"Sixty-One Nails follows Niall Petersen, from a suspected heart attack on the London Underground, into the hidden world of the Feyre, an uncanny place of legend that lurks just beyond the surface of everyday life. The Untainted, the darkest of the Seven Courts, have made their play for power, and unless Niall can recreate the ritual of the Sixty-One Nails, their dark dominion will enslave all of the Feyre, and all of humankind too."Sixty-One Nails is boldly compared to Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere on the front cover, a claim that got my attention, but made me suspicious as well. Was there any chance that Shevdon's novel could compare?
The answer is . . . not really. To be honest, other than the beginning in which the main character Niall is drawn into an otherworld-London, there is very little to compare to Neverwhere.
The book explores the structure of the Feyre councils. Blackbird, an very old Fey, as well as Niall, the main character, are on the run. They are considered “tainted.” Having human DNA is not a positive. To have any form of protection Niall must find a way to be accepted by one of the Feyre courts. The 7th court, or “The Untainted” are a select group of Feyre that believe consorting with humans is something to be cleansed and engaged in rampant war with the other courts. They have been sealed off but are gaining access to the world a foothold at a time.
The premise is wonderful and the execution was mostly very good. I liked the characters, they felt real and witty. Though they really, really suffered from insta-love, I mean they know each other for two day and then they have a baby together and want to get married. Like what?? She is hundreds of years old and chooses this dude, over everyone she could have??
The world was well built, the different courts need more exploring but I can see great potential. I also really enjoyed the use of a real world ritual.
On the other hand, this was in sore need of a severe, even ruthless, editing. There were far too many repetitive bits of dialogue, and we were told so many times about what would happen "if the barriers fell", and there was even one chapter that ended on a final bit of resolution about what Blackbird and Niall would do next (you know, to prevent the barriers falling? Because IF THE BARRIERS FALL...), and the next chapter started up as if readers could have forgotten what had just been decided, slowly and with much discussion, the page before.
There was also way way to much description, so much so that I found myself happily skimming this book.
Age Rating 14+. Overall an okay book for a quick read. Adore the stunning cover. One scene of fayre sex which personally wasn't necessary but hey. Also some sexual illusions too. No swearing however.
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