Rivers of London

Rivers of London, Book 1

By: Ben Aaronovitch

Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

My name is Peter Grant, and until January, I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit - we do paperwork so real coppers don't have to - and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluble, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England.

Now I'm a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in 50 years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden...and there's something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious, vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair.

The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it's falling to me to bring order out of chaos - or die trying.

Read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.

©2011 Ben Aaronovitch (P)2011 Orion Publishing Group Limited

Not Harry Potter, but...

This book was a very pleasant surprise. The story is good, the narrator is excellent. The premise is a little old, but to be honest do any of us get sick of wizards and other "spirits of the night"?

The story as told was utterly believable and had a good dose of humor. It doesn't take itself too seriously and I actually cared about the characters.

Dry Entertaining

This is a Great listen and very well narrated. Definitely recommend for the commute to work.

I really enjoyed this book!

This book seem to be both loved, and hated. Me personally loved it. If you like magic, English police and som mystery you might enjoy this book..

Nice urban fantasy

Nothing stood out in either direction, it had no brilliant parts but also no horrible drops in quality. A nice distraction. 4/5 is just right

Best narrator on Audible by far.

Loved the story. It was fast paced, interesting and original. The best feature, however, was the narrator - he makes it worth listening to even if you're not into sci-fi/fantasy magic stuff.

Thoroughly Enjoyable

I have been meaning to read this novel for a while, but lacking the time I decided to get the audible copy as well. I am glad I did. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and its very London voice. The mystery was fun, as was the B story and I really enjoyed the characters. Looking forward to continuing the series.

A great discovery. Addictive.

Love this. Was recommended by a friend. She said fantastic read, I TOTALLY agree with her. She said a cross between Harry Potter and and Inspector Morse.

Wonderful urban fantasy

I don't really know if this qualifies as 'urban fantasy' as such. It is a fantasy in an urban setting, but the tone is light and engaging, not dark and mysterious. I prefer light and engaging, and this delivers. I love the main character protagonist and most of the minor or secondary characters too. I found this funny, smart, imaginative and really interesting.
the voice narration is good too. Really, a winner and strongly recommended.

Absolutely Fantastic Book - Highly Recommended

I loved this book! This is a clever and fast-paced mix of London Police and magic. Great characters and story. The reader does an amazing job of all the different voices and accents. I could hardly bear to pause the book and go into work! Well worth buying.

The voice acting is exemplary

Having spent a fair bit of time in both UK and Nigeria, highest praise I can think of is that I found the accent, the tone, and the attitude conveyed by the voice actor very convincing. It was like listening to well polished native local english speakers of the respective countries.

The book is a good one, I did enjoy the audiobook throughly. I doubt however I would have finished the physical copy of the book.

Overall, a good bit of light hearted break. I have enjoyed listening to this.