Ben Aaronovitch

'Ben Aaronovitch's masterfully crafted world of magic, ghosts and gruesome crimes gives the late, great Terry Pratchett a run for his money' The Sun 'Great, great fun' Simon Mayo, Radio 2 My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit - we do paperwork so real coppers don't have to - and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluble, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England. Now I'm a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden ... and there's something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair. The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it's falling to me to bring order out of chaos - or die trying.

The First Rivers of London novel

Rivers of London

My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit - we do paperwork so real coppers don't have to - and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluable, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England. Now I'm a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden . . . and there's something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair. The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it's falling to me to bring order out of chaos - or die trying.

High Fidelity

Standard operating procedure for dealing with mad fuckers; keep them talking, sidle closer, grab them when they ain’t looking.

I did what everyone does when they’ve run out of options – I went back to the one place where, when you turn up, they have to let you in.

I don’t mind getting drunk, but there always comes a moment in the evening when I find myself watching myself bumping into things and thinking, I’m bored of this, can I have full control of my brain back, please?

Am I being too harsh? I might be being too harsh.

I liked the concept of the novel and I liked that it manages to show how multicultural and colourful London is (pleasantly surprised by my own geographical knowledge of London! It only goes to show it pays off just being random places). But the amount of things happening in the story made it feel twice as long as it actually was; it felt like it was trying to cram in so much, it was hard to keep focus on the main mystery.

The novel was very funny, too, but I would get such whiplash when it would get weird towards women. I would give it the benefit of the doubt - maybe it was just the times - but it is really not that old, they had pop feminism in 2010/2011.

Am I being too harsh? I might be being too harsh.

I liked the concept of the novel and I liked that it manages to show how multicultural and colourful London is (pleasantly surprised by my own geographical knowledge of London! It only goes to show it pays off just being random places). But the amount of things happening in the story made it feel twice as long as it actually was; it felt like it was trying to cram in so much, it was hard to keep focus on the main mystery.

The novel was very funny, too, but I would get such whiplash when it would get weird towards women. I would give it the benefit of the doubt - maybe it was just the times - but it is really not that old, they had pop feminism in 2010/2011.

I found it a bit difficult to get into the story at times, but the humorous storytelling was fun.

Yega

Luke Harkness

Just something about this book didn't blow me away

I'd been hearing a lot of positive things about this series for a while and after some high fantasy reads, I thought I'd bring myself down to something a little more realistic (based in a real place at least). I thoroughly enjoyed the way in which Ben Aaronovitch wrote, if a little sexist and perverted, it was poetic and well thought out throughout. However, there was a lot of descriptions and background writing that drew me away from the story a little. Almost like he's trying to teach us about the history of London, which I understand he likely was and is possibly the book's semi-intention, but it just didn't flow with me.

The main character was probably a 3/5, he wasn't funny, he wasn't witty, he just seemed to go through the motions and end up doing the right thing. Play, as previously mentioned, nearly all the women were described by the size of their breasts and it just took away from any real picture of what any female characters looked like.

It may sound like I didn't like this book, I did! I thoroughly enjoyed the unique magic system, the clever references to London and how grounded the fantasy elements were. It would make a fantastic dark version of Harry Potter. I would still recommend this book to anyone who enjoys London or city-based books with a slight fantastical twist.

Andrew Cartmel

Detective Inspector Peter Grant is back in an all-new comic miniseries from author Ben Aaronovitch! Trouble never lies far from the race track. When a flash car belonging to a young boy racer from England washes up in the Netherlands with a bagload of unusual cargo, it's evident there is more than meets the eye happening at street races held in an Essex car park. Enter Detective Inspector Peter Grant. Fresh from suspension, he takes to the track in his orange 'asbo' Ford Focus to try and infiltrate the big leagues. But Peter soon finds himself sucked back into an Otherworld - a real-life fairyland!

Rivers of London: Volume 8 - the Fey and the Furious

Ingrid Stav

Vicky  Nuñez 

Rivers of London is a refreshing take on the UF genre. I thought for sure I had read all UF had to offer, but I'm so pleasantly surprised to find myself in the wrong.
The wit and Britishness won me over. It's not like Harry Potter, but it is as great.

My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit - we do paperwork so real coppers don't have to - and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluable, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England. Now I'm a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden ... and there's something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair. The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it's falling to me to bring order out of chaos - or die trying.

“Something round and dirty and white was resting near my foot. It was a skull. I picked it up.
‘Is that you, Nicholas?’ I asked.
‘Put that down, Peter,’ said Nightingale. ‘You don’t know where it’s been.’ ”
----------------------------------

Ever wondered what would happen if Harry Potter got introduced to the magical world, not as an 11-year old, but as a full grown adult who has become a policeman instead of an Auror? Yeah, me neither. And yet, we get to find out.

With sprinkles of classic fantasy elements in modern day London, Rivers of London is a very interesting take on the hidden fantasy world trope. The magical system is really cool, the characters are quirky, and the plot is completely unhinged. It is funny, and absurd, and so gory at the same time that it should be good. But somehow, the overall story fell a bit flat for me despite a very strong start.

Most of all, I found it hard to connect with the main character at all, who skirts a very thin line between charming and completely obnoxious, often falling on the latter side. 

Overall, great humor but an average fantasy and mystery plot.

Laura Mauler

Second read: Downgrading from 5 to 3 stars. Some important stuff doesn't make sense upon a second reading.

First read: Wooo, what a ride! Up late every night reading, up well past midnight last night to finish. This is my type of fantasy book: grounded in the real world with magic and/or magical beings layered on top, and British humor veined throughout. Bonus points for the historical bits.

Belle

Weak 3. The writing style was fun, but I wasn't enjoying the story much by the end. Not necessarily bad, just not interesting to me.

Sonja H

Eine interessante und gut umgesetzte Idee, aber die Geschichte hat mich nicht genug gepackt, um ein weiteres Buch aus dieser Serie zu lesen.

Cams Campbell

A fun read and a novel idea; it has whetted my appetite for more. It adds a whole new slant to the tired old wizard and apprentice genre and makes it new and fun again.

I actually really enjoyed this, despite it taking me ages to read. 
It had the perfect balance of mystery and comedy for me, and it really worked because I didn't find it at all scary, which is usually my problem with mysteries. The fantasy element was also really well done and quite realistic.
Generally I found it great, but the ending was a bit underwhelming in my opinion.

Sabetha Danes

The audiobook is fantastic, they found the perfect voice for this story. 

If you don't enjoy British humor, think shows like Black Books, then you probably aren't going to find this book that amusing, and maybe a little boring. It reads much like how I would imagine a Londoner would tell me a story if I met him in a pub. Much different than an American urban fantasy.

The main character, Peter, takes you though the story of how he discovered magic is real/first case in the same way you'd expect him to tell you the story about how he landed his first girlfriend. Rough around the edges, unconventional and crass. I enjoyed his laid back take on magic, and his lot in life.

This world has an array of characters that I look forward to getting to know better in future books. I love the way everyone knows magic/paranormal is real to some extent, and either still don't believe it, or roll their eyes at it as if it's childish. Makes it more realistic in the sense that it's very likely how people would act about it. 

The author does a fantastic job at introducing the reader to a wide list of "this is real" situations in this world, without having a main character that is actually wanting to have a long chat about what the rules are or what is real. Peter remains skeptical until proven otherwise, pushes boundaries and experiments in a manner that is refreshingly normal.

The mystery is well laid out, kept me guessing all the way to the end. I am curious if the future books will be as expansive, or if this one was just so we could get to know all the major players in the world.

You'll love this book if you like to believe that magic is real, and follow a low brow male lead detective as he shakes up tradition. 

Notes: HP Mentions, infant death.

Sarah Escorsa

☢ All By My Totally Lonesome Buddy Read with without the MacHalo Freaks ← they abandoned me on this one. What a bunch of egotistical, ungrateful nutcases. 



DNF at 49%.

➽ Because life is too short to read boring books about flat, dull, unemotional, cardboard-like characters who act like they're twelve year olds *waves gleefully at Peter Grant*

➽ And because I have hot dudes things to do, places to go, people to aggravate and all that crap. And Stuff.

»» Come on, Edward, time to bail.



PS: I'll unleash the murderous crustaceans on the next person who tells me I didn't enjoy this book because I don't like British humour. I knew PG Wodehouse's books by heart before most of you were even born, people. So please don't insult me. 



✉ Very private message to lovely Milda: you recommended I read this book. You're dead meat.
✉ Very private message to Asya, Holly, Sarah and all my silly lovely friends who loved this book: we need to talk about your reading tastes.

Jose Vera

Peter Grant es un joven policía mulato que trata de hacerse camino si mucho éxito en Scotland Yard. Un extraño homicidio lo pone de lleno en una sección de la policía desconocida para la mayoría de los seres humanos. Una sección que trata con la magia y lo paranormal.

Hice una reseña del libro en mi blog:
http://lectorcompulsivo.com/2022/01/rios-de-londres-ben-aaronovitch/

Grace Emilia Machon

This series comes highly recommended by people I know and trust and honestly I thought I was going to love it. But oh god no. I hate it. I had how peter grant gets an erecting everytime a woman moves. I hate it’s attitude to policing. I hate it’s masculinity and it’s weird white man writing as a black man in the police. How can this be happening, it all feels a bit gross. 
Also I know so many weird London facts now. Randomly in the middle of something that is a plot. 

The worst bit of the whole thing is that I got the second book in the hope it would get better. 
It didn’t.

Anastaciya

okay, there are still things I didn't like here, but I enjoyed the book a lot, and I believe understood much more than three years ago.

zilver 

Jessica Smith

This was a fun book, mostly because it's full of witty quips and dry observational humour about Londoners and police work. I don't really enjoy police procedurals played straight (having probably watched hours upon hours of BBC ones over my lifetime because my mum loves them), but when mashed up with a couple of other genres like here they can become a refreshing mixing-up of the norm. The actual plot was nothing crazy impressive, with a couple of "But WAIT! What if X was Y all along?!" moments that I found a bit disorienting, but honestly I was reading this book for the quips anyway. Will absolutely come back to read the second instalment.

Mike Pearce

Bloody brilliant! Edge of your seat stuff. If you like Robert Rankin, you'll love this!

Rivers of London The First Rivers of London novel

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