Book Review--Midnight Riot

Book Review

Rivers of London 

(a.k.a. Midnight Riot)

Written by Ben Aaronovitch

Narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

UK cover (a.k.a. the 'right' one)

US cover

My typical habit is to have both a fiction and a nonfiction book going either simultaneously (if I'm listening and reading print) or to alternate between each type of book.  But I had to break the cycle.

I listened, intently, to Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess with the intention of taking the lessons to heart and to put the principles into practice to ease my anxious thoughts.  However, my next read became available after a 16 week hold just after I finished. Just 10 minutes of listening to what seemed like the doom and gloom of the rise and prevalence of mental illnesses such as anxiety/depression/OCD (and more!) from Brain Energy (review coming soon), I knew I wasn't ready for the depth and breadth of the content at that time.

Hence breaking the alternating cycle. Since I had enjoyed Storm Front so much, I went in search of a read-alike and found a whole new fantastical world set in England!

In Rivers of London, our hero, Peter, is a constable who embarks on a journey of discovery, of awakening to power, and the understanding that reality has many more depths than he previously thought. The characters are interesting, very well fleshed-out, and relatable (even the god and goddess representations!).  There are twists and turns and unexpected history and events that rear their head throughout the story.  One of the things I appreciated is that Peter, our hero, comes to a gradual awakening to his gift of magic but is not a phenom that has instant control. He slowly learns, absorbs, and comes to grips with the power and complexity magic brings.

This might not have been a perfect buffer between my mentally draining nonfictions because there are some pretty intense and graphic scenes but it was a wonderful foray into a new series. And I will insert praise for the narrator here.  Kobna Holdbrook-Smith infused the characters with life and imparted the intensity of the story without being melodramatic or over-the-top.  Fantastic with applause all around!