Hidden Cities Books In Order

Publication Order of Hidden Cities Books

By: Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon

Hidden Cities is a series of horror and dark fantasy fiction novels by Tim Lebbon and Christopher Golden. “Mind the Gap” was the first novel in the Hidden Cities series first published in 2008 to rave reviews and critical acclaim. Following the much-vaunted success of the first novel, Lebbon and Golden followed it up with three more titles to stand at four titles by 2010. Both Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon have been inspired by great horror and fantasy fiction authors such as Stephen King and the classic elements of such author’s fiction find their ways into the series. Set in either alternate realities or ancient historical locations that have been hidden from public view for centuries, the novels tell narratives of magic, terror and adventure from the point of view of several disparate characters. The lead characters have to face up to a set of different challenges that sees them transported to alternate or parallel universes where they have to confront paranormal powers that seek to destroy their lives or that of the communities they have come from. Given their setting, the novels offer a unique historical perspective and mystery of the cities in which they are set in.

The series of novels are beautiful journeys told of the histories of prominent cities around the world such as New Orleans, Boston, Venice, and London. The storytelling, while capturing the history of the cities also tells of how the ancient history of such cities has the power to change the future of these cities. The lead protagonists in the novels find themselves in an alternate reality where their cities exist in a parallel universe that has the power to change the trajectory of the city that exists in the real world. Getting into the alternate realities of their cities, they embark on an adventure that is full of chilling ancient feuds, struggles for power, and magic that leads them towards their destinies. Through a series of events that sees the lead characters interact with the progenitors of their city, the histories of Boston, New Orleans, London, and Venice are revealed. Despite their modern looking appearance and attitudes, the cities histories and their present are influenced by magic and the paranormal. However, it is important to note that the past is not a defined white or black canvas but rather a hue that is very fluid. Golden and Lebbon provide excellent flow, language and descriptions that offer eye-opening insights into some of the most important cities in the US and Europe. Even as the narratives in the Hidden Cities series border on the paranormal and fantasy, they are grounded in reality in that actual events are connected with the impossible.

The Hidden Cities series of novels are about the alternate realities of the four cities of London, Venice, Boston, and New Orleans. Golden and Lebbon create some of the most realistic and believable set of characters and history of the cities in the series. Even as they have a common theme of telling the hidden magical and paranormal histories of the cities, the series of novels may be read as standalones given that they have different characters and plot lines. The first novel in the series focuses on the lead characters that run away from determined killers that would do anything to prevent her from fulfilling her destiny. In “Mind the Gap”, the lead character Jazz Towne escapes to an actual city underneath London where she survives by joining a band of survivors living in the alternate world. The subsequent novels are all about the hidden soul of the city rather than an actual hidden city. The second novel in the series, which is set in New Orleans, analyzes the magical history of New Orleans that history professor Max Corbett experiences when he is invited to go back in time to save a dear friend that died during Katrina. The third novel in the series is part historical travelogue part suspense, part fantasy, and part horror as it sees some archeologists discover a hidden chamber underneath Venice, and unwittingly unleash strong magicians that intend to retake Venice. The fourth novel is a darker fantasy fiction as it sees the lead protagonist having to go back into historical Boston to rescue his family from alien forces that have taken them hostage.

“Mind the Gap”, the first novel in the series is the dark fantasy fiction novel from critically acclaimed and award-winning novelists Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon. Jasmine Towne suddenly falls through a crack in the world and finds herself in a new world full of adventure, terror, and magic. Her mother’s advice to be always paranoid has never been more poignant as she now needs to put every skill she ever learned to fight and evade unseen and seen enemies. All her life Jazz has been taught to fear a group of black clad enigmatic stranger that her mother referred to as the “Uncles”. Now the uncles are on her trail looking to take her out and she just cannot find out why, forcing her to flee into the tunnels of London’s vast forgotten underground. In the tunnels, she meets a band of survivors who believe that they are the real United Kingdom. The survivors take her on an adventure where she learns of the ghosts in the city’s past, the father she never had the chance to know, and a destiny she knows she has to grab to stop the relentless killers above in their quest to kill her.

“The Map of Moments” is the second exhilarating novel in the Hidden Cities series of novels, full of dangerous passion and magic. It opens to an ordinary man getting the chance of a lifetime, when he is offered a magical map of an extraordinary city. Max Corbett is coming back to New Orleans six months after he left, after learning that a girl he dearly loved was dead from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Hardly recognizing a city that he left and inconsolable from his loss, an old man appears from nowhere to offer him an insane proposition and a map. It looks like a typical tourist map but according to the old man, one only need look closely to see a trail of magical moments of New Orleans’s past that might allow him to go back in time. Max is soon on a perilous journey as he seeks to get to know the city he had never bothered to know and embark on a quest to uncover dark secrets about his lost love. Just how is she linked to one of the city’s most evil group, and can the professor turn back the clock and give her one more chance at redeeming herself?