Mmm I love me some urban fantasy. It was especially fun to read an urban fantasy where I know all the locations in real life.

Aside from the incredibly weird sexual comments here and there which put me off at points, this was really enjoyable. Loved all the characters, and the fun moments merged well with the more action packed parts at all, giving the book the most amazing ~quirky~ vibe.

At first I was concerned with how the fantasy aspect would become relevant to the plot, but once those elements were better established it became clear that this would be a great book. Let's hope that continues and it becomes a great series ^^ ( )

Constable Peter Grant interviews an eyewitness to a horrible murder, only to figure out his witness is a ghost! And then magic is real! And the police are in on it! Becoming the apprentice to the wizard police, Peter finds himself caught up in a wave of increasingly gruesome murders it seems that only he can solve.

What a fun, inventive book! Police procedural, magical mystical fantasy, murder mystery, and so much more. Aaronovitch creates a large, tumultuous, multicultural London populated with all kinds of characters, including mythical ones. ( )

‘Rivers of London’ made excellent entertainment for a train journey. It’s a pacy mystery set in an alternate London that is ruled in secret by magical beings rather than estate agents and investment bankers. The protagonist, Peter Grant, is a police constable who meets a ghost and a wizard at a crime scene, then finds himself learning magic. I found the world-building very appealing, as Peter’s response to discovering magic is to try and figure out how it works. His experimental approach is much more convincing to me than a sudden shift from absolute denial to absolute credulity, which I have seen elsewhere. The various London settings feel atmospheric and convincing. (I’m not a Londoner, but I was born there and frequently visit.) The titular rivers of London were my favourite characters - I found the police and wizards less interesting. The sense of London’s tangible history was done very well, especially when it came to the rivers. The historical background passages were my favourite parts of the book.

All this intriguing world-building was hung on a slightly less inspired plot, with a main villain whose identity seemed to be telegraphed quite early on. Still, it was an exciting ride to find out how said baddie would be vanquished. I’ll definitely look for the next in the series, as I like the world that Aaronovitch has created very much. Peter Grant has the potential to be an involving narrator, although inevitably he is mainly introducing the setting to readers in this first book. I did like the awareness of class and race in the narrative, which bodes well.

All in all, a great secret santa gift! ( )

Good and interesting through and through. Plan to try the next in series at least. ( )

An interesting premise that starts well and in the main continues its pace and quality throughout the book. This is a new take on a worn genre. Fantasy is becoming a bit of a tired trope but this seems to breathe some new energy into it. Some good characters coupled with an interesting plot with not too many Machiavellian plot twists and difficulties makes this easy to follow.

An interesting way of starting what promises to be a great series ( )

Peter Grant, having become the first English apprentice wizard in fifty years, must immediately deal with two different but ultimately inter-related cases. In one he must find what is possessing ordinary people and turning them into vicious killers, and in the second he must broker a peace between the two warring gods of the River Thames. ( )

Have read the book twice, and husband and I are currently working our way through the audiobooks on Audible, read by Kobna Holbrook-Smith, who is excellent. ( )

This book was recommended to me by a friend who knows I like both a solid mystery and interesting SF/Fantasy worlds. This book delivers on both. Told from the first person POV of Probationary Constable Peter Grant of the [London] Metropolitan Police, it is a police procedural with a twist. The copper in question lives and works in a world where magic and the supernatural exist in parallel with the mundane.

The book starts with a series of gruesome beheadings (and grisly face breaking) in London. Grant and his partner, WPC Leslie May, have been sent on patrol to keep an eye out. While May is getting them a cuppa, Grant encounters Nicholas, a witness to the most recent assault. Unfortunately, only Grant can see and talk to him, since Nicholas is a ghost.

Though in denial about the existence of magic, The Met is not stupid. They assign Grant to Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale (the last magic user in England), with whom Grant begins his magic apprenticeship.

From Grant’s first sighting of a ghostly witness, through the evidence-chasing and magical skills-building, the pace never lets up. Aaronovitch does a great job of keeping the tension high. The plot development is well-paced, and characters are fleshed out and interesting.

Aaronovitch is a British TV screenwriter whose credits include several classic Dr. Who episodes. The humour is dark and dry, and readers will get a kick out of the pop cultural references sprinkled here and there.

What will be fresh to North American readers is the diversity in the cast of characters. It is handled in a subtle and natural way, with the varied characters part of the tapestry of the city. We are well into the book before we find out about Grant’s parents (he is a white drug-addicted jazz musician, she is an office cleaner from Sierra Leone). The physical embodiments of the Rivers of London are also a demographically diverse group, played against each other as part of a larger turf war.

The star of the novel is the city of London – both the present day, and thousands of years ago. There are interesting historical facts about the many rivers that became buried as London was built up. For those of you who are Anglophiles, Aaronovitch's vivid descriptions of locations and locales will beg you to whip out a city map and follow along. He clearly evokes what it is to live in The City – the traffic, the crowds, the smells, the diverse restaurants.

If you are like me, you will be charmed by the characters, laugh at the dry humour, and get hooked on the classic police procedural mystery plot. Fair warning: Have the sequel, Moon Over Soho, ready to hand.

Bonus: Here is a link to images and story about the Rivers referred to in the book. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/river-fleet ( )

3.5 stars - witty, creative, a bit cheesy at times, but a fun romp. Great on audiobook. ( )

Like a pool ball, on the baize of a pool table, on a riverboat, on choppy waters, I found myself to-ing-and-fro-ing over 'The Rivers of London'. I hadn't particularly read the blurb closely and was therefore surprised as to the supernatural ambience of the tale; I took this in my stride and found the initial brushes with magic, wizardry and other mystic forces well-handled and quasi-believable within the book's format. It was clear Aaronovitch was well versed in history, his beloved city, the police force and everything else he wrote about, which made the story interesting and impressive - it gave a feeling of you being in a capable storyteller's hands. I suppose though, this was also the novel and writer's undoing: the protagonist, tale and as result, reader, became so embroiled in specific, obtuse facets of plot that it all seemed to grind down in its pace and effectiveness as the story should have been gripping and page-turning. instead I felt that avenues were forced, that the author had planned the tapestry-like narrative in such cross referenced detail, that the mystique disappeared and the happenings were glaringly more far-fetched and unbelievable. Don't get me wrong, there were parts of the book I really enjoyed and I think Aaronovitch is an intelligent and interesting writer but I think in his quest to make it all make sense, he lost the vim and vigour he has successfully created previously. Don't over-egg the pie, or something like that. ( )

Utterly marvelous and imaginative urban fantasy set in London and surprisingly absorbing. I only meant to read a few pages while my Kindle rebooted and haven't been able to put it down much this weekend.

Great characters, engaging and fun mystery, and like the blurbs note, it's like Harry Potter as a police procedural.

I'd been meaning to read this series for a while thanks to a good review from Charles de Lint in F&SF, but only now got around to reading this. Now I can't wait to nab the second book and keep reading about Peter Grant, apprentice wizard and probationary constable for London's Metropolitan police force. :) ( )

I was encouraged, nay, urged to read this book by my beloved bride. (She is already in at least the 4th book in the series at this point.) Who am I to resist such entreaties? (Even though she never reads the things I encourage her to take up.) And true to the promise, the book was really enjoyable. The main characters are well sketched out, the plot points unexpected (at least to me, an only occasional mystery reader). What I particularly appreciated was the thorough description of where locations were in relation to one another. I've never been to London. I'm familiar enough with many of the names of places and monuments there. But Aaronovitch gives us the courtesy of putting places in context to one another, which makes the whole story feel more real and grounded.
[Audiobook note: The reader, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, was excellent. For example, when reading sections where the first-person character had been running, KHS would be breathing heavily, giving a sense of immediacy to the story.] ( )

Very enjoyable. Aaranovitch had a pleasant writing style that is particularly witty at times. I liked all the river characters and their interaction with Peter. I thought the story line was alright but could use some work. Some of the solutions and plans were supposed to be clever, I think, but to me it was a bit as if they were just falling from the sky, without much logic to it. Solutions ex machina... ( )

Missing the fart jokes ( )

Not much to say beyond:
It's a good book, and I'm sure I'll read the others in the series (having started with #3, I may end up re-reading it when I get back to that point...).
It's magic and wizards meets crime fiction -- like Dresden Files but ... a little dryer and a little slower. It was definitely enjoyable and had a nice discussion on London :) I would recommend to people to whom the above brief description appeals.

Three & a half stars!

Also, I am happy to hear that they (London people) are planning on making a tv series from the books! ( )

The author's matter of fact tone on magic really helped my (lack of) suspension of disbelief--perhaps that is the truly magical aspect of this book? The narrator is very likable, and the judicious use of British humor adds to the charm. Recommended for all libraries. ( )

Series:Rivers of Londer: #1

2023-10-15: Loved this. Very entertaining. He likes cliff hangers though, and that would irritate the shit out of me if this weren't book one of nine ( )

This book was good. If I had a complaint was he threw everything and the kitchen sink into the first half of the book.

He wanted to set up a world where everything could exist. I would have preferred he saved some of the mystery for future books.

Not quite as good as Simon Green but the story finished with a bang and I will be back for more. ( )

I listened to this audiobook. The narrator was awesome and the story was engaging. ( )

Where do I find these books? I wish Past-Me wrote down where I got each recommendation whenever I added a book to my to-read list.

Rivers of London is a fun and weird read, and I liked it and want more like it.

wow, what did I just finish up reading??!! Think Dresden and Harry potter have a baby who's raised by Sherlock homes. I'm currently speechless because this ISN"T what I expected. Magic, London, mystery, intrigue all rolled into one. Gods, Queens, Old London, magical beings, the book has it all. I will say if you enjoy any type of detective/urban fantasy this is HIGH on the list. I am also reading the Dresden series on the side and this will fit in nicely in rotation. ( )

Ich konnte das Buch gut leiden, 3.5 Sterne.

Der Plot war sehr interessant, auch wenn ich mich für einen Moment zwischen den zwei verschiedenen Fällen verloren habe. Unser Protagonist muss nämlich zur gleichen Zeit einem mörderischen Geist folgen und den Streit zwischen Mama und Papa Themse lösen (zwei Charaktere, die ich übrigens fantastisch und äußerst amüsant fand). Das wurde dann irgendwann im letzten Viertel, etwas verwirrend, hat sich aber im Endeffekt gut aufgelöst.

Sehr genossen habe ich den Schreibstil. Ein schnell durchgetakteter, parataktischer Stil, der das Lesen einfach macht. Interessant ist die Art und Weise, wie über lange Dialoge gespult wird, indem die Antworten oder Erzählungen anderer Charaktere von Peter (dem Hauptcharaktere) indirekt wiedergegeben werden.

Erfrischend natürlich, ist das geographische und historische London-Wissen, was das Buch wirklich zum Leben bringt.

Das Magie-System ist interessant und wird oft hinterfragt, weil Peter es nicht schafft, keine Fragen zu stellen. Ich erhoffe mir in weiteren Büchern definitiv mehr davon. Die wissenschaftliche Herangehensweise und Versuche zu erklären, weshalb und warum es funktioniert sind eine nette Abwechslung zu den oberflächlichen "Hier ist Magie und das nehmen wir hin"-Erklärungen, welche es normalerweise gibt. Auch der politische Aspekt der Magie, und das angedeutete und hoffentlich weiter erkundete magische Netzwerk machen neugierig und tragen zu einem realistischen World-Building bei.

Tja und jetzt, zu guter letzt, der Aspekt, der das Buch für mich so ein klein wenig ruiniert hat. Und as ganze lässt sich in einem Satz zusammenfassen: Wenn alle Männer so von Frauen denken wie unser guter Peter Grant, muss sich absolut keiner wundern, wenn wir uns um sie herum mehr als unwohl fühlen.

Da alle weiblichen Charaktere aus Peter's Sich beschrieben, kommen sie oberflächlich und überwiegend über ihren Körper definiert rüber. Ihre Charakterisierung mangelt einfach an Tiefe. Die einzige, welche nah dran kommt ist Lesley, aber wie sich herausstellt (SPOILER!!) ist sie den Großteil der Story über hinweg besessen, also...

Das heißt nicht, dass diese Darstellung unrealistisch sein mag, Unverlässlicher Erzähler existiert, es ist nur eine kleine Warnung, dass das Buch dadurch mitunter unangenehm werden kann, vor Allem eben, wenn man eine Frau ist. Mal sehen, vielleicht gibt es ja in den folgenden Teilen, ein wenig mehr Tiefe für die Frauen in Aaronovitch's Welt. ( )

Super compulsive reading: all of the best parts of a police procedural with some nicely developed magical systems, all set in one of my favorite cities in the world.

The crime was creepy, but evocative. However, I felt like Punch and Judy manifesting in horrific ways has been done before, for instance by both Diana Wynne Jones and Neil Gaiman.

I liked Peter Grant and his character development. I liked that he was kind of spacey and distractable and well-paired with the detail-oriented Leslie May

I had two big complaints: one was the objectification of the female characters (about which I'd been warned, and also promised that it improves throughout the series, which hopefully is true.) The other is the pacing: climaxes of one scene would jump cut to hours of studying Latin for no clear reason. This is at its worst at the very end, where I really couldn't quite figure out what actually happened because the action was stuffed with exposition and another case. In a lot of ways it reminds me of the Rook: mystery/urban fantasy mashup with world building that occasionally butts its way into action.

Overall, it's chock-full of my favorite things: deeply urban (London, no less), interesting mystery and well-designed speculative fiction. Perfect camping reading, and I'm totally tempted to binge read the rest of the series ( )

So much fun! ( )

I enjoyed the book and I found it an easy read. I liked how Ben Aaronovitch dealt with magic in the modern world and it's interactions with current technology. ( )