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Rivers of London

By: Ben Aaronovitch
Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
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Editorial reviews

An enthralling and at times hilarious crime thriller audiobook, book 1 of the unabridged Rivers of London: PC Peter Grant written by Ben Aaronovitch is brilliantly narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. Listeners are taken into the depths of London’s hidden world of vampires, spirits, gods and goddesses of the mighty Thames. Join the impossibly funny PC Peter Grant as he leaves his policing life behind to become an apprentice to the last wizard of England, and listen intently as they embark on a battle against London’s sinister vampire underworld. Available from Audible now.

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

What listeners say about Rivers of London

Average customer ratings
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So wonderfully not woke great story and performance

The author has set a very high bar with his imaginative novel of real world London and Fantasy London. The suspension of disbelief is immediate as the story doesn’t muck about - it’s gets in there and tells a great yarn and gets out again, plus, because of the time it was written isn’t hamstrung by the thought police. The narrator totally understands the characters to the point that you forget it’s just one person. The narrator is brilliant. Buy this book!

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Not even close to the Alex Verus

Yeah, Alex Verus is the only book I can compare this one with and it is a far cry. 6 hours left to finish it but I can’t make myself to do it.
Boring and unimaginative to my taste. But again, I have already read and listened to a bunch of urban fantasy books (like 30+) and this one definitely at the bottom and if you are just started reading books of this genre then you might like it, maybe

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Shortened and rephrased

Rephrasings of the text and editing out bits without advertising it as such (see for example the last seven lines of page 221). A scam.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

The Bill meets Harry Potter

... and just in case you're thinking "that sounds like a great combination", I don't mean it in a good way.
A rookie procedural with a whiff of the supernatural quickly descends into derivative nonsense, all delivered at break-neck speed by the narrator.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Feels like the author squeezed it into the Genre.

Would you try another book from Ben Aaronovitch and/or Kobna Holdbrook-Smith?

Only in a true moment of bored weakness--the reader was great though.

What could Ben Aaronovitch have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The book's heart is simply not in the fantasy genre....that said... I am not sure where it is.

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

Very good overall.. nothing specific though.

Did Rivers of London inspire you to do anything?

Not read the next one... not trust 5 star, 5 star, 5 star reviewers.... Who are those people?

Any additional comments?

Let me point out that the writer CAN write, but does not seem to fit this area, almost seems to have jumped into urban fantasy for convenience's sake? Also...I simply did not care about the characters by the end of the book... an absolute must!

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

not what I expected

I suppose if you like Harry Potter, wizards, magic, ghosts etc then this may be for you

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Hard to follow

The performance was great, I like the narrator, but the story is a bit hard to follow for me. It felt like it was all over the place.
Especially when they have a few storylines running at the same time and it kept jumping from one to the other.

I've finished the book and I only have a vague idea of what it is even about.

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1 person found this helpful