Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

32 reviews

jackshortstack's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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strangeeigenfunction's review against another edition

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adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

4.5

I see a lot of comparisons to the Dresden Files, which I cannot provide, being unfamiliar with them. To me this feels something like Jasper Fforde was told to write a Discworld Watch novel but set it in London and include magic and copious historical details. I like it! (especially as someone who has feelings about a totally different river in an entirely different part of the world)

I can, however, definitely see how people could be annoyed by Grant's tendency to be sexually attracted to women at relatively inappropriate times (there's definitely sexism, though I'd stop short of saying the book expresses a notable level of hatred towards women, aside perhaps from the historical Punch & Judy story) and I expect people with only slightly less tolerance for historical details or technobabble might get bored here.
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smmrmmrmmr's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I really enjoyed listening to this. The magic system was really interesting and the plot was gripping.

HOWEVER:

The main character objectifies every single woman he comes across, and they all seem fine with this? every single woman in this book seems determined, at some point, to make him sexually attracted to him and he constantly thinks about boobs or butts and it takes up a fair part of his inner monologue. I choose to believe that this is not how all men think.

Too many descriptions of cars. The main character seems to belive that you can tell everything about a person by what car they drive, and know what car they drive by how they behave. I do not care about cars and I think he talked more about them than the murders he was supposed to be investigating
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danicaleblanc's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Loveable characters? No

1.0

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reiniac's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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fairweather_fox's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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paintedthree's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Loved this book. The worldbuilding was great, and the fantasy elements were truly captivating. I loved the characters (99% of the time, the main character just loves to go on about how horny he is) and the plot. I'll definitely be reading the sequel at some point. 
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joneva's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny informative mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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carolined's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

This book was only published in 2011 but it has aged really badly. 

I only finished it because I had the audio book on in the background and the audio book narrator, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, does a grest job. 

I think the author was trying to make the protagonist a relatable, bumbling fellow, as you would find in a Neil Gaiman or a TomHolt book but in 2021 I am am no longer willing to embrace police officers as sympathetic protagonists, especially ones that joke with their colleagues about police brutality, concealing evidence, and real life atrocities like the shooting of Charles de Menezes. Also, as other reviewers have mentioned the protagonist ogles every woman he comes across and talks about his penis far more than is warranted. 
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pardum's review against another edition

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funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Basically everything you want from urban fantasy. The magic has a logic system behind it and it's plausible that the fantastic can go unnoticed by the mundane world. The protagonist has a healthy sense of scepticism and humor that makes the book really enjoyable. 
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