The Quick

Summary (from the publisher): An astonishing debut, a novel of epic scope and suspense that conjures up all the magic and menace of Victorian London.

London, 1892: James Norbury, a shy would-be poet newly down from Oxford, finds lodging with a charming young aristocrat. Through this new friendship, he is introduced to the drawing-rooms of high society, and finds love in an unexpected quarter. Then, suddenly, he vanishes without a trace. Unnerved, his sister, Charlotte, sets out from their crumbling country estate determined to find him. In the sinister, labyrinthine city that greets her, she uncovers a secret world at the margins populated by unforgettable characters: a female rope walker turned vigilante, a street urchin with a deadly secret, and the chilling "Doctor Knife." But the answer to her brother's disappearance ultimately lies within the doors of one of the country’s preeminent and mysterious institutions: The Aegolius Club, whose members include the most ambitious, and most dangerous, men in England.

Review: I received an Advance Reader's Edition of this book as a giveaway on Goodreads.

"There were owls in the nursery when James was a boy. The room was papered in a pattern of winding branches, amongst which great green parent owls perched in identical courting couples. Beneath each pair, a trio of green owlets huddled, their sharp beaks slightly ajar. They sat between big, thistling green flowers with tiny white blossoms which made James think of mother-of-pearl buttons, the kind on Charlotte's Sunday dress. When he was alone in the nursery, James thought he could hear the owls chatter together softly, like monkeys, scratching and scratching their claws against the endless green branches" (3).

I was absolutely taken by the introduction of this novel. The reader is immediately transported to an eerie, crumbling castle, where two small children play games to occupy their time and keep their fear at bay. This haunting beginning sets the tone for the whole novel, which remains dark and chilling throughout. However, this auspicious beginning did not hold for the remainder of the book, which changed abruptly in setting and time in chapter two.

This might be a spoiler, but if you couldn't get a hint from the blood sliding down the cover art of the book, this is a gothic vampire tale, (fortunately more in line with Anne Rice than Stephenie Meyer). When James mysteriously disappears in London, his sister Charlotte sets out to find what has become of him, entering a dangerous world of fantastical beings. The title of the novel refers to the vampire's slang words for humans; "He said that there were few names he would care to repeat - the kindest being 'beater.' 'Blood bag' is another. A buxom human female, in low circles, might be termed a 'claret jug.' He added that amongst those with better manners, the most widespread term for us is 'the Quick" (136).

While I loved the Victorian setting in London and was curious to learn what would happen to James and Charlotte, I was less than impressed by the plot development in this novel, which seemed scattered at best. Many of the major plotlines are left hanging and there seems to be turmoil and violence with largely unexplained origins. I didn't think one escaped vampire was cause for war between the different factions of vampires, leading to the deaths of many and a huge fire, attracting the city's attention. I tend to think immortal beings who have lived for centuries would be more adept at handling a crisis. I also don't think Charlotte and Howland could have survived when more experienced individuals were being killed rapidly all around them.

The passing of time is erratic in this novel. For example, the novel begins when James is five. By the beginning of chapter two, he is in his final term at Oxford and an adult. Near the end of the novel, the character of Liza is quickly summarized, years passing in the flick of one sentence across the page; "She'd slipped away and not gone back to that place, in case they knew her. [...] One time, years later - much later - she was in Hyde Park" (472). Perhaps this is fitting for the immortal nature of the characters, since time is less relevant to them.

I did appreciate the interweaving of the owl imagery from the introduction throughout the novel. I'd never heard the ancient myth of owls as birds of bad omens that feed on human flesh. However, the Aegolius Club comes from the word for a genus of owl. Later in the book, the character Augustus Mould's journal refers to the vampires, saying, "Some of the younger members call them the 'owlmen' - a mockery originating in that old owl myth, I presume" (128).

Although I felt like Owen took on too many characters and too many interweaved plotlines to successfully conclude them all, I did appreciate her book. I especially liked the circular nature of the book, with James once again returning to the secret room built into his crumbling mansion. I wonder if the open ended conclusion points to a planned sequel.

Stars: 3