Amber reviews: Madhouse by Rob Thurman
Madhouse is an apt description of the fantastical New York City created by Rob Thurman. This modern day city is full to bursting with scary creatures that you might not want to encounter in a dark alley, and I am not talking about your garden variety muggers, rapists and murderers. For the most part these mythological and legendary creatures have adapted to living alongside humans, mostly hiding their natures and exploiting their strengths and the relative weakness of humans. This is an urban fantasy in the realm of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files and Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series, where today’s world is peopled with things from dreams, nightmares, legends and myths and the protagonist is both a part of that unseen world and a part of ours. That dichotomy is the main source of tension in these series.
Niko and Caliban, having run from their past and it’s demons for most of their life, end up settling in NYC for many reasons, not the least of which it is easier to hide amongst a crowd. Because of their experience in running from and fighting against monsters, they end up creating an agency for handling ‘monster issues’. Each case brings on new problems for the young men and the latest is no walk in the park. Madhouse is centered on their attempts to find and destroy an ancient, legendary murderer named Sawney Beane. Sawney is an actual legendary Scottish clan leader known for cannibalism and murder.
If you enjoyed the first two wisecracking urban adventures, you won’t be disappointed with this one; it has just enough action, angst, sarcasm, mystery, mayhem and murder to keep you turning the pages until the very
end.