London Macabre

by Steven Savile

A man walks confidently through the night time streets. He is Nathaniel Seth, is one of the Brethren, a shadow society of occult dabblers and black magickers who hide away in the darkest parts of the city, in corners where they could not be seen by polite society. Little did Seth know that his own life was only hours from ending, his flesh to be taken as host for a daemonic entity clawed all the way out of hell’s pit in the centre of the hollow earth because Seth himself breached the Catamine Stair. Now things are afoot. Strange things. The lions of Trafalgar have fulfilled their prophecy, climbing down from the plinths around Lord Nelson’s column to defend the city. The daemon is out, stalking tender prey through the gaslit streets, meat markets, fish stalls and slaughter houses of Whitechapel. He has a taste for women, though not ordinary women. These women are different. Special. They may look like whores but they have the blood of angels flowing in their veins. If he can kill enough of them, bathing in their innocent blood, then the daemonic Seth believes he can open the ancient Ald Gate–one of the seven great gates of London–the last gate to Eden, and go home, even if it means tearing London herself apart.

The gates are guarded by The Seven, bloodsucking angelkind put there to guard a very special prisoner. A prisoner who cannot be allowed to escape. Satanial. The Devil by another name. Cast down and trapped in a hell on earth, watched over by Uriel, the mad Archangel.

Can the men of Greyfriars stop the daemonic Seth from opening the gates and all hell breaking loose?

Should appeal to fans of Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, and China Mieville in it's sweeping underworld London and the shadowy depths of the Hollow Earth...

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Demons, Historical, Angels, Steampunk, Historical Fiction

568 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Steven Savile (born October 12, 1969, in Newcastle, England) is a British fantasy, horror and thriller writer, and editor living in Sala, Sweden.

Under the Ronan Frost penname (inspired by the hero of his bestselling novel, Silver) he has also written the action thriller White Peak, and as Matt Langley was a finalist for the People's Book Prize.

Reviews

[Leon Enciso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reto Lector 2018- Julio: Un libro que escojas por su portada.

3,5

Durante la mitad del libro no entendí ni frostis que pasaba, ni diferenciar cual personaje era cual, era como “Este es el que se estaba ahogando en el canal, o era el que era una bestia salvaje, no espera ese era el otro, entonces este es el que estaba con el demonio disfrazado de Ángel. Que complicado. Help me. XD”
Em, se deja leer bien, tiene muchas escenas sangrientas y esas cosas. :P

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the blurb after I had read the book and to be honest London Macabre is so much more.
This is one of the strangest books I've ever read. It takes place in Victorian London. There is magic, but it isn't something commonly known. The gifted ones often end up in Bedlam.
London Macabre didn't grab my attention right away. The beginning is painfully slow.

Furthermore, the protectors of London, the men from the Greyfriar’s Gentleman’s Club, don't do things I expect them to when I expect them. The narrative seems disjointed at times, but by the end everything finds its proper place in the story. Not everyone will like the resolution.

The Greyfriar’s Gentlemen make so many mistakes. They trust when they need to be suspicious, they think too much when it's time to act, they are reckless when it's time to think, they overlook the obvious signs that something is seriously wrong. I was pretty annoyed more than once and I was almost certain I won't like the book. I was wrong because even with all their mistakes, they remained stubbornly strong and loyal.

London Macabre is a story of good men, each gifted with a talent, fighting evil. Of course, such group needs a proper enemy - the Brethren. One of them is especially arrogant and by stealing the Homunculus Cross starts a horrible chain of events that almost destroys London and more.
It is a decent tale if you don't mind a good (or rather grey in this case) vs. evil story with a lot of references to God, but with protagonists who don't wait for the divine to help them.

With the exception of some grammatical errors and the occasional weird and unexpected protagonists' actions, this is still a good story.

[Ana · Rating 1 out of 5]

No lo he terminado. Abandonado en la página 200. No ha llegado a engancharme y eso que lo había cogido con ganas al tratarse de un autor que había escrito para Doctor Who y Torchwood, pero me ha parecido demasiado denso y sin visos de llevarme a ninguna parte. Después de respirar hondo y volver a darle una oportunidad he sucumbido.

[Rocio Voncina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Titulo: Arde conmigo
Autor: Steven Savile
Año publicado: 2010
Motivo de lectura: #DesafioLectura2022 #RetoLecturaAnual
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Fisico / Electronico: Electronico
Mi edicion: -
Idioma: Español
Puntuacion: 2/5



Cuando deseas terminar un libro, en mi caso lo considero muy mala señal. Las primeras paginas las disfrute, pero luego comence a sentir la lectura demasiado pesada, aburrida y perdi el interes demasiadas veces.
Es de esas historias que tiene todo el potencial, pero fue muy mal ejecutada, lo cual es una pena porque la prosa no es mala.
No hay mucho mas que agregar, este libro definitivamente no es para mi.

[maaggick · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5⭐️

Gdyby autor umieścił mniej perspektyw podobałoby mi się trochę bardziej, bo tak to był duży chaos.
Dodałam 0,5⭐️ za wilkołaka

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

¿Por dónde empezar? ¿Qué decir para expresar lo que con palabras no puedo? Me ha encantado.

Una historia basada en la época victoriana donde la Reina Victoria es una personaje más de la novela. En ella aparecen caballeros de la época, magia, hombres lobo, viajes entre mundos paralelos, personas que pueden contactar con los animales, otras que lo hacen con espíritus, etc.

Además de Hojas de Dedalera de Victoria Álvarez, esta es otra de esas novelas que dices: "Me hubiera gustado escribirla a mí".

Hay bastantes personajes, pero eso no es impedimento para disfrutar de la novela, pues está muy bien llevada y cada capítulo cuenta las vivencias de cada personaje, uniéndolos en el tiempo para poder entender un mismo momento en todas sus perspectivas.

En cuanto a la trama, sin querer descifrar nada importante, diré que está muy bien llevada, argumentada y defendida.

Lo que más me ha sorprendido es que el autor haya creado unos personajes tan abiertos de mente que permiten que una mujer trabaje a su lado. En aquella época la mujer valía menos que nada. Era un simple adorno.

El autor ha incluido además numerosas referencias a la ciudad de Londres donde se ubica la historia, así como descripciones que ayudan más a entender la historia. Como digo es un autor que me ha marcado y estoy segura de que leeré más de él en el futuro.

El libro es una mezcla de fantasía, terror y ciencia ficción que recomiendo para leer tranquilamente en la playa o la piscina. No es de ese tipo de novelas que te lees de un tirón. Hay que disfrutarla y leer con detalle cada capítulo si uno no quiere perderse.

¿Y vosotros? ¿Habíais leído algo de él antes? ¿Qué os pareció?

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm...there should be an option for "not completely finished but not something that I want to finish" as I got about halfway through this book and have decided not to continue. It's not that it's badly written or that the story is not interesting. It's that I just don't feel compelled to pick it up. When I do, however, it does read pretty quickly as the chapters are short.

I've been trying to figure out what has been bothering me about the book and why it's not grabbing my attention and I figured it out today. I'm not invested in the characters. There is no central character that I can identify with and/or care about. The characters, although interesting, feel a bit flat. Perhaps this is something that changes in the second half of the book, but the first half is not enough for me to want to find out.

The other issue I have with this book is that it needs a good proofreading. It does seem like it was copyedited, but having a proofreader go over it to catch typos would be very helpful as I found a number of typos that really should have been caught. And the last nail in the coffin (perhaps another reason I decided to throw in the towel) was the use of its'. No such word exists and it's one of my pet peeves.

[Xan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magia, alquimia, demonios y ángeles luchando sobre un Londres victoriano que fue, o pudo ser, el nuestro.

No hablaré del argumento porque una vez que empieza la lucha ya sabes que todo el libro será una batalla continua, sin tregua ni cuartel para los protagonistas.
Lo que si diré es que no soy un aficionado a este tipo de novelas, de fantasía/steampunk/victoriana/magia negra. Pero Savile me ha conquistrado desde la primera página hasta la última. En algunos momentos la devastación era tan espectacular que incluso mi credulidad empezaba a protestar pero una y otra vez retomaba el hilo con más expectación. Quería acabar el libro, saber lo que pasaba después. Y no me defraudó, porque toda la novela es un tobogán de emociones.
Si, los personajes son arquetipos muy conocidos. Si, la trama en sí misma no es una gran novedad. Pero al final funciona perfectamente y consigue cerrar la novela sin que parezca que se ha columpiado como Tarzán en la selva.

Mención aparte para la traducción de Alicia L. Alonso a través de la plataforma babelcube. No he leído el texto en su versión original y no tengo los conocimientos de inglés para juzgar su calidad literaria. Sea cual sea, el trabajo de Alicia es perfecto.

[BJ Haun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually I give books that I don't finish a 1-star rating, but I felt bad about doing that to this book. Some of the characters and happenings in the book were interesting, but by and large the plot was doing nothing for me. Eventually, I found myself browsing my Kindle for other books to read, so I knew it was time for me to put London Macabre down for good. There is something in there for someone to enjoy...but that someone just wasn't me.

[Terry Parrish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved, loved, loved it. What a book. It had so many elements it was a little hard to keep up with, but it all came together at the end. Its one of those books you will read several times to really understand it. The characters were so different with their different 'gifts'. Will be reading this one again to understand all the elements of it.

[Ola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uczcijmy minutą ciszy wszystkie dobre pomysły, które zostały w tej książce totalnie zmarnowane...

[Shell · Rating 3 out of 5]

If half stars were allowed this would be a 3 1/2 star book. 4 stars for story, 2 1/2 stars for editing.

This is a "good but" book. As in, the story was epic, interesting and fantastical and the characters were well developed - but.

But it was too long. Way too long. Some books (I'm looking at you, The Stand) need to be really long to tell their story, and yet even though they take forever to finish you don't want them to end.
This one I ended up setting aside for a week about half-way through. Not because I didn't really like it, but because there was so much redundancy and I grew impatient with it. A lot of ebooks have problems with punctuation, and spelling mistakes stand out like a neon sign. I didn't find any spelling errors here, but there were a lot of instances where it seemed as though the author went through and changed a word or two in a sentence but didn't delete the original wordage. Even worse, there were quite a few instances of the same information being given over and over, an example being "Every last trace of the man, McCreedy, was subsumed" followed directly by "Had any trace of the man remained, it was gone". I think a good editor could have tightened this book up substantially and it would have been a much better story for it. I did notice that I have an older edition, perhaps the newer version has been updated. That being said, I did enjoy it, recommend it, and have liked everything I've read so far by Steven Savile.

[Eiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I gave it a go to read this e-book,though it took me a bit long to finish it.

I must admit the beginning was a bit slow and some parts I didn't think it was necessary to include but it didn't bother me. Just some slight confusions along the way.

We had some introductions on the The Grayfriar’s Knights and how each of them were gifted. Their 'Gift' seems so realistic and I'm glad it wasn't so fantasy like. But I didn't expect the story would involves Gods and demons and definitely did not expect gore (should have seen my expression reading those parts <:o )

I was frustrated with their choice of actions leading to some death and my heart is in agony wishing everything would be alright in the end. When I was starting to love all the characters..the author kill my hopes.

But the ending..I almost cried. Their friendships were so touching and how I can feel their loneliness. My hopes rise again even though it seems I have to accept the sacrificial between this gentlemen,the author manage to make it a good ending.

I think I wouldn't mind to have a physical copy of this book cuz I'm happy to have it part of my collection.

[ilayda · Rating 2 out of 5]

there are a lot of grammar mistakes in this book and I don't like it for this issue. The story has a lot of fantastic creatures and every character have a different special power. It was good in this respect. This book could not connect me to itself.
From time to time, I progressed very fast. But, sometimes I didn't want to continue. Whatever happens, I finished. I don't recommend it to anyone. sorry :(

[Annemarie · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I had to describe this book in one word I would use confusing. It might be because my health isn't at the best at this moment and my mental capacities aren't what I would like them to be, but I had trouble keeping track of who was who, and the timeline being all over the place didn't help either. There was a lot of potential, but it couldn't really keep my interest.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the story, the historical details were amazing. The characters bold, brilliant in their own way, loyal to one another and rich in detail. I agree with some of the other reviewers though, it dragged. Too many repetitive descriptions, too many unneccessary descriptors, etc. It could have done with an angry editor and a red pen.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tres estrellas, no más que eso. Los personajes me encantaron y los villanos tenían motivaciones creíbles. Era una historia con mucho (muchísimo) potencial. Una lástima; son de esos libros que se leen una sola vez.
Se dejaron muchos cabos sueltos, se plantearon problemas que no se resolvieron (y dudo que haya continuación).
Se nota que el autor había leído sobre el tema, pero eso de querer explicarlo todo cansa al lector, descripciones larguísimas y monólogos internos interminables, con capítulos extras que aportaban poco o nada de información nueva. Estoy segura de que el libro de podría haber reducido a la mitad.
Sin mencionar el uso (y abuso) del famoso recurso "no sabía cómo lo sabía; pero lo sabía".

[Melissa Levine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Attention: I was unable to read the entire book! So based off the portion I did read, (60%), this was an okay story. I felt it dragged on and on and had a really hard time getting through it (a month for half of it). I swear it could have been half the length if the author hadn't gone and excessively described everything in the story. There were many parts where it was just constant descriptions and I had forgotten what was actually going on in the story.

Questions/Comments:

The fact that the author introduced so many characters, basically on one page, not a fan! Then he went on to use both their first and last names, switching between the two in a single paragraph? No! Just no! I felt like I should have been writing notes to keep track of who was who.

Was I the only one that found it strange that when Nathaniel Seth went down the stairs, after opening the secret door to release the bad guys, that he had to wear a harness to get to the lower ground? Was that something the creatures used as well?

How did the homunculus get into heaven?

At one point Dorian is using the mudlark's eyes to see where they're going for the meeting. How does he not trip over anything though? Is the kid constantly looking down and all around himself? Doubtful. Even more questioningly is when Dorian uses Mason's eyes....even though Mason is many streets over and ahead of them. Yet Dorian is running still. Sorry but no cigar there. That part makes no sense.

Why did Dorian find it better to wait outside by himself in the dark/blindness, as opposed to going into the conclave meeting place, surrounded by his friends, unable to see?

Mason knows they hadn't wanted Dorian to come into the meeting because there were no left over chairs. BUT!! Was Mason usually a guest to these meetings considering he was a servant? Yeah, he had his magical powers but most of the Knights didn't even know this.

"Like one of Hertz's giant radio antenna, Nelson's column in the center of Trafalgar Square, was a beacon to the lost." Huh? What year was this story taking place to where they had radio antennas? Or am I just totally misunderstanding?

At the Conclave meeting after Brannigan runs outside he says how he keeps "catching glimpses of the red wolf." What was he talking about?

When McCreedy realizes that someone had betrayed them, he thinks back to Napier and how he had seen him leaving the Brethren's territory. Why didn't he speak up or do something before he was captured? Before the Conclave meeting? McCreedy did say how Napier smelled different or wrong when he had walked past him and if he's in an area where he shouldn't be conversing with the enemy... Hello common sense.

[Kurt Criscione · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the tale, it totally went off in several unexpected directions in one large convoluted plot. Also all the old London History... not just the Victorian Era stuff but some pre-roman myths and legends were all worked into the story... believe it or not it actually made me want to go out and find a book about the ancient past of London. The seven gates and their immortal keepers... some pretty weird stuff that Eden is in the middle (or perhaps in a parallel place with London and that the area the land is built on is Nod. Very cool stuff.

We also get some angel and Lucifer change ups... at least some reinterpretation of Biblical myths.

The Gentlemen Knights, aka Greyfrairs Club, is an interesting group that i could compare to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Each one of them has a unique gift used in the defense of the city. We have a man who can talk with animals, another who can be practically invisible, one who speaks with the dead, a werewolf, a full blown wizard, and others.

The book is broken up into sections and each section is divided into a number of chapters and every chapter is a different POV... some times the POV is on different time tracks... so you will see the same scene from a different perspective or something that wasn't mentioned or is missing will be explained in a later chapter by the different view. Sometimes this really worked for me and sometimes it didn't.

If you like Victorian England, twists of myth and bible stories, strange and unique characters... then i think you'll love London Macabre.

[Richard Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extraordinarily rich book, this, in which all hell is unleashed on Victorian London, and only the strangely talented Gentlemen Knights can put themselves between the forces of chaos and the inhabitants of the ancient city. Savile draws on layers and layers of London myth and architecture, from the ancient to the comparatively new, and patches together a metropolis of extraordinary personality on which to unleash the forces of heaven and hell. The writing is dense and luxuriant, and the action - whether physical of spiritual - pounds along as the novel tells a story of London's darkest night. There is only brief focus on the whys and wherefores behind what is happening, and although there are clear villains, such as the first murderer Cain, events are more chaotic than orchestrated, with the plot being less concerned with masterplans and more with how a handful of heroes tackle the unleashed darkness.

If there's any complaint to be had here, it is that the Gentlemen themselves are introduced in a flurry near the start of the book, and it took a while before they really grew into themselves as individuals. They do, though, especially when Savile begins to separate them and apply unique pressures to each. By the end, I wanted to read more of this strange little club, and though it's difficult to see how the author could follow the vast, ambitious scenario he grinds them through here, I still hope that this is a mythos that expands in future.

[Vicente · Rating 2 out of 5]

Escogí este libro porque leí que el autor había escrito cosas para Doctor Who, pensé (erróneamente) que había sido guionista de algún capítulo, pero no, lo que había hecho es escribir alguna historia corta sobre Doctor Who.
El libro me ha resultado pesado de leer, aburre. Hay momentos que me recuerda a la serie Supernatural, pero ni se le acerca en calidad. Hace una mezcla de "géneros" que personalmente me sobrepasa, vampiros, hombres lobo, mentalistas, ángeles, demonios, dioses egipcios, mitología, reyes,... bufffff y encima sin motivo, unos están enfrentados con otros y no explica ni porqué. Los personajes no están conseguidos, les falta historia, motivación,...
El libro parece una thermomix, cogemos un montón de cosas que llaman la atención, un ambiente Victoriano (que siempre queda muy bien), unos seres que están de moda (aunque ya no tanto), algo de sacrificio por los amigoscasihermanos epic level, los metemos, temperatura varoma, velocidad 4, durante 30 minutos. Resultado -> Arde conmigo.
En fin, a ver si consigo otro libro que me quite el mal gusto.
Esta opinión está dedicada a Javier Vijande ;-)

[Ido · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to fight to finish this book.
If it was not a part of an anthology, I would have just stopped in the middle. At several points I thought about just skipping to the next book...

It tries too hard.
The descriptions of everything are too long. I don't really need to know the 23 sigils that the thief saw while walking down the corridor and what they mean (unless they are relevant to the story - which they weren't). And this goes to any description in the book.
The book tries to have everything, and just feels packed with too much or everything. The book doesn't need a werewolf, a witch, a wizard, an ice queen, demons, angels, satan, an Egyptian god, an evil brotherhood, a mimic, a giant golem, smaller lion golems, thief kings, necromancers etc. And what it really doesn't need is a subplot for each and every one of them. .

[Jamey Goodyear · Rating 2 out of 5]

London Macabre by Steven Savile is a fantasy novel set in London. The novel has angels, demons, and magic. I will confess that I didn’t read the entire book. It is not my kind of book.

However, it is a well written book. Savile has created a very atmospheric story. Building the atmosphere slows the progression of the story. It is not a fast action story. The emphasis on the atmosphere leaves little room for getting to know the characters well. I felt I had a very basic grasp of each character represented and before I had gotten to know them well, they started being taken out by the evil forces.

If you like a very atmospheric story you may enjoy this story. If you are used to reading this kind of book, you may be able to understand the characters better than I did.

[Katherine Coble · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not the book I expected from the blurb. It was well-written to a point but instead of being a steampunk Ripper tale it's much more a bizarro New Wierd type of story.

I'm torn about the number of stars to give it because, objectively speaking, it wasn't badly written. My dislike comes as much from being not in the mood for this type of storytelling. It's gruesomeness was offputting. I skimmed it after about 20% in. So maybe it became the book I thought I was getting and I missed it.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The opening feels like Act III of a story just missed, then runs right into a sequel. The pacing feels rushed, and the plot elements are jumping around rather jarringly (at 30% done). It didnt improve in pacing through the end. There are way to many disparate and overpowered supernatural elements at play, so much so that you get no decent sense of the characters. In some ways, imagine an entire season or two of Supernatural was condensed into one book. The sad part is the story itself held promise, which is why I held on to the end.

[Tressa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing book;I've not read anything quite like it and am having difficulty in articulating exactly how I feel about it. The one and only reason I'm docking a star is for the grammar. If only it were fine-tooth-combed for spelling, etc, it would've been perfect. Much kudos to the author, in spite of the glaring, easily fixable errors, for penning a work that held a jaded, old reader like myself captive. London Macabre is brutal and unrelenting and I loved every twisted moment of it.

[crashqueen73]

Bought the book but after trying to read it I just can't. The story is really slow and I cannot make all that much sense of it. Not really sure what it is about and not really sure who it is about. Just not enough for me to want to continue and I am giving up on this one too because life is too short and there are too many other books out there!

[Bookworm52732 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read as part of A World of Shadows anthology of urban fantasy. FYI this is historical fantasy, not urban, set in Victorian England. The premise is interesting but it is a tedious read. Lots of editorial mistakes. Aka the story that never ends, 98 chapters!

[Henrik]

Purchased paperback edition directly from the publisher, their moving sale Summer 2013.

[Dawn Paris]

DNF. Just lost interest at yet another new POV character chapter. Would probably make an awesome movie, though.