Despite the double title, I’m only reviewing one book today, by Ben Aaronovitch–in England it’s Rivers of London, in the American printing it’s Midnight Riot, and if I hadn’t first heard of it by the British title, I might not have picked it up. Because let’s be honest–you had me at London! Since the plot involves ghosts and murder, it’s also a perfect read for R.I.P.
Peter Grant is a rookie cop in London, who one night finds himself taking a witness statement from a ghost in Covent Gardens. This eventually lands him as an apprentice wizard to Detective Nightingale, tasked with investigating supernatural crimes. The book centers around a string of brutal murders with an apparently ghostly cause, and a tense stand-off between Mama Thames and Father Thames, warring gods of the river. Continue reading “Book Review: Rivers of London/Midnight Riot”
My book club has a habit of talking about Star Wars. I don’t know how it happens, it just does—and eventually someone suggested that we ought to read a Star Wars book. I think we were discussing the failings of the prequel trilogy at the time, and so elected to read the novelization of Revenge of the Sith, Episode Three. That might sound like an odd choice, but two of us (including me) remembered it as being almost bizarrely better than the movie. And it really was, making me quite impressed with the author, Matthew Stover.
Sometimes I stumble on books in the strangest of ways. Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr was referenced in a blog article on feminism, and was not cited favorably. All the same, I was so intrigued by the premise—and hopeful that the complaint might be exaggerated—that I read the book anyway.
Tales of the Marvelous 