Fantasy Thursday: Rivers of London

Buy It Here: Rivers of London: 1

My favourite sub-genre is fantasy/sci-fi police procedural. Don’t ask me why, that would take a whole other blog post and probably a book.

This is a witty take on the sub-genre that never quite removes the horror from it either. It’s a uniquely British story, which really ramps up the tension because British police can’t shoot their way out of scary supernatural situations like their American cousins.

Like all true British heroes, PC Peter Grant is constantly on the back foot – he’s not a detective, magic in this world is incredibly difficult to learn, and he’s constantly trying to juggle his new magical job whilst keeping it secret from everybody else.

There are no quick and easy solutions in these books, and a tiny decision made early on wreaks absolute havoc down the line later. The folklore explained never quite fits in with each other, which is deliberate – everyone has different opinions of what’s going on, and who’s who, and how the world works, just like real London. These books honestly seem realer than non-magic police books at times, I swear.

I like that we get to see a different side of the police – I couldn’t name you one book where the main character is anything less than a detective. I like that the magic does not overtake real life – Peter faces as much racism as he does hatred because he’s a wizard, if not more.  I like the higher mystery and meta-plot that runs through all of the books, and I like the way each character seems solid and real, even down to the side villains who take up a few pages.

I also really like that Peter loves architecture, and how that builds into the story – and that explains the whole series, really. Every twist and turn is just that little bit left of what you were expecting.

Read it if you like:

Similar Books/Shows/Films

TV: Grimm, Agent Carter , Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Books:

Night Watch by Terry Pratchett (Main character loves Pratchett, also 🙂 )

Tropes:

Books Where the Main Character is a Geek

Mixed Race Main Character

Disabled Character

Magic is Real but Secret

Fantasy Police