Madness of Angels

496 pages

English language

Published Nov. 8, 2009 by Little, Brown Book Group Limited.

ISBN:
978-0-7481-1143-5
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4 stars (2 reviews)

Enter the London of Matthew Swift, where rival sorcerers, hidden in plain sight, do battle for the very soul of the city, from a World Fantasy Award-winning author.

Two years after his untimely death, Matthew Swift finds himself breathing once again, lying in bed in his London home.

Except that it's no longer his bed, or his home. And the last time this sorcerer was seen alive, an unknown assailant had gouged a hole so deep in his chest that his death was irrefutable. . .despite his body never being found.

He doesn't have long to mull over his resurrection, though, or the changes that have been wrought upon him. His only concern now is vengeance. Vengeance upon his monstrous killer and vengeance upon the one who brought him back.

4 editions

Review of 'Madness of Angels'

3 stars

I feel a little bit conflicted about this book.

The magical mechanics were compelling, and I actually liked the I/we switching and didn't find it confusing (and it was enough to make the slow revelation sensical and not jarring). On the other hand, it was WAY too wordy; while fun enough to read, Griffin's no Hardy or Melville in the descriptive realm. This would've been much more satisfying at 300-400 pages instead of 610. It started interestingly enough, then sort of sagged, but Oda breathed some live and interpersonal conflict into the story and kept me from giving up a third of the way through. If anything, this book was too much plot and not enough characterization and personal interactions, but it got a bit more emotionally compelling towards the end, so I might as well give the second book in the series a good.

All in all, enough interesting …