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LONDON FALLING
by Paul Cornell
Tor, December 2012
400 pages
12.99 GBP
ISBN: 0230763219

Paul Cornell is probably best known for his work in UK television drama such as Doctor Who, including a number of spin-off novels, and for his comic book writing. In LONDON FALLING, like a number of authors, he's now turning his hand to the growing genre of crime fiction intermixed with a hefty dollop of urban fantasy.

DI James Quill is about to bring a major undercover operation to an end with a dramatic drugs bust. With the help of undercover police officers Costain and Sefton, he's able finally to bring prize suspect Ron Toshack into custody, but after that, things don't quite go according to plan. Toshack dies a gruesome death in custody, a murder with an unseen culprit. Seemingly unconnected to this is a strange series of deaths amongst footballers. The only thing they have in common is that they have all scored three goals against the same opposing team, and these deaths stretch back for years.

The premise of LONDON FALLING, like that of Ben Aaronovich's RIVERS OF LONDON series, is that there is another London that coexists with ours; a London of dark powers and formidable adversaries where the supernatural reigns supreme. But the twist Cornel brings to his vision of the unseen side of London is that here his police have to learn about this new and frightening world from first principles. Quill's first inkling that something different is happening comes when he sees a colleague's dead father standing at his shoulder, complaining about anything and everything. Costain, Sefton and intelligence analyst Lisa Ross start to have similar experiences, and together they have to track down the power behind the deaths of Toshack and the footballers.

LONDON FALLING gets off to a slow and somewhat confusing start, introducing Costain and Sefton and their work in the undercover investigation, but the problem Cornell has is that none of his characters ever gain enough by way of distinct personalities to be anything other than generic, interchangeable characters. One is gay, one is black, but after five minutes away from the book it is impossible to remember which is which. In addition, Cornel's scriptwriting habits appear to be leading the construction of the story, and he will often use up to four points of view in each chapter, all told in third person limited perspective, and although the changes are clearly signalled, their frequency makes it increasingly hard to tell one narrator from the other.

Some genuinely chilling scenes and interesting back story just about succeeds in rescuing an overlong book, but if Cornell can simplify his narrative and work more on individual characterization, this could well become a series to keep tabs on. Albeit with some reservations, I will watch out for the next book in what is obviously a new series, as the dark, unseen side of London does hold plenty of interest and a very large amount of potential for future developments.

§ Linda Wilson is a writer, and retired solicitor, with an interest in archaeology and cave art, who now divides her time between England and France.

Reviewed by Linda Wilson, March 2013

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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