Product Description

The Magenta has returned to the shores of England, carrying young Kate, her friend Thomas and the ship's charismatic owner, Jacob Crane, up the Thames. They have recently escaped the sorcerer Demurral, and Kate searches the waves for a sign of their friend Raphah, lost to the sea. But further trouble awaits them in London, where their beloved ship is seized...Meanwhile, figures stir on the shores further North. Beadle, Demurral's onetime servant has survived, while other shadows from Jacob and Kate's past are also awakening. Has Demurral really been vanquished forever? Who is the lady who haunts the roads South? What is the hidden secret of Salamander Street? This is a tale of mystery and adventure running between the wilds of the North and South, from the bestselling author of "Shadowmancer", "Wormwood" and "Tersias".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #286107 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

Customer Reviews

Preachy and boring
Directly following on from the events in SHADOWMANCER, I did not have high expectations of this sequel and was not disappointed. This is a peculiarly leaden historical fantasy that fails to convey any real sense of period or tension and which frequently descends into preaching a rather simplistic Christian message about the greatness of God.

Thomas, Kate and Jacob sail to London, only to find themselves stranded in the city. Jacob's old friend Pallium introduces them to Galphus, who offers help but who is not all that he seems. Meanwhile Raphah has teamed up with Beadle and journeys to London by coach, discovering that his fellow travellers have links to Demurral and whose travels are inextricably linked with his own.

There are some interesting ideas within the novel. A sinister factory run by Galphus, which relies on brutalising and abusing its child workers, is well realised, as are the effects of a drug called Gaudium, which beguiles Kate and begins to sap her will. Unfortunately these few scenes are suffocated by Taylor's heavy narrative style that frequently descends into purple prose. Barely a paragraph goes by without the use of a simile or metaphor and descriptions are pregnant with adjectives and adverbs. Also frustrating is the fact that the most potentially interesting scenes - for example when Raphah runs after a man subject to a curse who has held up the coach - happen off page, denying the plot of much-needed action.

Characterisation is generally poor and rarely rises above the two-dimensional. Galphus's motives are never fully explored and I remained confused as to what he sought despite the big revelation at the end that supposedly ties everything up. Tom, Kate and Raphah are dull - particularly Raphah who does little except preach and shout in equal measure. Jacob Crane appears and disappears as and when necessary and Beadle is a somewhat pathetic witness to events who it is difficult to engage with. Demurral is supposed to be a menacing background presence but his motivation and characterisation is too dull to rouse much interest while potentially interesting side characters such as Lady Tanville and the ghost Isabella are given little to do. Most unforgiveable though is the ending, which lacks any of the emotional resonance necessary for it to work. For a fantasy, there is little magic within this book and nothing within it would recommend Taylor's other work.

Fantastic!!
I read a lot of reviews about JP Taylor's books being hard to understand and wound up in religious speak. I disagree with people that write reviews on this basis. His books are exicting and you feel that you are almost a part of the story line. Yes they can have a plot that is complex, you have to read with concentration, but this only makes you not want to put the book down.
I know that his books tend to be written for teenagers, I am not a teenager. There are only a handful of books that I have wanted to take a day off work to finish and The curse of Salamander Street is one of them.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a well written plot that will keep you entertained for hours. This book is magical in every way, but the fact that is intertwined with a religious aspect makes it even more believable.

For the people out there who think that GP Taylor writes most of his books with some religious facts, so what, it is what he is good at.
Keep up the good work.

Enthralling and exciting read.
If you enjoyed Shadowmancer then you will most certainly be enthralled by this latest offering from the pen of G.P. Taylor.
Apart from meeting old friends and adversaries, we now meet a plethora of new characters. Ghosts, Necromancers, Lycanthropes, Poltroons et al. The book is well paced and will grip you from chapter one. A dark novel indeed but one that also has a cautionary moral slant. My only criticism is that some of the chapter headings are written in Latin which may fox some readers particularly children. A glossary at the back of the novel maybe useful for reference purposes.