The Skyscraper Throne reread- Chapters 1 to 4

Apologies for lateness of the post! I'm not sure if you noticed, but I really like Tom Pollock's The Skyscraper Throne series, and I'm hugley excited for Our Lady of the Streets. To lead up to its release in August, Jo Fletcher has been holding a reread of the books, with and we're now at the start of The Glass Republic. This summary will have spoilers for The City's Son, but I'll try and keep them to a minimum.

Chapter 1

Pen's back at school,following her being held captive by Reach, explaining her scars to her new “friends”. They don't believe her, even when she tells the truth. Who would? Still, their disbelief and promise that they will find out what happened don't matter for the time being, as it's off to go see Parva. I started off by thinking more Pen! Heck yes! I loved her in The City's Son. It's great to see she's the focus of The Glass Republic. I really like the idea of another version of Pen, and the added intrigue of the mirror world, which we were kind of introduced to in The City's  Son, but it seems like it'll be a bit more involved in this one.

Chapter 2

This quickly looks back to Pen was first adjusting to her scars. It shows the awkwardness you get when you don’t fit in, and with her scars and the fact that for the first week, she really doesn’t fit in as she chooses not to wear makeup. There’s also lots of bad flashbacks for Pen, for abuse from both Reach and Dr Salt. I loved seeing how she reacts to everything, with her religion and her choice to work to become physically strong. It’s these little things away from the big fantastical elements that really build up her character.          

Chapter 3

This is a more happy chapter, in which Pen and Parva talk, and dance, and have fun.  It’s a lot of fun, and sets Parva up as a totally different character to Pen, despite the physical similarities and them both being equally awesome. I definitely wanted to know more about Parva, how Pen and Parva came to be different, and life in the London-under-glass that we were briefly introduced to in The City’s Son.

Chapter 4

Longer chapter, back to Beth for the time being. I’m glad she isn’t forgotten about, even though the focus has changed. She’s exploring the city, and finds a sewermandar. And names him Oscar. And has a text conversation with Pen that shows the friendship between Beth and Pen really well, and  gives way to one of my favourite lines from this book: “I only went and got a bloody dragon!” This chapter brings out one of my favourite things about Tom’s writing and this world, the fantasy and imagination and description that creates such a beautiful new  world for the story to happen. This chapter then sets up some more of the plot: Pen asks if there’s a way to go behind the mirrors. Beth’s not sure. Beth leaves, a little awkwardness in the air, and sees Pen dancing with someone who isn’t there.  

What did you think of this? Leave comments here or at the Jo Fletcher blog, or use the hashtag of  #SkyscraperThroneReread .

Tom can be found at his website, twitter and goodreads.

My review of The City’s Son can be found here and my review of The Glass Republic can be found here.
You can get copies of The City's Son and The Glass Republic from amazon by clicking the links. 

Don't forget to go to Utter Biblio to follow chapters 5-8 of The Glass Republic!

Guest Post-Tom Pollock on Cities

 Today, we have Tom Pollock talking about his inspiration for the London and the use of cities of The City's Son.

When you think about it, cities and language have a lot in common. They’re both vast, sprawling artefacts, put together over centuries by the conscious and unconscious collaboration and conflict of thousands of people. They’re both always evolving - carrying the markers of the culture that created them, its climate and its commerce, its aspirations and its fears. They are humanity’s most ancient technologies.

If cities are like languages, then urban fantasy cities are half-encrypted texts, promising revealed secrets with every corner turned.  The world of the The Skyscraper Throne  is one where decoding the street lamps reveals the glass skinned, tungsten-veined dancers who light them, and where when your train stops on the track for no apparent reason it’s because the Railwraith – the train’s mad spirit -- has slipped the chains of its engine and is stampeding around causing havoc. Epic fantasies, very often are stories of the distant and the renowned – an easy to underestimate underdog treks across a vast world for a showdown that will be immortalized in song. Urban fantasy is opposite of that. The soul of urban fantasy is the secret and the local. These are stories that know where you live.

Cities are crammed with invitations to make things up. They contain such a concentration of people that sooner or later the collisions between their lives will strike sparks that leads to stories. They’re so complex that no one person can fully understand even a tenth of the detail about how they work. In turn, they contain so many mundane mysteries that we can speculate to explain: where did that cul-de-sac originally lead to? What lives on top of those towers, out of sight, looking down on us? And how did Red Serpent Street get its name? Urban fantasy speaks to our inner conspiracy-nut.  The core of it is a simple, and very appealing idea:

It was all around you this whole time, and you had no idea. Look a little closer and you’ll see.

Let me slip from simile to metaphor. Cities are built languages. The older and thornier and messier and more complicated they are the more stories are inscribed in the curves and winds of their streets. And so we come at last to London.

London’s been a major port, immigration hub and capital for two thousand years. It was never built to a plan, no one architect ever forced it into the image of her mind. It’s a squabble, a fight a raucous, laughing conversation, a challenge, a prayer and a dirty joke, all in a tongue you walk and live in rather than speak.  It’s one of the greatest treasure houses of this kind of story you could ever imagine.

Sorry it took so long to bring this to you! The City's Son and its sequel The Glass Republic are both excellent urban fantasy books, made even better if you have an undying love for London. 

Find Tom at his website, twitter and  blog