The City's Son

Beth's world is falling apart – until the prince of the streets introduces her to a hidden London of marvels and magics – and menace...

Expelled from school, betrayed by her best friend and virtually ignored by her dad, who's never recovered from the death of her mum, Beth Bradley retreats to the sanctuary of the streets, looking for a new home.

What she finds is Filius Viae, the ragged and cocky crown prince of London, who opens her eyes to the place she's never truly seen.

But the hidden London is on the brink of destruction. Reach, the King of the Cranes, is a malign god of demolition, and he wants Filius dead. In the absence of the Lady of the Streets, Filius' goddess mother, Beth rouses Filius to raise an alleyway army, to reclaim London's skyscraper throne for the mother he's never known.

Beth has almost forgotten her old life – until her best friend and her father come searching for her, and she must choose between the streets and the life she left behind.

This is the first of a series, an urban fable about friends, family and monsters, and how you can't always tell which is which.

About the Author

Tom Pollock is a graduate of the Sussex University Creative Writing Programme, and a member of the London-based writers' group The T-Party. He has lived everywhere from Scotland to Sumatra, but the peculiar magic of London has always drawn him back. www.tompollock.com