22nd January 2024 - Rivers of London Book Series
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Recently I have been reading a lot of the Rivers of London series of
books by Ben Aaronovitch. I thought it was enjoyable enough as a
series to write something and hopefully encourage someone to give it a
go. There will be spoilers but hopefully nothing which becomes a
detriment.
The books focus on present day London and a member of the police
called Peter Grant. He is a fairly newly qualified police constable
who has an unexpected encounter with a ghost. We learn about how
magic, ghosts and other unexpected life forms exist as Peter learns
about this world. The books focus on resolving cases involving the
supernatural and are an interesting hybrid of detective and action
genres. Discussing any more will ruin your exploration of this world
alongside PC Grant.
Ben Aaronovitch is often recommended to Terry Pratchett fans eager to
explore similar worlds to the Discworld. While the Discworld is an
entirely new world, disc shaped and held in place atop the backs of 4
elephants wo stand upon the back of A'Tuin, a turtle passing through
space, the Rivers of London universe is strictly a case of the modern
world with a supernatural twist. However, both authors manage to
convey the human element of both stories without whacking the reader
in the face with it. There is of course humour in both author's work.
However, Ben Aaronovitch tends to want to show how clever they are
with references made a little obvious. Whereas Terry Pratchett hides
his references and puns everywhere. Re-reads lead to discovering ever
more. although I might just be overly harsh as I have not reread the
Rivers of London series... yet.
One similarity is the diverity in the characters. There seems to be
lots of different backgrounds, orientations and what not. These are
not made key defining characteristics but offered almost like spices
to enhance the flavour or realism of the characters. There are
exceptions. Peter's mum being Somali is a key defining characteristic
for her in many ways. There is also a fairly annoying reference to the
wide ranging nationality of each takeway mentioned. However, the
diveristy feels tasteful and works well. For me at least that is. Your
mileage may vary.
I particularly enjoy the way in which London is a character. It is
somewhere which the author loves deeply and has done a lot of research
about. Ben Aaronovitch seems to find an interesting aspect about the
history of the city and then forms a book around it. From lost Roman
temples, 1700s actors, jazz bars to brutalist architecture, a story is
spun. The city is this omni-present but ever changing character and
without which, much of the supernatural aspects would feel silly. The
various rivers of London also add to the character and history. I have
reisted talking too much about the rivers but they are key characters
even if they are simply rivers passing through.
If you enjoy fantasy elements, detective/mystery plots and some great
action scenes then do yourself a favour and give the first book a go.
The first book is aptly called Rivers of London although it is also
called Midnight Riot in the USA. I started reading these in October
2023 and ploughed through to book 8 last night. There are lots of
novellas and graphic novels as well.
