The Last Smile in Sunder City

Reviewed on 31st October 2021

I bought this book based on a similarity recommendation engine and because the cover is reminiscent of those of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series.

The narrative felt much more like Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. A first person noir western feeling, as we follow the local non-magical PI in a post-apocalyptic, post-magic world.

I’m afraid to say that it wasn’t doing it for me. I found I couldn’t read more than one chapter at a time, and I don’t have the stamina needed to push on with that. The novel felt like it was trying a bit too hard to fit to a genre stereotype, and ended up with something that wasn’t what I was looking for. So I gave up.