Review by Booklist Review
Pheby's latest novel and first genre work presents a vast gothic city perched atop a sea of Living Mud, dominated by the powerful Master of Mordew, and which is subject to endless assault by firebirds sent by the equally powerful Mistress of Malarkoi. Nathan Treeves, a young boy from the slums of Mordew with a "Spark" that allows him to manipulate reality around him, becomes drawn into the endless war between the Master and his nemesis. As Nathan joins a gang of thieves, enters the Master's Manse, and even travels to Malarkoi itself, he learns more and more about his own power as well as the true identity of his seemingly weak and impoverished parents. Pheby channels an entire tradition of British fantasy including Peake, Miéville, and Moorcock to create a gruesome and fascinating world filled with talking dogs, boys born from mud, god-killing crusades, and much more. Pheby also shares this tradition's tendency to endlessly subvert common fantasy tropes and overturn reader expectations. Highly recommended for those interested in sprawling, bizarre fantasy worlds that run counter to the post-Tolkien mode.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The impressive first in a Dickensian epic fantasy trilogy from Pheby (Lucia)makes its U.S. debut, putting a young thief at the mercy of supposed benefactors gunning for him due to his mysterious family connections. The city of Mordew, its name derived from "Mort Dieu" and built atop a divine corpse, was created and is controlled by a man called the Master, who is locked in perpetual war with his rival, the Mistress. Thirteen-year-old Nathan Treeves grows up in Mordew's slums, where, in his quest to obtain medicine for his dying father, he is recruited by the crime lord Mr. Padge and rounded up to work with other slum boys by the Fetch, an agent of the Master. Though he's warned not to use his inherited magic Spark, Nathan employs his powers to raid the mansions of the wealthy and gain access to the Master--who gives Nathan the task of killing the Mistress. Pheby sharply observes the ways in which power creates, corrupts, and is amalgamated from ancestor to descendant, and while his unsparing dissection of the sinews of society call to mind the fantasies of Jack Vance and China Miéville, here there's more cold intellect and less sympathetic heart than within those works. Readers who enjoy intricate worldbuilding and morally gray characters would do well to snap this up. (Sept.)
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