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A review by carolined
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Child death and Racism
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Domestic abuse