Rivers of London

Rivers of London, Book 1

By: Ben Aaronovitch

Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

My name is Peter Grant, and until January, I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit - we do paperwork so real coppers don't have to - and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluble, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England.

Now I'm a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in 50 years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden...and there's something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious, vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair.

The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it's falling to me to bring order out of chaos - or die trying.

Read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.

©2011 Ben Aaronovitch (P)2011 Orion Publishing Group Limited

A narrator with a thousand believable accents.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked how the world of magic and inner London policing were very realistically entwined, and how Harry Potter films still exist.

What about Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s performance did you like?

The narrator is stunning, equally at home with English and Scottish accents from every social milieu and is one of very few male narrators I have come across who could do a believable female chav!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I listened to this book and its two sequels on a road trip through headphones and my family were amused by my frequent guffaws and snorts of delight.

Any additional comments?

This is a great series with gritty realism in its descriptions of inner city policing, while successfully introducing a believable fantasy worls, apparently on our very doorsteps! Highly recommended.

I can't decide...

I simply can't decide if I like it. I finished the audiobook in 1 day, and the story did hold my attention, but I found myself frustrated quite often.

I found the finale a little lackluster and I didn't like the constant sexual undertone whenever the MC talked to women. Especially when there was a sexual undertone when he was with a much younger woman.

I don't feel like it was a waste of a credit, but I have no plans to buy the next installment.

The soul of London

You miss the city, enjoy history, suspense and well constructed characters? Then this is for you...

History, magic, a drop of gore and lots of fun

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Surely everyone waits for the twist in the story and hopes to get that fuzzy warm feeling of satisfaction. I was a slight bit disappointed with the unfolding of that twist but that's only my opinion.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

A little bit of magic, a bit of history, a few drops of gore, a pinch of over-the-top and a few scratches of British humour, all in all I had fun listening to this book.

Do you think Rivers of London needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I've added the follow-up book to my wish-list already.

Any additional comments?

I congratulate Mr Holdbrook-Smith on his excellent performance, it was a pleasure listening to him. I especially loved Mama Thames.

Simply Brilliant

I came across this author and his work by accident,but now I have downloaded all three of the books of which this is the first. Brilliant combination of wit, history and fantasy concerning a subculture of magic underneath that of modern London. the characters from Nightingale through Peter Grant and the ever ominous Molly are wonderfully drawn. Equally crucially is the narrator Kobna Holdbrook-Smith whose narration gives depth and texture to the work. It is an excellent work of imagination suspend critical analysis and nitpicking and I am sure you will enjoy the work(s).

Interesting being.

A very promising beginning to a book series I'm looking forward to spending time with.

Last chapter lost me.

I loved this until the last chapter to which my responds was... "um, what? I have so many questions about story logic!"

Fantastic narration can't rescue a lacklustre book

Shout out to Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, I wish I enjoyed the story a fraction as much as his narration!

The plot is messy, characters are poorly developed and often unlikeable (and sadly not in an interesting way). I enjoyed the setting and the London references were enjoyable, but the main story was a disjointed slog and the ending didn't land for me.

Touch of the DWJs

Entertaining, British, DWJish

In tone, no, but many of the concepts in this story reminded me of Diana Wynne Jones. The details are just a touch too bloody for me to give this a five, but that probably says more about me than about the book. I did enjoy the story a lot, and have bought the sequel. I give full marks to the narrator who goes with apparent ease between Peter's accent (which sounds like the Jasmine Allen Estaters from "The Bill" to me), Dr Walid's Scottish and Nightingale's uppercrust Brit. He also makes a lovely job of the other accents Nigerian and whatever Oxley is... Irish? As far as I can tell,* he's pitch perfect. *I'm Australian, so my knowledge of accents isn't 100%.

Loved the performance, but grew tired of the story

The book started out quite fresh, with a good cast of characters. But I think it somehow narrowed as the story progressed and fell into more and more clichés and in the end it was a little more than okay.

The real take away was the reading by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. He was very fit for the part and managed the voices of the whole cast splendidly.