I gave up after 4 chapters. The synopsis made it sound like it would be a lot more fast paced, witty, and edgy. I'm sure this story would end up being interesting enough, but the writing style simply wasn't for me and I wasn't interested in reading any further. I like to hop right into my fantasy adventures, and having more than 15% of this story be build-up was just too much.

I have no problem with learning details from backstory and being presented with small side characters and details to add to the world building, but I had zero clue for the first 4 chapters what would be important to remember for the rest of the story. Everything in moderation...

The initial problem for Fetch was presented very early, so there shouldn't have been such a problem with getting the plot rolling. Details could have then been filled in later in a more natural way. The flashback is what really lost my interest, as I had made no attachment to Fetch in this short amount of time and therefore really didn't care.

Thank you to netgalley for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! All my thoughts on this book are included in the link!

I’m not a big fan of noir fiction, but this novel caught my attention and wouldn’t let me stop reading.

Fetch Phillips is a struggling PI working in Sunder City, a city where the magic is gone, both figuratively and literally. Fetch lives in a world inhabited by creatures—elves, werewolves, sirens, goblins, and more—who lost their power when humans interfered with the wellspring of all magic. Now those creatures and the world around them are in decay, and it seems that little beauty or wonder is left. Fetch played a key role in the destruction of magic, and the only thing keeping him from giving into the demons of his guilty conscience is the request from someone he loved to live and “do some good.”

A world-weary detective with flexible morality, a gritty and corrupt city, and a case that demonstrates that hope can be a dangerous thing—the story here is very, very noir indeed. And, as mentioned, I’m not really fond of the dark cynicism of this type of book.

So, why did I keep reading? It comes down to a few things, I think. Fetch as a character interested me, and I wanted to find out what made him the man he is, which the author accomplishes by weaving the origin stories of his four tattoos throughout the narrative. Also, I’m curious as to whether magic is really gone for good, and what it would mean for Fetch and his city if it wasn’t. And finally, although the mystery fades to the background at times while the reader gets to know Fetch and his world, I wanted to know how Fetch’s investigation would turn out.

Fantasy fans who like their fiction on the darker side should enjoy this book. I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series, coming in October 2020.

A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

"A former soldier turned PI tries to help the fantasy creatures whose lives he ruined in a world that's lost its magic in a compelling debut fantasy by Black Sails actor Luke Arnold.

Welcome to Sunder City. The magic is gone but the monsters remain.

I'm Fetch Phillips, just like it says on the window. There are a few things you should know before you hire me:

1. Sobriety costs extra.
2. My services are confidential.
3. I don't work for humans.

It's nothing personal - I'm human myself. But after what happened, to the magic, it's not the humans who need my help.

Walk the streets of Sunder City and meet Fetch, his magical clients, and a darkly imagined world perfect for readers of Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher."

Even if the blurb didn't name check two authors I love I'd SO be checking this book out because of my favorite Long John Silver, Luke Arnold!

I’m a big fan of Luke Arnold from watching Black Sails, so I just had to read his first book. I found the world that this book is set in absolutely fascinating, although at times I definitely felt I needed more information to truly understand it & some of the plot points. I enjoyed how Fetch’s past was revealed in small pieces that slowly told the whole story. If you’re looking for a book to hold you over while waiting for the next Dresden Files book, this’ll do the trick.

Ok, so I’ve never seen Black Sails (although I have thought to myself that I really should), so I went into this knowing nothing of Luke Arnold other than that he is apparently an actor on that show. After finishing this book, I now know one more thing – he is a hell of a writer.

The Last Smile in Sunder City is equal parts urban fantasy and detective noir – two genres I’m generally a big fan of. It delivers admirably on what I want from both genres – there are magical (well formerly magical, technically) creatures, a big city, plenty of normal ol’ humans, and a hardboiled, slightly pickled detective.

This particular detective, or ‘man for hire’ as he is known, is Fetch Phillips (what a charmingly noir name, amirite?). The story begins with him being hired to locate a missing vampire by the name of Edmund Albert Rye. He is three hundred years old, and since the magic died, he has been fading fast.

However, as is usually the case, there is much more to the story of Edmund Rye than is initially apparent. We follow Fletch as he gathers information, deals with his own demons, other peoples’ demons, and what might be an actual demon, and puts the pieces of this complicated puzzle together.

The characters are as complex and nuanced as the mystery that Fletch has been tasked with solving. There are few flat characters here. Everyone has some bit of back story, and everyone has a reason for the choices they make. This is, at its core, less a mystery than it is a tale of choice, consequence, and redemption.

Today I’m taking a look at The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold. It was released by Orbit Books on February 25th. As usual, I must thank the publisher and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it!

The Last Smile in Sunder City follows Fetch Phillips, a human and a former jack-of-all-trades turned soldier turned PI, as he tries to do some good with his life. Six years ago, the source of magic was cut off from the world due to human greed. This left all the monsters to adapt to a miserable new life and sometimes, they need favors. That’s where Fetch comes in handy. This time, he’s hired to find a missing vampire, but nobody is prepared for what else he discovers along the way.

Sounds fun, right? It is to an extent. I mean, who wouldn’t love a gritty noir-esque mystery with real monsters? The problem is that that’s not what we get. Not really. There are a bunch of different stories all packed into one here and none of them are fleshed out into a story worth the time it takes to sift through them. And I don’t mean that various storylines are layered together like a book should have, I’m talking about a multitude of main stories being stuffed into one. In fact, the story that seems the most planned out is Fletch’s backstory which takes up half the book in flashbacks. That’s the story that wants to be told. It’s epic verging on dark fantasy. And I’d totally read that book. It would be awesome. But as a mystery, this story falls flat.

As far as the characters go, there are too many introduced to keep track of or develop feelings for. This is also due to the multiple stories vying for attention. It’s kind of annoying to have to go back to figure out who’s being talked about all the time. And there’s also the fact that Fetch doesn’t really do anything, at least not pertaining to the main story, so it’s hard to get into him. He gets lucky a couple of times and stumbles upon clues, but he very rarely actively does his job. And whenever he’s in trouble, someone else saves him. It became easy to hope Fetch failed. At least then I would’ve had a laugh. That being said, I did like his personality for the most part.

The writing itself was nice. It flowed and would’ve made for a quick read if I didn’t have to keep going back to see who was who. There was some surprising imagery mixed in with some that was just awkward. But mostly it was just nice. Not great but not bad either. There’s a lot of good potential if the writer can stick to one main story and a few subplots next time.

Ultimately, The Last Smile in Sunder City sounds like a great idea, but the execution could have been better. I will check out the next book because I really want to like this series. If it’s not better, I’ll probably give it up.

Overall, I gave it two out of five stars because the premise is really good. I’m not going to urge you to try it, unless I discover future books are much better, but if you’re bored it’s not entirely bad.

I received a copy of this from Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for my open and honest review.


The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold is a fantasy novel about sin, redemption, and hope. The story follows a man-for-hire named Fetch Phillips. Fetch is a human working in a town full of mystical creatures. Humans are hated, and for a good reason. However, in a redemptive bid to atone for past sins, Fetch's job and his sole purpose in life are to help non-humans, usually in the form of PI work. Through this work, helping one creature at a time, Fetch seeks to help atone for the wrongdoings in his past, his greatest sin. His sin destroyed the world and magic with it.

"A good man is made through a lifetime of work. Great men are made by their monsters."

The world now no longer runs on magic. There used to be a great river of magic that flowed underground and seeped out to all the various creatures of the world. Thus, the world used to be full of magical creatures, mystical entities, as well as joy and pain. The world and the creatures in it had purpose and drive, glory, and beauty. Now that magic has been ripped from the world; it is a sad shadow of its former self. Magical creatures who used to stand tall and shimmer in the glory of the magic that infused them, are rotting. Dragons fall from the sky in dusty, scaled heaps. Trolls that had been made of as much soil as magic have stopped moving and ceased to exist. Elves that used to live forever, either fall to dust from rapid aging or now have to look mortality in the face as they know they are going to die.

The day the magic stopped was the day that hope and the future inexorably changed. Magic was ripped from the world by jealous humans, and it is a sin that humanity will live with for the entirety of their existence.

"I'd seen plenty of things break in my lifetime: bones, hearts, and promises. This woman was breaking right in front of me. I watched as she somehow vacated her own eyes. The waves of hatred lulled to nothing. The door closed."

Now Fetch has been given a job, find a missing vampire. Vampires have been withering away to dust since the Coda(the day the magic stopped).
However, this vampire is much beloved and missed by the magical community. Fetch's patron wants to know what happened to his friend. As Fetch delves deeper into the case, he discovers that the vampire might have disappeared due to something nefarious. It is Fetch's job to figure it out.

Through a series of interactions, Fetch begins to piece together the timeline and what might have happened; things become so much bigger than a missing vampire. And, in doing so, maybe help find a small grain of piece for himself. Maybe give himself a little hope in this tortured and busted world.

"He was three times my age and starting over. I don't think I ever got started in the first place."

The story is told through a series of interactions, both now and in the past. These interactions in the past created Fetch in the present, and we slowly understand why. Arnold did a great job showing how different Fetch was before and after the Coda. Before the Coda, Fetch was wide-eyed and naive, dealing with his strange upbringing and marveling at this world full of monsters. After the Coda, Fetch is a broken man. He nurses a deep wound and is wracked with guilt that is slowly disintegrating him, much like vampires slowly sloughing away. There is a dark melancholy in the way that Arnold writes this story. Often when authors attempt to use this type of tone, it can come off as trite. Trite and pretentious, but Arnold used it as a means of showing the desperation of the situations that Fetch and by extension Sunder City are in, and it is a useful way of communicating it. The Last Smile in Sunder City is a sad Sam Spade type story, but underneath all that sadness is a small gem of hope. This hope allows the reader to feel something aside from the grief and inevitability at the destruction of magical life. At the beginning of the story, the little light of hope is seen flashing briefly in the characters from page to page. Always other characters than Fetch. Fetch is fully immersed in his mental anguish. But by the end, and through some excellent writing, hope the most elusive of emotions comes shining through for a few moments. Things might not be ok. Matter-a-fact, they probably won't be. But, there are things to be hopeful about. There are things to find a small bit of joy in even if it is something as little as a good cup of coffee.

There are good things, and The Last Smile in Sunder City demonstrates that. It is a great read, sad at times, and hopeless, but it still propels the reader page to page with hope for the future. Arnold has demonstrated great skill in weaving an emotionally realistic tale, and I am looking forward to the next one.

If you would like to read more of my reviews or various other bookish things please come by my blog
at https://beforewegoblog.com/

Urban Fantasy scenarios often share several common elements: a city where supernatural creatures exist side-by-side with humans, either in plain sight or hidden; the presence of magic; an atmosphere typical of noir movies; and a P.I. engaged in a complex investigation. The Last Smile in Sunder City does possess these elements, granted, but sets them in an unusual background that gives the story and its characters a new, intriguing perspective.

The world in which the story is set was imbued with magic once, but a catastrophic event named The Coda closed off its source with tragic consequences, and now the city of Sunder, once a flourishing center of industry, is just a ghost of its former self, as are its supernatural inhabitants, stripped like their world of any magical attribute that made them what they were. Fetch Phillips is a human Man For Hire, eking out a meagre living by accepting odd jobs, just enough to pay the rent and fuel his drinking habit - he does not work for his fellow humans though, out of a deep-seated sense of anger and guilt whose roots are explored in the course of the story.

Tasked with looking into the disappearance of a teacher from the city’s multi-species academy, Fetch finds himself caught in the kind of complex tangle of misdirections and threats that is to be expected in a story’s investigative thread, but this inciting incident is only the pretext to explore the world and its inhabitants as they try to pick up the pieces of the past and to build a new life out of the ashes of the old one. Fantasy novels more often than not rely on magic, but here instead we explore a culture that has to deal with the sudden death of it, and what this means in the everyday existence of Sunder’s citizens: the sad, grey, hopeless mood of the story often reminded me of Tolkien’s Elves’ long defeat, a battle with no hope of victory that is however still fought because the idea of surrendering to the inevitable is even more loathsome.

The world building in The Last Smile in Sunder City is its best feature, indeed. The image of Sunder City that I built in my mind reminds me of a town in the throes of the Big Depression, where people have to find new ways to survive not so much out of financial troubles (although they are a factor in many instances), but out of the disappearance of the magic that helped run many of the activities, like the streets deprived of wizardry-powered electricity and barely lighted by torches or fires. Then there are the dreadful physical transformations brought on by the Coda: werewolves frozen in the transition from wolf to man, formerly immortal Elves who aged overnight or even crumbled to dust, vampires who lost their teeth and the ability to thrive on blood - the description of what happens to the majority of those supernatural beings at the very moment in which the Coda happens is something both nightmarish and imbued with profound emotional impact.

The social changes in the post-Coda world have taken another, uglier facet as well: the connection to the world’s magic was severed by humans in an underhanded attempt at harnessing that power - humans were the only ones unable to tap it, and it was their intention to put themselves on the same level as the magically-able creatures. Now that supernatural beings have been stripped of their edge, humans feel entitled to take over: their technology, the mechanical means by which their civilization moves, are the only ones that work now, which puts them in the position of superiority they craved for a long time. Not a pretty spectacle at all…

In all of this, Fetch Phillips keeps his distance from everything and everyone, a loner by personal history and by choice, nursing his deep guilt with the same care he nurses the endless bottles of liquor and the drugs that barely help him go through the days: at face value this personality traits, and attitude, would have made me dislike him immediately, but for some reason I felt pity for him, which increased as his story was revealed through the flashbacks showing how he came to be the individual he is now. Fetch Phillips seems destined from a very young age to be alone, even in the company of others, of being the one looking in from the outside, never being part of something, never feeling accepted, and this shapes both his psychological profile - past and present - and the string of bad choices that ultimately bring him to the momentous decision whose outcome will weigh him with endless guilt and regret. He is a man possessed by a strong death wish, uncaring of the damage he sustains as a result of his actions, but at the same time he does not seem to really want that end, because it would also mean the end of his self-inflicted penance - and also the end of what little good he might do to atone for his past mistakes.

I’m aware that all of the above might sound depressing and excessively gloomy, but in reality it’s not as grim as it might seem and it’s also quite compelling, not to mention that the small, very small glimmer of light that can be perceived toward the end promises that things might not look so hopeless in the next book, or books, of this series.

As a debut novel The Last Smile in Sunder City is not a perfect one: there are some pacing issues, particularly in Fetch’s flashbacks that could have been tightened a little to avoid the loss of focus on the issues of the present, and there are times when the search for the missing vampire teacher seems to become irrelevant, instead of being the connecting element of the story. Yet, the narrative remains engaging throughout, and that’s definitely a plus: I will look forward to seeing how Sunder City - and Fetch - will fare in the next installments.

The Last Smile in Sunder City has an interesting concept, but fails in in execution. Arnold focuses on his world at the expense of the plot.

The Last Smile in Sunder City features a lot of fantasy elements making the world rich and colorful, however Arnold relies heavily on the telling the reader about his world instead of showing. There are pages upon pages of the main character directly explaining to the reader why things are the way they are or how things got to be a certain way. It almost becomes formulaic.

What I enjoyed most about The Last Smile in Sunder City was its gritty noir vibe. Readers get know Fetch and come to realize he’s not a black or white character. Fetch operates in the grey and has no problems doing so. Fetch’s investigation is also something else I really enjoyed, however Arnold spends more time developing his world than the actual mystery. So, by the end of the novel the mystery has barely moved and is then quickly resolved.

Overall, The Last Smile in Sunder City is an interesting concept that fails in its execution by focusing too much on world building at the expense of the actual plot. The Last Smile in Sunder City is the first in a series, so I may be interested in reading the sequel since all the heavy lifting for the world building is already done.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Last Smile in Sunder City. The Last Smile in Sunder City looks at the world after magic has been killed off. Fetch Phillips is a heavy-drinking Private Investigator working to redeem himself for past sins. In order to redeem himself he works for the once magical creatures of Sunder City. In this first book, Fetch is hired to find a missing professor, a 400 year old vampire. In order to locate him, he must face both his past and the run down streets.

This is by no means a happy book. This is a book about continuing on when everything has been lost. This looks at regret and penance. I thought Fetch was a great main character that truly shows both the good and ugly sides of being human.

I will say it’s a bit slow and for me this was largely due to the split time lines. I think whenever this is used, one timeline is always more interesting than the other. For me I was more interested in the present and the hunt for the missing vampire. I didn’t care nearly as much about Fetch’s childhood and early life as a soldier. But, overall a very enjoyable book and I’m looking forward to the second one.

Fetch Phillips killed magic. Now he is a drunken man for hire helping ex magical creatures with their problems. We start off with a job to find a missing vampire. Now that Fetch killed off magic, vampires are fangless and slowly turning to dust. Elves are old and crippled, Dragons fell out of the sky and faded away, witches warlocks and wizards are rendered completely useless.

This is a very interesting and fun detective noir type fantasy story. I'm not a huge fan of the fantasy genre. I mainly read science fiction and horror but this had me HOOKED and I'm really happy this is going to be a series.

Perfect for fans of Terry Pratchett and Tad Williams.

If you are familiar with my blog, then you know I am a HUGE fan of pirates. So when I found out that Black Sails actor, Luke Arnold wrote a book. I could not resist. The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold is the first book in an urban fantasy series called the Fetch Phillips Archives. Magic has been torn away from the world, but the creatures are still there. Everything is upside down. Fetch Phillips is human. He holds so much guilt. Once a soldier now a man for hire. One job he picks up is looking for a vampire. He uses his detective skills to search out this 400-year-old vampire. When the magic was destroyed, magical creatures suffered, vampires included. This mystery seems like an impossible task and the more he digs, the more dangerous this task becomes.

As far as debut novels go, The Last Smile in Sunder City is spectacular! The storyline is complex, with well-developed characters. The story left me wanting more! Since it is the first book in a fantasy series, it is a little slow. As a fan of fantasy, that is pretty typical. The authors need to focus on world-building and creating a cast of characters. I absolutely love the premise of a magical world with the magic stripped away. It kind of reminded me of BBC’s Merlin, where magic is banned in Camelot. Sorry. I got distracted. I tend to do that with fantasy.

The other aspect that I love about this novel is the writing in general. The writing has a very noir feel to it and also poetic in a sense. It is dark and with seriously flawed characters. Fletch Phillips is phenomenal. I can’t wait to see what is in store for his character in the next book. I rate this book 4 out 5 stars! If you enjoy urban fantasy, then this book is for you. It is available February 25th!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the book!

Meet Fetch Phillips: Man for Hire. This alcoholic, who also has a penchant for pain killers, has been living bottle to bottle and job to job while trying to come to terms with his past and the guilt he feels. Fetch is a detective in Sunder City, a place populated by not only all kinds of people, but all kinds of magical being, even if there is no more magic.
Magic disappeared 6 years ago, when the Coda happened. The Coda is when humans tried to capture and control magic at its essence by using machinery. This caused the natural magic of the world to stop, which changed the lives of magical beings, like werewolves and wizards, forever. This also made the post-Coda magical community view humans as pariahs, which a lot of humans honestly deserve.
I loved how the author spent plenty of time building the history of the main character, Fetch. He doesn’t start out as the most loveable person, but turns into a character I cant help but adore and completely understand.
This story is a blast to read, fast to get through and hard to put down. I highly recommend it for fantasy fans, for humans and non-human alike!
Thanks for reading my review and happy reading!!!

This is the most fun I’ve had reading in a very long time! In an interview at the end of my copy the author discussed his influences for this book listing some classic noir detective authors and Terry Pratchett’s Discworld and I can see both of these in this story. It has the humour and slight ridiculousness of Pratchett but with a darker, grittier tone that take it into noir territory. I was reminded somewhat of Butcher’s Harry Dresden but Fetch and this world are a unique creation all their own.

What makes Fetch a truly fantastic hero is that he isn’t special. In a world where so many are exceptional, or were before the loss of magic, Fetch is just a regular guy. He’s lived through a lot which has given him the benefit of experience but he doesn’t have any superpowers, special abilities, or anything really that should set him apart from everyone else. Maybe his stubbornness, smartassery, and the ability to take a beating (or ten) and keep going is what makes him special. He’s kind of like a cockroach; hard to kill. The self-deprecating humour, possible suicidal tendencies, and hard living make him a hot mess and surprisingly likable. He often operates in the shadows of legality and morality. He's a hero who would never consider himself to be one.

The writing is over the top in a good way. It’s descriptive, uses a ton of metaphors and made me laugh out loud repeatedly. The humour was a high point for me reading this and I have to say that it brightened up my day, even though the story has a lot of darkness. The world building flowed pretty naturally into the story without any massive info dumps. It’s a complicated world with a complex history but I feel like I got a pretty good grasp on it without any stress. There are a ton of characters but they are all so distinct that keeping them straight wasn't difficult. As long as you can tell a werewolf from a demon there's no problem!

This was a super fun, fast paced book that was truly a joy to read. The laugh out loud humour, compelling characters, and gripping plot made this easy to pick up and difficult to put down. My first thought on finishing is that I want more books in this series and I’m delighted to see my wish will be granted. This was such a strong start that I can’t wait to see where Fetch goes next!

Thank you Orbit Books for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

4.0 / 5 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2020/02/22/the-last-smile-in-sunder-city-by-luke-arnold-review/

Fetch Phillips has been called many things in his life, though few worse than those he calls himself. He was born nowhere, a settlement that was soon reduced to even less. The sole survivor of the massacre, Fetch was taken in by Weatherly—a human city that wanted nothing more than forget the magic outside its walls. And for much of his young life, Fetch tried. Tried, and failed, to forget the magic. To forget what he’d seen, what he’d heard, what fate had claimed his family. In Weatherly he had a new family, new kin, and a place that he’d never wanted. But in the end, he couldn’t escape the call of the magic—and left Weatherly behind, en route to Sunder City.

Much has happened since then. Too much, for Fetch’s reckoning. He still calls Sunder City home, eking out his living amidst the magical creatures and humans alike as a Private Eye—one available to the magic community only. Or should we say the FORMERLY magical community. For, several years after Fetch’s escape from Weatherly, the magic in Sunder—in the whole of creation—died. But the monsters remain.

Edmund Rye is a teacher at the first school for all the descendants of the formerly magical. Ogre, gnome, elven children rub elbows and play tag with goblins, kobolds, sirens, and dwarves. The professor is a delight, fully committed to his work, the future, and the students themselves. That is, until recently when Rye disappeared.

Enter Fetch Phillips, Man for Hire, contracted to find the professor and if possible return him to his duties. But the deck is stacked against him. For the professor is a member of the Blood Race—a vampire. Of course, when the magic died, the vampires lost their thirst for blood. Except that maybe, somehow, Rye’s has returned. Or maybe he’s just dead, rotting in a ditch somewhere. Phillips doesn’t care—he gets paid the same either way.

But when a young siren girl—and Rye’s prodigy—turns up missing as well, Fetch’s life complicates further. For as little as he cares about Rye, the girl has untapped potential. Something Fetch himself is fresh out of. Maybe something he never even had. And as he begins to give a damn about the case, several inopportune things happen. The ghosts from Fetch’s past begin to turn up in the present. And things that should’ve remained buried come to life. And though the magic is well and truly dead, hope is not quite gone, and neither is Fetch Phillips.

‘ Maybe nobody gets better. Maybe bad people just get worse. It’s not the bad things that make people bad, though. From what I’ve seen, we all work together in the face of adversity. Join up like brothers and work to overcome whatever big old evil wants to hold us down. The thing that kills us is the hope. Give a good man something to protect and you’ll turn him into a killer. ‘ - Last Smile in Sunder City

A life without hope is no life at all, but a desperate hope is little better. For a person who has lost all hope is nothing but predictable, but a desperate person is completely unpredictable. And unpredictability begets chaos.

The Last Smile in Sunder City is the fantasy debut from Black Sails actor Luke Arnold. And it is—as you may’ve guessed—a story of hope. Set in a dark but beautiful world, Sunder City is an amazing, if depressing setting. Arnold fills the pages with history and lore, both before and after the death of all magic—filling the story with a sense of desperation, and of hope.

Now where the world-building is pretty solid, the story is somewhat blah. It’s not bad exactly, just straightforward. The mystery itself wasn’t too deep or inventive, and I sometimes lost track of things when Arnold attempted to set the scene. These glimpses into the history of the world were interesting, but ultimately distracted from the plot itself. Where an open world full of side-quests may work well for an RPG, it doesn’t really work for a book. Additionally, sometimes Fetch takes unbelievable leaps in his logic, relating two or more clues that don’t appear to add up.

A deliciously dark setting, combined with a story of hope and hopelessness, make Last Smile a must-read for any fans of dark fantasy. Indeed, I found a world recently relieved of its magic to be an unique and immersive setting, particularly as the main character has his own history surrounding the event. Not only did the Coda cost the world its magic, but it cost Fetch Phillips more than a little bit of himself. The effects that the loss has on the world’s formerly magical inhabitants proved as fascinating as they were horrible, from death and disfiguration to hopelessness and despair. The effect upon mankind were much less severe, with only those few wizards and witches affected by the loss, but now humans are universally loathed for their part in the Coda. A part that you can read about in the book (I’m not giving it away).

While I’d definitely recommend the Last Smile for its world and setting, if nothing else, I must admit I had one notable issue with it. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what era this world was set in. Likely because Arnold has just made up something all on his own; a world that had little need for innovation or technology before the magic left. And yet, there’re things like phones and hospitals and automobiles and police, but no guns or radios or the like.

TL;DR

Set in a dark and dreary world newly devoid of magic, The Last Smile in Sunder City is a solid four star debut from actor Luke Arnold. While the main mystery leaves something to be desired, the journey of Fetch Phillips more than makes up for it. At times seemingly random and disoriented, this amalgamation of history, mystery and lore bespoke of heart, redemption, and—more than anything—hope. And in a world of darkness, even the smallest spark can give light to an even greater hope, no matter how unlikely it seems.

The world sucks, and everyone hates it. And it wasn't always this way. War happened, and the result was that magic left the world in an instant. Creatures that lived for centuries lay dying or were dead soon after magic left. Others lost their wings, or fangs. It was only a few years ago, and no one has recovered yet. An entire world has had to grieve their loss at what they were, and learn to accept the new. It's a process.

For everyone except the humans.

Fetch Phillips is human. And he is the person responsible for why the world is the way it is. The one who got magic killed. He is also a drunken private investigator/man for hire who everyone hates, including himself. And he is incredibly weak and easily lead which amounts to a not so decent person. You see his story, past and present, told throughout the book. You slowly learn how and why he caused magic to die.

In The Last Smile in Sunder City, Fetch Phillips is hired by the only place in Sunder City that is willing to accept that the past is gone and it is time to look towards the future: a school for children. One of their teachers has gone missing, a vampire who has also decided that the future is the only way to go - even if it means he'll die of starvation since blood is no longer sustaining vampires. The investigation will not be kind to Fetch, but nothing ever is.

I'm super conflicted about this book. The world Luke Arnold wrote was really good, and sustained me throughout my reading. In fact, I'm looking forward to reading book two in the future, entirely because of the world created. It was a lot of the other parts I had trouble with. I do have to say that I compared this to pretty much everything else I've read, though. Sometimes instead of reading. It was typically a favourable comparison, though, and sometimes I felt Luke Arnold did better than what I was comparing it against.

I don't mind characters with a sordid backstory, especially ones who are struggling with their inner demons the entire time. But Fetch Phillips just didn't do it for me. I... I mostly just blamed him. He was the cause of all his problems with exactly zero redeeming qualities. And he had no real side characters to attach myself to either. He was very alone the entire book. But there is potential in the future, I believe.

The pacing was also incredibly off. The story was told in past and present format, where Fetch Phillips often ruminates on what happened in the past. Mostly because he is always thinking about what happened. And it just completely breaks up the entire flow of the book. The investigation of the book, the missing vampire, often took a backseat entirely, and I felt like I would go chapters without hearing about it again, because we'd get a little bit of the present where nothing happened - and then back to the past.

Overall, I enjoyed The Last Smile in Sunder City and I'm really looking forward to book two. I want to see where this story is going. I want to see if Fetch Phillips ever grows a backbone and makes friends, not enemies. And I think my pacing problems will be gone when I no longer have to need to learn about what happened in the past to understand the present. Yes, I had some problems with book one, but they were not insurmountable.

I received this book from Orbit in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 7.5/10

The Last Smile in Sunder City is a splendid debut; one that is a breath of stale air, grit, and blood in a city where the magic is all gone and the drinks can’t come quick enough. What we end up with is an entertaining urban fantasy romp through crowded streets, empty taverns, and dark alleyways alongside a drunken, cynical PI for hire who is attempting to rectify his past mistakes. Arnold proves his chops with striking prose and impressive world-building; a world that I definitely am craving more of.

As many of you probably already know, Arnold is a part of the 2020 New Voices campaign that the publisher has put together. Orbit started this last year with authors like Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan and Evan Winter, among several others, and I believe it is one of the best marketing tools to use for pushing out debut authors and those new to the imprint, especially for those outside of the book community. I’m sure you are also aware that Luke played Long John Silver in the STARZ TV series ‘Black Sails’. It is a series that I began watching in Season 1, moved, and didn’t pick back up, but is one that I will more than likely begin binging very soon after having read his debut.

While TLSiSC won’t wow you with huge battles, intense magic systems, or massive street brawls (because let’s be honest, there aren’t any), the mystery surrounding our protagonist and Sunder City, the array of secondary characters who flow in and out of the story-line, and the overall world-building will keep you entertained as you attempt to unravel the whodunit. One thing I can say: you will more than likely not be a fan of Fetch because his redeemable qualities are few and far between. Yours would be too with a past like his, but at least he is trying. The author also writes the story across two different timelines, allowing you to see into Fetch’s past while also tagging along in the present. Having said that, I feel that his past could’ve been expanded upon, and maybe it will in future novels.

I’d say Arnold’s debut is a great addition to the urban fantasy genre. If you are like me and enjoyed books like The Fifth Ward: First Watch by Dale Lucas, Titanshade by Dan Stout, or maybe even Chasing Embers by James Bennett, you’ll find a ton to enjoy here. Even if you aren’t a fan of urban fantasy, there are several elements that will appeal to you.

The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold has a lot of potential to be a great urban fantasy noir, but it never quite makes it there. Noir is one of my favorite genres, both film and books, so I jump at the chance to try something new. It's can be a lot of fun when combined urban fantasy which is one of my other favorite genres and this story has quite a bit to like about it, especially when it comes to the atmosphere of the world-building. Unfortunately, it doesn't really stand out where it needs to with the voice of the leading character Fetch Phillips. Also the pacing isn't consistent either where it either moves at a snail's pace or at breakneck speed for short periods. As the series progresses, I think it may really be able to find its footing so I plan on keeping my eyes open for future installments.

This book takes place in Sunder City after the loss of magic. Magic being as dying and humans, having caused the loss of magic, are generally unwelcome. There is also the rise of human anti-magic gangs that go around hurting magical beings now that they are weak. Into the world, is Fetch the MC. A rather stereotypical, down on his luck, alcoholic PI, who even has a “dead” girl friend who has not real purpose mind being dead. However, the world building is highly creative and well built. I enjoyed the different species and different reactions to a world now without hope and how different people deal with it. On the other hand, there was just nothing about the MC that made me want to root for him or come back for a second book. He continually made poor life choices and there was no real hope of redemption. The side characters were never developed so that I might have someone else to root for and connect with. All in all, if you like this kind of MC than you may enjoy this book and the world building again was fantastic.