The Shadow Revolution

Crown & Key, Book 1

By: Clay Griffith, Susan Griffith

Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith

Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

A thrilling new Victorian-era urban fantasy for fans of Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles, the Showtime series Penny Dreadful, and the Sherlock Holmes movies featuring Robert Downey, Jr.

They are the realm's last, best defense against supernatural evil. But they're going to need a lot more silver.

As fog descends, obscuring the gas lamps of Victorian London, werewolves prowl the shadows of back alleys. But they have infiltrated the inner circles of upper-crust society as well. Only a handful of specially gifted practitioners are equipped to battle the beasts. Among them are the roguish Simon Archer, who conceals his powers as a spell-casting scribe behind the smooth veneer of a dashing playboy; his layabout mentor Nick Barker, who prefers a good pub to thrilling heroics; and the self-possessed alchemist Kate Anstruther, who is equally at home in a ballroom as she is on a battlefield.

After a lycanthrope targets Kate's vulnerable younger sister, the three join forces with fierce Scottish monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane - but quickly discover they're dealing with a threat far greater than anything they ever imagined.

©2015 Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith (P)2015 Random House Audio

Not what I was expecting.

Admittedly this book is a little different listen than I'm used to. My supernatural fiction tastes usually run more towards Richard Kadrey's "Sandman Slim" and Mike Carey's Felix Castor series. The action scenes in this listen are descriptive and fun, but too few and far between. In those long lulls between excitement the book is mired in pedantic Victorian gentile etiquette. It's mind numbing for a person listening more for the supernatural action aspects, rather than a tribute to the fastidious "gentlemanly arts" followed by the disciples of Beau Brummell. The performance was entertaining, with good variance for the different characters. Overall it was just not what I was hoping for.

Steampunk meets Sherlock

I love the gadgets. I love the relationship Simon and Nick. Simon is a playboy and Nick is the mentor who is the undercover guy who gets dirty to find the answers. Their relationship is fine until Simon is nudged into a more lofty purpose in life. Nick does not feel a connection to the moral obligation to put one's self in a dangerous position for the good of humanity.

Of course a lovely lady who can out wit and fight the men makes it difficult for Simon to remain unconcern about the fate of men. Many magically disturbances are happening in this Victorian London. This brings many other characters in the story. A very smart and imaginative inventor. A Scottish brute of a Werewolf hunter. A faithful servant. And a Vallkyrie Werewolf the evil nemesis.

There is the snappy dialogue between the characters and enough bullets and magic to make it exciting. I am a huge fan of Gail Carriger's Alexa Tarrabotti series. If you are a fan of her books then this is right there for your must read list.

A must read for steanpunkers

Urban fantasy and later 19th century mixed well.

Loved the book, both based on the material, which is similar to a 19th(later-mid to late) century English version of Iron Druid Chronicles. However my closest example of the storyline and environment can best be found on the Showtime TV show Penny Dreadful. I loved the steam powered motorcycle ahead of its time.

Enjoyable, I'm hooked

I thought the story started out a little slow but soon found it quite enjoyable. Loved the characters and am anxious the see where the next adventure leads. Books 2 and 3 are already queued up.

Hard to put down

A moving store and looking forward to the next one in the series. I would suggest this book to everyone entrusted in magic and werewolf’s. Well worth the time to listen to this tale.

Needs a tighter action line

It took 4 heroes for 1werewolf but they walk into the enemy den no planning no backup

Too much fight description and overall dithering

I almost hated this book. I am mad that such a promising story got buried in the foolishness, though. There is too much "action" and somehow, still too much "internal dialog." Can we just have something move forward without a checklist of descriptions of whatever? Do we really need to know every eye color? Every scrap of clothes or fur? Does every action by each character require a soliloquy before the action is taken?

It is not just this author, but almost every recently written book I've read. Are there no good editors left?

A Magical Steampunky Victorian era thrill ride!

I was a fan of these these authors after reading their Greyfriar books, and this book makes me an even bigger fan! Set at the beginning of the Victorian era, it takes place in a London that is subtly different from ours, where magic works, kept from sight of Vanilla mortals. Simon Archer is a roguish playboy, quite the charmer in upper crust circles. He is also a Scribe, a powerful type of magic user thought extinct, who uses runes for magical effect. In fact, a large part of his body is tattooed with runes, so he can create magic effects, such as super strength or force projection, without having to write down a rune. His partner and Mentor, Nick Barker, is a magician who uses several different magic types, such as pyromancy and necromancy. They try and solve small magical disturbances (Hauntings, monster incursions, etc.) When Simon gets a note asking him to meet from an old flame, he is drawn into a much larger conspiracy involving Werewolves and a mad scientist creating Homunculi out of people, all looking for an item that could change the balance of power forever. Helping Simon and Nick are Scottish Werewolf hunter Malcolm MacFarlane and Kate Anstruther, daughter of a noted Lord and adventurer, and Alchemist in her won right. They join forces to do battle with the evil forces arrayed against them, even though they are vastly outnumbered. No spoilers here, but it is a rollicking good tale that will have you guessing whats coming next.
It is a richly detailed book, giving the reader an in depth look into Upper crust Victorian life, while also showing the other side of that era too. The magic is original, and actually pretty believable. There are elements of steampunk in the story, and the characters are engaging and sympathetic. The villains are straight up villains, not just misunderstood souls. They are evil, and loathsome, and perfect for the story. The back story hinted at bigger mysteries, and you can't wait to hear more. All in all, an excellent start to a new series. Nicholas Guy Smith did an outstanding job narrating, easily on par with my 3 favorite British narrators, Simon Vance, Michael Page and Guildart Jackson. It is in the same vein as Gail Carriger's Alexa Tarrabotti books, just without the awkward sex scenes. if you liked her books, or are a fan of Simon Green or Jim Butcher, you should enjoy these books.

loved it!

Extremely entertaining, thoroughly enjoyed it! The narrator was perfect for the story, made crocheting that much more entertaining!

I'm interested!

Being a fan of historical romance allowed me to for give some of the complaints from the other reviews. I found the story quite interesting and the pace fast enough. The narrator, however needed some work. He spoke so slowly that I had to speed up the tracks to 1.25x in order for the pacing to be at a normal level. Even at that I could have gotten away with increasing it to 1.35x. overall, I liked to story and will continue on in the series.