The Glass God

Absolutely perfect for a two-airplane flight–I noticed nothing but the book, making it a five-star read. But after all, that was an airplane, so I thought it deserved a more balanced impression, one not colored by the background noise of jet engines and willingness to suspend disbelief. You know what? Still satisfying. It feels like Griffin has found the perfect vehicle for her voice; the well-intentioned, actualizing Sharon, shaman of the city and coordinator of a support group for magicals. Sharon, who “exuded the brightness of a firefly, the confidence of a double-decker bus, the optimism of a hedgehog and the tact of a small thermonuclear missile.” Sharon’s been seeking advice from self-help books, and doing her best to show more bring their approach into her life, but not everyone around her agrees:

“‘Don’t try your self-help crap on me!’ shrilled the goblin. ‘I’m the second greatest frickin’ shaman to ever walk the earth!’
‘Self-help would be you realising that you’ve got a problem with your social skills and trying to fix it,’ she sighed. ‘This is an intervention.’ In reply, Sammy kicked her shins again. ‘See,’ she went on wearily, barely noticing the pain. ‘That’s just so hostile.’“

Unfortunately, the current Midnight Mayor has gone missing. As the entity in charge of defending the city of London against magical destruction, it’s crucial he be returned to the position. That is, if he is really missing:

“‘Usually when he disappears it’s to blow things up, or engage in nefarious acts with dark forces, but this time there’s been none of that, and I’m a little concerned.’
‘You’re concerned that things aren’t blowing up?’
‘You have met him,’ Kelly pointed out.”
Until he returns, Sharon has been deputized, so any temporary inclinations she might have towards avoiding the responsibility are effectively thwarted.

Many of the group first introduced in Stray Souls make an appearance here, including Kevin, the germaphobe vampire, (“Sharon, then Rhys, seized the raised edge of the metal, while Kevin lurked behind them with a cry of, ‘So I’ll just, like, keep watch?’“), Greta the troll, Sally the banshee and Mr. Roding the necromancer. Several more ominous creatures are introduced, but Sharon tries to enlighten the Alders about monster discrimination:
“‘Amazing!’ said Kelly. ‘You know, I hadn’t even thought about it. Now that you point it out, the idea of having tea with a creature capable of rending me limb from limb had been something that bothered me. But now that I think about it, that’s just a social stereotype, isn’t it?’”

There’s shades of Douglas Adams in Griffin’s writing, the mocking social commentary that goes beyond party lines and makes fun of convention: “A potted plant in its reception area assured visitors that no matter how bleak, functional and cold this place might seem, they were, in fact, welcome guests in a dynamic environment.” Yet Griffin sneaks in the poetry of a city as well, in moments that just lead me to say, ‘Ah. Perfect.’ For instance, when Sharon is using her shaman skills to investigate:

“Every part of the city, every corner, was, she knew, infused with a kind of life. No necessarily sentient, not always something that would come out of the walls and secret places and tell her its secrets face to face, although that too, could happen… but a life which left its scars on the very stones and which, if you knew how to use it, could be a kind of magic.”

Overall, it kept me engrossed every time I read it. There’s a wide variety of characters that generally transcend social stereotype, particularly the urban fantasy kind of werewolves, witches and vampires. Including the group from Magicals Anonymous, the Alders, and various contacts they make while investigating, there’s a wide variety of people that help make the world feel populated with more than just one little power pocket of magicals. While depth in these surrounding characters is somewhat sacrificed for Sharon’s growth, Griffin does give some complexity to the secondary characters. I particularly enjoyed the times Sharon strayed from her optimistic pep-rally, the kind of friend you like that much more after catching her cursing under her breath.

The plot is fast moving, and if the search for Swift is relatively straightforward, at least it doesn’t dally with exposition and portentous dialogue. Narrative is largely third-person and focused on Sharon, although it does slip into first person for a couple of brief sections, providing some insight into other characters. It works better than the prior book, which had the tendency to be somewhat staccato, even including characters were only plot points. I’m looking forward to the next book Griffin puts out, and hoping that Sharon puts in an appearance.

Update 1/16/16: Read again, part of welcoming a new book into my home. Remains entertaining, although I'm not sure it's quite five stars.

Update 2/04/17: Still delicious.

Great moments in detecting:

"Sharon paused, irritating at having her flow interrupted... "Look, I'd give you the full story, but I kinda feel like I'm here doing the deductive bit and you're supposed to be doing the helpful bit so can we just focus on that?"

A lovely explanation of prejudice:

"You guys are so prejudiced! I mean, the worst part is, you don't even know how prejudiced you are, and that makes you, like even more prejudiced, because you're not even thinking about it. But I know you mean well, and once you guys have noticed the problem, I know you'll all try and deal with it, in your own groovy way." show less

I love the Magicals Anonymous Books. They are fun, fast paced, not to deep, not to silly. They are a perfect book to read on a slow, rainy day when you have lots of time and no where to be.

Sharon Li, Shaman, group leader to Magicals Anonymous - is suddenly the most important person in the city when Matthew Swift disappears, only leaving an umbrella. It is up to Sharon an her self-help group to solve the day - and Sharon does it, using whatever she has available.

Honestly, the plot is fairly standard. What makes these book awesome is just how well written they are, taking a fairly standard trope - and turning it just slightly so that is both familiar, and new at the same time.

I enjoyed this second outing from Sharon Li and Magicals Anonymous even more than Stray Souls - as is often the case when characters and concepts don't need to worry about introduction and can just (at the risk of sounding rather a lot like Sharon herself) be.

Also, there's lots of Kelly Shiring and I dig her the mostest.

But, to get back to the point: I felt like this one managed a finer, sharper, more serrated edge to the still somewhat fluffier approach of Sharon; the final scene puts a ringing capstone on this impression, and left me going, "Yes. YES. like THAT." Still Pratchettarian around the edges, but it's Pratchett at his most canny and ruthless, and really, there is no bad there. No bad at all.

(Logistically, I'm not sure about show more some aspects of the finale, but dramatically it's majestic, so all good.) show less

A little while ago, Sharon Li developed the unexpected and not particularly welcome ability to walk through walls. When self-help books and mantras couldn't offer any more guidance, she started a support group for other people experiencing strange or supernatural phenomena. After defeating spirit-enslaving hedge fund managers in [b:Stray Souls|13526154|Stray Souls (Magicals Anonymous, #1)|Kate Griffin|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1343935864s/13526154.jpg|19086861], Sharon and the group have settled into a comfortable groove. But then Matthew Swift disappears, and Sharon is appointed deputy Midnight Mayor. She only has one clue to Swift's disappearance: an ordinary blue umbrella. But despite her complete lack of show more experience, eventually she stumbles onto the truth.

Here's the thing. I really want to like Sharon Li, who is good-hearted and good-natured and tries hard. But she, and most of Magicals Anonymous, are SO ANNOYING. They ramble and babble and never get to the point without first spouting a good three paragraphs of tangents. The first few hundred pages of this book were painful to read, because I love the magical London Griffin has created, and all the different types of magical systems and supernatural beings trying to live in an urban environment, but I was very frustrated by the characters. But I have to admire that when it really comes down to it, Sharon and her compatriots can shut up and do some serious damage. The epic battle near the end of the book had me reading furiously fast. (Griffin writes action very well, and magical battles even better.) I thought this section of Sharon's dialog, near the end, demonstrates both what I really like and really dislike about this series.

'You know,' she murmurs, 'if this whole deputy Midnight Mayor thing sticks, and I, like, get lumbered with this job forever, then people are gonna talk about me and Swift, and how we worked all that. And everyone's going to be like, "wow, Matthew Swift, he's such a bad-ass, such a firebrand, look at all the stuff he blows up" and they're gonna go "jeez, Sharon, she's so like 'let's work through our issues' and shit and so kinda 'cuppa tea in the afternoon' and that" and they'll be right, of course, because that's what I'm like and that's what I think people should do.
But the thing is, you gotta remember that all this doesn't make me the good cop.'

show less

Since this is my by the bed book, it's taking me some time to travel through this book. Matthew Swift, and beings like him, make the book echo A Madness of Angels. But those parts are interspersed by the brilliantly matter-of-fact Sharon Li and her magical misfits. Kevin, the germ phobic vampire, is the first to appear. Yay!

I actually *bought* this one, even though (a) I'm an inveterate library-borrower rather than a buyer, and (b) I don't plan on reading it until I complete the Matthew Swift series. Reasons? (a) I am very grateful for receiving Stray Souls as a GR giveaway, and (b) I want to support Ms. Griffin for the selfish reason that I find her books as addictive as crack cocaine and I want to ensure my supply.
Argh, now I can't wait to read this...

Very nice. Love the unique view of urban fantasy.