The Shadow of the Soul: The Dog-Faced Gods Book Two (DOG-FACED GODS TRILOGY)

The Shadow of the Soul continues the successful marriage of horror and procedural thriller established by its predeccessor but it is also a much more sombre affair. Cass Jones is embroiled in another case where a series of deaths are interconnected by an unusual element but this time the deaths are suicides and said element is the phrase 'Chaos in the darkness'. This provides a great funereal contrast to the gruesome serial murders of the previous book whilst maintaining an overall structural and thematic integrity between the two. There is a sense that we are going deeper here, getting under the skin of this rotting world and seeing what is waiting there. Cass Jones also seems to serve as an embodiment of this reality; tired, bitter, corrupt and not at all sure what he is fighting for but he does keep on fighting and that is why we stick with him as he uncovers conspiracies that bear chilling echoes of Al-Qaeda and the Hutton Inquiry, which all lead him back to the mysterious Network, the Glow and Mr Bright. I would recommend this to readers who want a thriller that is as dark as they come and blends recent world politics with incredibly eerie metaphysics. There's chaos in the darkness. You should come and give it a try.

Sarah has really upped the stakes in this second part of The Dog Faced Gods trilogy. A Matter of Blood was pretty much your basic murder mystery/thriller with fantasy elements thrown in. The Shadow of the Soul goes all out with the fantasy, and introduces us to other members of the mysterious Network, and gives some interesting insights as to who (or what) Mr. Bright and his associates are.Once again Cass Jones is the cop on the edge, surrounded by death and people who don't like - or trust him - and still coping with the fall out from events in the first book. This second outing is on a grander scale, a world wide conspiracy coupled with a string of suicides and a battle for supremacy within the Network.The last part looks to be a belter based on the set up at the end this book.

This second in Sarah Pinborough's Dog Faced God's trilogy is set 6 months after the first book. Students in London are committing suicide and the only thing that links them is the phrase Chaos In The Darkness.Our hero Cassius Jones is on the case and, as you would expect from this series (please don't come in half way through, you'd be lost) much weirdness ensues.At the heart of it all is The Bank, The Network and the enigmatic Mr. Bright, pulling strings as before. You get to see more of the background but I think it'll be the third book before it all really starts to become really clear.The only thing stopping me giving this the full 5 stars is an issue with some of the editing (only minor)

A thrilling continuation of the Dog Faced Gods, Following Cass Jones descent into even deeper trouble is a joy for us, if not for Cass, and the slow revelelations regarding Mr Bright and The Bank are if anything even more gripping than in the first book. If you like your fiction dark and violent, this is a must read for you.

Das Schicksal der zweiten Bände: einerseis die Geschichte weiter treiben zu müssen, andererseits keinen Abschluss geben zu können. Ms. Pinborough geht meines Erachtens gekonnt damit um. Einerseits erweitert sie die Perspektiven auf der Seite der Guten (oder zumindest der Sterblichen): neben Cass Jones gibt es Raum für den weiblichen Bodyguard der Premierministerin, die auf ihre Art genauso desillisuioniert und womöglich noch emotionsloser agiert. Erfreulicherweise hat Ms. Pinborough genug Vertrauen in ihre Geschichte, um keine Romanze hinein zu zwingen.Zum anderen erhöht sie die Komplexität des hinter der allmächtigen Bank agierenden Netzwerks: neben Mr. Bright zeigen sich andere Akteure, die seine Storichtung durchaus nicht für die richtige halten.Die Science-Fiction-Aspekte wurden ein wenig runter gefahren, die Fantasy-Aspekte ein wenig rauf. Die Krimi-Handlung gerät noch mehr in den Hintergrund und ist ehrlich gesagt auch ein wenig überspannt: (ACHTUNG SPOILER: Gleich zwei unabhängige Mörder, die sich an eine Selbstmordwelle dranhängen, wobei der eine passenderweise schlicht verrückt ist, sodass man sich um Sinn und Zweck der Tat gleich gar keine Gedanken machen muss, ist eher schwach). Aber der Krimiaspekt ist ohnehin nicht im Vordergrund.Erfreulicherweise gibt es bei Cass Jones auch eine Entwicklung von einer Figur wie in Bad Lieutenant hin zu einem aktiveren Protagonisten. Insgesamt macht das Buch viel Neugier auf den Abschlußband, wobei ich Sorge habe, dass die verschiedenden Aspekte zu einem befriedigenden Ende führen, vor allem weil eine der Hauptfiguren noch nicht einmal erwacht ist(der Erste und ja, die Auflösung, wer das und wer die unsterblichen Mitglieder des Netzwerks sind, ist augenscheinlich wirklich so einfach, wie es im ersten Band schien).

so different but kept you interested

This book is a worthy sucessor to the first book (a matter of blood) as the story progresses & you learn more about the protagonist (Cassius) & his family. It definately makes you want to buy the final book in the trilogy.

Actually gave up on this book, don't often do that, but finally was bored stiff by it

If you enjoyed A Matter of Blood the next book in the trilogy will please you even more. The Shadow of the Soul goes deeper into the Network as well as Jones and Brights background. Old threads come together and new ones are revealled. After reading the first in this series I couldn't wait for the U.S. release and bought the next two from England using Amazon. If you haven't read Sarah Pinborough you should, and the Dog Faced Gods trilogy is a fantastic place to start.

Awesome through and through