SF Said (Phoenix) manufactures an alternate London in which the British Empire rules the world and magical creatures may prevent ruination in the taut and lively middle-grade adventure Tyger, with atmospheric art once again provided by Dave McKean.
"Everything" about Adam Alhambra--"his skin, his hair, his eyes"--is "just a little different, just a little darker." Though Adam was born in London, his parents are "from the Middle East," meaning he is seen as "a foreigner" in his own city. When a robber chases Adam into an abandoned building, a creature "ten feet long from her whiskers to her tail" comes to his aid. She is a tyger and she is wounded. Adam is absolutely certain that "tygers are extinct" from human hunting but helps her care for her wound and returns later to check on her. This tyger is a "being of infinity and eternity" known as an "immortal" and she took this form while fleeing enemy agents. Tyger introduces Adam to powers he didn't know he contained in exchange for help escaping. Adam travels through every corner of London--and far beyond--in an attempt to save Tyger and potentially the world.
Said's alternative London is one where slavery was never abolished and a lack of the appropriate status is deadly. Magic, though hidden, is real, and relies on key internal concepts like "Perception" and "Imagination." McKean's stark and evocative black-and-white illustrations add tension and grim realism to Said's world. Those who value both Philip Pullman's Golden Compass and Kwame Alexander's The Door of No Return should certainly find something to appreciate in Tyger. --Kyla Paterno, freelance book reviewer