Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (2011) – BR00226 (R2023) – πΈπΈπΈπΈβͺ
Plot or Premise
A new police officer in London is about to get a dull desk job when his career gets a boost — he meets a ghost who witnessed a murder.
What I Liked
Originally called Midnight Riot, the book focuses on Peter Grant who is about to get his first assignment as a police constable in London. When he meets a ghost who witnessed a bizarre murder that involved a beheading, he’s not sure if he’s going crazy or has just been handed a career opportunity. Much of the book is about him learning about magic being real, and there are lots of fun cultural cross-references to other magical books or shows. In Harry Potter land, he’s a Muggle who just got his letter for Hogwarts, except the training ground is a division in the police force made up of one Inspector who investigates the “funny” cases. Called The Folly, apparently they have been policing for years, but there isn’t much happening, so they have an arrangement with magical folks to have one wizard on the payroll. Now two, as Peter joins him.
I love the efficient leaps in explanations that magic is real and how it works. Rather than going into really long boring backstory, they might say, “Hey, some of the magical folk would like a Ministry of Magic”. Short, pointed cross-reference, and the story moves along. I was fascinated in book 1 of the series with the focus on how all the rivers are goddesses and minor goddesses, and how the stronger ones can use glamour to compel the weak-minded to do their bidding. Jedi mind tricks without the midi-chlorians. And it is the world-building that drives the beauty of the first book more so than the mystery.
What I Didn’t Like
There are two scenes in the book that are a little out of character with the rest of the book. One is a huge elongated action scene involving an opera company, a pretty broad swath of people being controlled, etc. All of it way beyond what the “magical antagonist” should be capable of doing. It reads almost like satire or spoof at that point, something more akin to Douglas Adams than JK Rowling. The second scene is the near finale that suddenly has Peter pursuing a suspect through magical happenings that also have not really been party to the story up to that point. Almost as if Hans Gruber in Die Hard was falling to his death and suddenly had the ability to sprout wings. I don’t want to spoil things any more than that, but it’s almost like, “Oh, I forgot to mention I can do this.” It detracts a bit from the amazing world that has been built.
The Bottom Line
Great opener, but a little uneven