London City is alive. When Beth and her best friend Pen are caught spraying graffiti at their school, Pen turns Beth in. Reeling from the betrayal, Beth stumbles into another London, one where railwraiths transport memories of passengers, where the lights are living glass people who dance at night, where the statues are imprisoned men, repaying their debts to their absent goddess, and where a danger threatens the very essence of the city that no one sees. And that city has a son.

Wow, I’m not sure how much I can express my love of Tom Pollock’s hidden London without spoiling the discovery for others. It reminds me of how children’s imaginations create worlds out of the incredibly mundane environment that surrounds them, street lights can be beautiful and exotic women that dance and flirt and real dangers such as trains and barbed wire can be turned into monsters.

After Beth’s ride on the railwraith she meets Filius, son of Mater Viae, the goddess who the creatures of London worship. At first, she takes him for a dirty street urchin but she saves his life and he hers and she finds herself following him further into his world, where Reach threatens the existence of those who have called the streets home for centuries. Reach is the god of cranes; they appear on the horizon wherever he is erecting his mirrored skyscrapers, something residents of London will know well. Reach represents progress destroying the character and essence of London.

Meanwhile, Pen has her reasons for her betrayal to Beth and her story is a sad one. She sees Beth’s paintings on the walls and follows her, with no inclination of the danger she could be in. Amongst the story of the city there are some very real themes threaded throughout and I think Pen’s parting words sums things up perfectly. Beth’s father is also suffering from deep depression after the loss of his wife and Beth’s mother and now he must face the idea that his daughter is lost too. There are some incredibly touching moments amongst the fantastical.

There is also a spattering of humour, mostly from the wonderful character of Victor, a homeless Russian who offers his translation services and whose friendly manner evolves into a sort of surrogate father figure for Beth. This lightens what is otherwise a dark, yet utterly brilliant tale.

There’s no denying that The City’s Son put’s the urban into urban fantasy, the setting being crucial. Scenes may be a little disturbing for younger readers although I’m not sure it’s being marketed towards young adults despite the teenage characters.