Discovering this Future of London series has been one of the
reading highlights of the year. This is the fourth book in the series. And I’m
delighted to report that book 4 continues to be a riveting read.
We have been on quite a journey with our hero Walker. We
first met him when he was a rebellious young Scottish teenager and he started
to fall in with ‘the wrong crowd’. Then in Mr Apocalypse we meet him again as a
shell-shocked young man, living by himself and keeping out of harm’s way. In
the Ghosts of London, he is forced to venture deeper into savage London and we
see a bolder, harder Walker emerge. Here in The Sleeping Giants he is actively
seeking danger.
There is quite a telling scene when Walker sees himself in
the mirror; he too sees the changes in him. His eyes show a hardness that can
only come with seeing things no-one should see. Even his physical appearance
has changed, and gone is the ginger lad from Scotland and a dark haired battle
hardened man takes his place. (Are we writing the film script Mr Gillespie? I
think Hollywood should consider it.)
The Sleeping Giants could stand on its own as we meet a
whole host of new characters with the Sleeping Giants gang, but it would help
if you’ve read the other books. There is again some good cutting humour as the
Londoners are given phones to chase Pokemons, erm sorry Magic Birds and we get
the social media feedback from outside of the M25. If I had one quibble it
would be the length of the book, with 203 pages it was over way too soon. The
book has a very open ending so I’m sure Mr Gillespie is penning the fifth
instalment. Even though I’m super eager to read it, I hope it will be a sizable
book.
