Date of Completion: 24/01/2021
I often come across books from this series in the bookstores I frequent. For this reason, I had very high expectations prior to reading this first book in the seemingly popular and best-selling series.
Questions would be asked. Answers would be ignored.”
As far as first impressions go, ‘Rivers of London‘ made a delightful impression. I absolutely adore books that can make me laugh, and in less than two pages, Ben Aaronovitch had me chuckling at the humorous narrative. Whilst the dry humour did remind me of ‘Good Omens’, which I eagerly picked up last year and put down just as quickly, it also reminded me of the Dresden Files series which I loved up to a point. Thus, I had some hope that I would end up really enjoying this series.
Sadly, despite my initial optimism, you can tell from my rating that I really did not find this book enjoyable. The main thing that irritated me was the mistakes I spotted. Given that this book was published in 2011, I was surprised that 10 years later I received a copy with several mistakes. Not one… Or two… But SEVERAL mistakes. Seriously, as I mentioned earlier, this book is part of a best-selling series – what happened here?!
Additionally, whilst I understand that the whole premise of this book depends on the protagonist – Peter – accepting the paranormal aspects portrayed, I still think he accepts things far too quickly. I don’t know about you, but even as someone who loves reading fantasy books, I would question my sanity and sight if I suddenly saw a ghost one day. In fact, I will most certainly think it is a trick someone set up to capture people’s reactions. What I would not do is go ‘ghost-hunting’ and tell my colleague about it – which is exactly what Peter does.
At this point, I will like to take a brief pause in my rant to mention that I did like that the protagonist is a person of mixed race and that there is some ethnic representation in this book. However, I did find Peter’s character very annoying and the quote below is just one of several that explains why. Honestly, if Peter used half the time he spends thinking about women’s boobs and legs to pay attention to what was happening around him, he would be a much better detective!
Beverly led me into a ground-floor flat, and I tried to keep my eyes off the long legs that emerged slender and brown below the hem of the t-shirt.
I have to give credit to Ben Aaronovitch for his creative integration of London’s history, culture and scenery into the storyline. I can certainly see how some readers would find this captivating and informative. Personally, I was very bored as I do not think that random facts about buildings and numerous descriptions of roads and cars are enough for world-building. Instead, these details create numerous information dumps that slow down the pace of the story.
In short, while I found both the writing and the main character in this book exasperating, I can understand why others may find it entertaining. Perhaps my various pet peeves or high expectations prevented me from enjoying the story.
Do you agree or disagree with anything mentioned above? Let us know in the comments below.
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