Stealing Phoenix

Readers who enjoyed Finding Sky, Joss Stirling’s widely praised debut novel, will be happy to re-discover some of its characters and themes in this companion piece. It is, however, perfectly capable of being enjoyed in its own right, coming across as a highly diverting (and quite quirky) variation on the model usually designated paranormal romance. Set largely in a recognisably contemporary London, with lots of geographical and cultural references, the narrative focuses, in the romance department, on the relationship between the teenage girl called Phoenix (Phee) and the teenage boy called Yves, ‘my sweet, intellectual soulfinder’, as she describes him. For Phee, a member of the savant, psychic and thieving society known as the ‘Community’, masterminded by the ruthless figure of the ‘Seer’, a choice between the claims of Yves and the claims of this ‘Community’ has to be made. Her perception is that ‘He didn’t know what he was facing and I had to protect him from underestimating his enemies’.  In the implementation of her intentions she exhibits considerable ingenuity and vivacity, in the process discovering much about the complications of trust and loyalty and, incidentally, much about her own strengths and weaknesses. Stirling handles the psychic hi-jinks of her story with a degree of humour matched only by her depiction of the good-natured banter which typifies the various members of Yves’ large family; she handles equally adroitly – and very decorously – the physical dimensions of the teenagers’ mutual affections. Highly recommended.