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A review by epellicci
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
If you're a fan of crime, or police procedural books, I suspect The Rivers of London will be more up your street than it was mine. I really wanted to love it but just couldn't get into the story. After a very slow start, my main issue with it was that I found it too crime, not enough fantasy. But I also found many of the characters hard to gel with - especially Peter Grant. Until it was specifically mentioned that he is meant to be a POC character, I had no idea from the writing. Which was particularly surprising given, being set in the British police force, Aaronovitch had ample opportunity to explore the mix-race experience within law enforcement in his writing. This was completely wasted, with Peter reading like a white guy for 90% of the book. It felt a bit like an afterthought, or token diversity.
While occasionally funny, and having an interesting take on relating old magic to the modern world, I found the events of the book very stop/start and the stakes hard to invest in. At about 35% it became much more readable pace-wise, but I still didn't really warm to the characters or the fantasy world which had initially encouraged me to pick up the book. Disappointing.
While occasionally funny, and having an interesting take on relating old magic to the modern world, I found the events of the book very stop/start and the stakes hard to invest in. At about 35% it became much more readable pace-wise, but I still didn't really warm to the characters or the fantasy world which had initially encouraged me to pick up the book. Disappointing.
Graphic: Violence and Gore
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual assault