Christoph Marzi

Uno dei regali di Natale che ho apprezzato maggiormente in tutti questi anni. E' il primo volume di una trilogia che, in my humble opinion (secondo la mia modesta opinione) è una delle migliori tra quelle che ho letto. Innanzitutto i personaggi sono descritti in modo sublime e molto preciso, come d'altronde lo sono le ambientazioni, e inoltre prima d'ora non avevo mai letto di una "città sotto la città" vista dal punto di vista di Marzi! Riesce a creare un perfetto mix tra sacro e show more profano, se così la vogliamo vedere: angeli, antichi dei, licantropi, animali parlanti, fuochi fatui, elfi, trickster, alchimia... insomma, un vero paradiso per gli amanti del genere! Inoltre tutti quegli intrighi, imbrogli e faide tra casati mi hanno sempre interessato molto, perchè mi ricordano il Medioevo, che è la mia epoca storica preferita. Fin dall'inizio il libro cattura l'attenzione del lettore, non diventando mai e poi mai noioso, acquistando invece sempre nuovi elementi che fanno sorgere spontanea la domanda:"E ora?". Ovviamente l'ho riletto almeno 3 volte (si sa, quando lo merita, lo merita!) e mi ha fatto venire una voglia matta di farmi un viaggetto a Londra! Chissà, magari potrei prendermi un fuoco fatuo come guida per esplorare i sotterranei...
"I nomi possiedono un gran potere, e chi teme i nomi ne subisce il dominio." (Non ricorda anche a voi una frase di Hermione Granger?)

Personaggio preferito: Master Wittgenstein

Ci sarà mai una volta in cui sceglierò personaggi normali da descrivere? Ovviamente no! Come direbbe il caro Wittgenstein, "Il caso non esiste", o anche "Non chieda". Credo sia una delle frasi che ho utilizzato di più in questo ultimo periodo, è molto utile! Ok, è scontroso, taciturno, ha un pessimo senso dell'umorismo (che mi ricorda vagamente quello del mio prof di francese) e odia i bambini, ma qualche qualità ce l'ha anche lui! Ehm... per esempio... ma certo! Vogliamo forse dimenticare le sue capacità da alchimista! Ho sempre reputato l'alchimia un tema molto affascinante... infatti da piccola giocavo molto spesso a cercare delle "pietre incantate" ahah! Comunque sia, tornando a noi, Wittgenstein è anche molto intelligente e intuitivo, oltre al fatto che, sotto la scorza da duro, dimostra un immediato affetto per Emily. Tra simili ci si intende, in fondo! show less

David Pettyfer has run away from the family home in Cardiff and ended up in London, earning a living as assistant to a bookshop owner. He is a bit of an outsider who doesn't like mobile phones or travelling on the Underground, but instead prefers roaming the rooftops of London. One night, as he's about to make a delivery, he stumbles across a scared young woman on the roof, telling him that the bad men have stolen her heart. From then on, David and Heaven have to run for their lives to show more escape the clutches of the ruthless assassin Mr Scrooge and the raggedy man.

Aimed at the Young Adult market and described as "a compelling urban fairy tale where love, death and the stars collide", from the dark, atmospheric start this book conjured up echoes of Neil Gaiman's books, in particular Stardust and The Graveyard Book, both in terms of content as well as style. Its long chapters build up the atmosphere very well, and the frantic flight from Heaven's pursuers, along with their desperate search for answers, left me breathless and exhausted. The chapter set in Highgate Cemetery is truly terrifying, and the book has in Mr Scrooge one of the creepiest villains ever encountered (echoing another memorable villain, the man Jack from Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book). Written in a very engaging style, it contains passages that seem sheer poetry, and yet the book has a very dark heart at its centre, and at the same time is filled with hope and true love, without which no fairy tale is truly complete. The reason it falls just short of five stars is that it contains the odd factual inaccuracy (could it be set in an alternative universe?) and one of those incredible coincidences that seem just too good to be true, and which stretched my goodwill that little bit too far. A very good effort, this will appeal to many young readers of the Twilight generation. Four and a half stars.

(This review was originally written as part of Amazon's Vine programme.) show less

Traversing London via rooftop has become second nature for seventeen year old David Pettyfer. What’s not second nature? Chancing across a beautiful girl in distress on those rooftops who claims that someone has cut out her heart… and not in the metaphorical sense. What she, this girl named Heaven, suggests is surely impossible, and David is convinced that she must be crazy, while also recognizing that she is obviously traumatized, vulnerable and in great need of his help. Agreeing to show more help her to the nearest hospital, David and Heaven again encounter the men who stole her heart. Their intent clearly malicious, David decides that no matter how crazy Heaven might be, that he must get her away from these men who wish to harm her further. As David and Heaven attempt to discover why these people are after her and how she lives despite her missing heart, David is forced to consider what he knows of reality, who Heaven actually is, and the very real possibility that this crazy, troubled girl has begun to steal his heart as well.


I love Christoph Marzi’s London. Though I’ve never actually been myself, I’m one of those rabid anglophiles who has over-romanticized it so completely that if I were to visit one day, the real London might never even have a chance. Marzi’s London only enables my romanticizing tendencies. From the freeing, fantastic world of London’s rooftops, to the nitty gritty sights and sounds of the London streets, to the gorgeous architecture of the buildings, to the stifling, claustrophobic industrialized efficiency of the Tube, to the quaintness of the local neighborhoods, Marzi’s descriptions of the city bring it life in living color giving him a vivid canvas onto which he paints his story.


The story of Heaven is told primarily from David’s point of view; a refreshing change from the slew of female narrators that normally populate this genre. David is an individual with a troubled past. At a young age he fled his home due to one parent’s psychosis and the other parent’s inability to deal with the issue. He made his way to London where, homeless and penniless, he made a string of rather poor decisions and judgment calls. Then one day, he acted upon an impulse and found himself working in the bookshop of a Miss Trodwood with a home, a benefactress and the opportunity for a fresh start.


Marzi’s development of David is fantastic and thorough. Though not your standard issue White Knight, David is streetwise, resourceful, practical and shows a presence of mind and a stubborn resolve even in the face of danger. Though initially perplexed by what to do with Heaven, he recognizes in her someone who desperately needs his help. He’s just a normal guy – an unlikely hero – but kind, decent and stronger than he imagines himself to be. Given his back story and overall development, David’s a well-rounded character who I enjoyed getting to know.


Heaven, on the other hand, is more of a puzzle. Obviously, the huge mystery of the book is trying to discover who Heaven is and why she’s not currently in a morgue drawer at St. Mary Abbotts. Perhaps it’s because we’re viewing her through David’s perception of her, perhaps it’s because she’s supposed to remain slightly on the mysterious side, but Heaven is not as easy to relate to as David’s character is. The reader is given brief glimpses into her past and she’s clearly independent, passionate, a free spirit who’s confused and searching, but her character is a bit lacking in depth for my taste.


The story itself is pretty entertaining and fast-paced as the reader follows along with David and Heaven’s attempts to uncover who she is and why the people who stole her heart are still pursuing her. Throughout their investigation, it’s interesting watch Heaven and David form a fledging relationship that’s born out of shared heartaches and experiences. As they start zeroing in on the answers they’re looking for, Marzi picks up the pace, culminating in a pretty nail-bitingly exciting climax. On the downside, a couple plot points throughout are a little convenient, coincidental or require a bit more explanation, but I still enjoyed the story as a whole.


The villains are particularly interesting. Specifically, Mr. Drood – as we are introduced to him in the first few pages – is quite chilling. He’s a heartless killer – clinical, calculating, remorseless – a psychopath who takes on a variety of aliases throughout the book inspired by Dicken’s characters. He is a man of extraordinary abilities and Marzi does an excellent job molding Mr. Drood into a terrifying character, creating a real sense of danger in the story through this villain. And I do love a good villain…


Overall, Heaven is a beautifully-written modern day fairy tale about unlikely heroes, freedom, and the undeniable power of the human heart. show less

17-year-old Vesper Gold, of the amazing green eyes, should by all means be living the sweet life. The daughter of a critically acclaimed film director and a world famous pianist, she's certainly not strapped for money. Sure they're divorced, and she had to move to a new city, any wonder that she's a basket case? She's living alone (in an apartment paid by her mother), going about wearing industrial amounts of mascara, skipping school and just generally hating everything and everyone.

And show more then her parents both die under mysterious circumstances and she finds herself hunted by wolfmen (no, not werewolves... for once). Luckily for her, Vesper's subconsciousness chooses this moment to remind her to "always keep to the beaten path". Then she meets this quirky but very handsome guy, who also happens to be having her exact same problems. And who, for some reason, looks and acts a lot like the 10th Doctor Who... ?

Eventually, the two get joined by a 3rd weirdo and they all live happily ever after it up in a Fairytale Gone Bad ((c) Sunrise Avenue)

I used to love the Grimm Brothers' fairy tales so much. When I was a child, I owned several copies of the book, my favorite being one that was missing its cover. Its pages were constantly falling apart so it needed careful handling, but for all that, the stories seemed so much more entertaining in it.



Grimm advertises itself as a fairy tale for adults, so there was obviously no way for me to resist it. Unfortunately, the author chooses to focus a lot more on Vesper's emo/sarcastic rants instead. So when the interesting, i.e. fairy tale world building, part failed to make itself properly known even after I passed the 50% mark, things just veered into painful territory for me. Painfully boring, that is.

Score: 2.3/5 stars

I remember having read this blog post about Grimm's Fairytales being a heavily watered-down version of the original stories. This novel goes a bit further, by claiming that the stories are intentional 'fakes', so that people would forget (and thus erase) the real fairy tale folk. If only that had been the main focus of the story...

As it is, we're regaled with a tale of woeful teenage angst, that keeps getting more and more dramatic. By the end, all I could feel was utter frustration when the author chose to go the tragic heroine route, instead of allowing Vesper a tiny bit of happiness. I mean come on! Her entire family was killed, couldn't you have at least left her with the quirky boyfriend? Ugh! This made me purge anything even remotely resembling YA from my to-read list. show less