Synopsis: The Walker has gone, banished through the black mirrors to the Outer Darkness, and George and Edie have returned to modern-day London. They think it's all over, but they're wrong. There is a balance to the world, and when the Walker is banished, a new Darkness flows into the world. Now London is caught, frozen in time and bound in unseasonal snow. Its people are gone, leaving the empty streets to the spits and the taints, whose long feud is about to explode into war. Only Edie and George can set things to right, but Edie is obsessed by a new, personal quest, and George can do nothing until he can face the Last Knight and stand for his final duel.

Review: The final volume of Charlie Fletcher's Stone Heart trilogy is a thundering, cinematic, rollercoaster ride of a novel. Fletcher is a capable writer of character, plot and background, but his greatest strength is in his description of action scenes. Many adventure novels are let down by stilted chase or fight sequences, but Fletcher's prose has a visual flare which brings every set piece leaping to life from the page.

George and Edie are very sympathetic leads, despite - or indeed because of - their flaws. Their anger and isolation render them prone to futile, even dangerous action, but increasingly they are tempered by the emotional bond which forms between them, and which becomes a source of great strength to them both. Moreover, the statues - not only the Gunner, but more incidental spits and even the faithful gargoyle, Spout - are as well drawn. Perhaps because of his very visual style, Fletcher shows a clear knack for drawing out a characters from London's statues.

Silver Tongue is not easy reading. Many of the fight scenes are incredibly brutal, and parents of younger readers should be cautious. Nevertheless, this is an intelligent and articulate work, which wil appeal especially to those who love cinema as much as they love books.

2008-08-27