Waywalkers by Catherine Webb (2003)
Magical: Mesmerising
Book cover blurb
Sam Linnifer works part-time at a London university as a translator of obscure ancient texts. He's a quiet chap with a few friends here and there, and an affection for cats. He's also immortal and the Son of Time. You might know him better as Lucifer, the Devourer of Souls, or the Devil. And with all the gods in Heaven about to go to war over the ownership of Earth, you're going to be extremely glad he's not exactly the person legend makes him out to be.
The elder gods have risen. The Firedancers have been called forth. The armies of Heaven and Hell are stirring. The ultimate battle has begun. To survive, Earth will need more than just sympathy for the devil…
My Review
I despair at the lack of attention this book, in fact, any book by this author, receives in the book reading community, actually from the entire population of this wee planet, she deserves so much more. This lady is remarkable...in my humble opinion.
Ok, yes, I've only read two books from this author at this point, the other being A Madness of Angels under the name of Kate Griffin, but I still feel that's enough to use the word 'adore' when discussing her prose.
This lady, in my mind, is an utterly phenomenal writer. Her imagination is quite remarkable but the effortless way she seems to be able to affect me with her writing is nothing short of intoxicating. I know I'm gushing here, but why shouldn't I? There is no other writer out there, that I've read, who genuinely lifts me with their words, let alone amazing stories. I would imagine even a shopping list written by Catherine would excite me.
Oh, what did I think of the book? Wait, do you really need to ask that after reading my previous thoughts?
Needless to say, Waywalkers is a fantastic book. It may have been written when she was quite young but don't let that fool you, it most definitely doesn't show in the writing. It is incredibly imaginative, it skews a few mythical tropes, gives us a rather different Lucifer than you might expect, not to mention a number of other popular names you'll recognise, and is incredibly ambitious. All of which slip from the page to your imagination with blissful ease. I think it's safe to say I thought the book was pretty good.
My copy of this novel
Little Brown Book Group paperback edition.
Published in 2003
312 pages
ISBN 9781904233213