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Books › A madness of angels, or, The resurrection of Matthew Swift

Cover of A madness of angels, or, The resurrection of Matthew Swift

A madness of angels, or, The resurrection of Matthew Swift

458 pages

A frantic, neon-lit plunge into a hidden, magical London where the city's grime and electricity pulse with dangerous life.

What it feels like

Reading this book feels like standing on a damp London street corner at midnight, overwhelmed by the hum of neon lights and the rush of passing trains. It is a deeply atmospheric, sensory-rich experience that transforms the mundane detritus of urban life into something profoundly magical and dangerous. The narrative moves with a frantic, electric energy, mirroring the fractured, collective consciousness of its resurrected protagonist. The prose is dense, rhythmic, and unapologetically lyrical, demanding that you slow down and absorb its gritty poetry. It will absolutely delight readers who crave weird, dark urban fantasy where the city itself is a living, breathing, and often hostile entity, offering a hallucinatory journey through the shadows of the modern metropolis.

Mood
  • neon-drenched
  • grimy
  • electric
  • chaotic
Tone
  • frantic
  • lyrical
  • cynical
  • hallucinatory
Pace
brisk
Themes
urban alienation · fractured identity · the magic of the mundane · vengeance and rebirth
The writing
Dense, rhythmic, and sensory-overloading, the prose reads like a frantic love letter to the grime and electricity of modern London.
The arc
The protagonist moves from a state of disoriented, vengeful fragmentation toward a powerful, albeit unsettling, acceptance of a new, collective identity.
Who it's for
Fans of gritty, weird urban fantasy who crave highly atmospheric, lyrical writing where the city itself feels like a living, breathing character.
Content notes
  • graphic violence
  • body horror
  • gore
  • murder

About the book

"Two years after his untimely death, Matthew Swift finds himself breathing once again, lying in bed in his London home. Except that it's no longer his bed, or his home. And the last time this sorcerer was seen alive, an unknown assailant had gouged a hole so deep in his chest that his death was irrefutable...despite his body never being found. He doesn't have long to mull over his resurrection, though, or the changes that have been wrought upon him. His only concern now is vengeance. Vengeance upon his monstrous killer and vengeance upon the one who brought him back."--dust cover flap.

Description from Open Library.

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