A fun first foray into the world of Sunder with our tour guide, a snarky curmudgeon gumshoe PI. Excellent world building and cast of quirky and odd characters. An interesting read and captivating who-dunnit. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for the further adventures of Fetch Phillips.

Recommended for Ben Aaronovitch and Alex Verus fans.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.

I’m not familiar with Luke Arnold’s acting career, however I was still intrigued by his debut novel, The Last Smile in Sunder City. I had heard good things about it and was incredibly curious to try it for myself. I admit I was a little wary going in because the book seemed to have some similarities to The Dresden Files, a series that I very much dislike, however Sunder City proved to be exactly what I wanted from The Dresden Files. 

I enjoyed the heck out of The Last Smile in Sunder City -- Arnold manages to strike the perfect balance between grit and snark, as well as magic and reality. As a huge fan of film noir, I can confidently say that he manages to capture the spirit of noir and crafted the book with such care and passion -- never once did it fall into caricature or cartoonishness, which I sometimes find with books that attempt a noir setting. 

I absolutely loved the world and world building in this book -- the concept of a land that has lost its magic years before and the impact that loss has on the magical and non-magical citizens was incredibly compelling. Arnold did a fantastic job of painting a bleak picture of Sunder City’s present day, while giving the reader the story of its past. The various types of magical creatures and how everything from their lifestyles to physiology changed after the Coda was so awful, yet totally fascinating and inventive. I really enjoyed that he included so much about how the magically-enhanced technology crumbled as well, launching the world into a bizarre modern dark ages. I was completely absorbed by the events of the Coda and would love to read more in this setting and about this world. 

I absolutely, unexpectedly, adored the character of Fetch Phillips. He’s a refreshing and updated (and not a misogynist! What a concept), yet completely identifiable noir detective. He’s a hard drinking, unkept mess of a man trying to atone for the sins of his past, but you never doubt for a moment that he cares deeply for the people he is investigating or for the lives of the formerly magical folk whose lives have been torn apart. I really enjoyed his back story and the way that details of his past are teased out over the course of the book.

I did find the pacing a little choppy at times, especially with the long flashback sequences tucked in between events. It didn't slow down things down, but I found that it did pull me out of the story a little. However, I did really appreciate those sequences because they added so much richness to Fetch's backstory.

Overall, The Last Smile in Sunder City was an absolute treat to read. The perfect crossover between fantasy and noir, it’s a fast-paced read that will keep you turning the pages late into the night.

This was an interesting urban fantasy that had some interesting moments in this. I thought some of the flashback scenes went on for a bit long but the actual plot portion more than made up for that. I liked the progression of the main character and how he developed and responded the situation he found himself in. This is definitely an author i'd read the next in the series from as this was a quick and enjoyable read.

Let me preface this with the fact that I am a huge Jim Butcher fan, love Discworld and enjoyed Rotherweird - this novel though wasn't any of those. It was enjoyable, however, a little disposable and not a novel that will stick in my mind - I may ready a sequel if I see it somewhere, the story was just a little lack luster for my taste. An 'okay' urban fantasy.

I kept expecting a beautiful woman in mourning colours to show up in his office asking for his help, while he has a smoke with his feet on his desk. Or maybe a femme fatale slinking into a dim room - telling him there are bad guys out to get him. You know one or the other.
The setting almost feels like a black and white movie of a typical jaded private eye with a chip on his shoulder and too much to prove in too little time – and though the world itself and the premise of the novel is very intriguing and unlike anything I have read in a while - it wasn’t everything I wanted it to be and I cant seem to explain to myself why that is?

The writing is intricate and both beautiful and harsh at the same time, and I almost wish we were following another kind of character in this landscape, someone looking to the future not to the past. .
The pacing is good and you are swept into the book, and then it holds onto you with both hands and doesn’t let go – even when you might want it to.
Even the constant stream of magical characters are smeared with a dark brush, which is both spooky and a interesting – I couldn’t quite connect with them in the same way I couldn’t connect to Fetch.

Fetch Philips feels in a lot of ways like the typical character in these novels, and though the setting is different the character is the same. The intense repetition of him not being a good guy just kept nagging me and then even when he did do good he didn’t get to rest on it - which just felt like the paragraph was a bit of a waste of story telling - what did it even mean that he wasnt good? The author told us he wasnt, he didnt show us - which is a pet peeve of mine.

I did however, adore the flash backs, and knowing what had come before kept me captivated – I’d read a book any day about him in his younger years trying to prove himself.

So all in all, I enjoyed this book, I didn’t love it and though the premise made me super excited I felt like the actual execution of the book lacked a bit in character, the death of a world is interesting but the birth of one was what held me to the page.

ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.

A well-written urban fantasy with a wonderful take on the premise of “what happens when magic runs out?”

The Last Smile in Sunder City is Luke Arnold’s debut, it’s the first book in an urban fantasy series titled Fetch Phillips Archives. I think I’m speaking on behalf of many readers that we have come to know the name Luke Arnold from his role as “Long” John Silver in the Black Sails TV series. Admittedly, I didn’t finish watching the TV series until I saw Orbit’s announcement of Arnold’s debut, which frankly intrigued me. He did an incredible job there on the TV series, but how about his debut as a fantasy author? Well, there’s nothing to worry about, this was a great read, and I think if you know what you’re getting into, you’ll find that there’s plenty of things to love within this short book.

“I like books. They’re quiet, dignified and absolute. A man might falter but his words, once written, will hold.”


The world used to run on magic, but when the magic of the world disappeared, every magical creature suffered from the effects extremely. The story follows Fetch Phillips, a Man for Hire who worked odd jobs to help non-Humans in order to redeem his sin. Fetch’s job in this novel is to find a missing professor, a four hundred years old vampire. This situation seems impossible, the loss of magic should’ve ceased vampires' existence, and so the mystery thickens and Fetch’s investigation begins. We’ve heard of this premise before, many stories have danced their tune upon this premise, but I have to say that Arnold’s writing style and fascinating world-building was able to invoke a refreshing feeling surrounding the concept.

“In my short and sorry life, I’ve seen many people hide a desire for terrible deeds beneath an apparent higher calling. It’s not hard to find a belief system that will support your own selfish needs. The big surprise for me was discovering that it works the other way too. These broken-winged brothers, even without their story, just have naturally decent hearts.”


Almost the entirety of the novel focuses its narrative on two timelines, one being the present which revolves around Fetch’s investigations, and the other one Fetch’s flashback narrative that led to his biggest sin. Please don’t come into this book expecting there will be many action scenes, in total there were probably three small scenes, but the lack of action scenes doesn’t mean that it’s a boring book; not every book need action scenes to shine. Throughout the novel, we follow the first-person narration of Fetch Phillips exclusively, and honestly speaking, there isn’t much to Fetch’s characterizations that made his background or character distinctive. You know how it is, he’s someone who regretted his actions, ended up running to booze, and now he wants one more shot at redemption. It’s a common story, but thankfully, redemption is a theme, when done right, that I enjoy reading, and Arnold nailed the voice of the main character superbly. I do sincerely hope that there will be more prominent side characters in the sequel to add varieties to the narrative because Fetch was the only noteworthy character in this book. However, what’s lacking in the cast of characters department was redeemed by Arnold’s lovely writing style that made the themes of penance, hope, and regrets in the narrative so compelling to read.

“I was only in my thirties but I was old. You don’t measure age in years, you measure it in lessons learned and repeated mistakes and how hard it is to force a little hope into your heart. Old just means jaded and cynical and tired. And boy, was I tired.”


There’s something about Arnold’s prose that I found to be so accessible, melancholic, and lovely to read. The word ‘Smile’ may be in the title of the novel but don’t let this mislead you into thinking this is a hopeful book, focus on the word ‘Sunder’ instead. The Last Smile in Sunder City is bleak and depressing, the melancholic tone infused into the prose was splendidly done. For example, one of the main themes of the book is how dangerous hope can be. Take a look at these two passages:

“Maybe nobody gets better. Maybe bad people just gets 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 is the hope. Give a good man something to protect and you’ll turn him into a killer.”


And this

“But it’s easy to accept your fate when you know you can’t change it. Things get harder when you have a little hope.”


Aren’t they so well-written? I found Arnold’s way of using the juxtaposition of situations to get his point across was incredibly effective to get my attention.

A great actor and also a great writer, Fetch Phillips would most likely say that life isn’t fair. But hey, as an avid consumer of escapism content, I’m happy that I’ve watched Black Sails, and I’ve read this book. The Last Smile in Sunder City is an urban fantasy debut with an impressive writing style and intricately immersive world-building. The book certainly ended on a standalone manner, and I have absolutely no idea where the story will go from here. I look forward to what Arnold has next in-store!

“Mostly, these historical legends come in pairs. Nothing allows a man to flourish quite like an adversary of equal strength. On their own, some of these figures might never have been noticed, but face them off against each other in bloody conflict and both names get drilled into the record book. A good man is made through a lifetime of work. Great men are made by their monsters.”


Official release date: 6th February 2020 (UK) and 2nd February 2020 (US)

You can pre-order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping)

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions

While I enjoyed The Last Smile in Sunder City. I found it to be a bit on the slow side at times. I liked the main character, and I liked the idea and the premise, it just wasn’t as fast paced as I had hoped it would be. Not a bad debut, and if you’re new to the genre then I would definitely recommend picking it up!

The Last Smile in Sunder City is the debut novel of Luke Arnold (one of the stars of the TV show 'Black Sails'. Fortunately, for me, I don't really know anything about Luke from his acting so my thoughts on the book aren't sullied by fandom.

That being said; Luke Arnold can write. He can tell a really good story in a really interesting and informal way. It's a refreshing way to read a novel and it made the pages fly by.

Fetch Phillips is a human living in a city populated by (once) magical beings such as gnomes, elves, wizards etc ... If you've seen it in a fantasy movie or book, Luke Arnold's city has that fantasy race/creature. Sadly, due to a cataclysm known as The Coda, magic has left the world. Elves aged rapidly, werewolves got stuck midway between beast form and man, vampires lost everything that made them vampires etc ... In this city Fetch operates as a Man for Hire (private investigator) who only works for those once magical beings.

May sound pretty specieist but, humans aren't nearly as needy as the magical folk who have to learn how to exist without what makes them them.

Despite the fact that Fetch is an alcoholic who lives in a bubble of perpetual self-hate, he's actually a really likeable character.

The story itself centres around a missing persons case yet there's so much going on that it pays to keep your attention firmly fixed. This isn't all just praise when I say that, though. I think the author tries to fit too much into a debut. I find the biggest flaw with this book is that info-dumps happen so much and last for so long, that it's hard to remember what the actual plot was leading to before the info dump began. Some of these info-dumps are flashbacks and are integral to the story, but others are what amounts to the author mentioning gargoyles and then suddenly deciding that a ten page backstory on gargoyles are required.

Some of the flashbacks are really interesting, we even get the title of the book explained in one of the flashbacks, but due to the amount of info-dumps I found myself lumbering the flashbacks and info-dumps in with each other on my 'things that annoy me' list.

If I'm being brutally honest and brutally picky, that is what caused this book to score less than full marks. Were it not for the mass of info-dumps I'd have happily given it 5 out of 5 as it was so much fun to read and so enjoyably different. It was still all of those things, even with the dumps, but I just feel they took some of the shine off of the diamond that this book could have been.

Fetch Phillips is an intriguing character and I really like the story being told and the potential of where this series could go in the future. So I'll certainly follow the future adventures of Fetch Phillips.

But Luke, if you are reading this ... please make the info-dumps less dumpy.

The Last Smile in Sunder City was an impressive debut by Luke Arnold; a dark urban fantasy that enraptured me with its stellar worldbuilding and writing style.

Firstly, I've never been exposed to much noir elements in my reading so far, so I won't be able to make any comparisons. However, I can still safely say that this book accurately captured that feel in its worldbuilding and the characterisation of its main character, Fetch Phillips. In a world where magic was destroyed, creatures or beings dependent on magic for their existence suffered delibitating effects. The setting has a truly bleak, post-apocalyptic feel. Sunder City couldn't be more appropriate a name for a progressive city where all hopes and dreams have been torn asunder when magic was lost.

"It was over. The world will continue to turn and there will still be jobs and seasons and kissing and chocolate; there just won't be music in it anymore. We can bite the fruit and understand that it is sweet but not taste it. We will look at the sunrise and do our best to will some warmth into our hearts and feel nothing."

The entire narrative is told from the first person perspective of Fetch Phillips, Man for Hire. As far as noir type stories are concerned, Fetch could be considered as a standard trope. He appeared to be an even more hardboiled Constantine. World-weary, given to vices to numb his pain and regrets, and still trying to atone for the his mistake (not with much success) even though he believed it to be futile. A man for hire for pretty much anything to get by, I saw him as a highly sympathetic and realistic character. Fetch's voice is one of the highlights of the novel for me. I think Luke Arnold nailed his characterisation from the way he thinks and talks.

"There was no denying that it was bad taste for him to become a mortician after the Coda, but where else does a Necromancer go when the dead stop rising to his call? Sometimes it's just too hard to say goodbye to old friends."

There are hidden depths of emotion in our main character which I found compelling. Everyone makes mistakes, he just happened to commit the biggest one of all. When a unexpected and almost impossible possibility reveals itself, would he dare to hope again, or would he give in to resigned acceptance.

"The thing that kills us is the hope. Give a good man something to protect and you'll turn him into a killer."

The entire plot of the story was centred around an investigation of a missing vampire. Throughout the narrative, the worldbuilding unfolds through the interactions Fetch had with various ex-magical beings like Gnomes, Elves, Sirens, Witches, Wizards, Werewolves, etc etc. The loss of magic was felt very keenly when we get to see how these non-humans are getting by, or rather, barely scraping by. We also get rather long monologues from Fetch about his backstory leading to the annihilation of magic in this world. Although it felt info-dumpy at times, it was still fascinating.

I absolutely have to commend the writing style of the author, as I was so enamoured with it. The writing was lyrical, almost poetic at times, but also gritty, raw and darkly humourous. I don't think that I've ever highlighted so many quotes in an urban fantasy book before. Many a times I caught myself swirling those phrases and word choices around in my head, savouring the elegant simplicity with which it was all put together.

"I like books. They're quiet, dignified and absolute. A man might falter but his words, once written, will hold."

The Last Smile in Sunder City was not your typical urban fantasy with a lot of action. It's a slow-paced mystery and at the heart of it, about a defeated man still trying to make amends and find redemption. I've always thought that I'm not the type who would enjoy such bleak stories, but Arnold's writing was remarkably engaging. Couple that with the excellent worldbuilding, and I was hooked from start to finish.

Luke Arnold is possibly better known as the actor who portrayed a young Long John Silver in Black Sails and singer Michael Hutchence in the INXS biopic Never Tear Us Apart. But he has plenty more strings to his bow and one of them, now, is author of the dark urban fantasy series The Fetch Phillips Archives. The Last Smile in Sunder City, is Arnold’s debut and first book in the series about a down and out PI in a decidedly non-magical world.
Fetch Phillips lives in a world without magic. Not out world but a world which was teeming with magic and magical creatures before a group of jealous, decidedly non-magical, humans, destroyed the source of magic in the world. This event, known as the Coda, took the magic away from all of those creatures who depended on it – dragons fell from the sky, immortal elves instantly aged and crumbled to dust, trolls returned to the element that they were forged from. This is a very dark take on a Terry Pratchett-style world, a practically post-apocalyptic scenario with a vast range of creatures trying to pick up the pieces.
Fetch is a detective in Sunder City, a city that once ran on magic but is now having to adapt to new, human ways. He only works for non-humans, his guilt and anger at being one of those responsible for the Coda too great to handle any other way. He is hired by a school for non-magical formerly-magic creatures to track down a Vampire teacher who has gone missing, a case that will take him to the highs and lows of Sunder City.
Fetch Phillips is a classic noir detective. Cynical, damaged and stubborn but unstoppable. But he has to dig deep to be more depressed than the depressing situation in which his world finds itself. This is urban fantasy at its darkest and the closer Fetch gets to solving the case, the darker the whole thing becomes. And Fetch, even with all of the guilt he carries around, continues to make questionable calls and deals. The only light is in memory but even that is tainted by the course that Fetch ultimately found himself on.
All of the usual fantasy standard types are here – ogres, elves, vampires, dwarves, kobolds etc – but all have been drained of the magic spark that made them different. What is left is an extreme form of refugee crisis in which humans lord it over the other races only because they have not lost anything. And a noir detective investigation is an effective way of exploring the city – from the slums up to city hall.
The Last Smile in Sunder City is an audacious, if slightly depressing piece of world building. Like Fetch, and every other ex-magical creature in this world, readers will find themselves hoping that somehow the malaise can be reversed. But in the meantime, everyone has to keep living in the world that they have created and make the best of it. And with another Fetch Phillips book due later in 2020, it seems that is what is what is likely to happen.

There is so much to love in Luke Arnold's debut, a dark, urban fantasy noir, it is so well written and positively drips with atmosphere. Then there is the central protagonist, the downbeat, jaded, cynical, tired, and self loathing detective, Fetch Philips. The world building is done with style and imagination, so richly descriptive that you can picture Sunder City, a place that originally grew and built upon the underground fire pit and the blue collar workers who made their living from the giant factory established there. It is a different place now, there was the pre-Coda world and the devastation of the human wrought Coda that brought with it disaster. It used to be a world where magic flourished, a world of magic folk, wizards, goblins, satyrs, elves, and more, and a great river of magic that humans eyed enviously, for they could not do magic and thought they would be able to do so if they took over the river.

However, they got more than they bargained for as they triggered the collapse of the magical world and its creatures, with fatal consequences, body modifications and increased suffering. Fetch bears responsibility for this horror of the post-Coda tragedy, weighed down by his guilt and driving his refusal to work for humans. Work is a scarce commodity for him, so when he is offered an opportunity by Principal Simon Burbage of the Ridgerock Academy, a rare cross-species school, he has no choice but to take it up. One of the Academy's teachers, the elderly vampire, the kindly Albert Rye has disappeared, and the apparently genial Burbage wants Fetch to find him. In a narrative where we learn of Fetch's childhood and personal history, Fetch stumbles over dead bodies, in a case that proves to be more challenging and demanding than he could have ever expected.

Arnold depicts a dangerous and inhospitable city where hate and violence proliferate, with the likes of the religious sect of winged monks helping the burgeoning tribe of homeless. Humans continue to spew forth their hatred against the once magical creatures, and there are nail gangs who deploy brutality against them. I was captivated by so much of this novel, but for me, Arnold needed to move the action and plot a little more quickly than he did. That is not to say that this is not a wonderful read, it is, but my enjoyment was marred by a little too much lingering in the world building part. Otherwise, this is a great debut. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.

The term ‘most anticipated book of the year’ gets thrown around a lot in book blogging (I do it too, I know!) but I have genuinely been on the edge of my seat to read this since the announcement that it had been picked up – and it’s not even out until February 2020! The Last Smile in Sunder City is the debut novel by Luke Arnold, who just so happens to play my favourite character in one of my favourite shows, Black Sails (which you should totally watch). Great acting doesn’t necessarily mean great writing, so I was apprehensive, but wow, was this man blessed when they handed out creativity, because this book is absolutely PHENOMENAL.

Content warning: Violence (not that graphic, but pretty often!).

Where to start with this incredible book? It’s urban fantasy, with a noir twist, and not as you know it – though this is a gritty, dark cityscape, it’s not set in our world, and though some things seem familiar, there are deep differences from our world that keep this utterly fascinating. Fetch Phillips, our narrator and protagonist, is a man for hire – part detective, part fixer, he does the jobs no one else wants to do. When he’s hired to look into the disappearance of an elderly vampire, he becomes tangled up in something well above his pay grade…

The worldbuilding here is so fascinating. I loved that the culture was so close to our world in places – restaurants, libraries, schools, corrupt goverments – but so wildly different in others – magical races populate the world, but after a catastrophic event six years ago, the magic that sustained them is gone, and they are struggling to adapt to life without their powers (and in some cases, their life force). It’s a very dark world, full of tension and anti-human sentiment alongside the normal miserable setting you expect from the noir style. Seeing the different races jostling for position and resources is some incredible work in terms of worldbuilding – there’s a sadness and an anger in many of the characters, Fetch included, that makes the people feel very real and understandable, especially as you learn more about the last six years. But that’s not to say that this is a depressing read – there’s humour, and hope, and determination, which keeps it entertaining and on the right side of bleak. For all I’ve gone on about the darkness of the world, it’s a genuinely fun read – a difficult line to walk, especially for someone like me who doesn’t like grimdark, and it’s done incredibly well.

Fetch is a wonderful character, and a perfect narrator. He’s got a classic noir voice, full of cynical metaphors and an attempt to project apathy that juuuuust hides how deeply invested he really is. He’s so cocky on the outside, which is brilliant fun, but he has hidden depths and boy are they deep. I love characters where you have to dig past the hard exterior they present to get down to their real self, and Fetch is definitely one of these – his backstory is given to us in small chunks throughout the book, and we have to piece it together to get a sense of who he really is and what he’s been through. I wish I could talk more about how cleverly this is done, but it would be hugely spoilery, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. As Fetch’s history is unravelled, it gives you more and more insight into his present actions, so I’m already itching for a second read to see what I missed the first time around.

I loved this. I loved it. It’s smart, adult-feeling fantasy that does things I’ve never seen before. It’s amazing that such a broken world with such broken characters can be so full of heart and so hopeful, and I’m hugely invested in how this city will carry on surviving, and in Fetch’s life. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I read the last page – this has shot straight to my keep-always favourites shelf. It’s SO good. If you like complex moralities, incredible character insight, and unique worldbuilding, it’s a must-read. I would say read it immediately, but that’s gonna be tricky with a Feb release date so put it on pre-order and block out the 25th Feb to get lost in Sunder City.

In fact, you know what? I’m gonna break my own rule, and award the second ten stars out of five of this year. It’s so worth it!

I’ve seen some very mixed reviews of this so I think the style might be a bit Marmite. Personally, I really enjoyed it. The humour is very dry and there’s less whimsy than Pratchett, less silliness or cuteness than Jim Butcher. There’s an air of irony like Ian Rankin. Ultimately though, this is very much its own thing. A somewhat bleak urban fantasy crime novel with an engaging though not especially admirable protagonist and a wonderful noir feel. It come close to Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series but it clicked for me personally more strongly than that. This was a great book – the tropes of the genre freshly turned out and a well-paced, well thought out plot. I look forward to the next one.