Whore with a heart
This is the kind of book one could easily hate: sassy broads, were-creatures, loveable prostitutes… Babylon Steel is vampire chick-lit transported from an urban to a high fantasy setting, minus the bloodsuckers.
Good for us, then, that Sebold has a flair for storytelling. Her world is a cross-planes affair whose main setting is an interdimensional crossroads. It might be all sparkly wish-fulfilment on the surface, but it has a believable seaminess, while its tough lead has plenty of good reasons to be the way she is.
When Babylon – ex-warrior and brothel madam – is asked to look for a missing girl she’s drawn into a world of bother. Fun and fast, you’ll enjoy this if you appreciate the better end of female-friendly fantasy.
James Gerard
