I can't remember exacty what made me pick up the first book in Waterstones, but I do know that a week later I had a copy of every single one published and was most of the way through reading them. Peter is a bit of an asshole protagonist for the first couple of books, but his narration of the events (both insightful and hilarious) meant I couldn't help liking him and enjoying being in his head.
The world building is beautifully done, merging common knowledge of the real world and made-up fantasy pretty seamlessly, and it comes gently and naturally throughout the series rather than in exposition dumps. The characters are all excellent fun to read about, whether they're villains or heroes or neither. However, there are quite a lot of them and when considered alongside the plot of the individual books and the plot of the series as a whole, it's very easy to lose track of just what's going on in your first reading.
Despite my confusion at what was happening in the books I still greatly enjoyed them and would recommend them to anyone who enjoys The X Files, Johnathan Strange and Mr Norrell or Discworld. They have a lovely blend of crime and fantasy, humour and horror - just make sure you have enough time to read them through properly!
Highly Recommended
I can't remember exacty what made me pick up the first book in Waterstones, but I do know that a week later I had a copy of every single one published and was most of the way through reading them. Peter is a bit of an asshole protagonist for the first couple of books, but his narration of the events (both insightful and hilarious) meant I couldn't help liking him and enjoying being in his head.
The world building is beautifully done, merging common knowledge of the real world and made-up fantasy pretty seamlessly, and it comes gently and naturally throughout the series rather than in exposition dumps. The characters are all excellent fun to read about, whether they're villains or heroes or neither. However, there are quite a lot of them and when considered alongside the plot of the individual books and the plot of the series as a whole, it's very easy to lose track of just what's going on in your first reading.
Despite my confusion at what was happening in the books I still greatly enjoyed them and would recommend them to anyone who enjoys The X Files, Johnathan Strange and Mr Norrell or Discworld. They have a lovely blend of crime and fantasy, humour and horror - just make sure you have enough time to read them through properly!