So Below: Key to the City

Whyman is good at openings and this one is tremendous as Yoshi is pursued by the huge and awful man in the white mink coat until it seems he cannot escape. When he does, he finds himself unable to remember anything and in the world beneath London’s streets, where a motley collection of street children has been gathered and trained as magicians by old Julius Grimaldi, the knower of the secrets of this underground world. The fight against the dark powers may be conventional (in fiction anyway), the pace of the story a little uneven especially in the first half and the dialogue often flat, but it goes with a fizz when Yoshi starts performing his forgotten talents and recalling where he has come from in the final section. The magic tricks and the plot drama will keep many readers engrossed and this looks like the first part of an exciting sequence. AJ