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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very much enjoyed this latest book in the series. Read it in three days! I'm interested to see where some of the seeds that got planted go.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
No
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is the eighth full-length novel in the excellent Rivers of London series (there are also two novellas and a short-story collection), a series that combines detective work with urban fantasy. I have come to like the series sufficiently that I've lost most of my objectivity. I am now sufficiently attached to the central characters that I would happily read about Peter Grant and Thomas Nightingale spending a day tidying the Folly. I can report that I hoarded this book for six months, just as I used to hoard Christmas presents when I was a child, wanting to have a treat saved up. And I can report that when I finally read the book, I fell into it and didn't want to leave. The characters have grown to feel like my friends.
I very highly recommend the series. The first-person narration is clear and engaging with lovely moments of dry wit. The narrator, Peter Grant, is very likable. More than that, Peter is quintessentially good, not in a saccharine, preachy way, but in the fashion of someone who tries to do what's right, even if it costs him. The plotting is satisfying and skilled: I especially appreciate the long background arcs that run through the course of the books. The spell system is grounded in detail. The fantastical beings, some of whom are very unsettling, are evoked well. As a former Londoner, I also find the setting itself part of the attraction. When Peter Grant goes to Richmond Park, or crosses Waterloo Bridge, or catches the Tube, I step back into my childhood.
So, again, highly recommended, though it would be far better to begin at book one, which, confusingly, is titled "Midnight Riot" in America, but "Rivers of London" in the U.K.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
I very highly recommend the series. The first-person narration is clear and engaging with lovely moments of dry wit. The narrator, Peter Grant, is very likable. More than that, Peter is quintessentially good, not in a saccharine, preachy way, but in the fashion of someone who tries to do what's right, even if it costs him. The plotting is satisfying and skilled: I especially appreciate the long background arcs that run through the course of the books. The spell system is grounded in detail. The fantastical beings, some of whom are very unsettling, are evoked well. As a former Londoner, I also find the setting itself part of the attraction. When Peter Grant goes to Richmond Park, or crosses Waterloo Bridge, or catches the Tube, I step back into my childhood.
So, again, highly recommended, though it would be far better to begin at book one, which, confusingly, is titled "Midnight Riot" in America, but "Rivers of London" in the U.K.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
Enjoyed the series as always.
This was the first one I listened to rather than reading. Very good actor doing the reading -- a variety of accents made it easier to keep all the characters straight.
This was the first one I listened to rather than reading. Very good actor doing the reading -- a variety of accents made it easier to keep all the characters straight.