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The Midnight Mayor (Matthew Swift #2)

4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 · rating details · 1,103 ratings · 103 reviews

It's said that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, then the Tower will crumble and the kingdom will fall. Resurrected sorcerer Matthew Swift is about to discover that this isn't so far from the truth...

One by one, the protective magical wards that guard the city are falling: the London Wall defiled with cryptic graffiti, the ravens found dead at the Tower, the Lo...more

Hardcover, 480 pages

Published March 8th 2010 by Orbit (first published 2010)

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May 31, 2013 Jim Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Some people have greatness thrust upon them. In the case of Matthew Swift, it's the job from hell. He awakens, battered and bleeding, to find that he is now Midnight Mayor, guardian and protector of London. His new staff (the Aldermen)refuse to be believe that the previous incumbent passed the mantle of Midnight Mayor to a sorcerer and are initially considerably less than helpful.

However, London itself is under threat this time and Matthew and the Aldermen have no choice but to bury their diffe...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Smcleish rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Originally published on my blog here in February 2012.

I read this, the second in a series, without having read the first, so in describing this book, I may give away aspects of the first without intending to.

Sorcerer Matthew Swift is dead, but he remains alive through the symbiotic relationship he has with the blue light angels, spirits of electrical current, who now also inhabit his body. He restlessly walks the streets of London at night, until one evening at the beginning of The Midnight Mayo...more Originally published on my blog here in February 2012.

I read this, the second in a series, without having read the first, so in describing this book, I may give away aspects of the first without intending to.

Sorcerer Matthew Swift is dead, but he remains alive through the symbiotic relationship he has with the blue light angels, spirits of electrical current, who now also inhabit his body. He restlessly walks the streets of London at night, until one evening at the beginning of The Midnight Mayor when he answers a payphone which rings as he passes it and is magically attacked down the wire. Before long, he discovers that London is under attack from the "death of cities", and he has been chosen to defend it, taking on the office of Midnight Mayor.

I found that The Midnight Mayor grew on me as I read through it. It seemed at first to be just another of the currently fashionable urban fantasy novels, but in the end Swift's dual character is well enough portrayed, and his solution as to how he can stop the death of cities is interesting enough, to raise the story out of the crowd. Kate Griffin began as a writer for children, and some of the details of The Midnight Mayor are somewhat reminiscent of parts of China Miéville's brilliant Un Lun Dun; examples include the heavy metal spectres and the appearance of the death of cities.

London is of course a city full of ancient myths and legends, but the interesting aspect of Griffin's take on it is the idea that magic is based on what has significance for the sorcerer, which makes it possible to build up a whole new, up to date urban mythology, where seers prophesy using the entrails of ragged plastic bags, and the words of spells are not Latin or Hebrew but come from legal and official documents such as parking tickets and ASBOs (the latter not providing terribly effective magic, naturally). Any object which is in some way part of London's culture can become part of the magic, whether graffiti tags or the information on Underground notice boards. This immediately makes Matthew Swift's world stand out from so many other works of urban fiction, as the modern urban setting is vital to its internal mythology.

The main reason why The Midnight Mayor grew on me was that it is well constructed (the way the magic works being just one example of how clearly thought through the world building is), carefully building to a climax which proves well worth the wait, if perhaps a little predictable in some of its details.(less)

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Nov 17, 2012 Peter Taylor rated it 5 of 5 stars

From the cover

It's said that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, then the Tower will crumble and the kingdom will fall. As it happens, that's not so far from the truth ...
One by one, the magical wards that guard the city are failing; the London Wall defiled with cryptic graffiti; the ravens found dead at the Tower; the London Stone destroyed. This is not good news. The array of supernatural defences - a mix of international tourist attractions and forgotten urban legends - formed a for...more

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Feb 14, 2012 Fyonfyon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: altered-reality, all-time-favourites

Having found the first book in this sequence a very pleasant (if blood-soaked) surprise, I was more than happy to get stuck into the second of the series. And it was clear straight away that this was not going to be some lacklustre retread of previous works (certain US authors of similar genres - I'm looking at you. And I'm tutting. With a little sniff of contempt). Sure all the elements that made the first book such fun are still here - at times bone dry humour, plenty of snappy dialogue and ac...more

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Apr 21, 2011 April rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have read the first three of the Matthew Swift series and enjoyed them: The Madness of Angels, The Midnight Mayor and The Neon Court. Swift was a human sorcerer who was killed and brought back to life infused somehow with the Blue Electric Angels of the telephone wires. The magic Griffin gives us is Urban Magic, born of the pulsing life and power of the cities.

Griffin’s style will have a lot to do with whether or not you like these books. It is dark, chaotic, almost stream-of-consciousness. He...more

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Jul 14, 2010 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: series, urban-fantasy, review-copy

The magical wards of London are being systematically destroyed — the ravens at the Tower of London are dead, the London Wall is defiled. Before the very fabric of London is sucked into chaos, Matthew Swift must solve the riddle of where Mo has gone, and who is scrawling the slogan ‘Give Me Back My Hat’ across the walls of his city. In The Midnight Mayor, Kate Griffin takes the reader on a scorching tour around the city of London, introducing the Midnight Mayor and the extremely creepy Mr Pinner,...more The magical wards of London are being systematically destroyed — the ravens at the Tower of London are dead, the London Wall is defiled. Before the very fabric of London is sucked into chaos, Matthew Swift must solve the riddle of where Mo has gone, and who is scrawling the slogan ‘Give Me Back My Hat’ across the walls of his city. In The Midnight Mayor, Kate Griffin takes the reader on a scorching tour around the city of London, introducing the Midnight Mayor and the extremely creepy Mr Pinner, Death of Cities.

If you liked A Madness of Angels, you’ll enjoy The Midnight Mayor. Kate Griffin employs the same writing style, imbues the pages with the character of London, and builds on many of the concepts introduced in her first novel about Matthew Swift.

I did like A Madness of Angels — very much. I loved the dense writing, the beautiful descriptions, and the way that Griffin was able to turn the mundane into the magical. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystical characters and reveled in the mystery of the blue electric angels.

The Midnight Mayor was very similar, and that comprises one of my complaints about it. There were so many echoes of the first novel that it felt as though I was still reading A Madness of Angels. Once more, the novel opens with Matthew Swift in a state of confusion. He then tackles a creature from the depths of nightmare. In the first book this was the litter-bug; in The Midnight Mayor he comes up against spectres that can be slowed down by the recitation of ASBOs. Then, as last time, we spend the majority of the story travelling around London and trying to use the rules of the Underground to prevent the villain from capturing Swift and Oda. Again, the finale is a breathless adventure tackling the dark soul that has been terrorising Swift — in A Madness of Angels it is Hunger, and here it is the Death of Cities. I loved the first book, so it was no hardship to follow more adventures of Swift, but I would have liked to see more departure from the formula.

One way in which The Midnight Mayor departed in a grand fashion from A Madness of Angels was in the development of Matthew Swift’s character. In this novel he truly came alive, stepping to the fore and taking charge in a way that he failed to do last time. This character development was handled deftly by Griffin, to the extent that it was only really at the end of the novel that you realised how far Swift had come from his first confused moments. I also want to mention the scene where Swift and the blue electric angels found their wings — this was a real ‘punch the air’ moment and it left me truly agape.

I also appreciated the little flashes of dark deadpan humour that Griffin has added to Matthew Swift’s character. This added pathos and allows the reader to identify more easily with him:

“...It’s like quests. You get told ‘go forth and seek the travelcard of destiny’ and you know, I mean, you seriously know that it won’t have just been left down the back of the sofa. You read — seen — Lord of the Rings?”
“Yessss...”
“Ever wondered why they didn’t just get the damn eagles to go drop the One Ring into the volcano, since they seemed so damn nifty at getting into Mordor anyway?”

Griffin also successfully fleshes out some existing secondary characters — such as Oda — and brings in some intriguing new characters — here the Aldermen were a highlight. This all helped to give The Midnight Mayor warmth that was missing in A Madness of Angels.

Altogether, The Midnight Mayor is another triumph of imagination and whimsical storytelling from Kate Griffin. I thoroughly enjoyed working my way through the stunning prose. The effort it takes to immerse yourself in the world of Matthew Swift is definitely repaid in full.(less)

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Mar 31, 2012 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

A love letter to the City of London. Very imaginative, all the monsters are brand new--none of the old reliable dragons (well there is one dragon, but its a very modern manifestation). Happily, you don't have to read the first book to understand the second. Griffin writes with a fluid style, the narrator rambles on to himself a lot but it makes sense within the story. Don't let the weird personal pronouns in the beginning confuse you, it gets explained some pages later in the book. I liked this...more

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Jun 11, 2013 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In contemporary London a young immigrant woman, working as a meter maid, is assaulted and her hat is stolen. Enraged and depressed she stands on London Bridge and shouts into the darkness,"Give me back my hat!"

She doesn't realize that her cry for respect hss cursed the city.

I've read all of Kate Griffin's book, but this is my favorite. The books assume the existance of magic, magic fueled by patterns of life: traffice, neon, the footsteps on the sidewalks, the hands on the guard rails of the ste...more

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Jan 09, 2011 Vijay Paradkar rated it 4 of 5 stars

This series by Kate Griffin (Catherine Webb) is rapidly becoming one of the more exciting and original urban fantasy series I've encountered. Where most authors simply transpose traditional notions of magic to contemporary or urban settings, Griffin conceives of a world in which magic, powered by life and belief, evolves to fit the modern day. The result is a brilliantly vivid portrayal of London and the vibrant pace and chaos of one of the world's most bustling metropolises.

The first book in th...more

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Jan 23, 2011 Dan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Gripe: if you save one innocent life and kill fifty others doing it, that does not count as a moral victory.

Also, the author writes too much description. I've learned to skim over all the comma-separated lists of scenery elements. I understand that the main character draws strength from his environment, but still. She should have just had one item per scene.

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Mar 29, 2010 Elaine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Utterly stunned. I immensely enjoyed whole vibe that Matthew Swift really was unashamedly 'winging it' most of the way through the book! It made a welcome change from previous books I have read where the characters have the answers layed out before them! Little quips and the attitudes of the main charaters (even in the most dire situations) made me laugh to myself. I am more in love with the main character, Matthew, than I was before and the relationship between he and Oda was even better than i...more

1 like · like · see review

May 08, 2013 Ann Thomas rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the second time I read this book. I wasn't sure if I remembered it right, so I read it again. I was right - it's brilliant! The style is cynical, gritty, world-weary. The protagonist is sick of being used by people, but desperately trying to do the right thing and not use his considerable power to destroy them all in a fit of anger.

The writing moves at often breakneck speed, but with lyrical descriptions of the protagonist's beloved London. He loves every bit of it: the dirt, the graffi...more

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Dec 25, 2012 Ed rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Matthew Swift set of books started slowly - the first book was beautifully written, but I found it hard to get to grips with. The second pulls together a bit better - it's still beautifully written, but somehow draws you in a bit better.

It's a story of magic - the urban kind - but where you might now be thinking Dresden files, this is nearer Neverwhere - of how magic is about symbols, and how places have power. How the things people believe in, have a power all of their own - so where once a...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

With her Matthew Swift novels, Griffin has created a truly remarkable magic system, and the first true urban-based magic system I have ever read, and she has populated her version of London with a first-rate cast of characters. Swift and the blue electric angels are endlessly fascinating to me, and I love how effortlessly she handles the I/we me/us dynamic. Though this installment finds Swift more firmly in control of his unique nature than the previous outing, when the Angels emerge, they do so...more

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Mar 23, 2010 N.K. Jemisin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Almost gave this one four stars, because it started out too much like the first book, and I don't actually like it when subsequent books in a trilogy give me more of the same. It even started off the same way: Matthew awakens, disoriented and afflicted with strange magic, then has to immediately fight off a dire threat (spectres this time, instead of the litterbug of the first book). But soon we're introduced to new marvels and mysteries, like the Aldermen, and soon we get something I hadn't rea...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Loralee rated it 3 of 5 stars

Such a good book, but there's so much going on it got a little confusing. Extreme urban magic (you dismantle a garbage monster by yelling out the garbage pickup contract, you capture wraiths (?) in beer bottles, and you put on your most uncomfortable shoes and stand at the bus stop in the rain at midnight for longer than you can stand to catch the magic Night Bus). The character feels real and powerful but was also a little hard to get used to, since he is a compilation of a resurrected sorcerer...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: physical-copy, four-star-reviews

See the full review at Short & Sweet Reviews.

Once again, this book starts out with Matthew being dropped into the middle of a completely unexpected situation. Just like last time, he has no idea where he is or how he got there; all he knows is that something is trying to destroy him. It seems to be a pretty common situation for him to be in; maybe he should start getting used to it. Matthew is quickly plunged into the shadowy world of the Midnight Mayor, who's tasked with protecting London f...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-fantasy

The writing in this series is just amazing--good LORD can this woman write a description. I can see it all as clearly as if I am walking down the street beside the character. I think I am also getting a good grounding on the London subway system.
Her concept of an urban magical system, where things like street sign and transit system rules have power, is just brilliant. Loving every minute of the series. I found the way she describes the power and magic of urban life both evocative and moving, an...more

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Jul 14, 2010 Rosalind M rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

The saga of Matthew Swift (or perhaps I should say Matthew Swift 2.0) has surged forward in a successful second novel. I think that the only thing that keeps me from fully being able to enjoy this series is that if you don't know the geography of London and the surrounding environs, you miss some of the importance put on settings that are wholly unfamiliar to non-Brits.

I'm intrigued by the ease at which Kate Griffin is able to knit together a storyline out of seemingly unrelated elements. And fa...more

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Aug 14, 2010 J.D. Robinson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Let me start from the beginning. It all started in March this year, when the cover of The Midnight Mayor caught my eye on the shelf. I mean look at it, it’s such a beautiful cover! Who could resist picking that up and buying it? When I got it home to read though, I was just a little confused, and took me a good fifty pages to realize that, while a separate story in it’s own, it was the second book in the Matthew Swift series. Reluctantly, I went back and found the first book, A Madness of Angels...more

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Jun 04, 2010 Rob rated it 5 of 5 stars

I liked this book better than the first. Constant action, and only one very predictable moment. I knew, I soon as I heard Ms. Smith's name, who it was. This book has mystery/adventure/drama/ and, maybe, I can't tell for sure, but maybe, romance? I can't figure out what Swift thinks about the women he meets. All of them seem to have potential for him. Perhaps Swift doesn't know what to think about any of them either. But I felt like he would have had a broken heart when Loren hung up on him, and...more

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May 19, 2011 Oflo rated it 5 of 5 stars

I tend to enjoy stories on the US side of the pond simply because I know the layout. I understand the culture. And I can get a better mental visual. With Griffin's Matthew Swift series this is not an issue. The second installment deepens the Electric Blue Angels and Matthew's involvement with the Powers That Be and gives them a purpose beyond merely existing. As before, Griffin's prose thrust you into the beat and pulse of city life, making London come alive and get under your skin. And yes, it'...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Ryan G rated it 3 of 5 stars

After about 27 months, I finally got around to reading the sequel to A Madness of Angels. I wish I could tell you a valid reason why it seems to take me forever to read the next book in a series, but I can't. I know most people, when the really enjoy the first book in a series, want to read the next one as soon as possible. Now sometimes we have to wait if the next book isn't out yet, but for the most part, if the book is out, it will be the next book read. That's not how I work for some strange...more After about 27 months, I finally got around to reading the sequel to A Madness of Angels. I wish I could tell you a valid reason why it seems to take me forever to read the next book in a series, but I can't. I know most people, when the really enjoy the first book in a series, want to read the next one as soon as possible. Now sometimes we have to wait if the next book isn't out yet, but for the most part, if the book is out, it will be the next book read. That's not how I work for some strange reason, nope, not me. I get distracted way too easily to ever do such a smart, logical thing.

Now that I've read The Midnight Mayor, I'm really hoping I don't take as long to read the third book in the series. This one starts off much the same way A Madness of Angles did. Matthew Swift is once again waking up from a trauma, not really aware of where he is. He is forced to run though because he is being hunted down entities consisting of hoodies and a thumping beat that is controlling them. They won't stop coming, no matter how many electric cables he rips out of the ground to entangle them, they keep coming. It's only once he is able to capture one in an empty beer bottle, that he seems to get a respite and be able to gather his thoughts. He thinks somebody tried to kill him, but doesn't know why. Little does he realize what's about to happen.

He seeks sanctuary from an old friend, only to have her killed and turned into a pile of paint. Through some rather interesting twists and turns he discovers that the old Midnight Mayor has been killed. Of course, The Midnight Mayor is supposed to be a myth. A magical construct that protects London from those who want to destroy her. What makes it even worse is those who worked for the old mayor, thinks Matthew is the one who killed him. Add in the wrinkle that Matthew is not the new Midnight Mayor and must figure out what's threatening his city, before London is brought to it's knees.

I love the magic of this version of London. It's gritty, mechanical, and the only way magic would actually exist in world such as ours. It's a world where the congealed grease from restaurants will ooze out of the street grates, becoming a gelatinous blob able to engulf anything in it's wake. It's a world where the idea of the street sweepers takes on mythic proportions. It's a world where neon lights, telephone conversations, and graffiti hold power unlike anything else. But it's also the magic of old London. It's the dragon that guards the gates, it's the idea of what a city is and what the loss of that identity could cause. It's the city that Matthew loves and will do anything to protect.(less)

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Jan 24, 2012 Helena R-D rated it 2 of 5 stars

I honestly couldn't finish this book fast enough because it was so unnecessarily drawn out. I know it was supposed to be atmospheric and moody, but it honestly became super irritating by the time the conclusion came. I loved the descriptions of London boroughs, but the pace needs to be picked up. Not to mention the characters need to be fleshed out much more than they have been. I honestly haven't the slightest what motivations Matthew Swift and the Angels have, even after reading two books of t...more

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Apr 01, 2011 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, fantasy-noir, favorites, epic-snark

The sequel to A MADNESS OF ANGELS, THE MIDNIGHT MAYOR continued the saga of Matthew Swift/electric blue angels. THE MIDNIGHT MAYOR is better than the first, I think, because the characters are more well-developed. In the first you're concerned mainly with Matthew's attempt to reconcile himself with his new cohabitants, but in this one you get to know the people (who can be pretty funny). Urban fantasy, fantasy noir, whatever you want to call it, it makes me so happy because in any book by any au...more

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Mar 17, 2011 Vanessa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Matthew Swift has already died once and isn't interested in doing so again. Unfortunately he has the knack of finding himself in the right place at the wrong time, and now London's Aldermen (the magical kind) believe Swift killed the Midnight Mayor. Kinda ironic considering he didn't even believe the guy existed in the first place...

To avoid punishment for a crime he didn't commit, Swift searches for the mayor's killer, but realizes there's more to this story than the death of one man: it involv...more Matthew Swift has already died once and isn't interested in doing so again. Unfortunately he has the knack of finding himself in the right place at the wrong time, and now London's Aldermen (the magical kind) believe Swift killed the Midnight Mayor. Kinda ironic considering he didn't even believe the guy existed in the first place...

To avoid punishment for a crime he didn't commit, Swift searches for the mayor's killer, but realizes there's more to this story than the death of one man: it involves the survival of London itself.

THE MIDNIGHT MAYOR continues where A MADNESS OF ANGELS leaves off, but don't think you have to read MADNESS to enjoy MIDNIGHT. Certainly Kate Griffin doesn't dawdle, and explains back story along the way, but it doesn't clutter the narrative, instead adding interest and insight. MIDNIGHT is a joyride through London's streets about the magic that makes the city and its inhabitants tick.

In MADNESS Swift became one with the blue electric angels--the magic of the phone lines made real from the words and desires that travel via the current. As a result, in MIDNIGHT Swift's PoV uses 'we' or 'I' because it's them merged together narrating the story; this threw me off at first and I worried it would be all gimmicky, but it really works and it's awesome. It's only the beginning, however, of Swift's progression as the lone sorcerer left in London, to a man burdened with a responsibility he didn't ask for. Swift's sense of humor keeps the story from being too serious, and his creative solutions to his problems are entertaining to read. He's fun to root for because even though he's not perfect, he's willing to fight for the innocent who can't protect themselves from mysterious things that go bump in the night--which also happens to be the responsibility of the mysterious Midnight Mayor.... There's a strange and varied assortment of secondary characters; particularly interesting is Oda, a kind of religious crusader against the evils of magic, who Swift finds as an unlikely ally against a bigger threat.

The story starts off with Swift in peril from a mysterious enemy, sucking you in right from the start, and carries you along clear up until the tidy resolution. There are some leaps in logic as Swift tries to solve the problems surrounding the mayor's death, but Swift/Griffin's storytelling is engaging enough that I didn't let myself get hung up on those details. I don't want to tell you too much more about the plot because I don't want to ruin it for you, but the connections throughout the novel keep you guessing.

The magic of London is created from ideas, words, meaning, symbols: "In the old days, a wizard would call on silver moonlight to guide them through a monster's lair. These days, we summon sodium light and a neon glow, and the monster's lair tends to have a trendy postcode and pay council tax." This adds to the taste and feel of London as Swift makes his way through the town and problem he has to solve. It made the magic real to me, like that's how it would really work in London.

Perhaps the best part of the book is Griffin's prose. This book is an ode to London, the descriptions saturated with the magic of history, life, and place--the very things that give power to sorcerers like Swift. It can get tedious when you want to get on with the story, and slows down the pace some. The dialogue is snappy and engaging, despite the occasional monologue by random characters.

Kate Griffin may be Urban Fantasy's best kept secret. If you enjoy Butcher's Dresden files or Gaiman's NEVERWHERE, then this is the series for you. The next book, THE NEON COURT, comes out soon and I can't wait.(less)

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Dec 11, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Griffin continues the story of Matthew Swift with just as much spark and drama as what was in the first book. The book opens with Swift being knocked down - left for dead, really - when he picks up a randomly ringing phone on a streetcorner in London. One would think a greater sense of self-preservation would prevail over the electric blue angels in the matter of answer phones, but...

And before he can really figure out what is going on, he has specters after him, the city Alderman accusing him o...more

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Jul 08, 2010 Katie M. rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anglophiles, urbanites, sorcerers

Shelves: contemporary-and-urban-fantasy

This is the sequel to A Madness of Angels, which should be read first. Like its predecessor, The Midnight Mayor's greatest strength is how vividly it brings the urban magic of London to life. The city is practically the main character. This is not just traditional fantasy magic grafted onto a modern metropolis, but magic that feels like it grew out of the city and beats in tune with the city's pulse.

In The Midnight Mayor, that pulse is threatened: the ravens in the Tower dead, the remains of th...more

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Aug 27, 2011 Wealhtheow rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, pocmaincharacters, urban-fantasy

Matthew Swift died choking on his own blood.
Years later, he came back.
But he didn't come back alone.

His struggle to understand his death, and the other magic users' struggle to come to terms with his new dual identity of blue electric angels and dead man, formed the basis for A Madness of Angels. After the cataclysmic events of the last few years, Swift deserves a nice long break--but alas, he's the last sorcerer left in London, and doom has come upon his city. The supernatural defenses of Londo...more Matthew Swift died choking on his own blood.
Years later, he came back.
But he didn't come back alone.

His struggle to understand his death, and the other magic users' struggle to come to terms with his new dual identity of blue electric angels and dead man, formed the basis for A Madness of Angels. After the cataclysmic events of the last few years, Swift deserves a nice long break--but alas, he's the last sorcerer left in London, and doom has come upon his city. The supernatural defenses of London are falling one after another, and no one knows why.

I read this all in one stretch into the wee hours of the morning, because I couldn't bear to put it down. The book moves at a frantic pace, jumping from a confrontation with a monster made of bathtub scum and grease to a club where the music is the beat of the owner's heart. The last book was an exploration of the boundaries of life; this one is a long, convoluted look at what it means to live in a city. The incredible complexity and interconnectedness of it, the tension between strangers, the meanings of neighborhoods, the effects of feeling anonymous and small--it's all wrapped up in the plot. The writing is at times almost psychedelic, dealing as it does with magic of the weird and wild kind. Swift's spells are a combination of twists on common sense and modern life: he uses traffic signals as binding spells, recites brand names as summoning spells, and captures spirits by in beer bottles (because you can drown anything at the bottom of a beer bottle). He'll cajole a key into fitting into a lock one moment, then smash his fist, crackling with electricity, into an alarm the next. He loves street food, wants to know everyone's names, gives all his money to beggars, tells anyone about magic who'll listen, refuses to kill his enemies--he's basically my favorite character ever. The other characters are equally intriguing (but I hesitate to name names, lest I spoil anything).

I love these books, and I can't wait to read the next one.(less)

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May 21, 2013 Mitticus rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: magia, sorcerer, dark-urban-fantasy, 2013-readings

Matthew Swift, hechicero urbana y angeles azules electricos, deberia evitar contestar llamadas telefonicas en mitad de la nada, pero va con su naturaleza... y al despertar empiezan los problemas y persecuciones luchando por su vida.

Alguien ha asesinado al Alcalde de la Medianoche, y Swift es el principal sospechoso, los espectros lo persiguen y él sólo queria hallar a un chico perdido. A lo largo de la historia, este apaleado er antiheroe nuestro va descubriendo que Londres ha sido maldecido, to...more

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by Eric S. Nylund

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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Quotes from The Midnight Mayor

“He glanced up as I entered, and for a moment, looked almost surprised.
"Mr. Swift!"
"Ta-da!" I exclaimed weakly.
"You're still..."
"Still not dead. That's me. It's my big party trick, still not being dead, gets them every time.” — 30 people liked it

“When last I checked, you were a sorcerer, not a Jedi."
"You've seen Star Wars?"
"Seen it and denounced it."
"You've denounced Star Wars?"
She looked me straight in the eye and said, "Hollywood should not glorify witches."
"I think you've missed the point..."
"I also denounce Harry Potter."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Because..."
"...because literature, especially children's literature, should not glorify witches."
"Oda, what do you do for fun?"
She thought about it, then said, without a jot of humor, "I denounce things.” — 22 people liked it

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The Midnight Mayor (Matthew Swift #2)

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