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Mike Carey
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Media
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Book
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Publisher | Orbit | ||
ISBN | 978-184149413 | ||
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Reviewer
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Gareth
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Synopsis
Felix Castor is a freelance exorcist, and London is his stamping ground. At a time when the supernatural world is in upheaval and spilling over into the mundane reality of the living, his skills have never been more in demand. A good exorcist can charge what he likes - and enjoy a hell of a life-style - but there's a risk: sooner or later he's going to take on a spirit that's too strong for him. After a year spent in 'retirement' Castor is reluctantly drawn back to the life he rejected and accepts a seemingly simple exorcism case - just to pay the bills, you understand. Trouble is, the more he discovers about the ghost haunting the archive, the more things don't add up. What should have been a perfectly straightforward exorcism is rapidly turning into the Who Can Kill Castor First Show, with demons, were-beings and ghosts all keen to claim the big prize. But that's OK; Castor knows how to deal with the dead. It's the living who piss him off...
Review
Felix Castor - a freelance exorcist fallen on hard times, forced to find work as a children's entertainer, and a bad one at that. It's not long before he finds himself embroiled in a case where there is more at stake than getting paid -his very life is on the cards.
Like all of Mike Carey's novels (graphic or otherwise), I enjoyed this immensely. Carey is a superb writer, able to keep his finger on the pulse and move the story on at lightning pace without sacrificing character or wit (and this story has both in spades!). Felix Castor is an interesting character -to me, he's a mix of Mike Hammer and John Constantine. He's not quite as edgy as Constantine (or Hammer for that matter) and I should imagine that there's a smidgen of Philip Marlowe in there somewhere too.
Carey's able to create this perfect mix of horror, supernatural and detective story without one element taking centre stage and overwhelming the plot, and his sense of humour is razor sharp as well.
I can't praise the Felix Castor novels enough - they've been one of the most consistently ace books I think I've read since the Shogun Saga (not that I'm making any comparisons between the two, it's simply that I've enjoyed every book I've read in the series, and for me that's quite rare).
I don't think you need to read the books in any order - they all refer back to each other- but this is a perfect place to start.
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