With her Matthew Swift novels, Griffin has created a truly remarkable magic system, and the first true urban-based magic system I have ever read, and she has populated her version of London with a first-rate cast of characters. Swift and the blue electric angels are endlessly fascinating to me, and I love how effortlessly she handles the I/we me/us dynamic. Though this installment finds Swift more firmly in control of his unique nature than the previous outing, when the Angels emerge, they do so with a vengeance.

Griffin crafts an interesting tale, despite knowing that certain events are inevitable before you have finished the first quarter of the novel. She is a master of description and of a the interesting journey, but in both this novel and its predecessor I have felt something lacking in her climaxes. There is a sense of walking away underwhelmed, of having expected more after so spectacular of a build-up. I felt it with “A Madness of Angels” and I felt it here.

Perhaps I am a bit too in love with this world, with its urban-based magic and myth, and with Swift and the Angels themself. Perhaps I am setting myself up for disappointment by expecting more out of the conclusion of these works. Or perhaps it is a genuine flaw of the narrative. To me, it certainly feels like the latter.

Regardless, I am very much looking forward to the next installment of the series and will be a fan of it for a long time to come.