The Wolves of London

Obsidian Heart #1

by Mark Morris

Psychology professor Alex Locke is an ex-convict, forced back into the criminal underworld when his daughter is threatened. After he agrees to steal a mysterious Obsidian Heart, Locke is pursued by unearthly assassins known as the ‘Wolves of London’. Soon he discovers the heart can enable him to travel through time, and while it bestows him with his own dark powers, it also corrupts...

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Audiobook, Mystery, Thriller

464 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 7, 2014

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Mark Morris became a full-time writer in 1988 on the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, and a year later saw the release of his first novel, Toady. He has since published a further sixteen novels, among which are Stitch, The Immaculate, The Secret of Anatomy, Fiddleback, The Deluge and four books in the popular Doctor Who range.

His short stories, novellas, articles and reviews have appeared in a wide variety of anthologies and magazines, and he is editor of the highly-acclaimed Cinema Macabre, a book of fifty horror movie essays by genre luminaries, for which he won the 2007 British Fantasy Award.

His most recently published or forthcoming work includes a novella entitled It Sustains for Earthling Publications, a Torchwood novel entitled Bay of the Dead, several Doctor Who audios for Big Finish Productions, a follow-up volume to Cinema Macabre entitled Cinema Futura and a new short story collection, Long Shadows, Nightmare Light.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things start off traditionally enough. When we are first introduced to reformed criminal Alex Locke he is living a quiet life with his youngest daughter. He’s determined to avoid repeating past mistakes and staying on the straight and narrow. Unfortunately, his elder daughter ends up in a spot of trouble and the only way to avoid violent retribution is for Alex to do a favour for some dubious types. What should be a simple enough job goes south in a spectacular fashion and Alex finds himself out of his depth and on the run. It’s at this point that the Morris throws the reader a literary curveball. Suddenly, around a hundred or so pages in, this novel morphs from a straight crime drama into something far more sinister and fantastical. There are strange powers walking the streets of London and Locke spends a large chunk of the narrative on the back foot, unsure exactly what is going on. That sense of uncertainty feels almost palpable and keeps the plot from ever getting stale.

I love the idea that the strange and unusual exists side by side with the world we are all familiar with. Alex is just an ordinary man who is forced to confront the extraordinary. How he rises to that challenge and how he copes forms the backbone of the story. Watching his character evolve from an innocent to a sceptic, then his final grim acceptance of his situation, is rather wonderful.

London is often used as a backdrop in urban fantasy, and I’ve heard the criticism that it’s all been done before; that using this city is a bit old hat. Personally, I couldn’t disagree more. London is an iconic location and every author I’ve read always manages to bring their own unique interpretation of the city to their work. Mark Morris certainly manages that in this instance, it feels almost like a character in its own right. The grimy city streets perfectly help to capture the tone of the piece.

A word of warning, The Wolves of London is not for the faint of heart. This is a tale set in the dark underbelly of the city. There are a handful of moments that are particularly unpleasant. There is one scene in particular that really made me wince. Don’t get me wrong, these moments are entirely appropriate, and work within the context of the story, but they are definitely not for the squeamish.

Do you know what? I wasn’t even planning on writing a review of this book. I bought this entirely for my own pleasure, but by the time I got to the last page I knew that I was going to have to share. I’ve been raving about how good it is to my other half ever since. I think, with the exception of a few short stories here and there, this is the first work of Mark Morris’ that I have ever read. I love it when you accidently stumble upon fiction like this. It makes it feel that much more special, a gem that you weren’t ever expecting. It would appear I have been missing out on a rare treat with this particular author. The cover for The Wolves of London proudly boasts the following statement from Clive Barker – “Mark Morris is one of the finest horror writers at work today”. I ask you, who am I to argue with Pinhead’s dad?

If you’ve never read any fiction by Mark Morris then this novel will act as an ideal gateway drug, it’s gonna get you hooked and leave you wanting more. The Wolves of London is published by Titan and available now. The Obsidian Heart trilogy will continue with The Society of Blood and The Wraiths of War, I genuinely can’t wait.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this and what’s not to like…? Mystery, reformed characters, time-travel, revenge and all set in London. On first appearance, this was written for me.

Unfortunately I couldn’t finish it. I imagined a conversation between writer and publisher… ‘Ok, the idea is a good one, but it’s only ten pages. Take it away and pad it out a bit.’

It’s all padding. I heard whispers in my ears… ‘hold on, there a good bit just coming up… Just around the next corner… Nearly there… Hold on… I’ll just use ten thousand words to create a picture which we all know could have been created with just the one… ’.

And then the standard of writing began to irritate me beyond all measure. Like most readers, I believe I have a good book in me. Somewhere. It’s this level of writing which makes me believe that may well be true!

So sorry Mr Morris, there’s something here but…

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a delightfully suspenseful romp through time, complete with steampunk villains, plenty of double-crossing, and even a scary crypt! The main character was well-developed and the London setting was importantly palpable. Initially I found the characters’ time-traveling confusing but the author did a fabulous job of beginning to iron things out by the end of this first volume. I can’t wait to journey onward into volume 2!

[Francis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started well, and looks like it's going to be a gritty mystery with fantasy elements, but after the first quarter it is just a man stumbling from unrelated scene to scene with innumerable new characters piling in to do inexplicable things.

Events aren't driven by either plot or character, they just happen because of the undefined powers of the macguffin, or several times just because the main character passed out and woke up in a new location.

It also suffers from over-describing everything. Morris will spend a paragraph prosaically describing some alien creature in explicit detail and it always falls flat. Turns out that there's far more horror in a suggestive, imprecise Lovecraftian description like "the eyes approached, yet of the thing that bore them I could distinguish only a claw" than any of the long-winded descriptions that Morris gives room to.

Insofar as this is even a story (and there's no real narrative, so that's arguable), it's not self-contained. It just sort if stops, ready to be picked up in a sequel I'm never going to read.

Also avoid if you don't like reading books where the characters are constantly puking over everything for no reason.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bloody brilliant. So annoyed to get to such a cliff-hanger at the end, because now I'll have to wait for the next one to come out and I NEED to know what happens next NOW, dammit!
Anyway, my first read of this author and now must obviously seek out more of his work.
A great blending of realism and urban fantasy/horror, all wrapped up in a mysterious and very intriguing dark adventure. Highly recommended.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a quick read, despite the too small font. It just didn't do much for me. The mystery didn't have any suspense. What was the mystery? It certainly wasn't who had the kidnapped girl, her sister didn't give a hoot about her, why should we? Is it what this device is or what the group or groups that are hunting Alex are or what? There's a lot of running around and the characters are quite confused as they barrel around the city, but it never got exciting or fascinating or clever. The characters aren't great, not even Alex, not a lot of personality. It's just an OK book. I don't regret reading it but I don't have any particular desire to read the next two.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Tamika,

This one was so boring that I DNF'd it because I got bored of being bored. The book is SO EASY to put down (but not to pick up) and the intro is to a not particularly very likable character. Which left me at...Why should I care?

And then I realized I didn't. And I took it back to the library where it belongs.

[Lacer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been put off this book because I was under the (mistaken) impression that it was another Rivers of London wannabe but I'm really glad I gave it a chance. Yep, if you like Rivers of London you'll probably like this, if you try not to compare it too much to the Rivers of London because yes in a way it's similar and in another way it's totally different.

So I'll shut up talking about Rivers of London (by the way if you haven't read the Rivers of London books, READ THEM) and review The Wolves of London. The Wolves of London tells the tale of Alex, a South London ex con family man whose made good, he thinks he's left his criminal past way behind him when he is forced to help get his daughter's boyfriend out of a spot of bother by stealing an obsidian heart. The theft does not go well and Alex's life is turned upside down as he is forced on the run from The Wolves of London, a sinister steampunkesque band of monsters.

The book is pretty gory in points and as I'm the sort of person who hides behind the sofa at anything remotely scary on TV, there were bits which made my toes literally curl. I 'read' this as an audiobook and I will admit there were parts I listened to where I wished I could get away with forwardwinding, however I was enjoying the story so much I didn't want to miss anything.

This is the first of a trilogy and consequently there's no resolution at the end of the book, which is a bit frustrating (I prefer series where if there is an over arcing story there's at least some resolution of a smaller plot point at the end of each book) but I'll definitely be reading the next two.

[Tim Lebbon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific beginning to Morris's new trilogy ... horror, thriller, time travel, spookiness, some great characters and a couple of scenes that really shook me up.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reason I listened to this book is honestly because it's narrated by one of my favourite narrators Ben Onwukwe, and I can't say I would have liked it as much in print (but maybe).

As an audiobook I really enjoyed this and it took me out of my comfort zone as I really don't read a lot of urban fantasy...especially when it involves time travel (it always blows my mind 😂).

This is fast-paced, gory and absurd; with an ever-present threat to our main character and his family.
I like Alex though and I'm really interested to carry on with this series.
And Ben narrates the other books too so it's all good!

[Margo · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a really great start, the middle and end of this urban fantasy failed to live up to my expectations. As the first installation of a time travel adventure through London, it was not to my taste, though I can see that others may love the series. I picked the second book up in a sale so I will listen to it at some stage. Excellent narration by Ben Onwukwe was the best thing about this story.

[Dave P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts really well, but falters once the more mysterious elements are revealed. Plus, the amount of times a chapter ends with the hero losing consciousness, before awaking at the beginning of the next chapter following some unseen rescue, is absurd.
Some great gruesome touches, though.

[Sean · Rating 1 out of 5]

The problem with this book is that it wasn’t sold as bizzaro fiction. However, it might not even work well if you called it that, because the beginning of the book is just too sensible and boring for anyone who wants to read bizzaro fiction. The book tries to call itself horror, but it’s hard for me to be scared when I simply can’t take the book seriously.

Setting:
The book takes place, mostly, in modern day London and the surrounding areas.

Characters:
Alex: Alex is an ex-con and a current psychology professor. When he was younger, he was pretty poor and decided to shore up his bank account with a little robbery. Things didn't go well and he got busted. After spending a few years in prison, under the protection of some hotshot criminal named Benny for no apparent reason, he left and set his life straight. Found a girl, got her pregnant, watched her go insane, and is now raising his daughter as a single dad. Ya know, normal life stuff.

Clover: Clover is perhaps a criminal. Well I suppose she quickly becomes guilty of aiding and abetting if nothing else. Clover is a friend of Benny's who seems like a generally good person but certain things do make such a persona questionable. She's reluctant to say much and her position means that she may be more involved than she's letting on. It maybe not. She might be just as out of her depth as Alex is.

Plot:
Alex is living a simple, boring life with his young daughter Kate. One day his older daughter Candice, whom he had before going to prison, comes to him with a problem: her boyfriend is in debt to some drug dealers. Alex winds up calling on Benny, his old friend from prison, and asks Benny to make the problem go away. Benny offers Alex a solution. Alex does one easy job, makes a ton of money, pay off the dealers, and has some cash left to spare. Benny introduces Alex to Clover who explains the job: break into the unguarded house of an old man and steal an obsidian sculpture of a human heart.

Alex refuses the job initially, deciding he really doesn't want to go back to being a criminal. This can't be allowed though, so some shadowy individuals steal away Kate and demand he does the job if he ever wants to see her alive again. Alex does the job, hoping this will all be over quickly. Of course it won't be. The men he was supposed to deliver the heart to are dead and it turns out that many people want the heart, not all of them are in fact even people. To further complicate things, the heart, of course, isn't just a shiny black rock.

My Thoughts:
This book had two main issues. The first problem is that Morris does not use the Oxford comma and that's pretty much unforgivable. The second issue is that the book had this terrible habit of constantly trying to outdo itself in terms of how strange things got.

The book plays out like it was actually composed by a group of excitable children all trying to one-up each other while learning about the concept of a “yes and” in theatre class.

The beginning of the book is pretty calm and sensible and was done by the teacher trying to get the story started. After a few minutes, Billy broke this ice with a suggestion that was just a little unusual. The teacher accepted it and wove it into the story. Not wanting to let Billy have all the fun, Steve shouts out something weirder a couple minutes later. The teacher pauses for a moment, then figures out how to add that in as well. Susan is known for telling all the boys in the class “anything you can do, I can do better” so she can't resist piping up now and giving her addition to the story; it's even stranger still. It isn't long then before the story descends into utter madness as all the children are soon throwing out ever more outlandish ideas, all of which the teacher somehow has to work into the story.

At one point, I found myself wondering how a particular character was able to do one of the things they did and came up with a potential reason. I then stopped and asked myself why I was looking for anything resembling logic, reason, or sense in this book when it quite clearly contains none of the three.

Bad guys just keeping showing up, sometimes literally out of thin air, with no build up and nothing ever even resembling a coherent explanation for who they are, what they are, or why they’re doing any of the things they’re doing. Perhaps the lack of explanation is meant to add to the tension but the constant beating me over the head with progressively more absurd and ridiculous things meant that what this book calls a plot, and I’m using that word very loosely, wavered between absurd to the point of sheer inane rambling and over the top to the point of silly and comical. In either case, tension is impossible.

The end of the book does reel this in a bit to the point of actually being somewhat sensible, but after letting itself mire in the crazy pit for most of the novel, it's little recompense.

[Chris Bauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started out as a 5 star book, but lost its way.

Morris creates a very successful setting and cast of characters in "The Wolves of London" and the reader is pulled directly into the action from page 1.

Pace and plot are strong, moving quickly like a river with appropriate eddies for introspection and other POV / flashbacks.

From a prose standpoint, the work is beautiful to read. Strong voice, mood and setting are standouts in the book. Dialogue is top notch as well.

But about halfway through the work, the story veers from Neil Gaiman to China Mieville with little warning. The best analogy I can think of is similar to ordering an entree at a restaurant. When the food arrives, each component of the meal is some of the best you've ever tasted; yet, the dish doesn't meld or fit together well, thus bringing down the overall quality.

As a reader, I felt there were a number of promises made by the author which never materialized. I understand this is book one of a series, but you have to throw the reader a bone or two to keep turning the pages.

And it seemed to me that the primary motivation of the protagonist to evolve into an agent of change became lost about 3/4 of the way through and for the final few chapters was ignored completely. I'm not sure if this novel is actually a third of a much bigger work which was chopped into pieces to sell one story across three books or not.

Fantastic writing but a bit of a letdown.

[Welzen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novela que me compré hace unos años porque quería leer fantasía urbana más allá de Harry Dresden. Me gustó su portada y leyendo la sinopsis parecía que habría unos hombres lobos rondando por Londres. Pues no, no hay lobos en Londres, solo unos zorros que salen por la noche a husmear en la basura.

Esta novela es la primera de la trilogía que cuenta la historia de Alex Locke, un hombre que en su juventud participó en un robo y fue condenado por ello a pasar unos años en la cárcel. Allí estudió psicología y ahora, en su cuarentena, da clases una universidad londinense. Tiene dos hijas, una ya mayor fruto de una noche borrachera cuando tenía quince años, y otra de cinco años, que tuvo con su actual ex mujer, que ahora está encerrada en un manicomio. Pues Alex se ve envuelto en un lío porque su hija mayor le pide ayuda para salvar al idiota de su novio que debe bastante dinero.

Esta novela es un poco peculiar, tiene una mezcla de elementos que podrían ser interesantes sino fuera porque hay demasiada descripción. La historia tarda mucho en arrancar, aunque no sería un gran problema porque Morris tiene un buen correcto narrativo, excesivamente descriptivo pero no pesado. O al menos esa era mi primera impresión en las primeras cincuenta páginas.
Una vez acabada la presentación comienza la acción, y todo adquiere más rapidez, o eso parece porque hay momentos donde todo es tensión y luego largos párrafos de descripciones y demás elementos que cortan la trama de intriga. Hay demasiados párrafos que aportan información sobre lugares, pensamientos... pero hay pocos que muestren cómo se comporta nuestro protagonista en situaciones adversas. Quizá por eso es casi imposible ver a Alex como un personaje de acción, o un héroe atípico, parece más bien en pringado de la esquina al que le ha tocado la lotería de la mala suerte. No sé, hay algo en él que no termina de cuajar del todo. Quizá también se deba a que aquí se mete un elemento romántico entre Alex y Clover. O sea un cuarentón que se va con la guapa veinteañera a la que tiene que salvar de vez en cuando. Por cierto ¿por que haces a tu protagonista psicólogo sin al final no usa su habilidad profesional para nada? Es como si un protagonista fuera electricista y luego tuviera problemas para saber cómo desconectar los cables que pueden salvarle la vida.

Es una pena que los personajes no me hayan atrapado porque había elementos interesantes en torno a la parte fantástica. No hay lobos, una auténtica pena, pero sí conceptos de fantasía gótica mecánica, con serpientes con engranajes, hombres con agujas como si fueran dedos... Le añadimos un viaje en el tiempo, una corazón hiperrealístico de piedra negra que guarda un gran poder oscuro detrás, un secuestro... Muchas cosas que bien unidas podrían dar lugar a una novela un tanto diferente.
Es una pena que Mark Morris se haya focalizado tanto en los elementos descriptivos y no haya dejado a los personajes relacionarse o interactuar un poco más. Al final el resultado es un guiso demasiado pesado para digerir.

Como no me ha enganchado mucho no me leeré las siguientes entregas. Una serie menos a la que engancharme.

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are too many words in this novel. You might laugh at that, but it is very wearing. A fierce editor is required. I don’t need to hear every thought out hero thinks. I don’t need a detailed description of EVERYTHING. It took 10 chapters and 30% of the book for anything to actually happen.

Despite that, I really enjoyed the story. Typical blackmail heist plus kidnapping with supernatural steampunk twists and turns, beginning in 20C London and ending in Victoriana, with an appearance by a butler.

It’s the first of a trilogy. It remains to be seen if I dive back in

[Lel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast paced action book. A bit creepy in places and very violent but not for the sake of it. The characters are ok but some of them do some things that don’t really seem to match their character but just to move the plot along which annoyed me in places. I liked it, but it’s not one of my favorites.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark is perhaps best known for his Horror books (Toady, Stitch, The Secret of Anatomy) and his Doctor Who novelisations. This will, I suspect, bring him to a new wider audience.

The Wolves of London is a dark novel that mixes up genres. It’s a book with horror overtones, naturally, but then it also rips up the rule book by delving into archaic occult arts, Frankenstein-ian steampunk and even Quantum Leap-style time travel.

From the back cover: “ Alex Locke is a reformed ex-convict, forced back into London’s criminal underworld for one more job. He agrees to steal a priceless artefact – a human heart carved from blackest obsidian – from the home of a decrepit old man. But when the burglary goes horribly wrong, Alex is plunged into the nightmarish world of the Wolves of London, a band of unearthly assassins who will stop at nothing to reclaim the heart. As he races to unlock the secrets of the mysterious object, Alex must learn to wield its dark power – or be destroyed by it.”

The book begins as a crime novel, as in the present day Alex tries to find his missing daughter, but soon exhibits some rather grisly murders before taking a turn into Quantum Leap and Hammer Horror territory. There’s even a touch of Mike Moorcock in there as Alex develops a symbiotic relationship with his enigmatic artefact in a similar manner to Elric and his demon blade.

The writing is great: knowledgeable, intelligent, thoughtful, echoing the deceptively literate poetry of the mundane in such work as that of Stephen King, albeit with a distinctly British tone, such as that of Christopher Fowler’s Bryant and May detective series, as we travel around (and underground) the great city of London. Keeping the King comparison going, it’s more Dark Tower than Carrie, a pleasingly complex plot that rarely settles for the cliché.

Mark also manages to make what could be considered as ‘difficult’ characters rather likeable – Alex is an ex-convict, and therefore not really what we would see as a character to be on side with, although his circumstances seem to be more about the consequences of poorly thought out choices and being in the wrong place at the wrong time more than through any outright malice. His prisoner ‘friend’ Benny has more than a whiff of the Kray family about him, and yet we quite like him at times. The real bad guys are appropriately scary and evil, not to mention rather gruesome in their actions.

What assists this further is the fact that, rather endearingly, many of Alex’s actions are often wrong – caused by fear, by a lack of knowledge and understanding, or just a deficiency of sleep, although entirely understandable given the circumstances. It is this fragility that endears him to the reader more and won me over in the end.

It also helps that there’s a nice ensemble cast of support characters that I suspect we will discover more about as we read the series.

Generally then, I enjoyed the book a great deal. However it would be remiss of me if I didn’t point out one thing that may make or break this book for some readers, namely that although there’s a lot going on, there is little or no resolution at the end. Wolves of London does a lot of character development, foreshadowing and plot-building, without having an actual ending. It could be argued that the book ends up having done little but introduce an interesting situation and some great characters before setting up the next novel, in the manner of the Pilot episode of a TV series. The journey’s great, but I do rather suspect that some readers may want a little more reward for their efforts towards the end, or at least must be prepared to wait until the next novel appears in 2015.

Despite this, there’s enough here to make this book a great read. Recommended for those who like Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere or Christopher Fowler’s Bryant and May books. I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Adam Lammiman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was definitely a love hate sort of book. Aspects of it I really liked, the way author credits you with enough intelligence to figure things out as you go along without beating you with exposition, for instance after the initial chapter detailing Alex's criminal past the aftermath is gradually revealed through the rest of the chapters. I also found the dark fantasy elements original and rich and unlike some reviewers I didn't mind the long descriptions, I thought they added depth to the narrative.

Unfortunately there were a number of things that bugged me. Firstly the dialogue in a quite a few places felt stilted and almost added as an after thought. There would be lots of detailed well written description followed by a character saying a couple of wooden lines. I think because of this I found it slightly difficult to feel empathy with the characters and the situations they were in, which leads me to my main issue.

Nobody was FREAKING OUT!!! this guy is experiencing PTSD levels of trauma, his whole world has been turned upside down both in a supernatural and mundane sense, but it just didn't feel as though he was really that bothered. I'm trying to not give any spoilers away here but crazy monsters aside, if what had happened to his family had happened to mine I'd be on the verge of a breakdown. He on the other hand just seems to go along with it all, with only the occasional nod to him being a bit worried and upset (in a way that felt like the author felt he should probably put it in or it might start to look a bit odd).

So I'm in two minds to read the next book, I'd like to find out what happens but I'm not sure I care enough about the characters.

[Normalene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished it - but it was slow going and I spent most of the time confused. Evidently there is a sequel but no matter how much I wanted to love this one, I will not put myself through another one. The characters are very well developed, you feel like you've known them forever and the world-building is very quirky, but the plot is so convoluted, it is almost impossible to keep up. Our middle-aged academic hero finds his oldest daughter needs him to return to his criminal friends to get her money that she needs because her boyfriend is in debt to a bad man. Soon after he takes the job to get the money to bail his daughter out, he murders the man he was supposed to steal from as a milk run that wasn't. Then his youngest daughter gets kidnapped by an unknown person and the only thing he has is the stolen obsidian heart and the dubious help of the bar owner who may have set him up in the first place. Then there is time travel and a half-mechanical man and his mechanical-men army who wants to kill him. He doesn't know who to trust and by this time I don't even care. The end sets us up for the next one as right at the end we meet again the lovely bar-owner Clover. One of my favorite authors said it is okay that your characters don't know what is going on, but don't ever make your readers feel stupid. Big fail here! Probably my fault, but oh well.

[Fiona Baskett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book and its successor - The Society of Blood - made me wish I had read some of the negative reviews. I got them on a “two for the price of one deal”. In vast swathes of The Wolves of London absolutely nothing happens. The protagonist never knows what is going on, so you don’t either. The author pads the text with pointless description, sometimes saying the same thing three ways. I was listening to the audio version, and I found that if I got distracted by something and missed a few minutes, the book would still be droning on the same description of the same point. Conversely, the parts where anything is explained are limited to maybe a minute in the whole book, so if you missed that you would be annoyed.

It’s the second book I have read recently where the male protagonist is playing the single father role, but manages to hold down a well paid, good job by ... simply palming his child off on neighbours continually whenever necessary. I think reducing parenthood to occasionally putting cereal in a bowl is taking the piss, really.

What might you like? The audio book is well read, by Ben Onwukwe, he has a pleasingly deep, gravelly voice, and he keeps the volume consistent, which not all readers of audio books do. There are some elements of fantasy horror if that’s your thing.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has the smallest font ever, I thought it would take forever to read this book, but it flies quickly.
Crazy stuff is afoot. Time travel, clockwork horrors and lots of confusion. Who is good and who is bad and what the heck is the Obsidian Heart?!
So, you must be ok with not knowing what is going on and letting it unfold. Also, this is just the first part of the story, not too much is answered by the end. In fact, I have more questions.
There is horror, there is blood and killing, along with some dark paranormal elements and insanity.
I am in for the long haul. He hooked me. I want to know what the heck is going on, who is pulling the strings and how Morris is going to pull this together. Bring on book two.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s naff. I’m sorry to say, its a very average story that’s been dragged out and probably needed to go though another 10 drafts. I was quite disappointed as it has all the elements of a great fantasy series but it
seems to have been put together using the writer’s equivalent of painting by numbers.

Alex, the main character is actually incredibly dull. His dialogue very predictable and his instincts are as sharp as a spoon. He’s not an inspiring hero. The friends and enemies list changes so often it’s just silly. Even the chap paid to read the audiobook seems fed up!

I won’t be reading any further books in this series and if you’re thinking about giving this one a try, I suggest reading ‘Rivers of London’ by Ben Aaronovitch first.

[M F · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had a good plot, but in some places the writing felt weak, and I didn't get really invested until the end, at which point time travel was involved and it was messing with my brain. It's also pretty gruesome in places, with some nasty violence -- I regretted starting it late at night. I've bought book two since they're not expensive on Kindle, but this isn't rocketing to the top of my favourites list and was in some ways a letdown.

[Mark Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a good story hiding here. Ex-con dragged into time travel and dark enemies in the London criminal underworld but it was all a little slow and repetitive. Not too bad I will not give up on the trilogy but it did not totally grip me.

[Emy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this one up on a whim in the library. Accidentally put it down as I was near the end and about to go out so wanted to savour the end, not because I wasn't enjoying it!

[Peter Longden · Rating 3 out of 5]

They say ‘never judge a book by its cover’ and one of the reasons that I picked up this book was its cover that had a blend of busy London skyline silhouette with disturbing obsidian-black tendrils drawn into its underground.
I read the blurb with interest too then, as the book went on, realised that Mark Morris was about as successful with his crime genre as his main character, Alex Locke, is in his criminal career. That’s not to say that the writing isn’t appealing; it is: as a storyteller Mark Morris evokes emotion, excitement and suspense. This is particularly the case when the relationship between Alex and daughter, Candice, is shown, with the levels that a father will go to protect their child ably demonstrated. As is the impact of the kidnapping in which the full gamut of stages of Alex’s grief are ably demonstrated.
What he doesn’t do, for me, is make the story plausible, in part because as the book settles into being a crime thriller (theft from a security van, kidnap, burglary and murder), we are then thrown into the horror of a sentient heart made of obsidian that strikes out murderously. Later, we are treated to magical creatures coming and going in mist and smoke, left guessing whose side they are on; before thrust into a time travelling story, in which I was left baffled as to precisely what I was reading and how all these strands could eventually come together, be explained or be left in a confused mess. I’m afraid it is the latter for me.
There is also a mind-boggling number of characters introduced with familial, prison, passing and, suddenly, time travelling relationships that are unexplained even at the end of the book. I was left, reading the final chapter, thinking ‘this is going to need another book to explain the storyline’. Lo and behold, I discover this is book 1 of a trilogy and I’m wondering whether I can invest myself into reading the other two.
This is sad for me as I like the style of writing, the commitment that Mark Morris has to description and character development (in the case of Alex Locke, though not so many others), scene setting and building the world the story operates in. There are just too many leaps between genre for this to be a satisfying read; too much is expected of the reader to hold faith that all will become clear in the end: for me it just doesn’t.

[madfrights · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going back and forth on how I felt about the first book in this trilogy, but finally settled on 3 stars, the “I liked it” rating. Find out below how I came to this conclusion.

the Good Bits

- I think the characters, chiefly the supporting cast and the villains were awesome. I really enjoyed meeting characters like Frank Martin, the young WW1 soldier with the power to control darkness and the myriad of bad guys Ike “The Surgeon” and his menagerie of creepy crawlers (quite literally sometimes!). Each person and creature I met along the way was unique and fun in their own way.

- the plot, while sometimes jerking to a halt in moments I wanted more to happen, takes so many wild turns. There was even a moment where I yelled “WHAT!” during a certain moment that I just couldn’t believe was happening. I like that the book is willing to plunge into a few different threads all at once.

the Bad Bits

- our MC, Alex Locke…is not totally enjoyable. Coming from a rough background and learning from his mistakes, he decides to become a psychology professor. While I suppose it could be seen as a good redemption story, the way Locke is written turns him into a mess sometimes. He spends far too often despairing about things and second and third guessing the events and people in his life and it just becomes tiresome sometimes.

- not necessarily a “bad bit”, but the plot sometimes just ratchets down into the dull. Mostly it’s due to the MC being a pain in the ass, but sometimes there are moments where such things as a hotel rooms are described in too much detail or too often is spent wondering about a certain thing that just slows the pacing down.

This Wolf Has Some Bite!

As an entry into a trilogy, this has me hooked. While the plot takes time to ramp up, and the MC may not be everyone’s cup of tea, there are many twists and turns in the plot and the cast of characters pull the story along. I’m looking forward to seeing where the hell this story goes!

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting urban fantasy that starts so urban you’re not sure you’ve read the blurb right but then about a third of the way in slams into a hand brake turn to fantasy horror and gets more weird and fantastical from there on out.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read/listen. Alex Locke, reformed petty criminal and now getting by psychology lecturer, needs to turn to an old criminal acquaintance when his daughter and her boyfriend find themselves in trouble. But the help offered leads to Alex having to steal an obsidian heart which titles this series, and from there on out, his world takes a strange and terrifying turn.

I won’t go further for risk of spoilers but this is an exciting read as Alex desperately tries to make sense of what’s happening and struggles to (mini spoiler) bring his family back together.

I listened to the audiobook of this and found the narration very good if a little schizophrenic (Alex’s narrator voice is a little too plummy for my mind so that when the dialogue veers into hard Lahn-dahn it feels odd). Maybe the biggest issue with the book is the obsidian heart itself. This first book offers little on the way of answers (which is fine by me) but the artefact itself reads like a McGuffin - mysterious artefact of unknown origin which can do whatever is necessary to advance the plot/save Alex/lead to the next chapter. If the power of this object is revealed as a convenience coincidence engine, I’ll be happy. Otherwise, you just need to get on board or get off the bus. For now, I was happy to take the ride.

Morris does a good job of invoking some genuinely creepy and horrifying characters and situations and the narrator is generally excellent at bringing the characters to life.

Worth your time, I reckon.

[Lauren Cross · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the traditional crime/thriller aspects of the book and how Morris tied in a fantasy and Sci-Fi elements. Generally I don't bother with crime books, but I really liked the main characters reasons and motives for getting involved with crime and members of gangs/criminal organisations throughout the book.

I feel like the characters in the book were genuine, they reacted realistically to situations and relationships were developed over a series of events, that made the level of trust and care developed between the characters believable.

There's a twist in the book that introduces a plot line that I'm not overly fond of, which is why I didn't give the book four stars. It distracts from the main storyline of the book and is used to establish the overarching plot of the series instead of wrapping up the story of this particular book.
*This is a type of plot line that lots of people do enjoy, just not me. Also I like the first book in a series to be almost a stand alone that sets up a world or character and holds the potential for a sequel*.


SPOILERS FROM NOW ON

The plot device in question is time travel, which for some reason just doesn't appeal to me. I found that when time travel was used, it introduced a new component of the story and left the book on a really intriguing cliff hanger but it meant that the main story line of Alex's daughter being kidnapped wasn't wrapped up, which I would of liked. Or even if it wasn't wrapped up nicely I would have like that story line to be developed more, seen as it is what the first half of the book is focused on.