Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
London : Gollancz, 2011.
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Mystery. Probationary constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London's Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he'll face is a paper cut. But Peter's prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter's ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member drachenbraut23
“You put a spell on the dog," I said as we left the house.
"Just a small one," said Nightingale.
"So magic is real," I said. "Which makes you a...what?"
"A wizard."
"Like Harry Potter?"
Nightingale sighed. "No," he said. "Not like Harry Potter."
"In what way?"
"I'm not a fictional character," said
Hey, what a fabulous fun read this was. I so much enjoyed this story, especially all the London details. Living in London for 6 month of the year, it was easy for me to follow Peter Grant around London. Aaranovitch managed to capture the Londoner spirit so well that it made me chuckle a lot of times. Peter is an immensely likable character, and it’s easy to connect with him. His language and tone reminded me a lot of some of my English mates, and that is the character used throughout the story.
“The Metropolitan Police Service is still, despite what people think, a working-class organisation and as such rejects totally the notion of an officer class. That is why every newly minted constable, regardless of their educational background, has to spend a two-year probationary period as an ordinary plod on the streets. This is because nothing builds character like being abused, spat at and vomited by members of the public.”
Such fun! The humor and the unique combination of utilizing magic paired with criminal investigations were highly entertaining. The setting of the story is acutely in line with the modern Dr Who and commensurate with Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. Well, if you love them, this is undoubtedly the book for you.
“Being a seasoned Londoner, Martin gave the body the "London once-over" - a quick glance to determine whether this was a drunk, a crazy or a human being in distress. The fact that it was entirely possible for someone to be all three simultaneously is why good-Samaritanism in London is considered an extreme sport - like BASE jumping or crocodile wrestling.”
"Just a small one," said Nightingale.
"So magic is real," I said. "Which makes you a...what?"
"A wizard."
"Like Harry Potter?"
Nightingale sighed. "No," he said. "Not like Harry Potter."
"In what way?"
"I'm not a fictional character," said
Show More
Nightingale.”Hey, what a fabulous fun read this was. I so much enjoyed this story, especially all the London details. Living in London for 6 month of the year, it was easy for me to follow Peter Grant around London. Aaranovitch managed to capture the Londoner spirit so well that it made me chuckle a lot of times. Peter is an immensely likable character, and it’s easy to connect with him. His language and tone reminded me a lot of some of my English mates, and that is the character used throughout the story.
“The Metropolitan Police Service is still, despite what people think, a working-class organisation and as such rejects totally the notion of an officer class. That is why every newly minted constable, regardless of their educational background, has to spend a two-year probationary period as an ordinary plod on the streets. This is because nothing builds character like being abused, spat at and vomited by members of the public.”
Such fun! The humor and the unique combination of utilizing magic paired with criminal investigations were highly entertaining. The setting of the story is acutely in line with the modern Dr Who and commensurate with Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. Well, if you love them, this is undoubtedly the book for you.
“Being a seasoned Londoner, Martin gave the body the "London once-over" - a quick glance to determine whether this was a drunk, a crazy or a human being in distress. The fact that it was entirely possible for someone to be all three simultaneously is why good-Samaritanism in London is considered an extreme sport - like BASE jumping or crocodile wrestling.”
Show Less
LibraryThing member bragan
One night, rookie cop Peter Grant finds himself taking witness testimony from a ghost. He is somewhat surprised by this. But it turns out that the ability to see ghosts is a pretty good indicator of magical talent, and the next thing you know, he's being apprenticed to a wizard detective,
I found this book rather frustrating, because it should have been so much better than it was. First, the plusses: The main character is likeable enough -- not the world's most memorable character, maybe, but I appreciate his analytical approach to things. And the setting and worldbuilding are interesting. London is a great setting for urban fantasy, and the novel is strongly grounded in a sense of place. The magic system is fairly lightly sketched, but what we see of it makes sense, and there was one point where I found myself exclaiming, "Oh, of course that's how spells work! Nifty! I want to learn that!" In a lifetime of reading fantasy, I think that's the first time I've ever had quite that reaction.
But unfortunately, while the basic plot concept is good, the book suffers from major, major pacing problems. Aaronovitch chooses to make Peter's study of magic realistically slow, which is fine, but the result is that it seems like the characters are spending half the book sitting around twiddling their thumbs, feeling no particular sense of urgency about the supposedly urgent problems they have to deal with, and just occasionally idly picking up a plot thread if they happen to feel like it. It doesn't help, either, that there's an absolutely key connection that the characters don't make until halfway through the story which was immediately obvious to me, despite my being at something of a cultural disadvantage. Once we pass that halfway point, though, things do pick up, and towards the end, stuff starts to get reasonably exciting... And then it loses the momentum again and just sort of splutters on to an ending that's cool in theory, but highly anticlimactic in practice. And the whole subplot with the rivers never seems remotely developed enough, instead giving the impression that it exists mainly as a way to introduce a convenient (and sexy) supporting character.
I'm wondering now if I should bother going on to the sequel. There's so much great potential here that if Aaronovitch can get a handle on his plots it could develop into a really fun series. And maybe this one understandably suffers a bit from having to set everything up. Still, I'm not exactly feeling eager for more.
Show More
investigating a series of bizarre murders, and attempting to broker a peace between feuding river spirits.I found this book rather frustrating, because it should have been so much better than it was. First, the plusses: The main character is likeable enough -- not the world's most memorable character, maybe, but I appreciate his analytical approach to things. And the setting and worldbuilding are interesting. London is a great setting for urban fantasy, and the novel is strongly grounded in a sense of place. The magic system is fairly lightly sketched, but what we see of it makes sense, and there was one point where I found myself exclaiming, "Oh, of course that's how spells work! Nifty! I want to learn that!" In a lifetime of reading fantasy, I think that's the first time I've ever had quite that reaction.
But unfortunately, while the basic plot concept is good, the book suffers from major, major pacing problems. Aaronovitch chooses to make Peter's study of magic realistically slow, which is fine, but the result is that it seems like the characters are spending half the book sitting around twiddling their thumbs, feeling no particular sense of urgency about the supposedly urgent problems they have to deal with, and just occasionally idly picking up a plot thread if they happen to feel like it. It doesn't help, either, that there's an absolutely key connection that the characters don't make until halfway through the story which was immediately obvious to me, despite my being at something of a cultural disadvantage. Once we pass that halfway point, though, things do pick up, and towards the end, stuff starts to get reasonably exciting... And then it loses the momentum again and just sort of splutters on to an ending that's cool in theory, but highly anticlimactic in practice. And the whole subplot with the rivers never seems remotely developed enough, instead giving the impression that it exists mainly as a way to introduce a convenient (and sexy) supporting character.
I'm wondering now if I should bother going on to the sequel. There's so much great potential here that if Aaronovitch can get a handle on his plots it could develop into a really fun series. And maybe this one understandably suffers a bit from having to set everything up. Still, I'm not exactly feeling eager for more.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Widsith
An amiable, popcornish urban fantasy which marries a get-yer-trousers-on-you're-nicked Metropolitan Police nostalgia with an interest in English folklore and esoterica. Actually, now I come to write that down, it sounds fantastic, although in practice it never quite got dense or chewy enough for
The most successful ingredient for me was the deep love of London, whose baffling geography both urban and physical is woven into the narrative at all levels. (Sometimes to a fault – long descriptions about coming off the A282 and getting caught in traffic at the Thurrock roundabout are dangerously close to the sort of conversations certain men like to spring on me at dinner parties.)
But London is – and I say this with all the disinterest of someone who left the place as soon as I could – in my opinion the richest, most genuinely multicultural, and frankly coolest big city on the planet, although god knows I'd much rather experience it now as a visitor than a resident. So taking this deep dive into the city, and wallowing in a narrative written in my own accent, was a huge pleasure for me; the climactic sequence which sees our hero literally running back through London's history tied the book's plot and its themes together in a beautifully enjoyable set-piece. And the lead, PC Peter Grant, is the kind of laid-back bloke in whose company you're more than happy to spend 400 pages.
Strangely enough, the book's use of Mr Punch to symbolise a certain kind of English riotousness and misrule establishes strange and interesting connections between this novel and Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker, which would make a fascinating follow-up read. It also made me want to go back to Will Self, Peter Ackroyd, Ian Sinclair, even Ronald Hutton – all those influences are in here, though not so much synthesised as vaguely gestured at.
Although the voice and the outlook of this are much more me, still if pushed I'd have to admit that in the end I probably preferred The Magicians (to make a comparison with literally the only other fantasy book I've read in the last decade). I would read more in the series, though, very willingly. Not one to rush out and acquire, perhaps, but if you've got a long train ride or a wet weekend coming up, it's well worth a butcher's.
Show More
me…snappy rather than laugh-out-loud funny, diverting rather than engrossing.The most successful ingredient for me was the deep love of London, whose baffling geography both urban and physical is woven into the narrative at all levels. (Sometimes to a fault – long descriptions about coming off the A282 and getting caught in traffic at the Thurrock roundabout are dangerously close to the sort of conversations certain men like to spring on me at dinner parties.)
But London is – and I say this with all the disinterest of someone who left the place as soon as I could – in my opinion the richest, most genuinely multicultural, and frankly coolest big city on the planet, although god knows I'd much rather experience it now as a visitor than a resident. So taking this deep dive into the city, and wallowing in a narrative written in my own accent, was a huge pleasure for me; the climactic sequence which sees our hero literally running back through London's history tied the book's plot and its themes together in a beautifully enjoyable set-piece. And the lead, PC Peter Grant, is the kind of laid-back bloke in whose company you're more than happy to spend 400 pages.
Strangely enough, the book's use of Mr Punch to symbolise a certain kind of English riotousness and misrule establishes strange and interesting connections between this novel and Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker, which would make a fascinating follow-up read. It also made me want to go back to Will Self, Peter Ackroyd, Ian Sinclair, even Ronald Hutton – all those influences are in here, though not so much synthesised as vaguely gestured at.
Although the voice and the outlook of this are much more me, still if pushed I'd have to admit that in the end I probably preferred The Magicians (to make a comparison with literally the only other fantasy book I've read in the last decade). I would read more in the series, though, very willingly. Not one to rush out and acquire, perhaps, but if you've got a long train ride or a wet weekend coming up, it's well worth a butcher's.
Show Less
LibraryThing member richardderus
Rating: 3.5* of five
The Book Report: The book description says:
Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But
My Review: I'm on record everywhere as disliking phantasee nowvels with Randomly capitalized woordes misspelled to make them majgicqkal. So why the hell would I even pick this book up? Need an easy target to aim brickbats at?
No.
I feel about this book the way I feel about candy bars: Okay. I won't buy one, normally, because I don't like them much (except Little Debby Nutty Bars, which are Perfection, but this is so self-evident as not to need discussion), but there are times and places for everything, right? I found a time and a place for this book. I liked it fine. It's more what I'd hoped for when I heard the fuss about the Harry Dresden, Wizard for Justice, series. Which I did not like at all after about book two.
Peter Grant and his London are intimately connected. The prose makes sure you know this by referencing the ways in which Peter interfaces with London constantly. Tube stops, the names of branch lines, references to bus lines and street names and the oh-so-British shorthand about a character by referencing the newspaper he or she reads...highways and exits and town names...the UK title of the book, The Rivers of London, is absolutely the proper title for a book that uses those rivers, from obvious and huge like the Thames to small, obscure, and vanished, like the Tyburn, as characters to be reckoned with, and whose central myth-making (highly reminiscent of American Gods) dates the age of some riverine characters to the time when England began to clean the rivers up and bring them back to life...well, Midnight Riot just doesn't do the book justice.
So...Harry Dresden meets American Gods, two things that have elicited negative reviews from me, and I give this three and a half stars. Senile? Drugged?
Honest. This book is meant to be fun to read, and it is, while still being built with a consistent mythical background, and it is, with...and here's the key to my pleasure in reading this as opposed to Dresden or Gaiman...a main character whose journey through the pages of story causes him to alter his perception of himself and his place in the world. Harry Dresden's boring agonizing and obnoxious chauvinistic 'tude towards women are absent. Gaiman's ultraubermega cool world-building is present, but without the static characters. Score!
Okay, that sounds like more than three and a half stars, right? Yep. If the book had had some issues ironed out, the rating would be higher. One big issue is Peter Grant's attitude towards the whole majgicqal mystikal world he's suddenly in touch with. “Oh...okay.” Not enough, Mr. Aa. Another issue is the pacing. How, in this day and time of 11945663-page, 29846-volume series novels, is it possible to make 298pp have draggy spots?! Seriously. Draggy spots! How? And there is the question of series-ness...one doesn't want to give too much away to preserve the fun of discovery for future installments, but the cicerone character of Nightingale, Grant's police superior and apparently a very, very old man, is not so much mysteriously vague and intriguing as annoyingly unexamined.
Flaws exist in all things made by humankind, and one person's flaw is another's bliss, but these are pet peeves of mine. Character development and pacing are crucial to my personal enjoyment of a novel. I'm inclined to be forgiving of first novelists in these matters, but not vets like Aaronovitch, who has written several very influential Doctor Who novels.
So three and a half stars it is. And I'll read Moon Over Soho, the next installment in the series, because I like Peter and his majgickqal world that much. Pretty high praise coming from a mean old curmudgeon like me.
The Book Report: The book description says:
Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But
Show More
Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic. My Review: I'm on record everywhere as disliking phantasee nowvels with Randomly capitalized woordes misspelled to make them majgicqkal. So why the hell would I even pick this book up? Need an easy target to aim brickbats at?
No.
I feel about this book the way I feel about candy bars: Okay. I won't buy one, normally, because I don't like them much (except Little Debby Nutty Bars, which are Perfection, but this is so self-evident as not to need discussion), but there are times and places for everything, right? I found a time and a place for this book. I liked it fine. It's more what I'd hoped for when I heard the fuss about the Harry Dresden, Wizard for Justice, series. Which I did not like at all after about book two.
Peter Grant and his London are intimately connected. The prose makes sure you know this by referencing the ways in which Peter interfaces with London constantly. Tube stops, the names of branch lines, references to bus lines and street names and the oh-so-British shorthand about a character by referencing the newspaper he or she reads...highways and exits and town names...the UK title of the book, The Rivers of London, is absolutely the proper title for a book that uses those rivers, from obvious and huge like the Thames to small, obscure, and vanished, like the Tyburn, as characters to be reckoned with, and whose central myth-making (highly reminiscent of American Gods) dates the age of some riverine characters to the time when England began to clean the rivers up and bring them back to life...well, Midnight Riot just doesn't do the book justice.
So...Harry Dresden meets American Gods, two things that have elicited negative reviews from me, and I give this three and a half stars. Senile? Drugged?
Honest. This book is meant to be fun to read, and it is, while still being built with a consistent mythical background, and it is, with...and here's the key to my pleasure in reading this as opposed to Dresden or Gaiman...a main character whose journey through the pages of story causes him to alter his perception of himself and his place in the world. Harry Dresden's boring agonizing and obnoxious chauvinistic 'tude towards women are absent. Gaiman's ultraubermega cool world-building is present, but without the static characters. Score!
Okay, that sounds like more than three and a half stars, right? Yep. If the book had had some issues ironed out, the rating would be higher. One big issue is Peter Grant's attitude towards the whole majgicqal mystikal world he's suddenly in touch with. “Oh...okay.” Not enough, Mr. Aa. Another issue is the pacing. How, in this day and time of 11945663-page, 29846-volume series novels, is it possible to make 298pp have draggy spots?! Seriously. Draggy spots! How? And there is the question of series-ness...one doesn't want to give too much away to preserve the fun of discovery for future installments, but the cicerone character of Nightingale, Grant's police superior and apparently a very, very old man, is not so much mysteriously vague and intriguing as annoyingly unexamined.
Flaws exist in all things made by humankind, and one person's flaw is another's bliss, but these are pet peeves of mine. Character development and pacing are crucial to my personal enjoyment of a novel. I'm inclined to be forgiving of first novelists in these matters, but not vets like Aaronovitch, who has written several very influential Doctor Who novels.
So three and a half stars it is. And I'll read Moon Over Soho, the next installment in the series, because I like Peter and his majgickqal world that much. Pretty high praise coming from a mean old curmudgeon like me.
Show Less
LibraryThing member snat
Peter Grant is a Probationary Constable in London who, despite his dreams of being a detective, possesses a propensity for detail and a knack for paperwork that makes him the perfect candidate for the Case Progression Unit (a department that does the endless paperwork on behalf of "real"
Midnight Riot is riotously fun to read. It's treading on familiar territory (a super secret agency entrusted with explaining the unexplainable to those in power, but keeping it hush-hush from ordinary people), but Aaronovitch creates a world that is engaging if not entirely original. As a protagonist, Peter Grant is both naïve and a charming smart ass, with emphasis on charming--a concept that a lot of authors in this genre have difficulty pulling off without the character becoming insufferably smug and more interested in firing off one-liners in the heat of battle than kicking ass (Harry *cough* Dresden *cough*). It's also refreshing to have a protagonist with a diverse racial heritage as his background and family situation bring a little more to the table than one normally expects in this type of novel.
So why only 3 stars? Well, it's really more of a 3 1/2 star read. Midnight Riot is entertaining in a quickly forgettable way, which is all it purports to be. And, in that, it almost entirely succeeds. However, despite an inventive premise for the supernatural killer (which is hinted at pretty broadly on the U.K. cover of the novel, but I won't reveal anything here as mum's the word on the cover and blurb of the U.S. edition), some of the pieces don't quite fit together smoothly and there are some pretty giant leaps in Peter's logic that allows him to connect events. Also, there are really two intertwining narratives: the supernatural serial killer and a territorial dispute between the Mother Thames and Father Thames, water deities with no love for one another. Because Aaronovitch has to jump between these two narratives, neither really gets the full exploration it deserves. His concept of the water deities and the hierarchy involved is fascinating enough for a novel all its own.
It also bothered me how quickly Peter could forget that which should have been important. In the end (no spoilers, promise), his friend Leslie is in grave danger and yet Peter seems to rather nonchalantly walk away from the situation and returns to his parents' home. That plus a rather awkward segue into a brief story about vampires certainly leads to some hiccups in the narrative flow.
These, however, are rather minor irritants in a light novel that, because of the strength of its characters, I thoroughly enjoyed. It's because of these characters (Peter Grant in particular) that I look forward to reading Moon Over Soho.
Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder
Show More
detectives). Before he's doomed to a pallid indoor office complexion and a life of carpal tunnel syndrome, he receives a breakthrough in a significant case. Only one problem: it's from a ghost. And thus begins Peter Grant's introduction to the world of Detective Chief Inspector (and wizard) Thomas Nightingale, sole investigator of the mystical and magical threats to the Queen's peace in London, and the Folly, headquarters for the study of the unknown. Suddenly, Peter's tendency to be distracted by seemingly insignificant details at a scene (on one memorable occasion he was distracted during a New Year's Eve celebration at Trafalgar Square, ignoring drunken fights while reading the plaque on the bum end of a statue lion) serves a relevant purpose. He's more sensitive to the vestigia, or magical residue, left behind by the supernatural, and this makes him the perfect candidate to apprentice with Nightingale.Midnight Riot is riotously fun to read. It's treading on familiar territory (a super secret agency entrusted with explaining the unexplainable to those in power, but keeping it hush-hush from ordinary people), but Aaronovitch creates a world that is engaging if not entirely original. As a protagonist, Peter Grant is both naïve and a charming smart ass, with emphasis on charming--a concept that a lot of authors in this genre have difficulty pulling off without the character becoming insufferably smug and more interested in firing off one-liners in the heat of battle than kicking ass (Harry *cough* Dresden *cough*). It's also refreshing to have a protagonist with a diverse racial heritage as his background and family situation bring a little more to the table than one normally expects in this type of novel.
So why only 3 stars? Well, it's really more of a 3 1/2 star read. Midnight Riot is entertaining in a quickly forgettable way, which is all it purports to be. And, in that, it almost entirely succeeds. However, despite an inventive premise for the supernatural killer (which is hinted at pretty broadly on the U.K. cover of the novel, but I won't reveal anything here as mum's the word on the cover and blurb of the U.S. edition), some of the pieces don't quite fit together smoothly and there are some pretty giant leaps in Peter's logic that allows him to connect events. Also, there are really two intertwining narratives: the supernatural serial killer and a territorial dispute between the Mother Thames and Father Thames, water deities with no love for one another. Because Aaronovitch has to jump between these two narratives, neither really gets the full exploration it deserves. His concept of the water deities and the hierarchy involved is fascinating enough for a novel all its own.
It also bothered me how quickly Peter could forget that which should have been important. In the end (no spoilers, promise), his friend Leslie is in grave danger and yet Peter seems to rather nonchalantly walk away from the situation and returns to his parents' home. That plus a rather awkward segue into a brief story about vampires certainly leads to some hiccups in the narrative flow.
These, however, are rather minor irritants in a light novel that, because of the strength of its characters, I thoroughly enjoyed. It's because of these characters (Peter Grant in particular) that I look forward to reading Moon Over Soho.
Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder
Show Less
LibraryThing member phoebesmum
For once an urban fantasy that actually is an urban fantasy, with not a poxy Doc Martened elf in sight, thank god: part very well researched police procedural, part Sorcerer’s Apprentice – and this is a real apprenticeship, where results come from sheer slog and perseverance, not from waving a
'Rivers of London' isn’t perfect – there are a lot of open questions left hanging, and some of the plot resolutions don’t entirely make sense – but it is bloody good, and one of the best things I’ve read in many years. Good enough that I went straight out and bought the sequel. In hardback.
Ignore Diana Gabaldon's stupid cover blurb, by the way (“What would happen if Harry Potter grew up and joined the Fuzz”). I'll do her the credit of believing she was misquoted.
Don’t expect to learn too much about the actual lost rivers of London, though. That’s a fascinating topic in itself, but one for another book entirely.
Show More
magic wand – part gruesome murder hunt, part otherworldly politicking, and part – and this is my favourite part by far – a carefully detailed map of Central London, written by one who knows and loves the place as it should be loved, all of it narrated by likeable Everyman Peter Grant, an adequate enough probationary constable who’s just a bit too curious for his own good (while his colleagues are breaking up a riot in Trafalgar Square, he stops to check what’s written on the lions’ bums). Peter crosses the line between one world and another and, in the process, is saved from a future of data entry in the Case Progression Unit, one cold morning in Covent Garden, when he’s left guarding a crime scene and a witness steps forward from St Paul’s Church – a witness who has been dead for considerably longer than the body under investigation.'Rivers of London' isn’t perfect – there are a lot of open questions left hanging, and some of the plot resolutions don’t entirely make sense – but it is bloody good, and one of the best things I’ve read in many years. Good enough that I went straight out and bought the sequel. In hardback.
Ignore Diana Gabaldon's stupid cover blurb, by the way (“What would happen if Harry Potter grew up and joined the Fuzz”). I'll do her the credit of believing she was misquoted.
Don’t expect to learn too much about the actual lost rivers of London, though. That’s a fascinating topic in itself, but one for another book entirely.
Show Less
LibraryThing member AHS-Wolfy
Just coming to the end of his time as a Probationary Constable and hoping not to be posted to the Case Progression Unit (paperwork), Peter Grant talks to his first ghost who describes the murder at the scene he's guarding. Not something you can tell your superiors so the next night he goes back
Can Peter learn enough magic to help solve what appears to be some kind of killer by possession case? Will his scientific mind be a help or hindrance? What kind of influence can he exert in a turf war between Father and Mother Thames and will he keep his hands off one of Mama's daughters or does he really want to? All of this is mixed into a very good police procedural and guide to London that is extremely readable. Peter Grant makes a good narrator for the investigation and the surrounding cast of characters fill out the scenery imaginatively. I certainly want to read the sequel sooner rather than later.
Show More
hoping for another meeting but this time Peter runs into Inspector Nightingale and finds himself explaining about the ghost. When the Inspector seems to take his story at face value this is when Peter's career prospects take a turn for the unexpected and he finds himself apprenticed to the last wizard in England.Can Peter learn enough magic to help solve what appears to be some kind of killer by possession case? Will his scientific mind be a help or hindrance? What kind of influence can he exert in a turf war between Father and Mother Thames and will he keep his hands off one of Mama's daughters or does he really want to? All of this is mixed into a very good police procedural and guide to London that is extremely readable. Peter Grant makes a good narrator for the investigation and the surrounding cast of characters fill out the scenery imaginatively. I certainly want to read the sequel sooner rather than later.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Stewartry
US title – Midnight Riot. Ben Aaronovitch has an excellent pedigree: he wrote two 7th-Doctor-era serials for Doctor Who, and has written DW novels which I will now have to seek out. And he seems to have been the first to send a Dalek up a staircase. Evil, evil man.
I'm becoming an audiobook
The writing doesn't hurt in that endeavor. Ben Aaronovitch's style is utterly natural and conversational, perfectly in keeping with the first-person voice of young Peter Grant, his main character. It's no young adult book – the "f-bomb" is dropped liberally, for one thing, and then there's the violence – but it is the story of the beginning of an apprenticeship, of the opening up of a strange, unsuspected world within the common mundane. Peter's world is, if not turned upside-down, tilted at a startling angle, and everything changes. And then changes again. Then gets a little stranger. I loved that he took every part of it, from the very beginning, back to his classmate and sort-of-partner Lesley to talk over, not worrying (much) about whether or not she would believe him. I think I'm in love with Peter Grant (and Chief Inspector Nightingale), but that could just be the influence of The Voice.
I laughed at this from Wikipedia (be careful of spoilers on the page):
- Police Constable Lesley May; an officer in the Metropolitan Police who, having completed her mandatory probationary period, is expected to go far.
- Police Constable Peter Grant; an officer in the Metropolitan Police who, having completed his mandatory probationary period, is expected to do paperwork.
The story does a fascinating job of limning the difference between the sort of person who becomes a "copper" and the rest of us. I think it was a commercial for some possibly short-lived network series that explained that most people run away from trouble, while first responders run toward it. Here this is underscored, especially in the first chapters: Grant and May, the brand shiny new PC's, are caught up in the tail end of a hideous incident, and wind up standing shaking, covered in blood not their own, faced with a dead family and a scene of horrendous violence – and they field the situation. And come back for more. Most people (I) tend to want to avoid this sort of thing, and having been unable to avoid it once would do absolutely anything to avoid experiencing anything like it again….
I love how this world, this alternate London, was built. There isn't so much a conspiracy of silence as in, say, Harry Potter, where the wizarding world goes out of its way to keep muggles safe ignorance. (I love that Harry Potter exists in Peter Grant's world. It will be great fun to keep that in mind going on with the series, to try to spin it to determine what if anything the Alternate Jo Rowling knew about real wizardry.) In this London, in this world, it's more a matter of the muggles not wanting to see what they can't cope with (or not having the ability to see it), and the wizarding world simply staying rather quiet and out of the way. I love the skepticism, giving way grudgingly to acceptance, of just about everyone; I love Peter's attitude toward the situation in general and his situation in very much particular.
I love how the British title – so much better than the American – is brought to life. The voice of Mother Thames is wise and remarkably feminine and beautifully accented, and the tale of how she became Mother Thames is a small gem of storytelling. And then we go to meet Papa Thames. It's the sort of storytelling I just want to hug to myself and not let go of. And – bonus – I learned a bit. Going on to listen to A Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England, I could be a bit smug as the author talked about executions at Tyburn.
I loved just about everything about this book. I loved the revelations about what was going on – something which could have been truly awful in different hands, but which was suspenseful and horrifying here. I loved not knowing whether I could trust Aaronovitch with characters' lives. I even loved Peter's ambivalence toward Toby – and that's not like me. I can't honestly think of anything I didn't like. I can't wait to get my hands on the second book (and the third, and so on) – but I wish, I deeply wish, that the audio book was available here. It just won't be quite as much fun without KH-S.
But I have faith that it will be fun.
I'm becoming an audiobook
Show More
voice groupie. Which is going to be a problem here, because the sequel to Rivers of London is not (legally) available in the US. Mia Michaels, judging on So You Think You Can Dance, coined a word I've been using ever since. The spelling is debatable, but it is, roughly, "gorgeois" – pronounced "gor-zhwah". That word, for me, is a very good descriptor of Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's narration of Rivers of London. (Hey, he pronounced "chaise longue" correctly. If for nothing else I love him for that – and there's plenty more to adore.) He has a deep, dark, dusty voice, and reads aloud like a dream. His character voices are stupendous. London being the (insert something less clichéd than "melting pot" here) that it is, KHS has a variety of not only British regional but international dialects to deal with: male, female, other, Scots, Cockney, British Received, Nigerian, more – all are wonderful. It's lovely to hear him switch from what may be his own voice, here the voice of Peter Grant, to the dry light patrician tones of Nightingale – equally natural, equally fluent, and so different from the sound of Peter that it could truly be a different speaker. There is nothing between Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and the experiences he tells of, no evidence whatsoever that the words he speaks were ever such dead things as print on a page. The writing doesn't hurt in that endeavor. Ben Aaronovitch's style is utterly natural and conversational, perfectly in keeping with the first-person voice of young Peter Grant, his main character. It's no young adult book – the "f-bomb" is dropped liberally, for one thing, and then there's the violence – but it is the story of the beginning of an apprenticeship, of the opening up of a strange, unsuspected world within the common mundane. Peter's world is, if not turned upside-down, tilted at a startling angle, and everything changes. And then changes again. Then gets a little stranger. I loved that he took every part of it, from the very beginning, back to his classmate and sort-of-partner Lesley to talk over, not worrying (much) about whether or not she would believe him. I think I'm in love with Peter Grant (and Chief Inspector Nightingale), but that could just be the influence of The Voice.
I laughed at this from Wikipedia (be careful of spoilers on the page):
- Police Constable Lesley May; an officer in the Metropolitan Police who, having completed her mandatory probationary period, is expected to go far.
- Police Constable Peter Grant; an officer in the Metropolitan Police who, having completed his mandatory probationary period, is expected to do paperwork.
The story does a fascinating job of limning the difference between the sort of person who becomes a "copper" and the rest of us. I think it was a commercial for some possibly short-lived network series that explained that most people run away from trouble, while first responders run toward it. Here this is underscored, especially in the first chapters: Grant and May, the brand shiny new PC's, are caught up in the tail end of a hideous incident, and wind up standing shaking, covered in blood not their own, faced with a dead family and a scene of horrendous violence – and they field the situation. And come back for more. Most people (I) tend to want to avoid this sort of thing, and having been unable to avoid it once would do absolutely anything to avoid experiencing anything like it again….
I love how this world, this alternate London, was built. There isn't so much a conspiracy of silence as in, say, Harry Potter, where the wizarding world goes out of its way to keep muggles safe ignorance. (I love that Harry Potter exists in Peter Grant's world. It will be great fun to keep that in mind going on with the series, to try to spin it to determine what if anything the Alternate Jo Rowling knew about real wizardry.) In this London, in this world, it's more a matter of the muggles not wanting to see what they can't cope with (or not having the ability to see it), and the wizarding world simply staying rather quiet and out of the way. I love the skepticism, giving way grudgingly to acceptance, of just about everyone; I love Peter's attitude toward the situation in general and his situation in very much particular.
I love how the British title – so much better than the American – is brought to life. The voice of Mother Thames is wise and remarkably feminine and beautifully accented, and the tale of how she became Mother Thames is a small gem of storytelling. And then we go to meet Papa Thames. It's the sort of storytelling I just want to hug to myself and not let go of. And – bonus – I learned a bit. Going on to listen to A Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England, I could be a bit smug as the author talked about executions at Tyburn.
I loved just about everything about this book. I loved the revelations about what was going on – something which could have been truly awful in different hands, but which was suspenseful and horrifying here. I loved not knowing whether I could trust Aaronovitch with characters' lives. I even loved Peter's ambivalence toward Toby – and that's not like me. I can't honestly think of anything I didn't like. I can't wait to get my hands on the second book (and the third, and so on) – but I wish, I deeply wish, that the audio book was available here. It just won't be quite as much fun without KH-S.
But I have faith that it will be fun.
Show Less
LibraryThing member lalawe
I love urban fantasy, I'm a bit of anglophile, and I love cop shows, so an urban fantasy starring a London police officer? Heck, yeah! One of the best things about this book is the humor - I often found myself laughing out loud, and then had to explain myself (and read the particular passage) to
Fresh and enjoyable - I'll definitely pick up the next in the series.
Show More
whoever was around me at the time. I wouldn't compare this to Harry Potter, besides the obvious British-ness - it reminded me more of a young Harry Dresden-in-training. The worldbuilding was fun - I liked the "rivers of london" part, and the explanation for why magic and technology don't mix. The plot was fast-paced and definitely had a hook - I stayed up past midnight to finish the book.Fresh and enjoyable - I'll definitely pick up the next in the series.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Ma_Washigeri
Very enjoyable. Not surprised the author wrote some of the Dr Who series as it has a lot of that jaunty imaginative feel.
LibraryThing member pwaites
It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great either. I found it entertaining enough, but I won’t be picking up the sequel.
Midnight Riot’s is a police procedural sort of urban fantasy, the sort I’ve been keeping an eye out for after reading London Falling earlier this year. The tag line is a
As I said earlier, it wasn’t all bad. There were some funny lines, and the set up of the murders were interesting. I also liked some of the detecting bits. The hero’s also mixed race, which is a change from the run of the mill urban fantasy detective. However, I had issues with the plot and pacing and some of the narration regarding women.
The mystery aspect didn’t pick up until half way through. Yes, there were murders happening, but the reaction seemed to be “Gee, look! Another dead guy with a rearranged face!” I’m not sure what sort of investigating they could have been doing at that point, but I think there needed to be something more.
I also kept assuming that the different plot threads – the mysterious murders and the feud between Father Thames and Mother Thames would come together somehow, which they didn’t. The book would have been a lot better if it integrated the two plots or just focused on the mystery instead. As it was, I think the mystery was underdeveloped.
The female characters themselves may be competent (this one’s still up for grabs), but the narration regarding the two main ones (Leslie and Beverly) was tiring. The attention kept being brought back to how sexually attractive they were, and I really didn’t need to read about how Peter had had a sexual dream or erection or whatever. There was a bit in the last chapter that was really squicky and not at all related to the plot or characters.
I’m not highly recommending this one. If you want to check it out, I’d suggest getting it from the library first.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
Midnight Riot’s is a police procedural sort of urban fantasy, the sort I’ve been keeping an eye out for after reading London Falling earlier this year. The tag line is a
Show More
familiar one: rookie cop faces bad job prospects until a mysterious murder reveals that magic is real and he has the sight. From there, Peter Grant, our narrator, is introduced to the police department in charge of all things magical. The department’s almost dead, and its only employee is Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who promptly takes Peter Grant on as an apprentice. Together with Nightingale and fellow police officer Leslie, Peter investigates the wave of unusual murders hitting London.As I said earlier, it wasn’t all bad. There were some funny lines, and the set up of the murders were interesting. I also liked some of the detecting bits. The hero’s also mixed race, which is a change from the run of the mill urban fantasy detective. However, I had issues with the plot and pacing and some of the narration regarding women.
The mystery aspect didn’t pick up until half way through. Yes, there were murders happening, but the reaction seemed to be “Gee, look! Another dead guy with a rearranged face!” I’m not sure what sort of investigating they could have been doing at that point, but I think there needed to be something more.
I also kept assuming that the different plot threads – the mysterious murders and the feud between Father Thames and Mother Thames would come together somehow, which they didn’t. The book would have been a lot better if it integrated the two plots or just focused on the mystery instead. As it was, I think the mystery was underdeveloped.
The female characters themselves may be competent (this one’s still up for grabs), but the narration regarding the two main ones (Leslie and Beverly) was tiring. The attention kept being brought back to how sexually attractive they were, and I really didn’t need to read about how Peter had had a sexual dream or erection or whatever. There was a bit in the last chapter that was really squicky and not at all related to the plot or characters.
I’m not highly recommending this one. If you want to check it out, I’d suggest getting it from the library first.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Kellswitch
This book was an absolute blast to read, I had to be so careful when I would read it because I never wanted to put it down.
I got it as an early review one and I'm glad I did as I might have passed it up thinking it was just another of the urban fantasy/mystery genre that has been rather overdone
The author really brings his version of London alive and I loved his take on magic and mythology and how they fit in our world. The story was fast paced but you never felt like you were being left behind or missing anything and I really found myself caring about all of his characters. I sort of lost track of the main mystery at the end, I'm not sure I really understand just who was fully responsible for all of the chaos and killings or why but how the story was tied up and finished was still satisfying.
I'm looking forward more books from this author and in this universe.
I got it as an early review one and I'm glad I did as I might have passed it up thinking it was just another of the urban fantasy/mystery genre that has been rather overdone
Show More
lately and that would have been my loss.The author really brings his version of London alive and I loved his take on magic and mythology and how they fit in our world. The story was fast paced but you never felt like you were being left behind or missing anything and I really found myself caring about all of his characters. I sort of lost track of the main mystery at the end, I'm not sure I really understand just who was fully responsible for all of the chaos and killings or why but how the story was tied up and finished was still satisfying.
I'm looking forward more books from this author and in this universe.
Show Less
LibraryThing member a-shelf-apart
I always say that I read almost anything, it's just that I read some genres more often than others.
Urban fantasy is a genre that I don't read all that often.
But I loved this. I loved the narrator's voice, I loved his dry humour, I loved his interest in the little pieces of history that are all
This is the start of a reading binge on this series.
*I would definitely be the sort of policeman who misses a fight starting because I'm reading the plaque on a statue.
Urban fantasy is a genre that I don't read all that often.
But I loved this. I loved the narrator's voice, I loved his dry humour, I loved his interest in the little pieces of history that are all
Show More
around us*, I loved the sense of place - of London - that infuses the whole book.This is the start of a reading binge on this series.
*I would definitely be the sort of policeman who misses a fight starting because I'm reading the plaque on a statue.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ladyoflorien
I enjoyed the book and I found it an easy read. I liked how Ben Aaronovitch dealt with magic in the modern world and it's interactions with current technology.
LibraryThing member anneb10
Biracial Police Constable Peter Grant is babysitting a corpse while waiting for his superiors when a witness steps forward to tell him about the murder. Dutifully taking notes, it doesn’t take Peter long to realize no one is going to believe him regarding this witness, and for one very good
So opens Ben Aaronovitch’s first novel, Midnight Riot. Both Peter and the reader get a headlong introduction into the realms of magic as it fits in with “normal” modern life. Both the case and Peter’s new career direction have surprising twists and turns, involving ghosts, gods both old and new, and the hunt for a killer hidden in plain sight.
An intriguing story, the first chapter is a bit slow, but it picks up smartly from there. Peter is an interesting character, and it’s a joy watching him feel his way through his new powers and life. This is definitely a worthwhile read; a slight detour from the usual urban fantasy stories that is still familiar to devotees of the genre. Looking forward to the sequel, Moonlight over Soho to see how Peter grows and changes now that he’s settling into being a wizard-in-training. Aaronovitch is an author to keep an eye on – he’s just going to keep getting better as time goes on.
Show More
reason: he’s a ghost. And as a PC at the end of his probationary period, that doesn’t bode well for his promotional prospects. Worse, after checking out the ghost’s statement with fellow-PC Leslie May, the ghost is actually right about what happened. In an attempt to follow-up with the ghost, Peter accidentally outs his abilities to Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale; luckily, the man is the last wizard in England, and takes him on as a trainee.So opens Ben Aaronovitch’s first novel, Midnight Riot. Both Peter and the reader get a headlong introduction into the realms of magic as it fits in with “normal” modern life. Both the case and Peter’s new career direction have surprising twists and turns, involving ghosts, gods both old and new, and the hunt for a killer hidden in plain sight.
An intriguing story, the first chapter is a bit slow, but it picks up smartly from there. Peter is an interesting character, and it’s a joy watching him feel his way through his new powers and life. This is definitely a worthwhile read; a slight detour from the usual urban fantasy stories that is still familiar to devotees of the genre. Looking forward to the sequel, Moonlight over Soho to see how Peter grows and changes now that he’s settling into being a wizard-in-training. Aaronovitch is an author to keep an eye on – he’s just going to keep getting better as time goes on.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jean-duteau
I did not like how quickly the main character accepted seeing ghosts and the reality of magic. Once I got past that, this was a rollicking fun book. The personifications of the various rivers was a great idea and the struggle to give rules to magic was a good addition to the story.
LibraryThing member saltypepper
I am a big fan of Librarything.com, and particularly the Early Reviewer program. I have found quite a few good, new or at least new-to-me, authors and books that way. Most recently I was introduced to Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch, which I did not win but was intriguing enough to pick up on my
OMG, where to start! Okay, first it's a mash-up of genres, which is a thing I happen to love. Purists, beware. If you don't want your police procedurals mixed with urban fantasy, this may not be for you. Or it might, because I didn't find that either genre suffered for the presence of the other, which is the danger with a mash-up. And when I say urban fantasy, I don't mean the main character is a walking candy store in leather low-rise pants and big black boots with a smart mouth who is getting it on with her preferred gender of the local paranormal population, as seems so often to be the case. No, no no. In this case the main character is Peter Grant, a London constable. He does have a smart mouth, but mostly he is just plain smart, if a little too easily distracted. He is also young, bi-racial, and curious. In the opening of the book, Peter has a conversation with a ghost who is the only eye-witness to a murder, the scene of which Peter is stuck guarding in the freezing pre-dawn hours. Having no idea that ghosts or anything else supernatural is real until that moment, Peter is a bit surprised. This all leads, in ways that would be spoiler city if I were to explain, to Peter becoming apprenticed to the last wizard in England, and a fun new series.
The plot is good, the mystery is good, the pacing is good, the magic system is better than good, but it is the characters that made me love this book. I might not have bother to write about it though, except for the fact that Aaronovitch chose to make Peter Grant bi-racial, and then demonstrated that he clearly knows something about black folks, black women in particular, and immigrant populations, especially the second and later generations.
I think it says something about the diaspora, that never having set foot in London outside of a transfer between terminals in Heathrow, I immediately identified with or recognized as familiar several of his characters, just from his description of their homes or clothing. Once they started talking, it was a done deal. Other people closer to the populations in question may find things they disagree with, but I mostly just found myself wondering who this Aaronovitch guy is.
I am looking to get my hands on book 2, Moon Over Soho, as soon as possible, and there's a third coming out in November, I believe.
Show More
own. It's called Rivers of London in the UK. OMG, where to start! Okay, first it's a mash-up of genres, which is a thing I happen to love. Purists, beware. If you don't want your police procedurals mixed with urban fantasy, this may not be for you. Or it might, because I didn't find that either genre suffered for the presence of the other, which is the danger with a mash-up. And when I say urban fantasy, I don't mean the main character is a walking candy store in leather low-rise pants and big black boots with a smart mouth who is getting it on with her preferred gender of the local paranormal population, as seems so often to be the case. No, no no. In this case the main character is Peter Grant, a London constable. He does have a smart mouth, but mostly he is just plain smart, if a little too easily distracted. He is also young, bi-racial, and curious. In the opening of the book, Peter has a conversation with a ghost who is the only eye-witness to a murder, the scene of which Peter is stuck guarding in the freezing pre-dawn hours. Having no idea that ghosts or anything else supernatural is real until that moment, Peter is a bit surprised. This all leads, in ways that would be spoiler city if I were to explain, to Peter becoming apprenticed to the last wizard in England, and a fun new series.
The plot is good, the mystery is good, the pacing is good, the magic system is better than good, but it is the characters that made me love this book. I might not have bother to write about it though, except for the fact that Aaronovitch chose to make Peter Grant bi-racial, and then demonstrated that he clearly knows something about black folks, black women in particular, and immigrant populations, especially the second and later generations.
I think it says something about the diaspora, that never having set foot in London outside of a transfer between terminals in Heathrow, I immediately identified with or recognized as familiar several of his characters, just from his description of their homes or clothing. Once they started talking, it was a done deal. Other people closer to the populations in question may find things they disagree with, but I mostly just found myself wondering who this Aaronovitch guy is.
I am looking to get my hands on book 2, Moon Over Soho, as soon as possible, and there's a third coming out in November, I believe.
Show Less
LibraryThing member infjsarah
This was fun. I got slightly bored and confused at the end when Grant went into time to chase the villain.
But otherwise it was entertaining and amusing. Reminded me of Douglas Adams more than Jasper Fforde.
I'll pick up the next one.
But otherwise it was entertaining and amusing. Reminded me of Douglas Adams more than Jasper Fforde.
I'll pick up the next one.
LibraryThing member castiron
A great story. The worldbuilding is intriguing, and I enjoyed Peter's efforts to figure out how exactly magic works. Peter himself is a well-drawn character with a great voice (a lot of the fun of First-Person Smartass, but sufficiently self-deprecating not to actually fit in that category) and a
There's a fair amount of blood and violence, but it's written in a way that a gore-sensitive person like me can mostly handle -- actually, the most disturbing violent act in the book doesn't even mention gore. (I will not, however, go to see any movie adaptation of this book; I'd have nightmares for months.)
This is definitely going on my to-buy list, and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series.
Show More
dry sense of humor. The mundane world of police work and the magical world behind the scenes are all interesting. London itself is portrayed as the big city it really is, with a mix of many cultures and ethnicities.There's a fair amount of blood and violence, but it's written in a way that a gore-sensitive person like me can mostly handle -- actually, the most disturbing violent act in the book doesn't even mention gore. (I will not, however, go to see any movie adaptation of this book; I'd have nightmares for months.)
This is definitely going on my to-buy list, and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series.
Show Less
LibraryThing member reading_fox
Fun. A little bit derivative, but has a few novel ideas and is generally well implimented. Unlike most of the blub surrounding it, it is much more a police procedural crime story that happens to be embedded into a urban fantasy setting.
Peter Grant is a newly qualified copper - police constable of
The characters interact well, if somewhat stereotypically, the banter is good, mostly. The idea and background worls is very well done, basing it on London provides a vast amount of material that I fully expect to be seen in several more books, and given that time appears to be slightly malliable, there is always pasts to explore as well.
The tone is slightly forced humour - maybe actually replicating the lighthearted banter that colleagues do excahnge, but somehow it doens't quite get there. There are a lot of historical asides which again almost work well, Peter has an excuse for having needed to know them, but again there isn't quite a natural sense of placement, and more an air of an author's done all this research, look here it is how clever I am. The research needs to have been done, and the book is clearly better for it, but it doens't all need to be told to the reader, showing would be more effective.
Overal I found it a quick and enjoyable read. I will certainly be continuing with the series, and I hope the aim is provide a more complex overarching backstory in the manner of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden, rather than the more usual series of unrelated espisodes in the life of someone who experience more action than is in anyway belivable.
Peter Grant is a newly qualified copper - police constable of
Show More
the London Metropolitan police - who discovers by chance that he can see ghosts. This - and it is the dominent failing throughout the book - fails to shock hm in any manner whatsoever despite the explicit statement that the rest of the world is (vastly) unaware of there existance. Nobody who gets exposed to real magic the first time throughout the book ever experiences anything other than mild surprise and a brief sense of "that's cool". Which is rubbish. But the rest is pretty good. Peter quickly becomes assigned to a secret supernatural branch of the Met, which he promptly tells everyone about. Which is fortunate because there seems to be suddenly be an increase in supernatural crimes about. Very few of which seem to be genuinely unrelated crimes and all happen to just coincinde with the one investigation that Peter and his sole colleague and boss are investigating. But it isn't always obvious how, and it's all woven together quite nicely. The characters interact well, if somewhat stereotypically, the banter is good, mostly. The idea and background worls is very well done, basing it on London provides a vast amount of material that I fully expect to be seen in several more books, and given that time appears to be slightly malliable, there is always pasts to explore as well.
The tone is slightly forced humour - maybe actually replicating the lighthearted banter that colleagues do excahnge, but somehow it doens't quite get there. There are a lot of historical asides which again almost work well, Peter has an excuse for having needed to know them, but again there isn't quite a natural sense of placement, and more an air of an author's done all this research, look here it is how clever I am. The research needs to have been done, and the book is clearly better for it, but it doens't all need to be told to the reader, showing would be more effective.
Overal I found it a quick and enjoyable read. I will certainly be continuing with the series, and I hope the aim is provide a more complex overarching backstory in the manner of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden, rather than the more usual series of unrelated espisodes in the life of someone who experience more action than is in anyway belivable.
Show Less
LibraryThing member SandDune
A sort of urban fantasy police procedural in a London where magic is a reality, although that is not apparent to the general public.
At the end of his probationary period with the Metropolitan Police, Constable Peter Grant is guarding the crime scene of a murder in Covent Garden when he is accosted
A really fun read this one - but I think to appreciate it fully the reader needs at least a vague knowledge of the geography (and maybe some history) of London as it's very bound up in the place. Incidentally the British title Rivers of London seems much more appropriate than the US one 'Midnight Riot' which refers to only one event from the book, whereas the rivers theme runs throughout the book. And I love the British cover as well which features a section of Stephen Walter's The Island London Series. I saw the original print in the Magnificent Maps exhibition at the British Library recently: it's a beautifully complicated depiction of London as an island, separated from the rest of the UK, which is often how it seems in reality. This is the first in a series, and I'll be definitely reading the next one in the not too distant future.
At the end of his probationary period with the Metropolitan Police, Constable Peter Grant is guarding the crime scene of a murder in Covent Garden when he is accosted
Show More
by a ghost who claims to have valuable evidence about the crime. Following this lead brings Peter into contact with Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, a self-proclaimed wizard, and the sole member of the police department that deals with magic. More murders follow, seemingly law-abiding members of the public start acting in anything but a law abiding way, and to add to Peter's troubles violence flares between the sons of Father Thames and the daughters of Mother Thames (who suprisingly is Nigerian) in the river gods' battle for territory along the river.A really fun read this one - but I think to appreciate it fully the reader needs at least a vague knowledge of the geography (and maybe some history) of London as it's very bound up in the place. Incidentally the British title Rivers of London seems much more appropriate than the US one 'Midnight Riot' which refers to only one event from the book, whereas the rivers theme runs throughout the book. And I love the British cover as well which features a section of Stephen Walter's The Island London Series. I saw the original print in the Magnificent Maps exhibition at the British Library recently: it's a beautifully complicated depiction of London as an island, separated from the rest of the UK, which is often how it seems in reality. This is the first in a series, and I'll be definitely reading the next one in the not too distant future.
Show Less
LibraryThing member humouress
I'm not quite sure how to classify this; I suppose urban fantasy comes closest.
Police constables Peter Grant and Lesley May have just finished their stints in uniform, and are due to be reassigned. Initially it looks like PC Grant is slated for a desk job doing data entry, while PC May has an edge
Equipment for ghost hunters: thermal underwear, very important; warm coat; thermos flask; patience; ghost.
That first case remains unsolved, and over the following months other seemingly unrelated crimes link back to it. Grant, May, Nightingale and their teams investigate. We follow Grant as - while studying to practice magic - he tracks the clues through the boroughs, the history, the folklore and the rivers of London to find the puppet-master behind it all.
There's been a lot of buzz on LT about this book (I first picked up wookiebender's recommendation about six months ago), but it's taken me a while to get around to reading this, my preferred sub-genre being high fantasy; plus it had always been borrowed from the library by someone else. Having finally got my hands on it, I found this very readable and a lot of fun; it appealed to my quirky sense of humour, and I could roll my eyes along with our protagonist at his descriptions of family.
I grew up in Greater London, and though it's been a while since I left and I couldn't place all the landmarks (and definitely not all the history nor the tributaries of the Thames), I enjoyed the trawl through the various parts of London. I know absolutely nothing about the workings of the Metropolitan Police force, but the descriptions of the police at work felt authentic. And I liked the disparaging comments Grant makes along the way, woven into the fabric of the book. I found Grant himself very likeable, too.
Grant interviewing a witness:
"Wrong, how?" I asked.
"Just wrong," she said, displaying precisely the characteristic that makes eyewitnesses such a useful part of any police investigation. "He went past so fast I didn't see much but it just looked ... wrong."
I found the magic believable and understated, and though it was the fantasy aspect of the book, the way that mythological characters fit right in to everyday life (living in a semi-detached house in the suburbs, for instance) made it seem perfectly normal.
I admit to being in a bit of a rush at the end, as the book is due back at the library today, but I didn't quite get the denouement; I felt there should have been something more to cause such a tragic chain of events. Other than that, I thought the parts of the book tied together nicely. I love the humour, which is such an intrinsic part of the book.
A very enjoyable book, cohesively written. It feels solid and satisfying, somehow; the comforting reassurance of a PC on his beat, perhaps? Add me to the chorus of LTers recommending it.
Four and a half stars.
Police constables Peter Grant and Lesley May have just finished their stints in uniform, and are due to be reassigned. Initially it looks like PC Grant is slated for a desk job doing data entry, while PC May has an edge
Show More
that sees her going somewhere more exciting; but a ghostly something in their last case has caught Chief Inspector Nightingale's eye, and sees Grant assigned to his rather ... special branch of the Met. This entails him moving into The Folly, a Georgian terrace house in Russell Square which has been the home of English magic since 1775.Equipment for ghost hunters: thermal underwear, very important; warm coat; thermos flask; patience; ghost.
That first case remains unsolved, and over the following months other seemingly unrelated crimes link back to it. Grant, May, Nightingale and their teams investigate. We follow Grant as - while studying to practice magic - he tracks the clues through the boroughs, the history, the folklore and the rivers of London to find the puppet-master behind it all.
There's been a lot of buzz on LT about this book (I first picked up wookiebender's recommendation about six months ago), but it's taken me a while to get around to reading this, my preferred sub-genre being high fantasy; plus it had always been borrowed from the library by someone else. Having finally got my hands on it, I found this very readable and a lot of fun; it appealed to my quirky sense of humour, and I could roll my eyes along with our protagonist at his descriptions of family.
I grew up in Greater London, and though it's been a while since I left and I couldn't place all the landmarks (and definitely not all the history nor the tributaries of the Thames), I enjoyed the trawl through the various parts of London. I know absolutely nothing about the workings of the Metropolitan Police force, but the descriptions of the police at work felt authentic. And I liked the disparaging comments Grant makes along the way, woven into the fabric of the book. I found Grant himself very likeable, too.
Grant interviewing a witness:
"Wrong, how?" I asked.
"Just wrong," she said, displaying precisely the characteristic that makes eyewitnesses such a useful part of any police investigation. "He went past so fast I didn't see much but it just looked ... wrong."
I found the magic believable and understated, and though it was the fantasy aspect of the book, the way that mythological characters fit right in to everyday life (living in a semi-detached house in the suburbs, for instance) made it seem perfectly normal.
I admit to being in a bit of a rush at the end, as the book is due back at the library today, but I didn't quite get the denouement; I felt there should have been something more to cause such a tragic chain of events. Other than that, I thought the parts of the book tied together nicely. I love the humour, which is such an intrinsic part of the book.
A very enjoyable book, cohesively written. It feels solid and satisfying, somehow; the comforting reassurance of a PC on his beat, perhaps? Add me to the chorus of LTers recommending it.
Four and a half stars.
Show Less
LibraryThing member sageness
So much fun!
Yayes: mixed race protagonist, whose mother and extended family is from Sierra Leone. Other POC major characters, with big extended family. Protagonist is a huge geek and Doctor Who fan. I got most of the pop culture references, but some of the local-to-London cultural stuff was beyond
Boos: I got impatient with some of Protagonist's distractedness (it is, at least, part of his character development, but there was soo much of it). And I got really annoyed at Lesley (Peter's cute blonde semi-gf, former partner) getting fridged. She survives, sure, but the book ends with her in the hospital with her face turned to pulp, awaiting reconstructive surgery, while Peter goes off to save the day -- with the assistance of other female characters. I'm partly tempted to read Lesley getting fridged AS META on the fridging of protagonist's would-be girlfriends, since god knows it happens enough AND since it's followed by a scene where Peter interviews a rapist hospitalized from having his dick bitten off by another character's vagina dentata. (The lack of sympathy is glorious.) I mean, there's some very smart gender commentary happening here, and I want it to be ragingly apparent to every reader that Lesley's been fridged as a commentary on the trope -- but I fear it isn't.
(I have no idea what the second book is about, but right now I'm hoping Lesley comes back, recovered and kicking ass, and there's no more of this victimizing a love interest so the hero can look good narrative bullshit.)
Anyway, this was very smart, very fun, just harrowing enough, and it totally held my attention. I'm going to go read the follow-up now.
Yayes: mixed race protagonist, whose mother and extended family is from Sierra Leone. Other POC major characters, with big extended family. Protagonist is a huge geek and Doctor Who fan. I got most of the pop culture references, but some of the local-to-London cultural stuff was beyond
Show More
me. Really good sense of setting, fantastic observations about class differences.Boos: I got impatient with some of Protagonist's distractedness (it is, at least, part of his character development, but there was soo much of it). And I got really annoyed at Lesley (Peter's cute blonde semi-gf, former partner) getting fridged. She survives, sure, but the book ends with her in the hospital with her face turned to pulp, awaiting reconstructive surgery, while Peter goes off to save the day -- with the assistance of other female characters. I'm partly tempted to read Lesley getting fridged AS META on the fridging of protagonist's would-be girlfriends, since god knows it happens enough AND since it's followed by a scene where Peter interviews a rapist hospitalized from having his dick bitten off by another character's vagina dentata. (The lack of sympathy is glorious.) I mean, there's some very smart gender commentary happening here, and I want it to be ragingly apparent to every reader that Lesley's been fridged as a commentary on the trope -- but I fear it isn't.
(I have no idea what the second book is about, but right now I'm hoping Lesley comes back, recovered and kicking ass, and there's no more of this victimizing a love interest so the hero can look good narrative bullshit.)
Anyway, this was very smart, very fun, just harrowing enough, and it totally held my attention. I'm going to go read the follow-up now.
Show Less
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch is a fun mix of fantasy, police procedural and historical fiction and as these are three of my favorite genres you can be sure that I loved this book. A light read that surprises the reader at every turn of the page with magical encounters, a ghost or two,
The star player, however, is the City of London, as this urban fantasy travels around that great city the author makes great use of many well-known locations. The original title of Rivers of London should never have been changed to Midnight Riot, as the many rivers of London play a key role in this story.
Peter’s take on magic, his apprenticeship to the suave wizard, Nightingale, and his awkward efforts at romance kept this book fresh, original and endearing. I have made a new friend in Peter Grant and I look forward to spending more time with him in future books.
Show More
and a dysfunctional family of mythical deities. The main character, P.C. Peter Grant is likeable and, considering the subject matter, quite believable. The supporting characters are fantastic, and I can’t wait to read more about them, including Toby the dog. The star player, however, is the City of London, as this urban fantasy travels around that great city the author makes great use of many well-known locations. The original title of Rivers of London should never have been changed to Midnight Riot, as the many rivers of London play a key role in this story.
Peter’s take on magic, his apprenticeship to the suave wizard, Nightingale, and his awkward efforts at romance kept this book fresh, original and endearing. I have made a new friend in Peter Grant and I look forward to spending more time with him in future books.
Show Less
LibraryThing member kaalalexanderrosser
The background is a London which Londoners which recognise, overlaid with a Met Police which coppers will recognise.
Then there's the magic.
The magic is well constructed and nicely limited, distrusted by the police, but understood as a necessary annoyance in the weirder (wyrder?) cases.
It's a good
You don't have to be a Londoner to appreciate this story, and you will come to know it well. You'll come to know and care about the characters: living, dead and... otherwise.
If you enjoy a magical realism with a definite touch of historical fantasy, you will not be disappointed in this story.
Then there's the magic.
The magic is well constructed and nicely limited, distrusted by the police, but understood as a necessary annoyance in the weirder (wyrder?) cases.
It's a good
Show More
exploration of history and criminology with a sense of mysticism connected to, and deeply entwined within, London's soul.You don't have to be a Londoner to appreciate this story, and you will come to know it well. You'll come to know and care about the characters: living, dead and... otherwise.
If you enjoy a magical realism with a definite touch of historical fantasy, you will not be disappointed in this story.
Show Less
Awards
British Book Award (Shortlist — New Writer — 2011)
Theakstons Old Peculier Prize (Longlist — 2012)
Language
Original publication date
2011-01-10
Physical description
392 p.; 23 cm
ISBN
0575097566 / 9780575097568
Other editions
Midnight Riot (Rivers of London #1) by Ben Aaronovitch (Paperback)
Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch (Paperback)