Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

[lightreads]

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Now this was a breath of fresh air. Which I guess sounds funny if I mention it’s an urban fantasy about a somewhat bumbling cop who takes a witness statement from a ghost and ends up as the apprentice to the last wizard in England. But seriously, this was a breeze of competence and sanity in a welter of bad books.



I think the most important thing is that it’s funny. Not like first person urban fantasy funny, but actually funny. And our protagonist (first person, natch) is great: he’s one of those smart guys who comes across as pretty loopy most of the time, and I completely believed the way he talked about women and his mixed race and just. *hand gestures*.



Also, the mystery is cool and creative and genuinely horrifying, and there’s this whole thing with the personified rivers that is just great. I’m bubbling, I know, but goddamn I needed a good book.



I am a leetle bit worried about how some consequences and complications will be handled in the sequel, but that's just because I'm a suspicious cuss.



Note: Book sold as Midnight Riot in the U.S.



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Comments

[kate_nepveu]

I have a review of both in progress and liked them both a lot, though I think both have plot problems. (If you understand how the two plot threads in this came together, please do explain, because I got nothing.)

I was pretty happy that there _were_ complications and consequences in the sequel, and thought upon due consideration that they were handled well, but it's not an area that my antennae are always as good at as they should be, so I will be curious to see what you think.

[lightreads]

...woops, no one saw that.

(If you understand how the two plot threads in this came together, please do explain, because I got nothing.

No, I don't either, aside from the fact that they were happening to the same guy. Not even a hint of thematic congruity. But I enjoyed both pieces enough that I stopped looking halfway through.

I was pretty happy that there _were_ complications and consequences in the sequel, and thought upon due consideration that they were handled well, but it's not an area that my antennae are always as good at as they should be, so I will be curious to see what you think.

Oh good. My concerns were that -- spoilers, obviously -- L would suddenly cease being a sexual presence, or be shuffled off stage completely. There is something really scary and delicate going on there. Someone said once that if you want to scare a man, threaten to cut his balls; if you want to frighten a woman, threaten to cut her face. Essentialist crap, but still, there's a little something to it. And I'm hoping the sequel doesn't bobble the whole thing, or fail to realize what it's carrying now.

SPOILERS

[kate_nepveu]

Not shuffled off stage--less present, but very much not forgotten; no easy fix; demonstrates agency in responding to changes in her life (with a really nice little callback to the first book). Suspect not so much on the sexual presence, but one of the things _I_ liked was that while he was aware that she was attractive, it didn't feel to me like he was that serious about hoping they would become involved, it was just a little background awareness that didn't impede their friendship, because I _want_ straightforward genuine platonic male-female friendships more often in books.

(As for the plots, there's a bit where he says that he understands why Mama Thames [how much do I love Mama Thames and her daughters, by the way?] gave him that name and then many things became clearer to him, and I said yeah, that's nice for you, where is my police-procedural-standard debriefing scene?)

Re: SPOILERS

[lightreads]

but one of the things _I_ liked was that while he was aware that she was attractive, it didn't feel to me like he was that serious about hoping they would become involved, it was just a little background awareness that didn't impede their friendship, because I _want_ straightforward genuine platonic male-female friendships more often in books.



Yes, agreed. I really liked them when they were just hanging out and he wasn't thinking about it too hard. Also tangentially really liked how they both knew that she was the better cop, in the traditional sense.

[how much do I love Mama Thames and her daughters, by the way?]

Right? This much. The whole thing could have been too socially and racially on-the-nose, but it really really wasn't, and I just dug them all as characters.