Customer Reviews

Demon Bound (Black London, Book 2)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm now officially completely in love with the Black London series. I enjoyed Street Magic immensely and this follow up is equally good, if not better, though it does have a cliffhanger ending that will make it a long and hard wait for the next one in the series. Jack Winter is a blunt, forceful and unapologetic character who fascinates me on a par with Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden. The author's rich writing of Jack's Manchester accent is such that I can hear him in my head when I read, and the development of his complicated relationship with Pete adds further interest to the fast-paced action of the story (there's a demon after Jack, who's bargain has come due). Excellent, very edgy urban fantasy.

Punk rocker Jack Winter died thirteen years ago, but walks the streets of London because he made a Faustian deal with a demon in which he bought time (see Street Magic) but now the mage is back on the brink of death again. As the demon scorns his mortality, Jack fought death before and plans to do so again; as he will not go mildly into the night. His muse to live is Detective Inspective Pete Caldecott who saw him make that original deal when she was a teen.

Jack has kept Pete in the dark about his deal. She is irritated with him because she senses he is hiding something from her. When he goes to Thailand in a Hail Mary ploy to save his life, she follows him; not understanding what is going on, but knowing whatever it is will prove nasty.

The second grim tour of Caitlin Kittredge's Black London is bleak and gruesome as the shadows seem ubiquitously ready to reach out to abduct the souls, minds, and bodies of the innocent. Jack is terrific as he faces his "maker" while Pete is his reason to live; in his mind she is a much nobler cause than his previous quest for life. Fans will relish this extremely dark urban fantasy as the malevolent and sinister stalk and lurk everywhere while wondering if Jack can survive having died once before.

Harriet Klausner

First, the chapters in my copy are all messed up. I don't think it makes a difference, as everything seemed to be there and nothing missing, but it's annoying and someone really screwed up big time when it came to proofing for chapter numbers. Even the ebook I bought is screwed up that way.

For the story itself, I don't think it was nearly as interesting as the first one. Pete's POV in the first book is what really moved it along for me. Jack is a mystery, and an emotional attachment, that Pete is learning to deal with. In this book, from Jack's POV, he's not nearly such a likable character. Yes, we get to learn more about Jack's past, and what's going on. But Jack cuts himself no slack and really isn't a nice person, and never was. He has feelings for Pete, yes, but that's about as far as his humanity goes. He had my sympathy a lot of the time, but that's not nearly the same thing.

Also, the detailed descriptions in the first book that was on the verge of being a bit for me much seemed to weigh this story down. Do we *really* need such loving descriptions -every- single time Jack lights up a cigarette? (Which he does quite a bit!) So much description at times seem to hide the fact that nothing was really happening for several pages on end. I think the author would do better to tighten it up and not dwell on so many mundane details.

It's not a bad second book, but Jack's head is just not where I'm interested in being. I hope the next book we get back into Pete's POV.

This is the second in the Black London series. 'Demon Bound' develops the relationship between rogue urban mage and sometime heroin junkie Jack Winter and his nemesis and lover, Detective Inspector 'Pete' Caldicott.

Whereas 'Street Magic' came in the main from Pete's point of view, this second book is written more from Jack's perspective, and the reader finally discovers exactly what did happen thirteen years ago to allow Jack to cheat death. However, old debts are now coming due ...

'Demon Bound' fully lives up to the standards imposed by the first book, 'Street Magic'. There is clear and credible character development, and the growing and deepening of Jack's old bond with Pete is also realistic and believable -- thankfully, as it would be a crime to waste two such strikingly original and intriguing characters.

In my review of 'Street Magic' I commented on the drawback of the characters' imperfect 'Britspeak' - the most jarring incongruities have mostly been ironed out of their speech in this second book, although the idiomatic vocabulary for Jack and Pete is not quite perfect yet (as a lifelong resident of London I have yet to hear anyone addressed as 'you big pair of knickers'). Lawrence the Rasta's accent and vocabulary, however, are flawlessly executed -- he is in general an interesting and gentle character and I hope to see more of him in future books.

I greatly looked forward to the publication of 'Demon Bound' and was not disappointed - the plot was fast-paced but had enough depth to avoid the risk of superficiality, and the author has a real talent for creating interesting, many-layered characters who catch and hold the reader's attention -- even the very minor ones like Robbie and Trixie. Roll on Black London III.

This book is from the perspective of Jack, a mage from a broken home who can't quite kick that smack addiction. Thirteen years ago, Jack made a deal with a demon, and now the time is nigh. He must break contract or be dragged into a hell with no escape. The novel begins with him lying and rationalizing his decision to lie. Let me make it clear: I did not like skinny junkie Jack in book one, and in book two he's worse (the front cover illustration is way off).

Apparently Pete (who is nearly 30 years old) quit her lifelong career as a police investigative detective to be with him, because suddenly they have a free-lancing business banishing ghosts that Jack couldn't give a flying *recurring-dated-British-slang-word* about. This is the beginning of story flow breakdown, because even though Pete is no longer policing, she regularly uses police resources because of 'old contacts'. I don't think it works that way, and I really didn't understand how end book one Pete transformed into book two Petunia.

Jack only cares about saving Pete from being associated with him, and he lies creatively to avoid facing reality. Lies catch up, and the author leaves an entire half-book storyline about a haunted house unresolved as Jack runs. He runs to Bangkok, where his old mentor Seth appears in a too-convenient fashion.

As for out-witting the demon, I found the ending a big dose of deus-ex handwaving, laid on especially thick slices of hell and destiny, for both Jack and Pete. The author decides arbitrarily which mythology trumps another throughout the book, is not consistent with regards to this, and by the ending, I thought Kittredge had no underlying theme. Bad world-building combined with being too gritty dramatically and not enough shown explanations (Jack tells Pete what things mean, but we know he is an unreliable narrator and liar) ruined the story flow. The only consistent theme I found was Jack screwing up Pete's life, and a steady stream of inventive sarcasm.

If rational logic is something you like in urban fantasy, if clear world-building is necessary for your stories, and if you don't like liars, you'll dislike Demon Bound. If what you want is a dose of spooky on the gritty side, a fast pace, a charming troublesome jerk who does magic tricks, and don't enjoy thinking about books, then you'll like it. Personally, I'm done with this author.

I've been in a rut lately, having read all of books by Patricia Briggs, Jocelyn Drake, Faith Hunter, Jennifer Estep and Karen Chance. I was sure I had gotten the genre out of my system, but then the Black London books showed up in my recommended books list. I was captured by the gritty storyline, the Celtic mythology woven throughout, and the wonderful character development. I truly appreciated that both Pete and Jack were flawed, were neither superhuman nor completely altruistic, and were both consumed and fed by their powers. I enjoyed the complexity and rawness of it all, and I wasn't put off by the British slang like other reviewers. It faded into the background easily and I even had fun looking some of the more obscure phrases. I sincerely hope there will be a book 3 in the series.

There are a few things I enjoyed in the book. The gritty magic which Kittredge takes to the next level in this book with necromancers, fey, and death knocking on the door, then we have the banter and love/hate relationship between Jack and Pete. This couple is not for everyones taste (even the other characters in the books hate Jack), but I do love their sarcasm to cover some feelings and the brutal honesty toward each other on other feelings. Pete seems to be the one more honest and Jack seems to avoid the truth or tell lies until he has no other option.

This book seems to focus a little more on Jack and his past come back to bite him. When the book started Jack really came across to me as a royal *ss. And his royal treatment didn't seem to be aimed at one person but to everyone, even Pete whom he feels for and will protect her with his life. I even started to think Jack was like that mean little boy is school that loves to torment and pick on that one girl he really liked. As you see more into the depths of the characters through other emotions and situations you start to see there is more to them and see their growth. Pete, herself, has a tough rough exterior to her as well. She can dish out and take the punches, physically and verbally, with Jack and the best of them.

I was a little let down in I hoped this book would be geared more toward Pete learning to use her magic and growth, but it was set more for Jack. Which is a great story! I was just hoping for more Pete. I did get the feel this book has some of the second story or middle books syndrome. This book seemed to be the shifting book for the next story in plot and character setting. I do think with the way this book ended I will get more of Pete in the third one along with more on the Black and their guardians they work for.

I just finished reading Demon Bound by Caitlin Kittredge, and I must say that it was a refreshing step into a darker urban fantasy world. I have read both the Nocturne City series and both of the Black London novels thus far, and Black London has my attention. I find it incredibly original and unforgiving.
Kittredge's characters, both Pete and Jack, are not the classic urban fantasy "I'm awesome and beautiful and perfect and I'm going to kick your butt! Everything is rainbows and butterflies...yay!" Instead, Kittredge gives us extremely flawed characters that will kick your arse if you look at them the wrong way.
Stand out scene for me....Jack's slight relapse back into his heroin addiction. Intense writing!
I can't wait for the next one.

Demon Bound is a decent follow-up to Street Magic, although I didn't like it quite as much as the first one. In this installment of the series, Pete Caldecott has left the police force, and she and Jack are working together as sort of a supernatural detective team. Jack is struggling with his feelings for Pete, and there's trouble coming. We learn how Jack survived that fateful day in Highgate Cemetery 13 years earlier: he owes a demon his soul, and that demon has come to collect.

This premise makes for an interesting plot, and Kittredge's gritty world is developed even further. Midway through the book, the action switches from England to Thailand, and the book loses a little of its steam. Part of what I liked best about the first book was the paranormal underbelly of Jack and Pete's London. Once the characters were in Thailand, the world didn't really click for me as much.

Still, I enjoyed the book. Pete and Jack are compelling characters, and I liked that this book is from Jack's point of view so we get a look inside his head. The story is a good one, and the ending made me want to grab the next book and tear right into it. Too bad it won't be out for a while.

The biggest question that readers were left with after 'Street Magic', the first book in Caitlin Kittredge's Black London series, was how Jack Winter survived 12 years prior, when attacked by a malevolent spirit. 'Demon Bound' quickly answers that question, and spends the rest of the book searching for the answers to the resultant problems. As the title suggests, Jack made a deal with a demon; Jack got 13 years to live, and in exchange, the demon gets his soul. Now time is running out.

I wrote in my review of 'Street Magic' that Kittredge had turned many of the norms of urban fantasy books on their heads, and she continues to do that here. Jack is an addict. It isn't pretty, it isn't nice, and Kittredge does a far better job of portraying that in 'Demon Bound' than 'Street Magic'. He can be abusive, abrasive, irresponsible, and a liar. But underneath all of that, and underneath the fear, he does care. As he says, he's not any type of knight, white or otherwise, but he is going to do his best. Although it gets a little lost in the narrative at times, Jack's journey is one of the best parts of this book. One of the clearest ways to measure his progress is to pay attention to the evolution of the explanation that he gives for having made the deal with the demon. 'Demon Bound' is written from Jack's point of view, and although the change is a bit rocky at the beginning of the book, by the middle Kittredge seems to settle in.

Pete remains her rock-steady self; she is far from the overly emotional heroines seen in many other books. She has no problem calling Jack to account, but takes responsibility for her own decisions. The secondary characters interesting, and are never quite what they seem. Kittredge has made progress from her horrible British colloquialisms of 'Street Magic', but there is definitely still room for improvement.

'Demon Bound' takes Jack and Pete out of London, to the Moors of England and the cities and jungles of Thailand. The settings are just as important to the story here as London was in 'Street Magic', and just as well written. Unfortunately, Kittredge's descriptions of the backgrounds are excellent, they loose some of their effectiveness because she uses the same description on the mundane, relentlessly, for example, every time Jack lights a cigarette.

The storyline of 'Demon Bound' is interesting, but the ending is where all the promise really comes together. Kittredge's distinctive choices will not leave readers disappointed. Jack's self-discovery reaches the crescendo it has been building towards as the final scenes play out, but it is not until the very end that it all truly coalesces. Readers won't be able to wait for the next book to see who he has become.