{"id":8763,"date":"2017-02-22T16:05:25","date_gmt":"2017-02-22T21:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=8763"},"modified":"2024-01-22T19:19:28","modified_gmt":"2024-01-23T00:19:28","slug":"the-hanging-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/8763","title":{"rendered":"The Hanging Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Hanging Tree<\/a><\/em> (2017) Ben Aaronovitch<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I just went back and checked, and I pre-ordered this August 2015.<\/p>\n

The publication date of this book got pushed back a lot<\/em>. Yes, there were three (almost complete) comics published in the interim, but I know that didn’t appease a lot of people.<\/p>\n

Me? I’m good with it. I’d rather an author took their time with a book then giving me shlock just to meet a deadline.<\/p>\n

And regarding the comics, I think this series is getting bigger thane expected, and that’s a way to keep things from getting away from him. After all, the comics give you glimpses into Nightingale’s past, more of Varvara Sidorovna, and many tiny shorts of Molly and Toby (no, really, I love the Toby bits), and a how Peter comes to work with Guleed. And it gave me something to read during the extremely long wait for this book.<\/p>\n

So this book opens with a dead teenager and a call from Lady Tyburn asking Peter to make sure her daughter was kept out of the investigation. Lady Ty doesn’t quite get Peter and modern policing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Peter,\u201d said Lady Ty, \u201cNightingale is not to know about this\u2014 is that clear?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cCrystal,\u201d I said. <\/p>\n

As soon as she hung up, I called the Folly.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of the things I love about this series are the random geek jokes scattered throughout, from the name dropping of Terry Pratchett to incredibly geeky comments.<\/p>\n

(I)f you look at a floor plan it looks like two Star Destroyers have backed into each other during maneuvers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I nearly said it was like setting a phaser to overload, but I\u2019ve learned to keep that kind of joke to myself, even with people who make Harry Potter references\u2014 especially with people who make Harry Potter references.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWas there anything about Ada Lovelace?\u201d I asked. <\/p>\n

Nightingale gave me a funny look. <\/p>\n

\u201cByron\u2019s daughter?\u201d he asked. \u201cI\u2019m not sure I understand the connection.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cShe worked with Babbage on the difference engine,\u201d I said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn what capacity?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a famously gifted mathematician,\u201d I said. Who I mostly knew about from reading Steampunk, but I wasn\u2019t going to mention that. \u201cGenerally considered to have written the first true computer program.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And there is a brief (very brief) bit about Peter’s father playing a gig. Which had this:<\/p>\n

Later that evening my dad and the Irregulars struck up \u201cThe Sidewinder\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I love love<\/em> LOVE Lee Morgan, so that made me ridiculously happy.<\/p>\n

But what I also love if that there are so many different kinds of characters, and they’re all unique, and most of the weirdness is just mentioned in passing–background of life as it is. I truly love that. But I also like that although it’s not a central theme, the casual racism Peter (and Guleed) get is there as well.<\/p>\n

A couple of people gave me a strange look but, I suspect the majority thought I was on my phone, hands free. Of course some of them detoured to avoid me, but they would have done that even if I\u2019d been silent.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cGet yourself twenty yards behind the targets and follow them,\u201d he said. \u201cGuleed and I will follow ten yards behind you.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe targets all know him,\u201d said Guleed. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey know Peter Grant the dashing constable about town,\u201d said Nightingale. \u201cIn his sweat top they\u2019ll take him for an averagely delinquent youth.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Not only is that convenient for the story, it’s also sadly true.<\/p>\n

Of course, there are a lot of things that happen here besides the dead teenager, including Leslie May turning up, bits about the Rivers and demi-monde, other practitioners appearing, and (finally) the unmasking of the Faceless Man.<\/p>\n

There is a lot that happens, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it was all worked on. After all, things are never easy (or resolved in a single episode) in real life.<\/p>\n

I’m glad this was finally published, and I’m waiting impatiently again for the next volume, but I’m not mad he took his time getting the story right to his satisfaction.
\nRating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by Daw<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Hanging Tree (2017) Ben Aaronovitch I just went back and checked, and I pre-ordered this August 2015. The publication date of this book got pushed back a lot. Yes, there were three (almost complete) comics published in the interim, but I know that didn’t appease a lot of people. Me? I’m good with it. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,30,292,8,42,148,34],"tags":[57,587,58],"class_list":["post-8763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-british","category-ebook","category-mystery","category-police","category-queer","category-urban-fantasy","tag-ben-aaronovitch","tag-peter-grant","tag-rivers-of-london"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2hl","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5545,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5545","url_meta":{"origin":8763,"position":0},"title":"Rivers of London: Body Work","author":"Michelle","date":"December 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Rivers of London: Body Work (2015) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, and Luis Gurrero If you've been paying any attention, you know that I have a deep and (probably) unhealthy love of Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series. So when I saw there was going to be a comic,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rivers-of-London-Body-Work","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Rivers-of-London-Body-Work.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9285,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9285","url_meta":{"origin":8763,"position":1},"title":"A Rare Book of Cunning Device, Audio Short Story","author":"Michelle","date":"September 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A Rare Book of Cunning Device, Audio Short Story (2017) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith This is a Peter Grant short story, available only as an audible short story (currently free). Oh My Dog I love this so much. Peter is summoned to the London British Library because the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/A-Rare-Book-of-Cunning-Device.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8920,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/8920","url_meta":{"origin":8763,"position":2},"title":"Rivers of London Volume 3: Black Mould","author":"Michelle","date":"March 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Rivers of London Volume 3: Black Mould (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan This comic occurs between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree . It's also how Peter ends up working more with Sahra Guleed, who I also adore. And I love how snarky both of them are about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/titan-comics-rivers-of-london-black-mould-issue-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11330,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11330","url_meta":{"origin":8763,"position":3},"title":"Rivers of London: Water Weed","author":"Michelle","date":"December 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Rivers of London Vol. 6: Water Weed (2018) Ben Aaranovitch Andrew Cartmel These are getting more and more frustrating, because they're become less good with each comic story-line. The problem is that the stories aren't forwarding the story or the characters at all--they're just what the characters happen to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Water-Weed.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11776,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11776","url_meta":{"origin":8763,"position":4},"title":"Rivers of London Volume 7: Action at a Distance","author":"Michelle","date":"March 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Rivers of London Vol. 7: Action at a Distance (2018) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Brian Williamson Set in 2016. When these comics first started, I think that Ben Aaronovitch had a lot of extra material he couldn't fit in the books. I think that he's probably used up that material,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Action-at-a-Distance.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6044,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/6044","url_meta":{"origin":8763,"position":5},"title":"Rivers of London: Night Witch","author":"Michelle","date":"September 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Rivers of London: Night Witch (2016) by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, Luis Guerrero You get an alternative cover, because this is WAY more awesome than any of the actual covers. If it isn't obvious, this story focuses a good deal upon Varvara Sidorovna Tamonina, the Russian Night Witch\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"RiversOfLondon_2.2_Cover_B","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/RiversOfLondon_2.2_Cover_B.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8763\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}