Here’s a great illustration of why it helps not to know anything about an author when reviewing a book. I was favourably impressed by A Madness of Angels, and all set to write a very positive review, but after doing my cursory research, I am a little bit stunned – because Kate Griffin is actually a pen name for Catherine Webb. This is her first book for adults (she’s written seven for young adults), and she’s still only 22. My enjoyment of the book would have not been any the less had I known, but I might have had to keep stopping to think thoughts involving words like ‘precocious’ and other things that would make me sound a) jealous and b) old. I shall now try to write this review as if I didn’t know anything about the young whippersnapper… sorry, author.

A Madness of Angels is the very embodiment of urban fantasy, that fusion of escapism and grimy reality that is continuing to grow in popularity as an alternative to classic or high fantasy. More than that, it’s very specifically London fantasy – like Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, it plays with the idea that in a city the size of our capital, there are considerable hidden depths. Griffin lets her imagination run wild in painting a picture of the London of beggars and bikers, rats, pigeons and foxes, special graffiti, mystical significance and magical energy that’s everywhere if you know where to look. There is more to the Underground than meets the eye (the Last Train, which never stops trundling around the Circle Line), and there’s an alternate aristocracy, in the form of the Beggar King and the Bag Lady. And if you’ve ever looked down on a Yellow Pages abandoned on the top of a bus shelter and wondered how it got there – well, apparently these special editions contain extra sections specifically for the discerning magical personage.

In to this mystical and murky metropolis, sorceror Matthew Swift is reborn. Two years after his apparent death, Swift, our narrator is back, confused and disorientated – and within hours of his reappearance, a magically summoned creature (appropriately for London created entirely of litter) is trying to kill him – or should that be them? It turns out that his inital confusion with regard to pronouns is a reflection of the fact that Matthew is sharing his body with the blue electric angels, the spirits of the telephone wires. Once this is explained, it’s surprising easy to get used to the split personality – Matthew remembers everything until his death, while the angels display a touching naivety about many aspects of modern life. What unites them is their mission to settle a score with Robert James Bakker.

Bakker is the leading sorceror in London, head of the organisation known as the Tower – and Matthew believes he was responsible for his death. Arrayed against the Tower are a motley array of tribes and groups, including the Bikers, the Whites, the Order (who hate all magic users, but hate the Tower most of all) and Matthew Swift himself. Their biggest enemy is the dark spirit known to Swift as Hunger – an implacable foe somehow connected to Bakker. The campaign against the Tower brings Swift in to contact with zombies, trolls (actually, Jeremy the Troll), fairies and plenty of other magical wonders. The climax, in the widely disliked London eyesore Centre Point, is dark and violent as potent magical energies are unleashed.

A Madness of Angels is a very enjoyable book – the quality of the writing is impressive, and the sense of immersion in London is truly authentic. There are some lovely scenes, such as the magical hospital with the world-weary nurse, and the steps Swift has to go through for an audience with the Beggar King. It’s not a perfect book, however – I would question whether someone who didn’t know London would find it quite as beguiling, and maybe the tone is a little uneven in places, veering between Harry Potter-esque magical whimsy and Gaiman-style darkness.

On this evidence, though, I would say that Catherine Webb has got her own split personality to deal with – and Kate Griffin could be wanting to have her say for some time to come.

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