London is an amazing city for the sheer breadth of people, cultures, and activities that live within it; Brixton’s wealth of Caribbean food, 3000 parks, and green spaces, and an ancient form of magic first formalised by Sir Isaac Newton?
While the first two may be real reasons I love living in London, the third is a creation of Ben Aaronovitch’s, Rivers of London, a creative re-imaging of modern-day London. The London that Aaronovitch creates in the first book of the urban fantasy Peter Grant series, manages to balance details familiar to anyone who has spent any time in London, while also weaving into the city streets a beautiful new magic world. The Rivers of London was published in 2011 and has since developed into a series spanning 11 novels and novella’s as well as a number of graphic novels. From reading the first installment it is clear to see why from both the spark of magic but also the gaps that remain, I was left with many questions.
Before jumping into the meat of Rivers of London, I will be clear that this review is coming from the perspective of having just read this installment and not any of the rest of the series. While this may leave some unanswered questions or reservations that Aaronovitch deals with, later on, it does provide a perspective of one just beginning the journey into his (I can begin to imagine) deep portrayal of a London like nothing we have seen before.
Rivers of London follows Peter Grant officer of the Metropolitan Police. Peter’s journey in the book begins in his own words “at one-thirty on a cold Tuesday morning in January.” As I said, so far so familiar, however, things move swiftly toward untrodden ground as Peter is quickly inducted partially by chance and partially by his own choice into a select group of Met Police officers aware of a supernatural world that coexists with our own.
Peter is then guided by a cast of characters already deeply involved in this world each in their own way, from the personification of several London rivers (for some reason I had never considered that there was more than the Thames), as well as his Sherlock esque magical guide Thomas Nightingale. The plot follows a series of gruesome murders in which a darker force initially unknown is inhabiting the bodies of Londoners and using them as puppets in their devilish show. Peter, follows the leads both those he discovers and those that are brutally pushed onto his doorstep down a dark rabbit hole.
What did I like about Aaronovitch’s creation? While I can and have drawn parallels between Rivers of London and other literary characters one aspect of this book and therefore series that commands such interest is the creation of an entirely new world of magic. Fantasy can fall into tropes and recurring elements, and while no book can avoid these entirely, a reason that I am so likely to continue the series is the potential to discover a fantastical world of a completely new design.
Further to this, and having recently moved to London, I found this book after going in search of a novel set in London. The strength of the sense of place in Rivers of London, especially for anyone who has spent time here adds a great level of realism in which to make the fantasy seem more immediate. Aaronovitch worked in a Waterstones around the corner from Covent Garden and it shows in the novel. You can follow Peter’s exact movements around the city and country for that matter. This makes it feel even more violent when an enormous magic bat is used to swipe the head off a passer-by on streets you just walked down a day or so before. Not only this but while it is often said that the setting is like an extra character, Aaronovitch takes this literally. Rivers Thames, Tyburn, Lea, are literal characters. What better way to explore the history and sense of place in a setting than giving it not one but ten’s of unique voices to tell its own story.
Aaronovitch’s writing is smooth and easy to read. Fiction that reads similar to Stephen King, where he lets the creativity of his story, world, and characters sweep you along and seems to try to keep the prose from getting in the way or slowing that journey down.
While a great introduction to an exciting series, no book can be perfect. From my perspective Peter’s journey into a world completely unknown to him as much as us felt as though it came a little easy. Both as a practitioner of magic and as an acting detective, his guesses were often a little too on the money. A number of assumptions he made that yes in hindsight seem logical came from out of the blue. While the plot was full of action the links between beats often felt forced.
However, overall Rivers of London was a great fun read that I finished in just a couple of days. It is incredibly easy reading that brought a new world to life as well as leaving me intrigued about what else Ben has in mind for London’s supernatural other half. I would be excited to read on in the series in the hopes that some of the magical explanations that came a little quick and brief have more room to breathe in later installments.
Anyone who enjoys fantasy grounded in reality; those who have enjoyed worlds such as those in Harry Potter, American Gods, and the connected Anansi Boys, will find many similar exciting and creative heroes, villains, and action in Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London.
