Several years ago, I was walking through the Manchester Deansgate branch of Waterstones when a book fell off the shelves as I walked past. Completely randomly, no one near it. I still have no idea why it fell off. That book was The Insult by Rupert Thompson. I picked it up off the floor and read the back cover before going to put it back on the shelf. It sounded interesting so I opened it up to read the first page.
Half an hour later one of the assistants suggested to me that I might want to actually pay for the book since I was now about 40 pages into it. The next shelf that copy of the Insult saw was mine in my house two days later. I have loved Rupert Thompson's writing ever since.
Every time I went to waterstones after that, I would check the Thompson section to see if there was anything new (or old that I didn't have yet). One day, in between two of Thompson's books, there was a misfiled book called Sheer Blue Bliss by one Lesley Glaister. Being the helpful sort of chap I am, I decided to put it where it should be. I glanced at the back cover and thought it sounded interesting, so I flicked it open to check the first page.
Half an hour later one of the assistants suggested to me that I might want to actually pay for the book since I was now about 40 pages into it. The next shelf that copy of the Insult saw was mine in my house two days later. I have loved Lesley Glaister's writing ever since.
She's always written psychological/crime novels in the Barbara Vine/Patricia Highsmith sort of category. Crime without the detectives running around. The seamy and violent underside of civilisation writ large on the page. Characters that can really make your flesh creep as you root for her (sometimes only relativly) innocent heroes. I have every book she's written and I wait with bated breath for her next one.
So when I heard she had a new book out I was really excited. I was a little late in getting hold of a copy, and when I saw it I was rather surprised. I buy her books without reading anything but the title and her name on the cover so I had no prior knowledge of what this book was.
Instead of the usual creepy tale of emerging psychosis and murder, here I had in my hands was a YA fantasy novel about a girl with a tail. Also it's twice the page count of several of her previous works. There is a history of great literary writers falling flat on their faces when switching to genre literature. I will confess to an alarm bell ringing in the back of my head when I picked this up.
Thankfully though, Glaister is a very good writer indeed. And there were some fantastical elements in Sheer Blue Bliss (a book I need to reread soon while I'm thinking about it) which were very well handled.
The alarm bells were very rapidly silenced. This book dragged me straight into its world. As well as humans and animals, several breeds of chimera were developed at some point in the future, just prior to a massive societal breakdown. Technology is limited in this world and chimeras act as slaves to the human world.
As in many books of this type, we are introduced to the world through the eyes of a complete innocent. That's not a criticism, it's a tried and tested trope and when used well is the best way to show the new world. The newcomer must find their own way and we are introduced at the same time. Believe me when I say it's used well in this novel.
In this case the innocent is Petula Nightingale, known as Tula. She's been raised by her mother, Aphra, in a secluded valley and knows nothing of the outside world. When Aphra is snatched by a band of marauders, Tula goes on a quest to the city to fetch help.
The world building is entirely convincing. As she stumbles through the city, Tula encounters assorted groups, from those wanting to help her, to those who wish her the deepest harm. Political groups on all sides take an interest in Tula. Aphra had good reason to hide her away from the world and, when Tula becomes somewhat of a local celebrity in the city, the interest groups come crawling out of the woodwork. Who should she or can she trust? And what is the secret they want from her?
The style of writing is slightly more simplistic than I usually expect from Ms Glaister, but this doesn't stop it from being immensely readable and from dropping the occasional bon mot. Tension is built admirably on many occasions. Red herrings abound. None of her escapes from peril seem to be forced or impossible, and none of them are too simple either. The balance in this book is almost perfect. I'm struggling to think of any particular niggle I had with this.
Thjere are strong parallels with our own world and tensions that exist here. Once again these are handled to perfection. Not too heavy handed yet not so subtle to go unnoticed. There is some real horror present in this world too.
I'm now eagerly awaiting book two in the series.
An easy 8/10
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