My Cultural Diet

I’m honestly disappointed that I didn’t love this more than I did. Don’t get me wrong, I love the premise (a young police officer becomes a wizard-in-training after discovering London’s magical side) and the characters, and Ben Aaronovitch’s writing style is consistently clever. But my frustration with Rivers of London was all of the world-building, which is odd to me because I love world-building. Aaronovitch pulls from lots of sources, including English and Celtic history and mythology, while also throwing in vampires, British theater, and the history of Punch and Judy shows. But there’s almost too much world-building, as if Aaronovitch was worried he wouldn’t get to write another novel and so he threw in everything he could think of. (To that point, Aaronovitch has since penned numerous follow-up novels, novellas, and graphic novels.) As a result, Rivers of London occasionally loses its focus and is never quite as breezy a read as it feels like it ought to be. That said, if and when the long-gestating TV series ever happens, I’ll check it out.

I may earn an affiliate commission on items you buy through Opus. These commissions will go directly to support the site and my blogging.