Rivers of London, Ben Aaronovitch

I just finished a book titled “Amongst Our Weapons.” And yes, that is a reference to Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisition. It’s book 9 of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series.

Before I carry on, I will answer an important question you ought to be asking me, before taking my advice on what to read. Would I recommend a series purely on the fact that it is peppered with bits of snarky social commentary and constant references to Lord of the Rings and Monty Python?

Yes. Yes, I would.

But fortunately for those of you who have higher standards than I do, the Rivers of London series has a lot more to recommend it! It’s a witty, fast-paced cross of police procedure and fantasy.

The books follow the adventures of Peter Grant, a member of London’s Metropolis Police, as he stumbles upon the existence of magic and of the police’s division for magical crime. He trains to become the first new magic practitioner in England’s police force since World War II, battles the Fae, solves mysteries, and interacts with the local river gods. If you’ve ever read the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, this is the British counterpart—but it is so much more than a British rewrite of Harry Dresden.

Peter’s voice as narrator is cheerful and cheeky as he navigates both murderous invisible unicorns and the bureaucracy of the London police force. He never loses sight of the comedic undercurrent that flows from combining the ultra-modern British policing system with the tradition-bound, murky depths of magic and his quips and snarky asides are some of the best moments in the books. But the mysteries themselves are interesting on their own as well.

It’s been a while since I read the first books, but at least in the most recent one, Amongst Our Weapons, there are a lot of f-bombs. For moral reasons I’m not a fan of any profanity, but from a writing quality standpoint only, I would have preferred more variety in profane word choice. Other than that, there’s little to offend in these books; the focus is on the plot and the sheer mischievous joy of combining such disparate genres. Overall, the series is fun and light-hearted. It’s not what you want if you’re going to ponder deep truths, but they make for fun, entertaining reads.