[Pay attention to the cracked streets and the broken homes. Some call it slums some call it nice. I want to take you through a wasteland, I like to call my home. Welcome to paradise.]
Alright another one of @temporaryyuri favorite books.
“He was absolutely terrified,” she told detectives later. “Not only was he petrified by the question, but he was even more scared by the fact that I was the police.” pg. 13 Well yeah your the police your scary
“I knew Nightingale occasionally sneaks up for illicit rugby, so it might have been him.” pg. 15 Ha
“Nightingale was aghast at my lack of arboreal knowledge.” pg. 29 Ha
“The foxes would have had her up in no time.” pg. 31 Oh? I know foxes will be important
“Is this your case?”
“No, I don’t think this is us,” I said. “Thank God” pg. 32 It’s definitely their case
“I don’t think he takes me as seriously as he should” pg. 37 Ha
“Dr. Waild leaned forward as I talked-he at least appreciated a bit of empiricism.” pg. 42 That’s nice
“Abdul, please” said Nightingale. “Don’t give him any ideas.” pg. 42 Oh is that Dr. Waild’s first name? I could get on a Nightingale/Waild ship
“He’s a evil man,” I said
“And cunning” said Dr. Waild.
Nightingale eyed us placidly over the rim of his tea cup.
“Evil and cunning,” I said” pg. 43 Ha
“Nightingale who had become wise to my particular attitude with exploding forme had been standing well back and wearing a raincoat.” pg. 47 Ha
“This however is where we turn boys into men.” He paused and looked at Lesley. “And I suppose young women into women.” pg. 49 Ha
“We have a report of a rogue magician,” pg. 51 Oh
“So who did you learn this magic trick from?”
“From my mother of course” pg. 54 Oh is saying magic can be hereditary? Or can anyone do magic but they need to be taught?
“There must have been female practitioners even in your day.”
“There were some Hedge Witches,” said Nightingale “Especially out in the country side there always was. But there was nobody with formal training that I know of” pg. 56 Why were they called Hedge Witches? Who decided what formal training looks like? Just because they didn’t attend your all boys boarding school didn’t mean there couldn’t be an all girls school as well. Maybe the rogue magicians mother is transgender?
“I had four brothers and two sisters so I believe my father felt he could spare me.” pg. 57 Nightingale lore
“You’ve never talked about your family before,” I said
“I’m sure I must have,” he said
“Nope.” said Lesley
“Oh,” said Nightingale and then promptly changed the subject.” pg. 57 I wonder why Peter and Lesley don’t know about you Nightingale
“It was common for a son to follow in his father’s footsteps”
“But not his daughter?”
Nightingale shrugged. “It was a different age” pg. 57 Should have realized it was the age old reason misogyny :|
“But that, as they say, is a whole different counseling session.” pg. 60 Please get therapy
“Philip had an accent which I thought was Canadian but which turned out to be Californian.” pg. 73 Those two accents aren’t even close to the same thing. How could you confuse the two?
“Philip told me proudly that his mum had ceased to be a practicing Catholic the day after he came out.
“She says she will go back to the Church the day it apologizes” pg. 76 Aw she’s a good mom
“The French didn’t like magic, then,”
“Hardly,” said Postmartain. “They shut down all the universities. It was one of the unfortunate side effects of the French Revolution.” pg. 83 Which one?
“As soon as he got wind of the sport, Dr. Waild had insisted we wear cricket helmets and face guards when we played.” pg. 91 Dr. Waild continues to be the only sane man here. He needs a raise or a vacation
“They had wagered fag-days” pg. 92 What
“I was almost totally sure that the vestigia on the lock had been laid down more than twenty four hours earlier and that the Faceless Man was gone.” pg. 102 Oh no
“he must have been for a while. Days maybe.” pg. 105 Aw that’s sad :( the poor locksmith and maybe criminal
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Peter, but I’m not interested in talking to the monkey- just the organ grinder.”
I did take it the wrong way, although I was careful not to show it.” pg. 108 Rude
“It was one of the bits of paper, but I didn’t realize the significance of it until later.” pg. 111 Oh
“But I was only twelve at the time and easily distracted.” pg. 114 Nightingale was twelve when he started learning magic? Twelve? Distracted by what?
“But you might have missed some?”
“It’s possible-if they kept quiet.” pg. 115 I’m sure they kept quiet because they’re expatriates fleeing from WW2
“The servants quarters were turned into flats and Mrs. Stromberg was forced to cook herself.” pg. 121 The horror
“I told her that architects in those days truly believed they could make people better through architecture.” pg. 133 Oh is Peter’s architecture knowledge going to be important?
“I thought she was in your police club.” pg. 138 Ha
“Why don’t you join us?” Nightingale had asked her while she was busy brushing lint off the shoulders of his suit. “It would do you good to get out.” pg. 138 Yes go out and have fun Molly
“What’s she afraid of?” asked Lesley.
“I wish I knew,” said Nightingale.” pg. 139 Aw poor Molly :(
“James Lochrane” pg. 144 Hey the band from the second book!
“Then the Gods and Goddesses of the River Thames made their presence known.”
“The waiting onlookers went down on their knees around us” pg. 146 So dramatic
“Even Abigail went down until she realized that Nightingale, Lesley, and me were still standing.” Ha and did the rivers use their charm powers? Or is it just all the pomp?
“Perimeter sweep,” said Nightingale in his best command voice. “All three of you, now!” pg. 149 Oh what’s going to happen? Too much for the apprentices to handle?
“It looked like a late rock show or early Spielberg-fingers of golden light spilling through the trees and the gaps between the stalls.” pg.149 Someone’s excited and dramatic
“When she saw me she bustled over and, after hugging me, greeted Lesley and asked how she was.” pg. 154 Aw :)
“How e day do?” she asked in Krio” pg. 154 I love that Peter and his mom talk in Krio but it’s a little rude to talk about someone in a different language when they’re standing right there
“Four thousand pounds” pg. 156 Uh let me just covert that into dollars. $4,879.66 that’s a lot of money for dental work
“He was looming over her in the classic school disco manner while she had her arms folded and her face away from his,” pg. 159 Stay away from Abigail you creep >:(
“I recognized her-it was Beverly Brook.” pg. 161 Beverly!
“Oberon strode out of the mist toward us. A tall man with a square handsome face,” pg. 162 Bi Peter 11
“Hi, Zach” pg. 167 Zack from the previous book
“I found Abigail standing in front of a tall thin stall shaped like an oversized Punch and Judy booth.” pg. 168 Oh no not this
Usually I have some sort of theory at this point but I got nothing right now. Maybe something with Hedge Witches
“So far away,” she said, her hand toying with the lapel of my jacket. “A whole hour by car-forty minutes by train. From Paddington. They leave every fifteen minutes.” pg. 173 That’s not that far. Peter should have visited
“I got his name out of him and then got Reynard to sniff out his parents” pg. 184 As in Reynard the fox from the fables?
“two thousand degrees Fahrenheit according to Nightingale, which was just over a grand in real temperature.” pg. 187 Ha
“Varenka Debroslova - probably an alias-former live-in nurse to one Albert Woodville-Gentle, a.k.a the Faceless Man version one.” pg. 196 First of all too many letters in those names. Second of all oh no
“Varenka had not said a single word since she’d met us on the stairs.” pg. 197 Scary
“That didn’t stop Nightingale screeching to a halt outside in true Sweeney style and striding into the market, kicking down doors and putting the frighteners on the locals with some pithy Latin tags.” pg. 202 Nightingale is so cool
“You know,” said Zach, “until you came along I used to be the local loose cannon. Now people have started warning me about the dangers of accosting with you.” pg. 203 Ha
“Nochnye Koldunyi,” said Nightingale. “A Night Witch” pg. 206 Oh no
“That was seventy years ago - she’d be an old women.” She paused and narrowed her eyes at Nightingale. “Unless she doing the backward aging thing, like you.” pg. 207 Oh interesting
“Lesley lowered her hand from her face and nodded slowly.
“I think I might just do that.” pg. 213 Why did I get a bad feeling from this?? Nothings wrong why do I have bad vibes?
“He said, ‘He won’t let me go until the tower comes down,”
“Did he say who ‘he’ was?”
“Might not have been ‘he’” said Louise.
“It might have been they” pg. 218 Oh yes the mysterious ‘they’
“Molly always wore her most Edwardian servants outfit for these occasions and swept around the dining room so silently that even Nightingale was unnerved when she materialized suddenly at his elbow with the next dish.” pg. 219 Ha
“And if that fails, I’m sure Peter here can be relied on to blow something up.” pg. 221 Ha
“What happened to your face?” asked the women. “If you don’t mind me asking? Well, of course you mind. But I’m nosy, me. Was it an acid attack? Only I heard they had a couple of those down Bromley but that was an honor thing. You know, like an honor killing only with acid. Are you Muslim? You don’t look like Muslim, but then what does a Muslim look like.” pg. 229 Take a breath that was so long. Betsy needs to chill please
“It’s not like ma and Lesley are inconspicuous,” I’d said
Nightingale had winced, as he always does, at my incorrect use of the accusation pronoun but I think I’m beginning to wear him down.” pg. 237 Ha
“We could burn the lock off,” said Lesley
“Subtle. I like it” pg. 257 Ha
“Wege der industriellen Nutzung von Magie, I thought. Toward the Industrial Use of Magic - oh yeah. Now I knew what the Faceless Man was interested in.” pg. 284 I’m glad Peter knows because I don’t
“Dr. Waild had made a disturbing break through in the Robert Weil case,” he said
“He’s discovered evidence of chimera cells on the body of the woman Weil dumped.”
“Shit,” said Lesley. “So the Faceless Man was involved in that as well.” pg. 288 I knew the cases were connected
“Nightingale and Lesley gave me glazed looks.” pg. 290 Ha and poor Peter they aren’t getting it
“I have much more faith in Lesley’s sense of self-preservation than in yours,” pg. 292 Ha
“So Skygarden really was a magic drilling rig.” pg. 295 Oh really?
“Why aren’t you fucking Beverly?” she asked suddenly” pg. 301 Well that came out of nowhere. Why do you want to know Lesley?
“Why aren’t you fucking Zach?” I asked, finally.
“Who says I’m not?”
“Are you?”
“Maybe,” she said. “A bit.”
“How can you be fucking him a bit?”
Lesley gave this point due consideration.
“Okay, maybe more than a bit,” she said.
“Since when?” I asked
“Why do you want to know?” pg. 301 What?! Since when? And why do you want to know Peter?
“I’m not in a hurry to rush into that one,” pg. 302 Yeah I would take it slow if the person I was interested in was a goddess
“Lesley rounded on me and pointed at her face, forcing me to loot at the whole horrid mess of it. “This is what happens if you wait, Peter,” she said. “Or some other fucked-up thing. You’ve got to get it while you can.” pg. 302 Is Lesley mad at Peter for not asking her out?
“They’re going after the trees” pg. 311 Oh no
“He’s going to throw it at me, I thought, just as he threw it at me and ran.” pg. 313 Oh no the chainsaw
“It was Sky”
“She’s dead Peter” pg. 314 Oh no :(
“Sky!” screamed Nicky. “Wake up! Wake up!” pg. 315 :(
“But then Oberon was there” pg. 316 Oberon!
“As he did, I saw a criss cross of scars across his naked back.” pg. 316 Oh are they whip scars from his time as a slave?
“There will be justice done in this matter,” said Nightingale. “My oath as a soldier on it.”
Oberon hesitated and Nicky, sensing the change, turned on him.” pg. 317 Oh interesting
“I know one thing - the law doesn’t seem to apply to her, or to her mum or to any of these fucking people.” Lesley closed her eyes and sighed. “And if it doesn’t apply to them, then why does it apply to us.” pg. 322 Whoa there Lesley let’s not go down that slippery slope
“We agreed it might be worth checking out the farm in Essex so we called Nightingale to let him know. He told us to be careful.
“Yes dad” said Lesley but only after Nightingale had hung up.” pg. 325 Ha
“Farmers meant shotguns, legal and illegal, and a loose interpretation of the common law when it came to self-defense.” pg. 329 Yep that sounds right
“ Varenka Sidorovna’s face appeared above and looked down at me.” pg. 336 Her!
“Dog fighters don’t see themselves as criminals at all.” pg. 337 They are criminals >:(
“And, having made sure everyone was paying attention to the front, Nightingale walked in through the back door.” pg. 343 Nightingale!
“Then silence and then Varenka Sidorovna said, “Enough, enough, I surrender.” pg. 347 That was quick I wish I could have seen it
“It looked completely pristine and as he approached he shot his cuffs and checked the links - a completely unconscious gesture.” pg. 347 He’s so cool!
“Is the Nightingale going to show his face at some point?” pg. 350 Oh ‘the’ you know that Nightingale is cool when he gets a ‘the’
“One day I was getting older and the next day I wasn’t.”
So Nightingale wasn’t the only one, I thought.” pg. 353 Interesting
“Can you remember roughly what year it happened?” I asked.
“August Bank Holiday 1966” pg. 353 Interesting
“Me and Lesley nodded sagely as if we knew all about this, while I imagined Nightingale adding the fact to his long list of things he should have known about but didn’t.” pg. 355 Ha
“This was not a real estate scam, I realized. It was a heist.” pg. 364 Oh what are they stealing?
“When I let myself into the flat I found that the living room was full of bodies.” pg. 365 Oh no
“Zach lay face down” pg. 365 Oh no
Oh good Zach’s alive
“Where’s Toby?” pg. 367 Where’s Toby? He better be ok
“Toby was down in the deconstructed children’s playground” pg. 367 Good
“I finished opening the door and ignored Toby as he bounced eagerly around my legs.” pg. 376 Don’t ignore Toby
“This device has been fitted with counter measures. Please do not tamper, as being blown up often offends.” pg. 378 Oh no
Good that Peter’s getting civilians out
“The Faceless Man was waiting for me up there - the bastard.” pg. 389 Oh no
“I was within six meters when he languidly held up his hand to indicate I should stop - I took a couple more steps just on the general principle of the thing.” pg. 389 Ha
“Your master,” said the Faceless Man. “Or your do you call him your guv-nor?” pg. 389 Stop calling Nightingale Peter’s master :(
“I’d be extremely stupid to let you live” pg. 393 The villain is smart
“I caught him mid sentence. It was a beauty, impello with no modifications.”
“I let him think that I’d missed” pg. 393 Never mind the villains not as smart as I thought
“Serves you right for being an arrogant dickhead - if it had been me, I’d have tripped the explosive from the viewing gallery in the Shard.” pg. 396 Ha and yep the bad guys arrogant
“I heard Lesley calling my name.” pg. 397 Yay Lesley’s here backup has arrived
“I believe this is the moment of decision,” said the Faceless Man
“I already made up my mind;” I said and reached for his mask
“Sorry,” said the Faceless Man. “But I wasn’t talking to you,”
Lesley tasered me in the back of the neck.” pg. 397 WHAT
“No,” said a muffled voice that I later decided had been Lesley’s. “That wasn’t part of the deal.”
And then they walked away and left me.” pg. 398 WHAT What did I just read? Lesley’s a traitor?? When? How? Why? Ahhhh :( :0
I need a minute to process
~Several minutes later~
“I called Nightingale and I could tell he’d been worried by the tone of his voice.” pg. 401 Aw Nightingale’s worried
“Thank god,” he said. “That was my worst fear.”
“You never told us about the door,” I said
“And that has proved to be wise precaution, has it not?” pg. 403 What’s behind the door? I need to know
“Nine hours after the Skygarden tower collapsed, Toby turned up at the back door.” pg. 403 Toby’s ok!
“Nightingale arrived back at the Folly at three in the morning, looking as rumpled and pissed off as I’ve ever seen him.” pg. 404 Oh Nightingale’s mad
“What is she?” Varenka Sidorovna’s asked me one day when Molly was safety out of ear shot.
“You don’t want to know” pg. 404 Ha and I want to know
“Beautiful, isn’t it” he asked, despite my horrified expression.” pg. 406 Yes I agree with Nolfi but he has to read the room
“You mustn’t tell anyone about this,” I said
“Why ever not?”
That was a good question
“Because it’s like the magicians’ circle,” said Abigail. “A magician must never reveal his secrets.”
Mr. Nolfi nodded sagely. “Mum’s the word eh?” he said.
“Believe it” said Abigail.” pg. 406 Nice save Abigail
“He promised her her face back,” pg. 408 Seriously that’s why? :/ The surgeries seemed to be working (unless that was the Faceless Man’s magic) Lesley betrayed her friends for that? There are plenty of people with facial disfigurements who live normal happy lives. Does Lesley even know if the Faceless Man can get her face back to normal? Maybe he can’t.
“No, but I knew that Dr. Waild found chimeric cells on a woman who’d had her face erased by a shotgun blast. Covering evidence of experiments by the Faceless Man aimed at restoring Lesley’s face. A bait he must have reckoned she couldn’t resist - how could anyone?” pg. 408 This raises questions about when Lesley was recruited. Did the Faceless Man do the experiments before the recruitment to show Lesley that he can help restore her face and Lesley agreed even though an innocent woman died because of it. Or did Lesley get recruited earlier and still agreed to work for them even though they killed an innocent woman to try and help her.
Final thoughts
Ahhh still not over the betrayal. It was a good book. I liked Nightingale as always. I like the lore we got. I’m still trying to figure out Nightingale and Varenka Sidorovna and their Merlin sickness. That’ll be a different post. No foxes in this book there better be some in the next book. I liked all the cameos in this book. We got one Bi Peter moment. The total is up to 11.
