Valiant

Wondering why her boyfriend Tom hasnt turned up at the station to join her in a trip to New York to watch a lacrosse match, 17yr old Val goes back home to check on him, and finds him in a compromising position with her mother. Numb with shock she goes to New York anyway, and wanders around till she falls in with three rather wild teenagers who are sqatting in the subway. Gradually fitting in with them she discovers that they run errands for the exiled magical beings of the city, particularly Ravus, a troll who lives, in traditional Billy Goat Gruff fashion, under the Manhattan Bridge. Though ugly he has a compassionate heart and concocts a potion to mitigate the dire effects of cold iron which causes pain and weakness on the fae. Someone, however, has started to poison fae creatures, and Ravus falls under suspicion.

Val's friends have discoveredthat humans imbibing the fairy dust can get transitory magical powers, and even persuade any humans to do whatever they want. They quickly become addicted to the dust, and Val starts stealing from Ravus, When Val finds clues to whom the poisoner is, the culprit easily deflects Val by informing Ravus that he has been robbed by someone he was falling for, and, betrayed and furious, he sends Val away. Eventually Val will save Ravus' life and destroy the poisoner and order will be restored, but at the cost of some deaths.

I enjoyed this second in the Modern Faerie Tales series, though initially disappointed that the characters of "Tithe" were peripheral to this story, though playing a crucial role. This tale was possibly even darker than "Tithe", and none of the characters, except Ravus, were very likeable. Lots of swearing, some sexual content, and a lot of drug taking made for a dark depessing world, but the strong story kept my attention throughout, and again the details about the fairy world were spot on.

Whereas in "Tithe" Black made the strange, beautiful yet deadly fairy world seem vividly real, this time we have the very real, seedy, even sordid and derelict slums of New York be shot through with mystery and hidden marvels. All in all though I didnt enjoy it as much as "Tithe", it was an intense and exciting read. 3. 5 stars