Spoilery Book Reviews

River of London (series) by Ben Aaronovitch

Back of the first book

My name is Peter Grant, and I used to be a probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service, and to everyone else as the Filth.

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. Then one night I tried to take a witness statement from a man who was already dead but still disturbingly voluble...and that led me to Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England.

And that, they say, is where the story really starts.

There's something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious, vengeful spirit that's taking ordinary Londoners and twisting them into something awful; 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 to die trying.

My thoughts

To start, I haven't read the entire Rivers of London series, just the first seven (Rivers of London, Moon Over Soho, Whispers Under Ground, Broken Homes, Foxglove Summer, The Hanging Tree, Lies Sleeping). Here are my collective thoughts on what I've read of the series.

The first book took me a little while to get into. I couldn't figure out the tone. It seemed childish yet also blunt tone, however the comments about wanting to get into bed with a colleague marked it as an adult book. The second book also jarred me with sex scenes (not erotica type detail), which seemed out of place until the conclusion of the mystery that made up that books' plotline. The entire series is very specific about location settings, all in London. The series main personality trait is that it's set in London. The location details were often lost on me and sometimes I thought a little map of key places would have been nice, however it is set in real London so I could have just hit up Google maps. Buildings were also described in great detail, however descriptions of people felt like a list. The simple listing of features of people could be explained away by the policeman point of view.

The series is written in first person but often imparts enough detail that it seems a little omnipresent, another mildly confusing tonal blip. After a few books I got used to the writing style and started to tune out location and building details that had no meaning to me. I liked the modern pop culture references, really setting it in the world we know but with wizards and ghosts etc. I liked the format of the series, following one case per book with a slow burn series-long plotline. The last two books become more centrally about the 'slow' plotline. Lies Sleeping almost felt like the end of the series, with only two loose threads to extrapolate on in further books. Perhaps I just didn't feel agony leaving these characters because a deep emotional connection was never formed.

At first I believed the main character to be shallow. Further into the series, I recognised it was a lack of emotional connection to the characters, which is probably the main factor that had me not invested in this series. The plot is well thought out and constantly engaging, but the books are emotionally cold, and I never felt emotionally invested in any of the characters. I was curious about the plot and their fates, but never upset or anxious in any way. This detracted a bit from the impact of major plot twists, albeit shocking and surprising, did not elicit an emotional response. I am used to reading books with great emotional engagement so slogging through seven books that didn't have the power to make me cry felt odd for me.

I was on the fence for my opinion on the first book, but the series as a whole I think is worth reading. It feels like a more casual read because it is emotionally cold, but to follow the mystery within a book I found it better to read in one day. Books that I read over multiple days I forgot subtle foreshadowing details and was less able to predict or build my own conclusions about the police case mystery at hand. The stories are engaging, with my favourite being Foxglove Summer that centres around missing persons instead of a murder. Foxglove Summer is set in the countryside so it didn't feel like it was screaming 'LONDON' at me constantly. Describing rolling hills and the species of trees bothered me less than a Victorian era façade upon a row of houses.

In summary, Rivers Over London is an engaging, plot driven supernatural series. Every book screams "LONDON" and regular pop-culture references mark it as modern (but will also date it as time goes on). Despite my intellectual curiosity for each plot, the books didn't capture me emotionally. My favourite books are the ones that can make me cry, so although I can see all the merits for this series it will never be my favourite. I liked the author's unique writing style and tone, a mix of blunt honesty, casual and witty. I wouldn't bother reading this series again (maybe Foxglove Summer) but I can happily say my time was not wasted reading this series.

TL:DR

These books are set in LONDON. Peter Grant is not emotionless, I am curious about what will happen to him, I just don't care what happens (like his best friend/love interest betraying him majorly). Very interesting though.