22nd January 2024 - Rivers of London Book Series
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Recently I have been reading a lot of the Rivers of London series of 
books by Ben Aaronovitch. I thought it was enjoyable enough as a 
series to write something and hopefully encourage someone to give it a 
go. There will be spoilers but hopefully nothing which becomes a 
detriment. 

The books focus on present day London and a member of the police 
called Peter Grant. He is a fairly newly qualified police constable 
who has an unexpected encounter with a ghost. We learn about how 
magic, ghosts and other unexpected life forms exist as Peter learns 
about this world. The books focus on resolving cases involving the 
supernatural and are an interesting hybrid of detective and action 
genres. Discussing any more will ruin your exploration of this world 
alongside PC Grant. 

Ben Aaronovitch is often recommended to Terry Pratchett fans eager to 
explore similar worlds to the Discworld. While the Discworld is an 
entirely new world, disc shaped and held in place atop the backs of 4 
elephants wo stand upon the back of A'Tuin, a turtle passing through 
space, the Rivers of London universe is strictly a case of the modern 
world with a supernatural twist. However, both authors manage to 
convey the human element of both stories without whacking the reader 
in the face with it. There is of course humour in both author's work. 
However, Ben Aaronovitch tends to want to show how clever they are 
with references made a little obvious. Whereas Terry Pratchett hides 
his references and puns everywhere. Re-reads lead to discovering ever 
more. although I might just be overly harsh as I have not reread the 
Rivers of London series... yet. 

One similarity is the diverity in the characters. There seems to be 
lots of different backgrounds, orientations and what not. These are 
not made key defining characteristics but offered almost like spices 
to enhance the flavour or realism of the characters. There are 
exceptions. Peter's mum being Somali is a key defining characteristic 
for her in many ways. There is also a fairly annoying reference to the 
wide ranging nationality of each takeway mentioned. However, the 
diveristy feels tasteful and works well. For me at least that is. Your 
mileage may vary. 

I particularly enjoy the way in which London is a character. It is 
somewhere which the author loves deeply and has done a lot of research 
about. Ben Aaronovitch seems to find an interesting aspect about the 
history of the city and then forms a book around it. From lost Roman 
temples, 1700s actors, jazz bars to brutalist architecture, a story is 
spun. The city is this omni-present but ever changing character and 
without which, much of the supernatural aspects would feel silly. The 
various rivers of London also add to the character and history. I have 
reisted talking too much about the rivers but they are key characters 
even if they are simply rivers passing through.

If you enjoy fantasy elements, detective/mystery plots and some great 
action scenes then do yourself a favour and give the first book a go. 
The first book is aptly called Rivers of London although it is also 
called Midnight Riot in the USA. I started reading these in October 
2023 and ploughed through to book 8 last night. There are lots of 
novellas and graphic novels as well.