A Madness of Angels – Kate Griffin
Hachette Livre Orbit, 2009
472 pages
RRP: AU$22.99
ISBN: 978-1-84149-733-4

Reviewed by Kate Smith

A Madness of Angels was a read that I could not put down, enjoyable not only because it was an interesting story but also because it was different to the norm of this genre of novel.  While the plot for the story does not appear to be particularly distinct from the blurb, from the first chapter it is clear that there is something different to Griffin’s work.  Matthew Swift is a sorcerer who has been fundamentally betrayed by his mentor and friend.  He must bring together groups with little in common apart from their enemy to find ways to trust each other and to work together to bring about the demise of the monolithic organisation that is the evil within London.  However, despite what appears to be several familiar story lines, including the seeking of revenge, there is so much more to this novel.

The novel begins in action and continues in that vein for almost five hundred pages, and the reader is left trying to get their bearings in the plot at the same time as trying to keep up with events as they unfold.  Griffin is also adept at making the reader question the concepts of good and bad.  Because Matthew is disoriented right from the first page of the story, the reader is kept uncertain also.  While the world he lives in slowly begins to orient itself, there are still moments when Griffin skilfully encourages the reader to wonder if Matthew is right in his assumptions after all.

Beyond this, however, everyone will react to the story in different ways depending on their perspective on life.  Griffin explores a number of concepts that seek to make the reader consider their approach to life and living.  The first is that life exists in everything, including the mundane.  It is very easy in modern society to forget that life is special in every way.  The small things are just as magnificent as the large and understanding this allows a much greater appreciation and enjoyment of life than many may currently hold.  Calling this ‘sorcery’ is part of the plot, however in the real world situation seeing ‘magic’ everywhere is not necessarily a bad thing.

The second is that humans, in their unique approach to the world, give life to things that are not animate.  We generate legends, we grow spirits from history, and in cities and buildings of great age we attribute power.  Griffin is not the first to use this concept of human belief creating living beings, but her method of writing and tying the idea so closely to a city people are familiar with makes the reader think closely about what she is saying.

While Griffin concludes her tale in a more than satisfactory way she still leaves the possibility for more novels in the future, novels that I would be very happy to read.  A Madness of Angels is well worth reading.