 1 and 2.

When I step up to the table, Mr. Cornell is writing on his laptop. He looks up and excuses himself to finish a couple thoughts before putting it away with an apology:

"I'm writing a book..."
"Cool - what is it about?"
"Four coppers in London who suddenly have the ability to see demons and ghosts."
"That...so...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Eoghann Irving rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Urban Fantasy is one of those murky sub-genres that can mean different things to different people. If I was to tell you that this was a story set in London in which several police officers investigate a supernatural serial killer I would be describing the book, but I really wouldn't be telling you what you're going to get.

This is not _Harry Dresden_ or _Rivers of London._ What Paul Cornell gives us is something much, much darker. This is a serial killer who happens to be supernatural. And as suc...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Regie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this.

London Falling is not at all what I was expecting. It starts as a straightforward police procedural thriller, but very quickly veers off into a dark - very dark - supernatural shocker.

A suspect dies in police custody in what can only be described as "strange" circumstances. A small team of dysfunctional coppers, each with their own demons and insecurities are tasked with solving the riddle, and find themselves pursuing the most elusive, prolific and sinister serial killer that Lond...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Tony rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

Although I know there's a genre called urban fantasy/paranormal/supernatural, I haven't dipped my toes into it beyond a few examples that bleed over into the detective genre. As it happens, both of those were also first books in London-set series: Ben Aaronovich "Rivers of London" series (Midnight Riot / Rivers of London, Moon Over Soho, Whispers Underground) and Christopher Fowler's Bryant and May series (Full Dark House, The Water Room, Seventy-Seven Clocks, etc.). The premise of those two ear...more Although I know there's a genre called urban fantasy/paranormal/supernatural, I haven't dipped my toes into it beyond a few examples that bleed over into the detective genre. As it happens, both of those were also first books in London-set series: Ben Aaronovich "Rivers of London" series (Midnight Riot / Rivers of London, Moon Over Soho, Whispers Underground) and Christopher Fowler's Bryant and May series (Full Dark House, The Water Room, Seventy-Seven Clocks, etc.). The premise of those two earlier series is that there is a supernatural London that exists alongside our real present-day one, and that special police officers can act to police that world. This book takes that same exact line, as a handful of police form a special unit to take on a powerful supernatural serial killer.

But before that happens, the story opens in media res, with two undercover police detectives within the inner circle of London's gangster lord. There's a rather choppy and confusing opening 40 pages or so, in which their operation is about to be shut down if they can't come up with some concrete information. Then something dramatic occurs, and the undercover officers, their boss, and a police intelligence analyst are put together to figure out what happened. It still takes quite a while for their investigation to get going, and even when it does, the pacing is off and description of the supernatural world isn't always clear. The book might have benefited from a revision or stronger editorial hand on the first third. Eventually, it does start to smooth out and pick up momentum, and in the final fifty pages or so the plot really kicks in.

Unfortunately, although strong in atmosphere and horror elements, the book really falters in characterization. At the start of the story the three policemen seem somewhat interchangeable and it's hard to really form any proper picture of them. Eventually, I ended up viewing them more as types (the angry one, the gay one, the analytical one, the boss), rather than fully realized characters. That really took away from my ability to get drawn into their encounters with the supernatural, and is also why I doubt I'll bother reading any further books in the series. It's not that the book or story was bad per se, but without compelling characters to take you along, it's hard to care that much about rich atmosphere for its own sake. Definitely worth checking out if you're a reader with a strong interest in urban fantasy (or whatever you want to call it) or books set in London, but not one I'd recommend widely.(less)

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Feb 03, 2013 Kevin Mantle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-magic

London has been featured in a series of supernatural thrillers over the past few years - Fated, the Peter Grant series (Rivers of London) and the sublime Matthew Swift series (this has nothing to do with the popularity of a certain Chicago based investigative magician). With London Falling we have the start of a new series. It is much grittier than the aforementioned and goes into even more police procedures than the Peter Grant books, as it features 4 police officers as its central characters....more

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Mar 06, 2013 Otherwyrld rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, fantasy

Like most people who live in London, I am aware of the city's dark underbelly, and like most people, am glad that the closest I ever ever get to it is what I see on the news (or for some people, reading Martina Cole is close enough). However, what if that underbelly has something even darker hidden away, and this is what this novel explores.

The story starts rather messily, with the final stages of a major undercover operation. Less than 40 pages in though, it turns a hard left into horror. For...more Like most people who live in London, I am aware of the city's dark underbelly, and like most people, am glad that the closest I ever ever get to it is what I see on the news (or for some people, reading Martina Cole is close enough). However, what if that underbelly has something even darker hidden away, and this is what this novel explores.

The story starts rather messily, with the final stages of a major undercover operation. Less than 40 pages in though, it turns a hard left into horror. For the four police officers who are suddenly faced with something they can't explain or understand, it is the start of a very strange journey. They have been touched with something called The Sight, which enables them to see what others cannot - like ghosts and the memories of horrors that happened. They find themselves confronted by a centuries old witch who sacrifices children to maintain her power and who regards the soil of West Ham Football Ground as sacred (for reasons that are only explained quite late in the book). The final denouement is spectacular, as the witch faces the combined wrath of the West Ham fans, and there is a neat epilogue which sets up the series for the future.

There was a lot to like in this story, as long as you can plough through the first few pages, which seem to be all over the place. Once the real story begins, the author seems much more settled and confident in his storytelling. There is a lot of history thrown into the story, as well as good old fashioned police work, as our four protagonists try to stop the witch and her mysterious master. There are a few shocks along the way concerning our main characters, which genuinely surprised me. I had a lot of fun with some of the scenes set around the football ground, though having spent a lot of time drinking in the Boleyn pub, I'm not sure that a black man asking questions in there would have got away with his skin intact! The story fairly rattles along, but there is time for some characterisation and introspective from our heroes.

All in all, an impressive first story, and I hope there will be more in this series(less)

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Mar 21, 2013 Liz Wilkins added it · review of another edition

This came up in my recommended by Amazon list and it looked interesting so off I went. Very glad I did, it was great! What starts off as a police procedural, following several characters involved in an undercover operation to bring down a rather nefarious gang member, it soon shoots off into paranormal fun and games. After these characters develop "the sight" they see a new and disturbing version of London, and set about attempting to put things right. It is most definitely an adult book - some...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Huda Sarkowi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, adventure, witchcraft, revenge

I didn't immediately like this book. In fact I was wondering if I have chose the right book because I was craving for some paranormal genre at that time. The cover looks promising though. But when Team Toto acquired their sight that was when things get interesting. I can hardly put it down.

I like the fact that unlike most authors who like to spoon-feed readers with their own rendition of supernaturalism, I had to dig deeper to understand the story, normal and paranormal. The 4 main characters we...more

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Apr 23, 2013 K. Bird rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

4.5 stars, actually

London Falling is labeled Urban Fantasy, but it's not a likeable-scoundrel-PI in the city with magic kind of story a la Butcher's Harry Dresden or Hearne's Iron Druid series.

Yes, it has the lovely British flavoring of London similar to Carey's Felix Castor series, and police procedural (out the whazoo, actually, so much so that I often had to flip to the end for the glossary or acronyms and police slang) as a non-white Londoner stuff so that if you liked Ben Aaronovitch's Pete...more 4.5 stars, actually

London Falling is labeled Urban Fantasy, but it's not a likeable-scoundrel-PI in the city with magic kind of story a la Butcher's Harry Dresden or Hearne's Iron Druid series.

Yes, it has the lovely British flavoring of London similar to Carey's Felix Castor series, and police procedural (out the whazoo, actually, so much so that I often had to flip to the end for the glossary or acronyms and police slang) as a non-white Londoner stuff so that if you liked Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant series you're sure to like London Falling.

But enough about the others. Let's get back to what makes this book it's own, unique taste sensation.

First of all, this is not Urban Fantasy in the normal vein of the aforementioned likeable scoundrel either wielding magic or learning to wield magic. This is an ensemble piece. There are two, black Undercover cops, their white Guv, a female analyst with shadowy connections to their main suspect, and a Lieutenant who supports their unorthodox investigation for reasons that aren't revealed until the end of the book.

Because we get these multiple POVs, and they're nicely balanced and intriguing on their own, the emphasis is on how each one reconciles their past to what kind of policeman they are now, and want to become.

Secondly, this book is the real world, with real cultural references and London starkly present. The magic does play a part, but the gritty realism and focus on modern policing is the stronger flavoring.

Not to say that the magical bits aren't integral to the story or well-developed. The concepts of sacrifice-for-power or the "remembered" method of getting power as well as the transformation of Mora Losley into the very thing she swore she'd never become are seamless and the perfect seasoning to the emotional tale of the main characters.

Hope its the start of a series.

This Book's Snack Rating: Salt&Vinegar Walker's Crisps for the bitter emotional trials the characters face in a gritty, addictively snackable London(less)

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Dec 29, 2012 Simon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have to say that I loved this book. From the technical detail on the magic and the horror of the occult reminiscent of “The Haunted and the Haunters” by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (a favourite of mine) to the sheer gung ho of the police procedural filled with action like the Die Hard film series. It just came together and rocked! There were more than enough twists and turns in the plot and two villains you really wouldn’t want to meet in a dark lane at any time of the day to keep the crime thriller...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Dudleysmith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'll be mostly comparing London Falling to Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series, which it's superficially similar to.

Nastier and darker than the Rivers of London series (at least so far), this is what happens when the criminals can do magic and the cops can't, and it really brings home how terrifying and disorientating it would be. It's all many-angled rooms in extra dimensions, and going Cthuluishly insane seems more of a threat than being roasted with a fireball, for example.

I found it we...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Stefan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, horror, far-beyond-reality-review

A long undercover police investigation following one of London’s most powerful organized crime figures is approaching its conclusion. The crime boss, Rob Toshack, is suddenly acting erratically, visiting a string of his houses, disappearing to the attic only to reappear and head to a different place. Costain and Sefton, the two undercover agents who have been inserted into Toshack’s organization, can’t figure out why their target is suddenly running all over London. Quill, the officer in charge...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Jennifer Brozek rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

London Falling is a great procedural with a quartet of flawed cops and an adjunct. Each character carries their own strengths and weakness on their sleeves but this doesn't mean they don't have any secrets left. What it means is that there are four distinct personalities working towards a mutual goal... even though none of them knows what that really means.

Each character is like the reader--lost in the fast-paced worldbuilding of a supernatural London that none of them knew existed. There are a...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Alex Sarll added it

Oh, now this is impressive. Allegedly Cornell's "first urban fantasy novel" (which is funny, because I could have sworn British Summertime featured angels and was set in Bath), I'd call it more...police procedural horror? But then that makes me wonder where horror has gone lately, because everyone seems to do ghost stories now, or 'the weird', or indeed, 'urban fantasy'. But to me, 'urban fantasy' signals sexy werewolves and vampire PIs and worlds which, while they have fantastic elements, feel...more

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May 12, 2013 Stuart Nager rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've been following Paul Cornell mainly through his work with DC comics: always smart, almost always a fun and satisfying read.

This, his "first urban fantasy" novel was just that: smart, layered, and captivating. A great start to what I'm assuming will become a series. This has a background that has roots in history and myth, and the "magic realism" of it made this a very good read. I didn't want to put the book down, and for me, lately, that is high praise.

A group of four disparate coppers ar...more

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May 22, 2013 Shannon Appelcline rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy

A superb first book in a new urban fantasy series. It's got at least four great things going for it:

1.) Its take on urban fantasy is unique and scary. This isn't standard ghosts, vampires, and werewolves, but instead a modern and innovative take on the genre.

2.) Cornell's writing style in the book constantly swirls between tight points-of-view on the four main characters. This is done very skillfully, to give us unique insights into four characters that are drawn very well.

3.) The police procedu...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, netgalley, read-2013

I was drawn to this by the basic premise - English cops given the Sight, thus able to see the things that lurk below London - the strange creatures, the magic (though it's never referred to as such).

I picked it up and, a few chapters in, had some trepidation. Too much police stuff for me, not enough of the magic. And football? Ugh.

But kudos to Cornell, because he makes it all work, and the football stuff wasn't even as annoying as I'd feared it was going to be.

It's not perfect - I had some issue...more

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Apr 24, 2013 Caitlin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, crime, ghosts, supernatural

This review and others like it available on my blog.

I really enjoyed this once I got past the first 100 pages.

Lets talk about those first 100 pages to start with, shall we? The reason they were such a struggle was that they started in the middle of the action. This isn't normally a problem, but it can be when all your characters have the same 'voice'. Now, what I mean by that is that the working-class young black copper 'sounded' exactly the same as the shy, nervous female tech, and the middel-a...more This review and others like it available on my blog.

I really enjoyed this once I got past the first 100 pages.

Lets talk about those first 100 pages to start with, shall we? The reason they were such a struggle was that they started in the middle of the action. This isn't normally a problem, but it can be when all your characters have the same 'voice'. Now, what I mean by that is that the working-class young black copper 'sounded' exactly the same as the shy, nervous female tech, and the middel-aged married white man and so on and so forth. I know there's a certain amount of police speak and slang that carries on, but it would have been less confusing had they sounded notably different. This is especially important if you are writing a book from several different points of view.

However, once I was past those first 100 pages, things improved. I still got confused between characters easily, but the rest of the book more than made up for it. It's brutal and edgy, its honest, and it deals with subjects that a lot of modern fantasy avoids.

The feelings of one character, as an adult suffering bullying related to his race and sexuality seemed believable enough. I couldn't speak as to the race stuff - I'm a white woman, and the most I ever got in that regard was a few 'terrorist' comments now and again because of my Irish grandmother. But I have been bullied for my sexuality, both as a teen and as an adult, and there's a certain shame that goes along with it in adulthood that is different to the shame you feel as a young person. I related strongly with the character who expressed these feelings and thought that aspect of his character was especially well-drawn.

The writing is OK, sometimes a little clunky and it overuses the adverbs something fierce. But sometimes it is very good. It's at its best when describing action or the awful despair and grime of the worst parts of the capital. Its at its worst when trying to describe the way people interact. That's OK - all writers have their strengths. Description of the moments after each character gets the sight is excellent, and very revealing as to character. I liked it a lot.

I found the football stuff a bit unbelievable and kind of dull. I'm not really into football (soccer, to you americans) and it seemed gimmicky and forced, as well as being too thin a thread to pin a large, important section of the story on. It added a kind of arch, knowing, mocking blokeyness to a work that didn't really need it. Of course, that could just be my bias talking. But I still skim-read most of the football stuff until it became vital to the plot.

Well plotted (apart from the football thing which I still say is too slight a thread to hang this sort of thing on) with some intriguing details, often using Londons real history and myths. Irritated by the return of the witch as evil child sacrificing blah blah blah. I quite like to see old tropes like that turned on their head not used with the attitude that it is fresh or new in any way. I was intrigued by the details of vicitimisation and how it changes or damages people, though.

This is a book that gets better as it goes on, that starts coming into its own around the 100 page mark. For those of us who have the patience and stubbornness to keep going , that's fine. If you aren't built that way, however, if you get frustrated by slow burners and seemingly unimportant detail padding, I'd advise avoiding it.

3 out of 5. Would have been higher if it had lived up to its potential. Still, I'll probably pick up the sequel.(less)

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Apr 19, 2013 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Full review at Bookgasm -- http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/fantasy/london-falling:

Paul Cornell has described his new novel as “BUFFY meets THE BILL,” capturing in bang-up fashion its collision of horror tropes and copper attitude.

LONDON FALLING features a special investigative team thrown together by the unexplainable (and bloody) death of a suspect in custody. And, as with any number of Joss Whedon’s ragtag teams, there are traumatic backstories and lots of smart-arsed dialogue, a genuine senti...more Full review at Bookgasm -- http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/fantasy/london-falling:

Paul Cornell has described his new novel as “BUFFY meets THE BILL,” capturing in bang-up fashion its collision of horror tropes and copper attitude.

LONDON FALLING features a special investigative team thrown together by the unexplainable (and bloody) death of a suspect in custody. And, as with any number of Joss Whedon’s ragtag teams, there are traumatic backstories and lots of smart-arsed dialogue, a genuine sentiment flavored by serious narrative consequences, and the whiplash thrills of big action set-pieces and constant screwball chatter.

But the mash-up pitch does Cornell a disservice, too. It may make his effort seem derivative, an easy parlor trick rather than the enthusiastic reinvention you’ll find here. (Cornell has roots with DOCTOR WHO and DC comics, too, experiences which clearly shape — but don’t constraiN — what he accomplishes here.) The novel will delight fans of dark fantasy and gritty crime stories, and countless other sorts of readers, as well. LONDON FALLING is exhilarating and sophisticated entertainment — an excellent stand-alone adventure which primes the pump for future explorations.

The novel opens at a run. We’re thrown right into a pacy, intense depiction of the tail-end of an undercover operation which sets in motion some deeper mysteries while running the cast out on stage for introductions. DI Quill barks over the radio, tracking the trap clamping down on crime lord Rob Toshack; deep-cover officers Costain and Sefton circle one another suspiciously; investigator Ross follows by radio as her critical analysis comes a cropper. You could (will) easily fall right in to the gritty crime story, forgetting that things are about to turn slant.

The team (and plot) quickly shift focus to a mysterious elderly woman, Mora Losley — a season ticketholder for West Ham, and something much more. The plot ticks along in procedural mode, as these detectives faced with things that don’t make sense use good copper instincts to build a case; Cornell skillfully uses the investigation to do some sophisticated history- and world-building, teasing out an alternate London that recalled The Clash’s warnings (the apocalyptic thump of “London calling / To the underworld”) as well as earlier incarnations of a shadow city in Neil Gaiman or China Miéville.

This dense weave of world-building is smartly subsumed in narrative momentum, an escalating series of set-pieces (a riveting raid on a market, a race to find hostages before a deadline passes). The novel’s only weakness is the reliance on some facile emotional beats for character development, although the team members are sketched with real skill — defining a cast readers will care deeply about. And there is some slight tendency, as the novel ends, to slip into conventional bathos (not as effectively, smart-assedly deconstructed as in the Whedonverse).

But, damn, it’s an enjoyable read. Highly recommended.(less)

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Apr 28, 2013 Richard Gazala rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Author Paul Cornell has an impressive creative pedigree. He's a successful British novelist who writes for comics and television. His writing includes a significant body of work in "Doctor Who" fiction. Clearly science fiction and fantasy are his forte genres. His new paranormal police procedural novel, "London Falling," fits squarely into that genus.

There's a grim London that breathes just out of view behind the usual city its residents trudge through on their daily grinds. The unseen London te...more Author Paul Cornell has an impressive creative pedigree. He's a successful British novelist who writes for comics and television. His writing includes a significant body of work in "Doctor Who" fiction. Clearly science fiction and fantasy are his forte genres. His new paranormal police procedural novel, "London Falling," fits squarely into that genus.

There's a grim London that breathes just out of view behind the usual city its residents trudge through on their daily grinds. The unseen London teems with all manner of supernatural ghosts, ghouls, and other nastiness. For reasons that aren't entirely spelled out, a foursome of London police officers working what seems an ordinary gangster bust find themselves suddenly imbued with the "Sight," a gift of dubious honor that positions them to become a special operations unit tasked with battling the supernatural horrors tormenting their city. In "London Falling" the unit's primary concern is stopping the fatal evil foisted upon the city's children by Mora, a bloodthirsty soccer-loving witch whose baneful provenance dates back to the time of Anne Boleyn (Henry VIII's second short-term wife).

"London Falling" is an entertaining book, but it's not compelling. Cornell's primary characters aren't very fleshy at all, and his secondary ones are even less so. Thin characters make it difficult to follow them rapaciously through a book 400 pages long. That said, what Cornell fails to do in creating fascinating characters, he makes up for in consistently crafting creepy atmospheres stained well with traditional horror fiction ingredients.

The novel's climax is engaging enough to make the read worthwhile. It's also designed to set the stage for a series of supernatural police procedurals featuring the "Sighted" quartet of officers Quill, Costain, Sefton, and Ross. With hard work on those characters, and the attention of an editor to reign in some of Cornell's tendencies toward excess verbosity, it could be a series worth following.

[A warning for squeamish: though Cornell doesn't render it gratuitous, the witch Mora's passion for torturing young children plays a prominent role in the story.] (less)

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Nov 01, 2012 Rachel Groves rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon-vine, amazon-vine-uk, own, urban-fantasy, read-2012

Loved the idea of this book but it just doesn't quite work for me. The premise of the book is that 3 police officers & an intelligence analyst form a team to investigate a crime with a supernatural element and acquire "the Sight" which allows them to see ... well is it evil, is it ghosts, is it an alternate reality? They don't really understand what's happening & we only progress through their perspectives which left me feeling confused and irritated. It's all a bit too vague and clunky....more

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Dec 18, 2012 Kate O'Hanlon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, crime

I'm pretty sure Paul Cornell has stolen the mythology I had been toying with for an urban fantasy book that I was totally going to write someday right out of my head! It's lucky for him that he is the nicest man in sci fi or I would never forgive him.

London Falling is your basic police procedural meets urban fantasy, with a heavy emphasis on the procedural aspect. Our heroes and three London police and one intelligence analyst who, due to some circumstances, are given 'The Sight' and get wrapped...more

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May 05, 2013 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

At the end of a a four year sting operation a major London crime figure dies in police custody in a very unnatural way. The four police officers assigned to find out why this happened end up instead finding a very different London from the one they thought they knew right in front of their noses.

In many ways this could be compared to Midnight Riot though the tone of this book is much darker. The story is also told from four points of view, when I personally prefer a single person narrating a st...more

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May 02, 2013 Melanie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Join me at the Qwillery to read this review and others

http://qwillery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/0...

Melanie's Thoughts:

London Falling starts out as a traditional police thriller with Detective James Quill leading the investigation and subsequent arrest of the notorious drug lord, Toshack. Just when he thinks he is going to wrap up the case of his career his world is turned upside down when Toshack mysteriously dies while in police custody (in a most gruesome fashion, I might add). It is at this point...more Join me at the Qwillery to read this review and others

http://qwillery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/0...

Melanie's Thoughts:

London Falling starts out as a traditional police thriller with Detective James Quill leading the investigation and subsequent arrest of the notorious drug lord, Toshack. Just when he thinks he is going to wrap up the case of his career his world is turned upside down when Toshack mysteriously dies while in police custody (in a most gruesome fashion, I might add). It is at this point that the story takes a turn from traditional thriller to supernaturally, weird and crazy with a purely evil antagonist. Quill and his team uncovers something far more evil than Toshack and it’s a race against time to save London, his colleagues and himself from an evil power the likes he has never come across before.

Like the action in the story Cornell keeps a frenetic pace with the story swapping between the different characters. I felt it was written more like the script for TV rather than as a novel with subtext and inference playing heavily in the interaction between characters. I found it a bit difficult to get into the story at first due to the number of police acronyms that Cornell used but found a glossary at the back of the book after I had finished reading it! That is the problem with ebooks as useful things like glossaries hide at the back and I don’t find them until the end. I think that maybe I would have engaged a bit earlier had I found the glossary sooner. However, once I got to grips with the police ‘talk’ and as the plot progressed I soon became completely engrossed in the story and all its dysfunctional characters. Cornell doesn’t just make the dialogue authentic from a police perspective he also uses local colloquialisms. As a non-native Londoner I always enjoy books that are based here but I wonder how easily others pick up the local jargon and slang that Cornell litters throughout the story. I thought the plot was unique and much more grisly than I was expecting and Mora Losely was chilling and completely evil. The backdrop to how she came to be a witch was interesting and the fact that she was a serial killing West Ham fan was quite amusing in its own right.My husband is a West Ham fan and while I am a football widow from August to May I think even the most ardent fan would draw the line at the atrocities that Mora did to support her team.

Cornell develops his characters through POV chapters and uses this technique to create a substantive backstory for each one. However, I couldn’t really connect with any of them despite having a full and rich background for each. I think this was down to the pace of the story, the characterization and the fact there were four lead characters to keep track of.I thought it was a bit unusual, although not in a bad way, to have so many lead characters that each had equal time dedicated to their lives and their backstory. I found that I was spending as much time keeping their stories straight as I was following the main plot and this distracted me somewhat from what was happening in the overall. It is however, a testament to Cornell’s story telling ability in that he can intertwine the four broken and fractured lives of his main characters with a nail biting plot. Cornell devises a unique, interesting plot and sets the scene for future novels in the series.

While Cornell is an accomplished writer in other genres and mediums this is his first urban fantasy novel and demonstrates his imagination and creativity. While I really enjoyed London Falling (as much as you can enjoy reading about a serial killer) I didn’t love it. I think that now that I have come to understand the characters and their motivation through this novel that I will enjoy subsequent books more. If you are a fan of murder mysteries and like the supernatural element then I urge you to give London Falling a go.(less)

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Jan 29, 2013 Cameron rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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About Paul Cornell

Paul Cornell is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy prose, comics and television. He's been Hugo Award-nominated for all three media, and has won the BSFA Award for his short fiction, and the Eagle Award for his comics. He's the writer of Saucer Country for Vertigo, Demon Knights for DC, and has written for the Doctor Who TV series. His new urban fantasy novel is London Falling, out fr...more

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Books by Paul Cornell

Batman and Robin, Vol. 4: Dark Knight vs. White Knight

Demon Knights, Vol. 1: Seven Against the Dark

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Quotes from London Falling

“You hear stories like that all your life and think: cool, a ghost bus. But now we have to look at this stuff analytically... a ghost bus?! The “ghost” of a motor vehicle? A public conveyance, presumably, which didn't head towards the light, move on to join the choir invisible in... bus heaven, the great terminus in the sky, where all good buses go when they... I don't know, break down, but instead is doomed to … drive eternally the streets of Earth! How can there be a ghost bus?!” — 2 people liked it

“The neighbors... hadn't, thankfully, done the usual by saying that Losley was a pleasant neighbor who'd kept herself to herself. (Always delivered in a tone of voice that suggested that, since keeping oneself to oneself was the single greatest thing one English person could do for another, the suspect ought to be excused whatever psychopathic shit they'd visited on other people.)” — 1 person liked it

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