Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection, Audio Book (2020) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by: the author, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Ben Elliot, Felix Grainger, Sam Peter Jackson, Alex Kingston, Shvorne Marks, and Penelope Rawlins (Rivers of London)

Part One: The Peter Grant Stories
The Home Crowd Advantage
The Domestic
The Cockpit
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Granny
King of The Rats
A Rare Book of Cunning Device
Part Two: The Others’ Stories
A Dedicated Follower of Fashion read by Ben Elliot
Favourite Uncle read by Shvorne Marks
Vanessa Sommer’s Other Christmas List read by Alex Kingston
Three Rivers, Two Husbands and a Baby read by Felix Grainger
Moment One: London September 1966
Moment Two: Reynolds— Florence, Az. 2014 read by Penelope Rawlins
Moment Three: Tobias Winter— Meckenheim 2012 read by Sam Peter Jackson

‘They talk about you,’ he says.

‘Who does?’

‘The Parliament of Foxes gossip about nothing else,’ he says. ‘And on the edges of the horse fairs and carnivals from Appleby to Goldsithney they pass your name from hand to hand in the hope of guessing the future.’

‘What did you think was happening?’ I asked.

‘I thought I’d developed ESP,’ she said. ‘Like that girl in the Stephen King book. Only it would have been a lot more useful when I was young, still, why look a gift horse in the mouth? I always say.’

‘So when did it start?’ I asked.

‘Last year,’ she said. ‘I knew something was wrong when the TV blew up.’

‘Hail Dominic and Victor,’ the foxes chorused, ‘soon to be blessed above all other minor landowners in Herefordshire and the wider border regions.’

‘What?’ said Victor.

‘Congratulations,’ said the first fox.

Publisher: Tantor Audio. Cover artwork and design by Jayel Draco. Hand lettering by Patrick Knowles.

Rating: 8.5/10

Rivers of London Vol. 10: Deadly Ever After (2022) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Celeste Bronfman, Joseph Maria Beroy

Honestly, I dislike almost everything about this.

I don’t like Chelsea and Olympia.

I really REALLY don’t like the art. I mean, what the hell kind of wetsuit would do THAT?

The thrown in bits with the characters I like: Peter, Nightingale, Bev, even Abigail, are all awful. Yeah, we’re supposed to be seeing this through the twins POV, but… UGH.

Publisher: Titan

Rating: 3/10

Midnight Riot, Audio Book (2012) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Rivers of London)

So Newton, like all good seventeenth-century intellectuals, wrote in Latin because that was the international language of science, philosophy and, I found out later, upmarket pornography.

“You’ve been dead for two hundred years, Henry,” I said. “I’m fairly certain you can’t murder someone who’s already dead.” If you could, I thought, the Met would have a form for it.

He handed me a card that was still warm from a lamination machine. In Dr. Walid’s neat, all-capitalized handwriting, it said, “Warning: I have been stupid enough to stick myself with etorphine hydrochloride,” and listed the procedures the paramedics were to follow; most of them concerned resuscitation and heroic measures to maintain heartbeat and respiration.

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Rating: 9.5/10

Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection, Audio Edition (2020) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by: the author, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Ben Elliot, Felix Grainger, Sam Peter Jackson, Alex Kingston, Shvorne Marks, and Penelope Rawlins

PART ONE: THE PETER GRANT STORIES
The Home Crowd Advantage: set between Rivers of London and Moon Over Soho
The Domestic: set between Rivers of London and Moon Over Soho
The Cockpit: Set between Whispers Under Ground and Broken Homes
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Granny: set just after Foxglove Summer
King of The Rats: set between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree
A Rare Book of Cunning Device: Set between The Hanging Tree and Lies Sleeping

PART TWO: THE OTHERS’ STORIES
A Dedicated Follower of Fashion
Favourite Uncle: Abigail, set between The Hanging Tree and Lies Sleeping
Vanessa Sommer’s Other Christmas List: set around the same time as False Value
Three Rivers, Two Husbands and a Baby: Victor & Dominic, set after Amongst Our Weapons
Moment One: London September 1966: Nightingale
Moment Two: Reynolds— Florence, Az. 2014: Agent Reynolds
Moment Three: Tobias Winter— Meckenheim 2012

‘I’m interested in history,’ I said. ‘Why don’t you tell me what happened.’

‘Why would a young man like you be interested in history?’

‘So I can avoid repeating it.’

‘Do you know how gladiator fights got started?’ I asked.

Lesley indicated that not only did she not know this interesting historical fact, but that she would like me to impart it sometime before old age and death.

‘Tell me that wasn’t a spider?’ said Ms Winstanley in a deceptively calm tone.

‘Can’t have been,’ I said.

‘Thank god for that,’ she said. ‘Can’t stand spiders.’

‘It was too big,’ I said. ‘You can’t scale an exoskeleton up that far.’ The inverse square law can be such a comfort sometimes. Plus I definitely remembered something about gas diffusion and box lungs or something like that.

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Rating: 8.5/10

Rivers Of London Vol. 9: Monday, Monday (2022) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, José María Beroy

The ninth comic jumps back and forth in time, both in the present day, as well as into Nightingale’s past.

First think I really liked about this story: Stephanopoulus. We get a lot of her POV. Also, she is described pretty much exactly as she is in the books.

She is good at her job, and we get to see that.

(Also, we get to see the chickens.)

Secondly, we get to see pieces of Nightingale’s past: his time and school and brief glimpses of the war.

The bad thing here, is that I initially couldn’t figure out who the hell the character was supposed to be. Nightingale looks plastic, like he’s had too much plastic surgery.

That is just squicky.

The third thing we some Abigail getting into trouble. Which is to be expected. Though her companion in trouble wasn’t expected.

And finally, we get some important glimpses into Peter’s family life, including his twin daughters.

I found myself enjoying those bits, especially once I realized why they were important.

So there is stuff that is definintely going to be referenced in the books, although I don’t think it was in the last novel (I’ve listened to so many books since I read that, I don’t clearly remember all the details).

Publisher: Titan Comics

Rating: 7/10

Rivers Of London Vol. 8: The Fey and the Furious (2020) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan

I read the first issue likely when it came out. I wasn’t especially interested, but now I’m relistening to the series, I decided to try and get caught up.

First off, we get Guleed.

Not enough Guleed, but she is here, badass as always.

Sadly, I have no idea if she went to the dinner.

Secondly, the Fey are back.

They are… running drag races for humans? Through faerie?

I’m not sure that part still makes a lot of sense to me, however, they are also smuggling goods into Europe, which is where Peter really comes in.

There was also a side thread about a mechanic who races on the side.

I found that somewhat aggravating because we never really find out what happened to the daughter, and I never really understood why the smuggling operation was going on, which just made me more confused.

I did, however, appreciate the ending and how Peter managed not to get killed buy the Faerie Queen.

Publisher: Titan Comics

Rating: 6/10

Midnight Riot, Audio Edition (2012) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Rivers of London)

I’ve finished listened to the Jane Yellowrock and Faith Hunter series, with the exception of the two most recent books I haven’t read, so realizing I had a new Rivers of London book to listen to, I decided to restart the Peter Grant books.

I adore Peter.

“And what am I?”

“Too easily distracted.”

“I am not.”

“New Year’s Eve, Trafalgar Square, big crowd, bunch of total wankers pissing in the fountain— remember that?” asked Leslie. “Wheels come off, wankers get stroppy and what were you doing?”

“I was only gone for a couple of seconds,” I said.

“You were checking what was written on the lion’s bum,” said Leslie. “I was wrestling a couple of drunken chavs and you were doing historical research.”

“Do you want to know what was on the lion’s bum?” I asked.

“No,” said Leslie. “I don’t want to know what was written on the lion’s bum, or how siphoning works or why one side of Floral Street is a hundred years older than the other side.”

“You don’t think any of that’s interesting?”

That is a perfect summation of Peter.

And then there’s the world building.

“If you overdo it, there are consequences,” said Nightingale.

I didn’t like the sound of that at all. “What kind of consequences?”

“Strokes, brain hemorrhages, aneurysms …”

“How do you know when you’ve overdone it?”

“When you have a stroke, brain hemorrhage, aneurysm …” said Nightingale.

But best of all is how Peter looks at the world.

A mob will tear an individual to pieces and a man with a gun and a noble cause is happy to kill ever so many women and children, but risking a fair fight— not so easy. That’s why you see those pissed young men doing the dance of “don’t hold me back” while desperately hoping someone likes them enough to hold them back.

All of which is marvelous, but on top of that, is Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s narration. He is hands-down my favorite narrator ever.

Seriously.

It’s marvelous.

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Rating: 9.5/10

Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection (2020) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by: the author, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Ben Elliot, Felix Grainger, Sam Peter Jackson, Alex Kingston, Shvorne Marks, and Penelope Rawlins

PART ONE: THE PETER GRANT STORIES
The Home Crowd Advantage
The Domestic
The Cockpit
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Granny
King of The Rats
A Rare Book of Cunning Device
PART TWO: THE OTHERS’ STORIES
A Dedicated Follower of Fashion
Favourite Uncle
Vanessa Sommer’s Other Christmas List
Three Rivers, Two Husbands and a Baby
Moment One: London September 1966
Moment Two: Reynolds— Florence, Az. 2014
Moment Three: Tobias Winter— Meckenheim 2012

‘I’m interested in history,’ I said. ‘Why don’t you tell me what happened.’

‘Why would a young man like you be interested in history?’

‘So I can avoid repeating it.’

I’ve always found Toby a pretty reliable magic detector. I’ve actually done controlled laboratory experiments that indicate that he can detect magical activity up to ten metres away, although false positives can be generated by cats, other dogs and the remote possibility of a sausage.

‘Tell me that wasn’t a spider?’ said Ms Winstanley in a deceptively calm tone.

‘Can’t have been,’ I said.

‘Thank god for that,’ she said. ‘Can’t stand spiders.’

‘It was too big,’ I said. ‘You can’t scale an exoskeleton up that far.’ The inverse square law can be such a comfort sometimes. Plus I definitely remembered something about gas diffusion and box lungs or something like that.

I looked up to find that the boy had dug a worm out of the soil and was holding it up to show us. Once he was sure he had our attention he dangled the worm over his open mouth and made as if to eat it.

I’m from a big country family with uncounted nieces and nephews who I’ve been ‘volunteered’ to babysit over the years so I know a teasing bluff when I see it, but Victor was an only child.

‘Don’t eat that,’ he said and scrambled down the bank and plucked the worm out of the boy’s hands. ‘We need those to maintain the soil matrix.’

Publisher: Tantor Audio
Rating: 8.5/10

Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection (2020) Ben Aaronovitch

This is a collection of Rivers of London short stories. About half the stories are are Peter stories, the others features other characters from the world, including Abigail and Dominic Croft (from Foxglove Summer).

PART ONE: THE PETER GRANT STORIES
The Home Crowd Advantage
The Domestic
The Cockpit
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Granny
King of The Rats
A Rare Book of Cunning Device
PART TWO: THE OTHERS’ STORIES
A Dedicated Follower of Fashion
Favourite Uncle
Vanessa Sommer’s Other Christmas List
Three Rivers, Two Husbands and a Baby
Moment One: London September 1966
Moment Two: Reynolds— Florence, Az. 2014
Moment Three: Tobias Winter— Meckenheim 2012

Each story has an introduction that tells you where it happens in the Rivers of London timeline.

A Rare Book of Cunning Device was an audible original, and I adore hearing Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s voice when I read it (his voice is forever Peter to me and I can listen to the books over and over).

To be clear, these stories are NOT for people new to the series. You won’t get any of the jokes and will be lost. Instead, these are little glimpses into the Rivers of London world for those who are already fans of the series.

The only exception to this might be A Dedicated Follower of Fashion, since it doesn’t have any of the usual characters, but I think you’d need to know the world to enjoy it, since much of it builds upon an understanding we already have of how the world works.

My favorite story is “Three Rivers, Two Husbands and a Baby” because we get Dominic & Victor’s wedding as well as the result of, well, an incident that happened in Foxglove Summer.

As always, Peter’s snarkiness is one of my favorite things.

‘I’m interested in history,’ I said. ‘Why don’t you tell me what happened.’

‘Why would a young man like you be interested in history?’

‘So I can avoid repeating it.’

So, unlike other short story collections, this is NOT a place to start if you are unfamiliar with the books-=he isn’t that kind of short story writer–but it is a lot of fun.

Publisher : JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc
Rating: 7/10

Rivers of London: The Fey and the Furious (2020) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan

I find the comics for this series frustrating.

I found the story interesting, but the execution wasn’t all I wanted it to be, I mean, why precisely, were the fey doing all this? It didn’t make a lot of sense to me, unless the answer was they were bored and fucking around.

Which I suppose is possible.

And I don’t love the art as much as I did on earlier volumes.

I mean, I believe that Peter is fit.

I do not believe that Peter has six-pack abs.

He’s just too much of a geek who spends too much time going down research rabbit holes to work that hard.

Also, I can’t remember whether Peter took the driving course that Nightingale had ordered him to.

He was supposed to, but I don’t know if it happened, and I don’t know how that would have affected all the bits with the cars.

So: disappointing.

Publisher: Titan
Rating: 6/10