High above London on the rooftops of the city lives a secret society of misfits governed by a bizarre code of honour. It is known to only a few people on the streets below, until a murderous battle for leadership breaks out. Robert and Rose, two innocent outsiders, are drawn into a twilight world.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this ambitious first novel by a writer of short horror fiction ( City Jitters ), London film producer Robert Linden pursues the daughter of the late author of a book for which he would like to acquire rights. The deceased author's gutsy, adventurous neighbor Rose joins Robert in his search, which takes them to the rooftops of London, where those discontented with the dehumanized existence of urban life below have joined an alternative society that has thrived since the 1920s and continues under the leadership of former practicing physician Nathaniel Zalian. Now, however, it is threatened by Chymes, madman, necromancer and leader of a gang of drug addicts and skinheads. This cardboard villain with mystic trappings hopes to take over the rooftops, then the heart of the city, and has begun to perform torturous and grisly executions, modeled on alchemic processes, of victims whose blood he believes brings him strength. The alchemical symbology at first seems exotic, but it is put to little dramatic use: descriptions of the murders are graphic and horrifying but do not convey the power of ritual killings. Action scenes are fast paced and the conflict is well devised, but the novel is less enthralling than it would be if the charactersdefined almost entirely by their roles in the story linewere given either the mythic dimensions of comic-book characters or the complexity of real people. That the plot lapses into predictability would not detract from the tale if the reader cared more about the outcome.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
High above the streets of London lurks a rooftop society intent on conquering and destroying the world below. Fowler's first novel combines mystery, ritual murder, and the discovery of an ancient, lost art in a skillfully written story that should entertain readers of horror and speculative fiction. JC
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
Christopher Fowler was born in Greenwich, London. He is the multi award-winning author of thirty novels and ten short story collections, and the author of the Bryant & May mystery novels. His first bestseller was 'Roofworld'. Subsequent novels include 'Spanky', 'Disturbia', 'Psychoville' and 'Calabash'. His books have been optioned by Guillermo Del Toro ('Spanky') and Jude Law ('Psychoville'). He co-founded Creative Partnership, a company that changed the face of film marketing, and spent many years working in film. His memoir of growing up without books, entitled 'Paperboy', was highly acclaimed.
He has written comedy and drama for BBC radio, including Radio One's first broadcast drama in 2005. He writes for the FT and the Independent on Sunday, Black Static magazine and many others. His graphic novel for DC Comics was the critically acclaimed 'Menz Insana'. His short story 'The Master Builder' became a feature film entitled 'Through The Eyes Of A Killer', starring Tippi Hedren and Marg Helgenberger. In the past year he has been nominated for 8 national book awards. He is the winner of the Edge Hill prize 2008 for 'Old Devil Moon', and the Last Laugh prize 2009 for 'The Victoria Vanishes'.
Christopher has achieved several pathetic schoolboy fantasies, releasing a terrible Christmas pop single, becoming a male model, writing a stage show, posing as the villain in a Batman graphic novel, running a night club, appearing in the Pan Books of Horror, and standing in for James Bond.
His short stories have appeared in Best British Mysteries, The Time Out Book Of London Short Stories, Dark Terrors, London Noir, Inferno, Neon Lit, Cinema Macabre, the Mammoth Book of Horror and many others. After living in the USA and France he is now married and lives in King's Cross, London.
He has written comedy and drama for BBC radio, including Radio One's first broadcast drama in 2005. He writes for the FT and the Independent on Sunday, Black Static magazine and many others. His graphic novel for DC Comics was the critically acclaimed 'Menz Insana'. His short story 'The Master Builder' became a feature film entitled 'Through The Eyes Of A Killer', starring Tippi Hedren and Marg Helgenberger. In the past year he has been nominated for 8 national book awards. He is the winner of the Edge Hill prize 2008 for 'Old Devil Moon', and the Last Laugh prize 2009 for 'The Victoria Vanishes'.
Christopher has achieved several pathetic schoolboy fantasies, releasing a terrible Christmas pop single, becoming a male model, writing a stage show, posing as the villain in a Batman graphic novel, running a night club, appearing in the Pan Books of Horror, and standing in for James Bond.
His short stories have appeared in Best British Mysteries, The Time Out Book Of London Short Stories, Dark Terrors, London Noir, Inferno, Neon Lit, Cinema Macabre, the Mammoth Book of Horror and many others. After living in the USA and France he is now married and lives in King's Cross, London.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
C O O L !,
By A Customer
This review is from: Roofworld (Mass Market Paperback)
I picked up this little gem from my local library a few years ago, I sat down and read it, a few hours later I was disappointed to find the librarian telling me to leave, I was imagining myself flying through the air above Londons poor ground dwelling mortals below, I was mesmerised by the thought of a hidden society in this day and age of security cameras living an exciting but deadly lifestyle. Modern day London is rocked by a stream of horrific murders, two unlikely people are drawn into the roofworld community, people who have left the world below to pursue an alternative lifestyle, however a dangerous faction exists within their secretive society one dedicated to controlling the roofworld by any means. This is a horror novel, with some truely gruesome scenes, not for the faint hearted, I recommend this book to horror fans, it offers more than just the usual blood curdling screams. Go buy it borrow it just get it, read and enjoy.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marylebone never felt so special,
This review is from: Roofworld (Paperback)
I am not a new comer to Christopher Fowler's books, and have been waiting some time to get my hands on this early book. Normally a writer develops a style throughout his work, and if you read later works before the early stuff, you can feel disappointed, or e'en like you are reading the work of a different writer. Not so with Fowler. This early work is just as riveting as his later offerings. It is fresh and bright, for all its moody and dark descriptions. In this novel Fowler writes of a people who glid from roof to roof on wires, and dispise the world below for its corruption. However, factions develop in 'roofworld' and a war begins, this war means bodys on the ground. Apart from the mysterious dead falling from the sky there is a second, though equally important story based on the ground, that of a book deal. These two stories mix, ultimately becoming one very engaging read. Some parts of the book may appear obvious when you are reading them, but they turn out to be the opposite, and Fowler has merely duped you into thinking that you have heard it all before, and that you are so, so, clever. The London setting is fantastic, but some of the descriptions (of music or high culture, for example) are a little dated, but as long as you can remember them, you can wallow in the past, rather than becoming lost in things that don't exist anymore. As I had been looking forward to reading this for such a long time, I could easily have been disappointed; and I am not so great a fan that I cannot criticise. However this book, is nearly perfect. The story is well written and original enough to keep you suspending your disbelief, the setting is described so atmospherically as to allow you to visualise London whether you have been or not. The characters are engaging and are a wide enough mixture as to make youmourn their deaths and "whoop" at their trumphs. The bad point is theslight dating, and that is about it. This is a brilliant introduction to Christopher Fowler's work, and is good enough to make you want more. I highly recommend this to anyone, whatever type of book you usually like, forget prejudice and pick this up.
3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Takes itself too seriously,
By
This review is from: Roofworld (Mass Market Paperback)
Roofworld is very frustrating, in part because it could have been so much more. The protagonists are poorly constructed and the concepts, while great, do not take flight. The secondary characters in Roofworld form a freak show and the Roofworld's `Ambassador' is not introduced for some time - and then only as a shrivelling, pitiful character as the street world's main character. A few action sequences where we never get to fixate on one particular person makes this a very limp narrative.
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