The Last Smile in Sunder City

Starred review from December 2, 2019
Actor Arnold, best-known for his role in the TV series Black Sails, invites readers into a richly imagined world in this standout debut. In the wake of a cataclysmic war, mystical beings have been stripped of their powers and their magical technologies frozen, leading to mass bankruptcy among gremlins, goblins, elves, and others, and lingering tensions between humans and nonhumans. Human Fetch Phillips, self-described “Man for Hire,” lives in Sunder City, a metropolis that began as “one giant factory,” before an enlightened dwarf governor allied with a human aristocrat to raise taxes and introduce arts and culture into the community. When Edmund Rye, a centuries-old vampire and one of the teachers at an academy for magical children, disappears, the academy’s principal hires Phillips to find him. Phillips hits the mean streets of Sunder City in search of Rye only to realize that he’s on the trail of something far more complicated. Winningly combining the grit of Chinatown with the quirky charm of Harry Potter, this series opener is sure to have readers coming back for more.

December 15, 2019
The debut novel from Australian actor Arnold is a fusion of paranormal fantasy and mystery set in a world where magic has been effectively destroyed by humans, forcing the supernatural population to live a radically diminished existence. Fetch Phillips is a "Man for Hire," which is another way of saying the down-on-his-luck, hard-drinking former Soldier-turned-detective will do just about anything to pay the bills. When a principal from a cross-species school enlists him to find a missing professor--a 300-year-old Vampire named Edmund Rye--Phillips quickly agrees. Without magic, the Vampires--and all other supernatural beings--are slowly dying. So how difficult could it be to find a withered bloodsucker who is so weak he can hardly move around? After visiting Rye's last residence--a secluded loft space in the local library filled with the Vampire's research and writings--Phillips discovers that one of Rye's students is missing as well: a young Siren named January. His investigation becomes complicated when more Vampires turn up dead and he is almost killed himself. While the mystery element of the storyline is a bit thin, the focus on meticulous worldbuilding and highly detailed backstory as well as the cast of fully developed and memorable characters (Simms, the reptilian cop; Peteris, the disfigured half-werewolf; etc.) are unarguable strengths. But the real power here is in Arnold's use of imagery throughout. His unconventional descriptive style brings a richness and depth to the narrative. Pete's smile is "like a handbag with a broken zipper," and the sound of Phillips' falling from a building is "like someone stepping on an egg full of snails." The first installment of an effortlessly readable series that could be the illegitimate love child of Terry Pratchett and Dashiell Hammett.

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January 31, 2020

[DEBUT] Fetch Phillips, private investigator, lives during the Coda: Magic has left the world, and all magical creatures are dying as a result. The self-styled "man for hire" is a curmudgeon with deep disdain for his fellow humans, who drinks to forget all the terrible things he has seen and done. Fetch's latest job is a routine search for a missing person that may have broader implications for the magical denizens of Sunder City. Arnold's worldbuilding holds great promise, but his characters could use better development. Fetch is a stereotypical hardboiled detective built from well-worn tropes. Overuse of flashbacks to fill in the backstory results in more telling than showing. VERDICT Similar to Marshall Ryan Maresca's "Maradaine" novels, which show the seedy side of a fantasy city, this debut should drawn in fans of noir fantasy.--Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2020
Arnold's debut quickly plonks readers into a dreary, desolate cityscape where the magic is gone and not coming back. Fetch Phillips, detective for hire, is desperate to atone for his actions that resulted in the Coda, the life changing event that killed the magic and changed Sunder City forever. Technology stopped working and magical creatures rapidly suffered the consequences, including painful deaths. When he is hired by the principle to find a missing vampire teacher in the city's first interspecies school, he is grateful for the work, but wary when the stakes are raised and he encounters some unpleasant surprises. The overall noir feel to the novel suits the story perfectly; readers will feel they are walking the Sunder City streets with Fetch as he investigates the city library and the vampire's hangouts, and manages to find a slim window of hope at the novel's conclusion, suggesting that all may not be lost after all. Perfect for fans of other urban fantasy novels such as Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series or Michael F. Haspil's Graveyard Shift (2017).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

Australian actor Luke Arnold narrates his debut fantasy novel in which a magical city shudders at the sudden loss of its magic. Fetch Philips takes odd jobs as a detective in Sunder City; his latest task is finding a missing teacher, a vampire whose body is slowly turning to dust without magic. Arnold portrays Fetch with pathos and differentiates the other characters, giving the production the feel of a full-cast production. There's a melancholy mood throughout that elevates this from mere fantasy to a deeply human story. Arnold's writing and narration combine for a strong addition to the contemporary fantasy genre and kick off a new series with a powerful start. A must-listen, especially for fantasy lovers and Arnold's fans. J.M.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine