The Road to Bedlam

Courts of the Feyre #2

by Mike Shevdon

Niall Petersen's whole life has been turned on its head by the revelation that he can do magic. Now he has just received the news no parent wants to hear. "There's been an accident. It's your daughter".Learning to cope with the loss of a child is only the beginning of the new challenges facing Niall Petersen. An old enemy has returned and Niall already knows it’s not a social call.As the new Warder of the Seven Courts he will be forced to choose between love and honour, duty and responsibility.These choices will lead him to discover the darkest secrets buried right at the core of the ancient mortal realm he now calls home.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Urban, Paranormal, Magic

474 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Mike Shevdon lives in South Yorkshire, England, with his wife, where he pursues the various masteries of archery, technology, and cookery. His love of Fantasy & SF started in the 70s with C S Lewis, Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov and continued through Alan Garner, Ursula Le Guin and Barbara Hambly. More recent influences include Mike Carey, Phil Rickman, Neil Gaiman, and Robert Crais, among many others.

He has studied martial arts for many years, mainly aikido and archery. Friends have sometimes remarked that his pastimes always seem to involve something sharp or pointy. The pen should therefore be no surprise, though he’s still trying to figure out how to get an edge on a laptop.

Reviews

[Stephanie Swint · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine you are Nial. He recently had his life completely turned upside down finding out he is Feyre/Fey/Fairie. He barely escaped with his life after being hunted by all the seven courts of the Feyre including 'The Untainted'. You think he should have earned a well deserved break, right? Our poor friend doesn't get off that easy.

He just starts getting comfortable when the other shoe drops. He's training to be a warder. He's not great but he's also not an absolute disaster. He's settling in the cottage with Blackbird and has even found a way to get to see Alex, his daughter. Then Nial and his ex-wife get notified of a tragic accident at Alex's school. Three girls are dead including his daughter. He mourns, he is heartbroken,and has become despondent, but one day for no explainable reason he searches in the mirror for his daughter more out of hopeless grief than any real belief he will find her, but he hears her...

Nial brings down a fury of weather freezing the summer day with frost for miles around the cottage in a pull for power to pursue Alex's location. He is crazed and only snaps back when he realizes he is hurting Blackbird. He has also brought attention to their hidden location not only to "The Untainted" but a human faction that would shut away and control Nial. This is what his Warder commander informs him of in a rush evacuation, but also tells Nial that this is who probably has his daughter. He forces Nial to confront the fact that the tragedy was likely caused by his daughter coming into her Feyre powers. Unfortunately, not all human/feyre that first exhibit their abilities get to do so in a safe way. What does humanity do with them? There are many psychiatric hospitals out there for the people who are crazy, can't fit in...and can be a danger to themselves and others.

This is the story of a father in search of his daughter despite safety or the common good. The Untainted, the Feyre Court, and secret government agencies all play their part. Mike Shevdon does a wonderful job. This was a joy to read. It has the right mix of dry humor and intrigue. This was the delectible treat slipped in with other reads. I highly recommend it especially to anyone who likes mystery and the Feyre. If you like audible books Nigel Carrington narrates a wonderful version.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

This is a good sequel to Sixty One Nails. It is not up to the standard of the first book as there is little new in this book. Where book one was an awakening for our hero Niall, this one was simply an action piece. That being said, this book is filled with great action, chases, suspense, and really sweet magic. The dialog is fun and witty. Ned is a great lead but he is pretty much a one man show in this book.

The best part of this book is the storytelling of Shevdon. He writes a fast paced page turner that will be tough to put down. The world building and the atmosphere are top notch. He is a great writer.

Like all middle books, I must now move on to the next book to really make this one work. This is a series that I can easily recommend for all fantasy readers, including the YA crowd...

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun, I liked it even more than the first book. It was much more immediate and urgent than the first, more of a page-turner. I was really caught-up in the world, it felt very real. The secondary plot about the seaside town wasn't quite as interesting as Niall and Blackbird's dealings with the Seventh Court, but it was fine.

I put the book on my "series reminder" shelf, hoping that the publisher will agree that this series deserves more books. The author has barely scratched the surface of what stories his imagination and this mythology can sustain. I'd love to see stories from different characters' perspectives. I want to know more about the other Warders and the various Courts, for example. I hope it happens! Angry Robots, are you listening?

[Robert Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

After the first in the series, I was looking forward to reading the rest of the volumes. In the first volume, the story was gripping, intelligent, laid out in a cogent manner. I found none of that in this second book.

I know that Shevdon has the talent: the first volume showed that. However, in this volume, Shevdon has his protagonist acting like a thoughtless loose cannon who hasn't learned anything beyond age thirteen. Worse, the cool, calm, logical, Blackbird, has become someone who can't reason beyond immediate needs. No more forward thinking like in the first volume, no more intelligent anticipation.

Apparently, Shevdon thinks the loss/danger of a loved one and the pregnancy of a woman makes a person's brains dribble out their ears. While initial trauma does indeed cause a drop in intelligent action, people always return to their mean. They may not be as energetic, or as focused, or as willful; but, they return to more of a baseline of what they were before the trauma: if you can even classify pregnancy as a "trauma."

The two main protagonists take stupid action after stupid action throughout. I don't know if Shevdon just was rushed in writing this book, couldn't pull out a good story to fit his second volume, or the first good volume was a fluke. I just know that this series ends for me with volume two.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please note if you haven’t read Sixty-One Nails (Courts of the Feyre 1), and I strongly suggest you do, there are some mild spoilers in this review.

It’s not often that I pick up book by an untested author. I’ve made this mistake in the past and ended up reading some less than stellar fiction. Fortunately, the last time this happened I was lucky. I was in a bookshop in London and I found myself purchasing Sixty-One Nails by Mike Shevdon. I was on holiday and needed to select a third book to take advantage of the bookshops generous 3 for 2 offer. On an impulse based purely on the cover design, and blurb on the back, I made my purchase.

A couple of weeks later I started reading the book and I was slowly drawn in. I didn’t know what to expect and was more than pleasantly surprised. Sixty One Nails is an excellent example of urban fantasy. While having a suspected heart attack on the London Underground Niall Petersen is saved by a mysterious woman calling herself Blackbird. Following their encounter, Blackbird introduces Niall to the secret world of Feyre where he learns that he is part Fey and able to control a powerful force called Gallowfyre.

I was given the opportunity to read an electronic advance review copy of the next book in the series by the publishers, Angry Robot Books. The sequel, The Road to Bedlam: The Courts of the Feyre, Vol. II, picks up a few months after the events of Sixty One Nails. Niall is training to be a Warder (think policeman) for the seven courts of the Feyre and Blackbird is pregnant with their child. They are living happily together while Niall continues to explore the aspects of his Fey heritage. Unexpected tragedy strikes close to home and Niall is torn between family and his obligations to the Seven Courts.

The whole story is great but the first two chapters are a real roller-coaster and had me hooked immediately. I’m always pleased when an author manages to write something that leaves me stunned. Without giving too much away, there is a funeral for one of the characters. This whole sequence was quite evocative, moving and wonderfully written. The actions and reactions of all the characters are pitch perfect and very believable.

The interactions between the members of the Seventh Court and our world are what drive the narrative forward. As the story continues the reader gets an opportunity to learn more of the Seventh Court, the Untainted, a branch of the Fey that have been exiled from our world for hundreds of years. They stand apart from the six other courts due to their hatred of half breeds like Niall.

There is also some insight into the Warders and how they function. Niall is sent on his first mission as a Warder, and this acts as a nice subplot to the main story. I would love to learn more about the Warders in the next book. The author hints that there is more to tell regarding how Garvin, the Warders leader, came to be where he is now and I would really like to know.

I have to admit that Sixty One Nails caught me by surprise. I didn’t expect to be so won over by it. As I said earlier it was purchased on impulse and was from an unknown author. With The Road to Bedlam I expected something great and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s fantastic to see an author finding his stride and start to really flex his creative muscles. I’ll certainly be buying book 3. I’m already looking forward to it.

The Road to Bedlam is due for release in the UK at the beginning of September.

[Dee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, just not really satisfying at all. I was looking forward to seeing the polish of practice smoothing out some of glitches that marred the first book, but instead they seem to have got worse, and many of the good elements of the first one were not repeated here. This is far less tight that the first one, and where Sixty-one Nails was pretty non-stop and pacey, this spends pages woffling about, as our narrator steps us through moral or mental processes, many of which had been discussed previously anyway. It felt like endlessly churning over the same space, not really moving anything forward. Like a car bogged in the mud.

Separately, both the girls-lost-to-the-sea storyline and the fate-of-his-daughter storyline are fascinating and have some really interesting material - and I can totally see the thematic link in there (I should, he beats us over the head with it explicitly) - but they were never really interwoven in the novel, making it feel more like the seaside story was shoved into the middle to make things longer - and Raffmir popping up at random to Be Portentious didn't help at all. And I was looking forward to some digging into Bedlam and the relationship of insanity to society (especially given the excellent work in the first one with arcane legal ritual and magic), but actually there was just a passing reference.

I am disappoint. Pretty mediocre. Won't be reading further.

[Woodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last October I read the first book in this series, 61 Nails, and I found it to be original and endlessly interesting and imaginative. The protagonist, Niall Peterson, lives in modern day London and suddenly finds out that he has part Fey ancestry and begins to learn of the world and powers that come with it. In this second book, Niall's teenage daughter begins to exhibit Fey powers of her own. She's kidnapped and Niall is initially duped into believing she's dead. Just as he learns she's not, some other complications enter into the Fey world. Like the first book, I found this one to be endlessly imaginative and a fun story to follow. I liked the unpredictableness of the plotting. It may not be rich in characterization, but the richness of the story makes up for it. I was particularly interested in the character of Raffmir too. An interesting villain.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, irritating protagonist

I liked the plot of both this story and the previous one in the series. However, in this story I found the main character's way of interacting with the villain really cringe. If you need to deal with a person that has more power than you, the best that you can do is gain his respect, or get more power. You don't do that by telling him "Mom said don't hit me" or "I know you're up to something" or nagging him to tell you something. And if you have to accept his help, you don't provide him a running critique of what's wrong with the way he provides it. Real beta male behavior.

[Jenny Macdonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following on from Sixty One Nails this is the 2nd book in a lovely magical trilogy.In the footsteps of Neil Gaiman, these books feature another world running alongside a modern England where Niall tries to adapt to his newly discovered powers and deal with a centuries old feud between humans, The Gifted and the Feyre. Excellently written, Mike Shevdon manages to merge the magical into modern establishments featuring Bedlam, Portland Down and even the crown.Exciting and suspenseful can't wait to start the third and final book.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent followup to 61 Nails.

The book had me in tears at the beginning and at the end I was cheering, conflicted, and concerned. Shevdon does an excellent job fleshing out a believable world and believable characters. They have concerns and foibles - fae and human both.

I would say that the second book had a tighter more tense plot. I hope the third novel continues that trend. Book three can't come soon enough.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot more action in this than the first, which depending on your preference, might be a good thing. I liked it. I didn't like the extreme change in Blackbird's personality, just because she was pregnant. Didn't make any sense. Look forward to the next one.

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story continues to be thrilling, the main character relatable, and the worldbuilding quite imaginative.

[Anushka Sierra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible that so many people were involved in the writing and editing and publishing of this book, and yet not one thought to raise a red flag or maybe get the author on a list for the creepy way he's writing about adolescent girls.

About a 14 year old:

I rolled her on to her back and pulled apart her blouse, popping buttons with a bodice-ripping tug. I half-hoped she would open her eyes and slap my face for being so presumptuous, but she lay inert while I pressed my ear to her chest, listening for a heartbeat.

Minor spoiler: He then hands the same girl over to an ancient Fey (?) who 'accepts' sacrifices of 'willing' virgins in return for the town's prosperity.

I wondered whether this was really what Shelley needed, but then I realised that, more than anything else, Shelley needed a chance at life.

I wish I could say that the immense creepiness began or ended there. Later on, after all the action has concluded, the protagonist revisits Creepy Subplot Town and confers with the friendly priest who helped him solve the mystery of the missing girls.

Friendly Priest: "He's taken a liking to Shelley. Think she's a bit young for him, personally."

Niall the Creepy Protagonist: "How old is he?"

Priest: "Hard to say. She's just a kid, though."

Niall: "She'll grow."

Priest: "Aye, she will now. Where did you go?”

Niall, you humongous creep, Shelley's as old as your daughter is.

Actually let's take a look at how Niall thinks about the daughter he's spent the entire book trying to save:

She appeared in the doorway. "You need to take me shopping," she said. Her hair was jet-black.

"There'll be time for that later."

"You always say that. I don't have any clothes. I haven't even got any bras." She looked down and her breasts visibly swelled inside her jumper. She looked up at me innocently.”

"How am I supposed to buy you new clothes if you keep changing size?" I asked.

"Maybe I need different sizes for different days," she said. "Maybe I need a lot of new clothes."

"Maybe you can have jeans and a T-shirt and you do the rest with glamour?" I suggested.

"Oh, Dad! I have nothing to wear. Literally nothing!" Her clothes switched back to the hospital gown. I was sure it was more transparent than it had been originally.”

Kinda want to clean my brain out with bleach now.

In the book's universe, the Feyre consider adulthood to be whenever one's magic sets in. And even when talking about his daughter, Niall doesn't disagree. He can't -- because he's being used as a mouthpiece for how the author perceives adolescent girls:

“She's not ready for adulthood."

"She has power, she's of an age to bear children. Those are all the qualifications you need."

"She'll need some time to adjust," I insisted.”

I think I already talked about the casually sexist themes in book 1 of this series (Sixty-One Nails). I honestly thought Book 2 would provide much needed relief from that, since it featured Niall's daughter prominently.

I have so many regrets.

[Noone · Rating 2 out of 5]

An incredibly weak and disappointing opening to a second book.
The grieving was very well done. The entire section about Alexes demise and the impact of such a loss was very believable. But it was glaringly obvious immediately to the reader that she isn't dead so the entire section had an incredibly hollow feel to it because you know it is all for nought. It goes on and on and on and you know the entire time. It's incredibly frustrating and feels like a huge waste of my time.
The way that the mc doesn't realize what's going on is pathetic as well. The first book convinced us that he was able to rapidly analyze and make good decisions under stress but now this? Everything that happened was extremely suspicious. This is so incredibly unbelievable that I can't even put my frustration into words. Dropped roughly 1/10 in. I skimmed a bit first and it seems 1/5 of this book is just this absurd bs even an oblivious reader will pick up on in the first 10 pages.
Sad.

[Brandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

When last we left Niall Peterson he had just landed on his feet after having been thrown into the world of fey. In the conclusion of the first book, Sixty-one Nails, Niall joined the Warders, the security squad of the fey council. Although having met a lot of different fey, we had still to get any real introduction into any of the particular fey courts.
I thought the idea of the warders was excellent, and can see how useful it will be in placing Niall at the center of the games the fey play.
I wont talk too many specifics about the plot in this book, but if you havent read it past the first hundred pages in The Road to Bedlam you'll probably be able to extract spoilers from it anyway, so think about that before continuing reading this.

As mentioned the previous book ended with a real opener into the fey world, and i thought this second book would provide even more universe-building and magic-system developing, which is a large part of what i enjoy in UF.
In that regard i dont think it delivered properly.
It starts out promising as the seventh court make a rare appearence in the council, i had hoped this would provide a lot of insight into the workings of fey politics, but our eyes - Niall Petersen, is herded away to work on some case unrelated to the major plotline/issue.
From page 100-350 the story had a lot of trouble keeping it interesting. The case Niall gets send on seemed to be a diversion, and a filler constructed so that small hints could be served with some time between them in order to set up the final conflict which is unrelated. Then when Shevdon is done with that, and the time is right, Niall resolves the case quickly, and the ending finally starts.

This book had a lot less dialogue than the first book. I thought the dialogue in the first book was really well done, and i missed it a bit in this.
Antiheroes have become very popular in fantasy, and i think one of the reasons for that is the lack of moral meanderings from such characters.
Its just so tiresome listening to a powerful good-guy ponder whether he is evil because he does whatever it takes to save the ones he loves, when we know he is going to do it regardless (and we have followed that exact same reasoning in so many fantasy books already).
Niall seemed to have 3-4 moral issues that he gave a lot of energy to, and they got too repetitive and tiresome to follow along the way.
Example (beware small spoiler) - Is his daughter the same should he manage to get her out from where she is kept?
We KNOW he is going to try and save her no matter what, he have no reason to believe she will be "changed", so why drag the readers through moot issues?
It felt as though Shevdon was stalling for time, and at times that he used the "moral-meanderings" as a way of recapping what we already know from previously.

The first book was a pure 1. person narrative with one or to places where it slipped into 3. person. This book still uses 1. person when dealing with Niall, but uses 3. person a lot more since we also follow Blackbird.
We get some insight into the other characters in the wardens, but not much, and Raffmir from the 7th court has himself tangled up in everything once more.
When dealing with Raffmir in book one Niall adopted the muck politeness and rhetorical smoothness which Raffmir himself deploy to a very pleasant effect. I think that it shows power and strength to deal with your enemies politely when you have nothing to benefit from being rude. In this book, however, Niall constantly acts childish everytime Raffmir shows up. I can appreciate it that he dont like him, but considering the stakes, what does it matter what he thinks personally - Put on the gameface and just go with it.
The character of Niall dissapointed me there, he is suppose to be the link between the seventh court and the mongrels, and i wish he would embrace his dark side a bit more, or at least show some respect for the power of it. (Definately wished he had come of more as an angry father on a quest for vengeance in the final battle, than some sort of moral policeman there to monitor who it was alright to kill and who not, after 250 pages with no action, and a lot of fear for his daughter, i was very much rooting for blood).

The ending touched some of the major plotlines, and i finally got some of my curiosity from the first book satisfied. This books major purpose, in regards to the bigger picture, was to get blackbird through her pregnancy and integrate Alex into the story. It did that neatly, but i'd hoped for more worldbuilding. The magic-system got worked on a bit through the middle, and it's still awesome, but still could have gotten an even bigger part of the story.
Overall i've given this book 4 stars because it had a lot of potential i didnt think it quite reached, it's still a good book, set in a very enticing world, but it could have been less cheap with info on the fey and the other characters.
I thought it would have been better had all the conflicts revolved around characters that had some importance in the overlying plotline.
Reading through my review here i can see that i might come off as a bit critical, but if i am its only because i have very high expectations.
This is some of the best Urban Fantasy i've come across, up there with Jim Butcher (almost) and Ben Aaronovitch, my two favourites at the moment.
I'm hoping for a more colourfull display of the universe in the next book, Strangeness and Charm.


From LotR, but sort of how imagine a wraith looks when it "powers up"..

[Paul Allard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting and interesting sequel to Sixty-One Nails

Niall’s adventures amongst the Fey continue as he gets involved in 3 difficult situations involving an investigation into missing children in Yorkshire, power machinations in the Fey and a situation with his daughter. Juggling this lot and looking for solutions take up the plot which generally moves along well. Few new characters are introduced but others are developed further. It’s certainly engaging stuff and I’ve bought the next in the series. Highly recommended.

[Cdmarker · Rating 1 out of 5]

Niyə də niyə. Niyə axı kişi yazıçılar hansısa pedofilistik bir şey daxil edirlər dəxli oldu olmadı kitablarına. Yəni ana xətlə əlaqəsi olmayan . Və söhbət təbii ki uşaq qızdan və qoca kişidən gedir. Tərsinə yox əlbəttə ki. Və bu, nəinki pis şey kimi göstərilmir, əksinə söhbəti elə fırladırlar ki danki əslində pedofil kişi bunu istəmirdi, sadəcə bu uşaq qızın xeyrinə idi ona görə pedofil özünü qurban verib qızla münasibətdə olmağa məcbur oldu. Öz şəxsi fantaziyalarınızı yazırsız ay kişi yazıçılar?

[manka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am afraid I have a weak spot for Raffmir...

I really enjoyed this one. The beginning, the twist, the ending. Niall's development.

The Seventh court involvement was nice, however, I find it slightly improbable: the Wraithkin cooperating with humans seems strange... so clever, though. It makes me like them.

[Hailey Welker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was just hard to follow, the beginning was pretty slow in my opinion, and too much happened towards the end. Looking back on the overall story I like it, but as a book I feel it was a bit drawn out 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking froward to more in this series.

[Stoic_quin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough. Continues in same vein as last series - a fragile peace exists that can be broken by ancient arrangements.

[Jan Crook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the series, loving the books

I like this style of writing, Mike Shevdons stories are creative and interesting, I'm currently making my way through the series

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. The action was great and I really enjoyed the world building.

[N.E. White · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Road to Bedlam by Mike Shevdon is the second book in the Courts of the Feyre series.

And I can’t wait for more. Mr. Shevdon has created a world I want to spend a long time in and with Niall Peterson, our hero of these stories, I know I’ll be in good hands.

The story in The Road to Bedlam begins nine months after the concluding events in Sixty-One Nails. Niall is training hard to be a Warder of the courts and Blackbird is well on her way to being a mom for the first time in her 800 year existence (give or take a few years, don’t quote me on her age).

But not all is well in Feyre land for Niall receives the worst call any parent can possibly imagine: Niall’s first daugher, Alex, has been in an accident. After rushing to the hospital, and signing away his consent to any and all treatment options for a mysterious biological disease, Niall and his ex-wife learn that Alex did not make it.

After the devastating loss of his daughter, Niall unexpectedly learns that maybe she did make it. But he has no time to figure it out because the Untainted have come for a visit. And despite what they may say and no matter how charming Raffmir may seem, nothing good can come of that. Niall is again pitted against both himself and the will of the courts in his quest to save his daughter and, unknowingly, the rest of the mongrels; half-Fey, half-human, the Tainted or Gifted.

Though not has fast paced as the first in this series, Mr. Shevdon does not disappoint his fans with The Road to Bedlam. The magical fabric of Mr. Shevdon’s world is deepened in this book. We learn more of how humans have lived alongside the feyre, and how that relationship has grown and changed with the rapid changes modern technology has brought. Niall gets to use some of his newly learned skills against humans and fey. The fight scenes are real and gritty. Intense enough to shock, and entirely believable.

The characters develop depth and nuances that will keep you guessing about their motives. I found the relationship between Raffmir and Niall quite interesting, and predict that these two will become either unwilling allies or will fight to the death in a most spectacular fashion. My only disappointment was there wasn’t enough chapters following Blackbird’s storyline. Though the discovery of Alex’s strange and scary powers made up for the lack of Blackbird. I look forward to meeting the newest member of Niall’s growing clan in the next book.

The use of magic is described in vivid shades of black, gray and violet, evoking some really cool imagery. Mr. Shevdon has a great talent in describing surreal scenes. The way Raffmir uses the Way-nodes reminded me of scenes in Tron (don’t ask, I know the book is nothing like Tron, but that’s what comes to mind), and the wraithkin’s ability to step through the fabric of space is unique. I’m definitely hooked on the series, and I think you will be too. Highly recommended.

The third in this series, Strangeness and Charm to be published by Angry Robots, is expected to be out sometime this summer.

[Kristin (MyBookishWays Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2013/08/...

Niall Petersen’s Feyre powers are increasing, and he’s been trying to find the right time to tell his teenage daughter Alex that she may have powers too. This becomes a moot point when there is a terrible accident at her school, killing three other girls, and also Alex. However, when Niall and his ex-wife, Kate, demand to see their daughter’s body, the hospital insists there was a biological contaminant involved in the accident, and they can’t expose anyone to that risk. Keep in mind, Blackbird is pregnant with Niall’s child so he’s got more than his daughter on his mind, and his grief is threatening to overwhelm him. Well, we already know, simply from reading the book description, that Niall must go find his daughter, so obviously she’s not actually dead. And I always go by the “If you didn’t see the actual dead body, then something isn’t right” theory, which most definitely applies here. In fact, when Niall tries to contact his daughter through a mirror, he calls attention to himself from some pretty nasty folks, and he and Blackbird must be moved to a safer place. Although, how safe it can possibly be with the Council in attendance, I’m not sure, but it definitely makes things interesting. Niall has been training to be a Warder for a while now, and although he’s not truly ready, necessity dictates he be sworn in, and he’s immediately given a task until they can safely look for Alex. This would be extremely frustrating for any parent, but he must follow instructions, and in the course of investigating the disappearance of a group of girls in a tiny seaside village, he also uncovers evidence of something very dangerous, and bigger than he could have imagined.

I was blown away by Sixty-One Nails and can’t believe I waited this long to read The Road to Bedlam! Just as in the first book, I was immediately immersed in the magic infused London that Mike Shevdon has created. To my delight, we get almost as much time with Blackbird as we do with Niall, and she’s as feisty as ever. Her weakness is with the pregnancy, she doesn’t have access to her considerable magic, but relying on her wits is not her weak point, and she has more than enough moxie to get by. She’s also not about to be cooped up while Niall is off on his investigation, so of course, trouble is bound to follow her. I felt like I was actually there with Niall in the rainswept town of Ravensby, and his ability to travel using the Ways is a very neat trick. The magic is charming and terrifying, and Mike Shevdon’s writing sparkles. This world of Feyre is one you’ll want to return to time and time again, and if you haven’t discovered this series yet, you’re in for a treat!

[Tish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a few of the reviews before I purchased this book on Amazon. Sometimes I wonder why I do that to myself. The reviews sometimes turn me off of a book at first. I'm glad I ignored the reviews and went with my initial feelings.

One of the reviews basically said the main character whines too much. Maybe we were reading different books or maybe we have seriously different ideas for the definition of whining. All I know is this wasn't the case as far as I could tell. Niall goes through some tough times in this book. He's torn between helping his daughter and following his duty. It takes a bit for him to understand that just running off without a plan is a bad way to help his daughter. He was a bit more stubborn that I'd have liked but I suppose when your daughter is kidnapped by a secret government organization bent on ridding her of her Feyre powers and possibly killing her or driving her mad in the process you might be a bit angry about the situation which would undoubtedly cloud your judgement. He could have made some better choices. That's certainly true though he hadn't even finished all of his Warder training and he's still getting used to being Fey so I suppose I can cut him some slack. He's kind of just thrown into a mission with no explanation as to what is even going on or what he's looking for. Not an ideal first mission but in the grand scheme I think he handled things pretty well.

I thought this was a very good follow up to Sixty-One Nails. This is one of the few times I didn't guess the ending before it happened. Honestly didn't see it coming and fooling me is tough. I usually have a book figured out before I'm halfway through but this one kind of stumped me. The ending was enough of a twist that I was surprised and worried about how it was all going to end.

I was very happy with this book. It has less of the issues with format that the first book did but that could be because there was less dialogue. It's well written and the pacing is perfect. Niall really does need to stop forgetting his sword though. There's a missing girl and you leave your sword on your bed? Not smart. It worked out in the end I suppose but it could have just as easily gotten him killed. Again though he's still not used to being a warder. If you liked the first book, you'll like this one too I think. It's a very good follow up.

[Jamie Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book just as quickly as the first one, it was just that good. I don't really like talking about what happened in the books because you can get a pretty good idea of that from the synapse that Goodreads provides as well as the other reviews from readers. Blackbird is way pregnant and about to pop and is off on her own path in bidding while Niall is on a new mission with the warders. I still feel like I really don't know who Blackbird is, she still seems a mystery to me and she's not really in this book as Niall and her are separated throughout the whole book. I hear the next book is more about his relationships so, maybe I'll learn more about her then. I do like how the progression of the relationship seems believable. Blackbird is pregnant yes, but it's a result of a first time coupling which realistically happens. Neither Blackbird or Niall have said the "L" word yet and they're not blindingly in love which tends to happen in books. If anything Blackbird is protective of Niall and her baby, and Niall is still trying to figure out where he stands.
I was quite shocked to see Alex's death in the first couple chapters, but can understand how that changes and forms Niall throughout the story. His mission to find these missing girls in the little sea town was an interesting one as well. Niall has to sit back and ask the right questions before rushing into anything. I feel like this book showed Niall's growth both as a character and also as a fey.
I feel slightly sympathetic to the wraithkin, even though they want to single handedly destroy all the "mongrel" or half fey. The wraithkin are who they are, elements of the void and even though they are tricky, devious and insidious you almost feel bad for them, but almost.
I don't want to give anything away, so all I'll say is that reading about teenagers is always annoying, no matter how you weave it into a story. Like the first book Mike Shevdon inserts little tidbits of historical facts in his story which I always find interesting. I love his style of taking what is real and twisting it. I can't wait to read the third book, Strangeness and Charm, I just have to wait for it to arrive in the mail. If you real and loved the first book as much as I did, then continuing the series is really a no brainier.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Road to Bedlam is the first sequel to Sixty One Nails. We are back with Niall, former human, now one of the fae (those mythological magical other humanoids), and training hard to be a kick-ass fae warder (something akin to the Secret Service of the fae, but there's only seven of them).

Then, one day, there is a major incident involving his teenage daughter (who lives with his ex-wife and is presumed human unless she starts showing some magical abilities).

The book kicks off with a hard, engrossing and horrific start. Hats off to Mike Shevdon for that. From there, the narrative is quite well structured and engaging, largely due to a decently constructed plot. However, the weaknesses of the first novel are back with a vengeance. Dialogue still goes in repetitive circles. Our narrator still spends half his time summing up his situation, mulling what his options are, explaining each of them in detail to the reader. Et cetera. The writing still skips and jumps between arch fae talk and undecorated communication. There is a noticeable lack of writing flair (or, if you are inclined to disagree with me on this point, a lack of "purple prose"). I also couldn't help feeling a bit bored by fight scenes and action sequences - these can work well on screen, but I find myself skimming across them in texts.

In many ways, this novel is on a par with the first, but I was hoping the writing would have been a bit more polished by now, the repetitions judiciously cut down by some hands-on editing, and the final product a bit less by-the-numbers. It's entertaining stuff, and I'll read the next in the series (because I've already bought it), but I have to admit, I am beginning to suspect that I won't get addicted to these. (Like Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, these books are quite entertaining, but ultimately, "filler" in my reading time, while I wait for other authors I *really* want to read to write their next novels / instalments)

[Timothy Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this series years ago, and am realizing I never reviewed the earlier books. I enjoyed the story in this one as much if not more than in the first book. This series definitely has an upward trend.

Here's my review from book one, Sixty-One Nails, to give a better idea of what this series has to offer:
I read this four years ago. It was my first urban fantasy, and really opened my eyes to how fascinating the idea of magic under the surface of everyday life can be. The character intrigue is built through a middle aged man who is struggling to stay above water, so to speak, as a divorced father. I really enjoyed him finding purpose and how he fought, not only for his daughter, but also for his world. Another great and unique aspect to this series is how authentic it feels to London and the myths of that area and culture. Shevdon uses local history to weave his Fey mythos in a believable and exciting way. I loved the magic system and how our main characters discovered, developed and exercised their powers for good. This is one of my favorite books, and not even one of the best in the series.

I also interviewed Mike on my podcast to discuss this series and Urban Fantasy:
http://www.adventuresinscifipublishin...

[. · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3 full stars)
After struggling to get through the overworked Sixty-One Nails (Courts of the Feyre, Book 1), I decided to give Mike Shevdon's writing another chance. Fortunately Road to Bedlam (Courts of the Feyre, Book 2) was a definite improvement over it's predecessor. Although still a bit wordy through the middle, there was comparatively more action in this second book, which helped the story along immensely. While the first book took me a painful 6 days to labor through, Road to Bedlam only took a tolerable 3 days... evidence of the vast improvement in Shevdon's writing.

The story pick up right where the last leaves off and continues on with Niall's story as he trains as a Warder, learns the ways of and his place in this new world of the Fay. Along with his duties as a Warder, Niall must fight to save his daughter Alex, keep Blackbird and his unborn child safe, all will enduring numerous encounters with Raffmir.

I did enjoy this read.. although not my favorite book ever, a decent read non the less. I commend Shevdon on cutting some of the fat that hindered the fist book and look forward to further growth in the next book in the series.