Street Magic (Black London, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Caitlin Kittredge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 2009

Her name is Pete Caldecott. She was just sixteen when she met Jack Winter, a gorgeous, larger-than-life  mage who thrilled her with his witchcraft. Then a spirit Jack summoned killed him before Pete’s eyes—or so she thought. Now a detective[MSOffice2] , Pete is investigating the case of a young girl kidnapped from the streets of London. A tipster’s chilling prediction has led police directly to the child…but when Pete meets the informant, she’s shocked to learn he is none other than Jack. Strung out on heroin, Jack a shadow of his former self.  But he’s able to tell Pete exactly where Bridget’s kidnappers are hiding: in the supernatural shadow-world of the fey.  Even though she’s spent years disavowing the supernatural, Pete follows Jack into the invisible fey underworld, where she hopes to discover the truth about what happened to Bridget—and what happened to Jack on that dark day so long ago…

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The first in the Black London series, this dark tale takes Kittredge's supernatural shadows to the next level. At 16, Pete Caldecott witnessed the apparent death of punk rocker Jack Winter after he raised an ancient spirit. Twelve years later, Det. Insp. Caldecott has followed in her dead father's footsteps at Scotland Yard. She follows a tip about a missing child and finds Jack, now a heroin junkie claiming intimate knowledge of a parallel realm called the Black. As Jack detoxes and more children disappear, he joins Pete's quest to find them, teaching her to use hexes and spells as well as her physical abilities in the fight against a rising dark power. Kittredge (the Nocturne City series) knows how to create a believable world, and her fans will enjoy the mix of magic and city grit. (June)
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Review

Praise for STREET MAGIC:

 

“The first in the Black London series, this dark tale takes supernatural shadows to the next level…Kittredge knows how to create a believable world, and her fans will enjoy the mix of magic and city grit.”  --Publishers Weekly

 

"Sensual and empowering, STREET MAGIC is an urban fantasy keeper of a tale.  Magic, mayhem, the action never stops, I engulfed every single word and can't wait to go back for more." --Romance Junkies

 

"Atmospheric and filled with a gritty realism...the novel crackles with conflict and perilous magic.  For those who love their urban fantasy hypnotically treacherous, this book's for you!" (4 1/2 stars) --Romantic Times BOOKreviews

 

"Kittredge introduces readers to the dark side of life and magic in a well-formed fictional world with characters that you can’t help but like.  STREET MAGIC jumps right in to non-stop supernatural action, taking urban fantasy fans on a wild and bumpy ride.  I’ll be looking forward to seeing where Pete and Jack lead us next." --Darque Reviews

Praise for the Nocturne City series:

“Kittredge is a winner!”—Jim Butcher

“Fast-paced, sexy and witty with many more interesting characters than I have time to mention.” --Fresh Fiction

“Dark and cutting edge.” —Romantic Times

“Smart, gutsy.”—Karen Chance

 “Hot, hip, and fast-paced.”—Lilith Saintcrow

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; Original edition (June 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031294361X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312943615
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #358,527 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Caitlin Kittredge is the author of the Nocturne City series, as well as several short stories. She is the proud owner of an English degree, two cats, a morbid imagination, a taste for black clothing, punk rock, and comic books. She's lucky enough to write full time and watches far too many trashy horror movies. Visit her website at www.caitlinkittredge.com to learn more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good start - with one major drawback, August 12, 2009

By 

Reader "Marek" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Street Magic (Black London, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is an extremely good start to a series - well-structured and original, with unexpected plot developments and convincing characters who are deep and finely-drawn enough to hold the reader's interest. Rather than just presenting us with a cardboard cut-out hardboiled-but-vulnerable heroine and bad-boy anti-hero, the author slowly peels back the layers of backstory at judicious intervals throughout the book to reveal credible reasons for Pete's prickliness and Jack's damage. She also avoids overstretching the suspension of disbelief that is necessary for any fantasy story, by inserting authentically gritty touches - such as the grim realities of using heroin to numb mental pain.

The Black and its assorted denizens are comparable to Simon Green's Nightside, but only to the extent that fans of that series are likely to enjoy this one. Jack Winter's physical description is a touch reminiscent of Spike in Buffy the Vampire slayer, but a sly reference to Billy Idol (to whom Spike is an homage) in the text indicates that this is a conscious credit rather than a crib.

So why only 3 stars? Because the catch is that while the book is set in London, it is not written by an English native, and while the direct speech might be enough like that of a Brit to be accepted in the US, to an English reader it sets the teeth on edge and spoils what is otherwise a very impressive read. The mistakes are subtle, but grating - 'bugger all', for instance, is generally slang for 'nothing' in UK English and is inaccurately used here. Nor does using 'bloody' as punctuation in almost every character's dialogue (it appears at least twice on every single page) substitute for an authentic written English accent - the general effect is of something translated from another tongue by someone to whom UK English is a second language - grammatically accurate but the vocabulary use is just a bit off. If Ms Kittredge sorts out this weakness in future books, the Black London novels could become one of the best new series to hit the fantasy arena.

**Since first posting this review on Amazon.co.uk, other British readers have also commented adversely on Ms Kittredge's grasp (or lack thereof) of UK slang and speech patterns. It's a great pity, but there is still time for her to correct this one flaw before the next book in the series is published. Let's hope ...

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great start to a new series!, June 5, 2009

By 

DF "avid reader D" (East of the Mississippi) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Street Magic (Black London, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoyed this story so much! Pete (short for a horrible first name--but I won't spoil the surprize by telling you what it is!) and Jack Winter are opposites who attract. Both are foul-mouthed and take-no-prisoners personalities, but Jack is a jerk/thief/liar and Pete is a cop who is tough enough to do the job. Together their dialog and interactions are highly entertaining.

I was really impressed by the quality of writing in this book and intend to read the rest of the series. The author's Nocturne City books are a different sort of voice entirely,and I like this series start a lot more, frankly.

The only real flaws to this book were, for me, very ignorable. Some of the fight scenes were a bit too glossed over, and sometimes I found fault with them. Like, for example, when one sorcerer is dragging Pete along with her struggling, she's all helpless, and I didn't get the impression she was faking that. Yet in the next scene she gets free of him easily enough. We also have Pete not recalling the incident that leads into the story, and the reveal about that is a bit inconsistent and rough in that we aren't clearly shown when Pete is pretending not to remember the incident or when she actually doesn't. The moment of change is not clearly shown. It's minor stuff, but important nitty-gritty detail stuff that a good edit should have caught. These little inconsistencies are what dropped this from a five-star to a four-star review.

Overall, though, a great read--if you can handle the constant use of the "c word" and other foul language. (I know that puts some people off, but I found it suited the character of Jack.)

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great for US market..not so good for UK, July 20, 2009

By 

Katia WolfSwan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Street Magic (Black London, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

This could have been a great book, the world building is imaginative, the characters are cool and quirky. I was really looking forward to reading a new urban fantasy based in London as I'm from that part of the UK but I was sadly disappointed with the dialect. Okay, Kittredge gets it right in some places but very wrong in others. It's mainly to do with cussing, there was far too much of it for a start and some of the words like 'bugger all' were used in completely the wrong context. The word 'sod' and 'git' is rarely used unless you're a kid or you're in a dodgy soap opera where you don't have the authority to swear. It was unrealistic and instead of using those words she should have just left them out. I tried to get past it because I thought the storyline was good but it kept throwing me off course.

What a shame. I wouldn't have minded reading the next one but I don't think I would get through it.