Mrs Butlers Blog 8
October 2005 Number 8
Recently I read So Below: Key to the City by Matt Whyman. I had great hopes of this book because of its prize-winning author (Boy Kills Man) and the terrific format; inside the silver cover are brilliant manga (or anime?) illustrations. Key to the City is obviously the first in a series called So Below
It starts dramatically as Yoshi 5 escapes from a distinctive man in a white mink coat and a nasty taste in deadly pets. He squeezes between the bars of a drain cover and finds himself in the home of a gang of street-children, living in a forgotten nuclear bunker below China Town. They survive by performing conjuring tricks in tourist hotspots like Covent Garden and travel along London’s many subterranean tunnels. Yoshi has lost his memory after a blow on the head, but he was obviously persecuted by our friend in the mink coat, so he is invited to join them.
There’s a father-figure to this underground family in the curious figure of Julius Grimaldi, part tramp, part mystic – who knows? – who maps the tunnels and lost rivers beneath the city. He has a theory about the churches built by the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor and he thinks that Yoshi, because of his metal name-tags, could be involved. At this point Yoshi begins to remember his past and the action becomes fast and complicated. By the end we are prepared for another long series of books about children with paranormal talents fighting dark forces.
I loved the beginning with its cast of interesting and original characters but I’m afraid, as an adult, I was not gripped by the action. I think London readers will be fascinated by new associations with familiar landmarks but I’m not sure how gripping readers from Gloucester will find Seven Dials, the Hawksmoor churches and old spurs of the tube system. I would really like to know what you think of this book so please tell me.
The series has possibilities as a fantasy series about super-talented kids but I’d probably recommend The Power of Five series by Anthony Horowitz which is about to be reissued. If I remember it right it had more energy, more excitement and more wit. I remember with particular affection that the villain of one of the books was a businesswoman called Evelyn Carnate. Say it aloud. I didn’t get it for ages.
Recently I read So Below: Key to the City by Matt Whyman. I had great hopes of this book because of its prize-winning author (Boy Kills Man) and the terrific format; inside the silver cover are brilliant manga (or anime?) illustrations. Key to the City is obviously the first in a series called So Below
It starts dramatically as Yoshi 5 escapes from a distinctive man in a white mink coat and a nasty taste in deadly pets. He squeezes between the bars of a drain cover and finds himself in the home of a gang of street-children, living in a forgotten nuclear bunker below China Town. They survive by performing conjuring tricks in tourist hotspots like Covent Garden and travel along London’s many subterranean tunnels. Yoshi has lost his memory after a blow on the head, but he was obviously persecuted by our friend in the mink coat, so he is invited to join them.
There’s a father-figure to this underground family in the curious figure of Julius Grimaldi, part tramp, part mystic – who knows? – who maps the tunnels and lost rivers beneath the city. He has a theory about the churches built by the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor and he thinks that Yoshi, because of his metal name-tags, could be involved. At this point Yoshi begins to remember his past and the action becomes fast and complicated. By the end we are prepared for another long series of books about children with paranormal talents fighting dark forces.
I loved the beginning with its cast of interesting and original characters but I’m afraid, as an adult, I was not gripped by the action. I think London readers will be fascinated by new associations with familiar landmarks but I’m not sure how gripping readers from Gloucester will find Seven Dials, the Hawksmoor churches and old spurs of the tube system. I would really like to know what you think of this book so please tell me.
The series has possibilities as a fantasy series about super-talented kids but I’d probably recommend The Power of Five series by Anthony Horowitz which is about to be reissued. If I remember it right it had more energy, more excitement and more wit. I remember with particular affection that the villain of one of the books was a businesswoman called Evelyn Carnate. Say it aloud. I didn’t get it for ages.
posted by Extreme Reading Group | 12:23 PM
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