Tom Pollock (1) (1984–)

So, on my ongoing quest to read more original and offbeat Young Adult titles, my journey has led me to The City's Son by Tom Pollock. I'd heard great things about this book, along with some descriptions of it that are just way in the realm of the bizarre and uncanny. In other words, it sounded right up my alley.

The novel follows Beth Bradley, a young graffiti artist seeking escape after being sold out by her best friend in an incident that suspends her from school. Her father hasn't been show more the same ever since Beth's mother died, and hardly even notices what goes on in her life anymore. But just when you think this will be yet another story about an angsty teenager running away from her troubles, this book turns everything on its head.

The fun begins when Beth meets up with the mysterious "Urchin", the cocky pavement-slate-skinned boy who introduces himself as Filius Viae, prince of London's streets and the city's son -- for he claims that the goddess of the city is his mother. What follows next is pure wildness as a whole new world is opened to Beth, one filled with living statues, voice-stealing spiders that crawl along telephone wires, runaway railwraith trains, and beings that live inside streetlamps. As rumors surrounding the goddess' impending return continue to mount, Beth helps Filius rally the troops against Reach, the urban god of decay who is preparing his own return to the city in order to see her new friend dead.

The result of this is a novel that's gritty yet sometimes beautiful, with ideas in here ranging from pure whimsical to just downright terrifying. It's also, to put it mildly, all very strange. At the end of the book, Tom Pollock acknowledges authors like Neil Gaiman and China Mieville as influences, and I can absolutely see that here. Consider Gutterglass, Filius' caretaker who has raised him in his goddess mother's absensce, who sometimes manifests as a pile of city garbage, with egg shells for eyes or discarded pens for fingers, all held together by dirt, bugs and worms. Like I said, whimsical and terrifying.

In the past year, I've read several books that feature the setting so strongly that they may as well have been love letters to their respective cities. But still, there's bringing your city to life and then there's bringing your city to life. Sometimes the world-building is done so well and described so richly that the setting ends up becoming like a character in and of itself, but this book takes personification of urban features to a whole new level. Tom Pollock presents London in a way that will completely blow your mind. I read things in this book I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams. Just the sheer amount of creativity at work here is astounding; I have never read a book like The City's Son.

If anything, the world was so fantastically well done that it ended up taking center stage in my mind, making the characters pale in comparison. Don't get me wrong, both Beth and Fil were great, but they almost felt like the supporting cast in light of my love for this incredible re-imagined version of London. I enjoyed the characters immensely but still didn't feel much for their relationship whenever they were together despite their witty dialogue and banter, because ultimately it was the city along with its many strange denizens that made this book so great in my eyes.

The City's Son was exactly the kind of book I was looking for -- a unique and unconventional YA novel that made me see things in a whole different light. Interestingly, this was also my first experience with a Young Adult title from Jo Fletcher books, and based on their penchant for publishing novels with innovative and just plain cool ideas, I'm honestly not surprised that I enjoyed this as much as I did. show less

4.5/5
Egalley thanks to Flux Books
It looks like I'm really rooting for British YA authors these days, doesn't it?

Tom Pollock has a sick and brilliant mind. The City's Son is an overpowering, overwhelming cascade of strong emotions and harsh images, urban jungle and beauty in completely unexpected settings.

I'm in absolute awe the more I'm thinking about this book. So very clever...

The author has taken an old idea - hidden fae court, heir reclaiming his legacy, a common enemy bent on show more destruction, and outsider tipping the balance... and urbanised it to the max.

Filius is a gray skinned, almost indestructible street urchin who is looked after by his old nanny Gutterglass who constantly assembles himself/herself out of pieces of rubbish, and Pavement priests cursed by the Goddess to keep dying and being reborn within stone statues of London. He dances with street light fae Blankeits and Sodiumites, despises aristocratic fae hidden in glass surfaces of modern buildings and makes dangerous deals with Chemical Synod... all in weak attempts to stop Reach, the king of Cranes from destroying his city, but when he saves Beth, a runaway graffiti artist, from Railway Wrath, everything changes.

Beth takes his battle to heart and inspires him, urges him and his people to fight Reach and his Wire Mistress. But what happens when Beth's best friend, Pen, and Beth's father who try to find the girl get caught up in this war, and Pen is snatched as a host by Wire Mistress?

This book is harsh, gritty, brutal and beautiful at the same time. This is war, and its mindless violence and sudden kills are not whitewashed in any way. People and fae die badly, characters you get used to and sympathise with disappear. It's heart wrenching and bitter, but this bitterness is what makes this all so real.

Excellent characterisation for both main and secondary characters. Filius, Beth, Pen, a wonderfully crazy Russian homeless guy, Victor, - they are all flawed, human, afraid and ready to back down any moment. But despite their weaknesses they all make huge sacrifices to help the cause, and that's why this book is so emotional.

Don't expect a happy ending, instead there is a reassessment of personal strengths and weaknesses, necessity to go on and important lessons learnt.

I'm very much looking forward to the next instalment in the series. Highly recommended. show less

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I previously read the first book of this series, The City’s Son, back in April and I really enjoyed it. It reminded me of a YA version of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. So, when I was approached to review the sequel, I was extremely excited! I wanted to know how the story continued for Beth without Fil, and how Pen was able to piece her life back together. Let me tell you, The Glass Republic by Tom Pollock completely BLOWS the first book out of the show more water. It was such an exciting read that really added so much depth to a character that wasn’t really looked into that much in the first book of the trilogy. We get to look at a new facet of this amazing world Pollock has created and the story itself is wonderful!

When we ended The City’s Son, Fil had been reborn as a pavement priest with no memory of his past life, or of Beth, who had seemingly taken his place as the child of Mater Viae. Beth’s best friend Pen, meanwhile, was recovering from her horrific barbed wire and brainwashing attack, as well as her sexual assault. In The Glass Republic by Tom Pollock, the story switches its focus away from the recently fought war, and away from Beth (mostly), to focus on Pen. This was such a brave act by Pollock as having to go write about Pen’s PTSD is something extremely difficult, yet he managed to do so quite well. Her reaction to what she endured seemed real, and her desire to cling to her mirror-sister Parva, while at the same time keeping her best friend Beth at arm’s length, all make perfect sense for someone who endured what she did. So, when Pen decides to travel to London-Under-Glass on her own to investigate her mirror-sister’s disappearance, it comes as no surprise. She needs to prove to herself she can do it on her own. And mostly, she does. What I especially loved was that my hunch on her sexual preferences from the first novel were seemingly confirmed here in the second (yay!)

The pacing, which was an issue in the first novel, was flawless in this novel. It read quickly, and every single chapter and passage held purpose. Pollock continued to build upon the world he created in the first novel, but does it through the story this time, which worked extremely well. Beth’s tiny side story is great and leaves me excited for the final story of the trilogy, Our Lady of the Streets. The ending this time was well deserved and yet, still had me frustrated because I WANTED IT TO CONTINUE! I didn’t want to stop reading, which is a great thing to say of a book.

If you’ve read The City’s Son and enjoyed it, then you definitely need to pick up The Glass Republic by Tom Pollock. It takes what was introduced in the first novel and just builds so beautifully upon it without breaking pace or story. Cannot wait for the last book of the trilogy!

// I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this title. // show less

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Three and a half stars

Starting with a strong burst of excitement, The City's Son by Tom Pollock immediately places the reader in Filius Viae's London -- a dirty, yet fantastical London where nothing is as it seems. The characters each feel individual, Beth is as different as Pen is as different as Electra is as different as Petris etc. Pollock excels at creating unique, fleshed out characters and cultures, if you will. The main story is solid, a war brewing show more between old and new London, if you will; between the growing need for industry and the nostalgia for simpler, more organic times.

The various groups of Viae's London are all pretty distinct. The eternally punished gravestones are bitter of all that aren't encased in stone, and for good reason. Their fated eternity of torture keeps their brotherhood tight and their outlook on life bleak. Even still, they take comfort with one another. Then there's the mirrorstocracy, snooty blue bloods that focus solely on appearances, which makes sense as they are living reflections.
Something really great that Pollock does is create a strong female-female relationship with BFFs Pen and Beth. There's no female jealousy or competition. Both accept the other as they are. Both have their own strengths, their own minds. It's amazing to see that in a YA book. Especially since Pen is of Pakistani descent with what seem to be traditional parents. It's great to see a bit of representation and have that representation not be the sole defining feature of a character.

Where The City's Son falters, however, is in its pacing and attempt to do too much too fast. There are various points in the book where you might just find yourself bored. Then, there are times when there is so much action or story building that you have to take a breath. There isn't a balance. This might have to do with Pollock trying to introduce too much, as though he wasn't confident enough in the main story to focus on that. Instead, we have the side story of Pen and her professor, Beth and her father, Filius/Electra/Beth, etc. If this were a longer book, perhaps all of these stories would have mattered, but as it stands, we didn't need them to further the story. In fact, they served as a distraction to the main conflict instead of building momentum towards the climax.

Then, we get to the end, and I must say, I was really surprised! What Pollock did was pretty brave and I half expected a last minute "miracle" to change things up. When that didn't happen, and a major secret was revealed, I felt shocked, a little happy, and a bit cheated. Happy because Pollock seemed to stand by his decision, shocked because the ending came out of nowhere, cheated because the ending seemed unearned. There had been nothing in the novel that would lead you to reach the conclusion we ended at.
The City's Son by Tom Pollock, through all of its faults and merits, is a good, fun YA book that feels like a solid start to an interesting series reminiscent of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere.

// I received this title for free in exchange for an honest review // show less