Tag: Ben Aaronovitch

DIE FLÜSSE VON LONDON: EIN MIESER MONTAG out in Two Weeks!

Posted on Wednesday, February 9th, 2022

The German edition of MONDAY, MONDAY is due out in two weeks (February 22nd)! The ninth collection in Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel‘s acclaimed Rivers of London comic series, it is published by Panini Verlag as DIE FLÜSSE VON LONDON: EIN MIESER MONTAG. Here’s the synopsis…

VON MENSCHEN UND WÖLFEN!

Ein Fall mit Zähnen und Klauen! Was als Routine-Undercovermission anfängt, um eine organisierte Gang aus Teenager-Taschendieben auszuheben, verwandelt sich in etwas viel Gefährlicheres, als die Metropolitan Police mit einem schwedischen Werwolf konfrontiert wird, der vor nichts Halt macht, um sich der Gefangennahme zu entziehen. Jetzt liegt es an Vollzeitpolizist und Halbzeitzauberer Peter Grant und seinen Freunden, den tödlichen Lykanthropen dingfest zu machen!

Aus der Feder des gefeierten Die Flüsse von London-Autors Ben Aaronovitch und Andrew Cartmel (Doctor Who, The Vinyl Detective), mit Zeichnungen von José María Beroy (Das Phantom der Oper, Deadman) ist Ein mieser Montag eine unvergleichliche surrealistische Geschichte und ein weiteres ebenso verworrenes wie rasantes Detektivabenteuer voller magischer und übernatürlicher Geschehnisse auf der zwielichtigen Schattenseite Londons.

Series artwork is by José María Beroy.

Panini has published all of the collected editions in the Rivers of London/Die Flüsse von London comic series in Germany.

The series is published in the UK and North America by Titan Comics. Here’s the English-language synopsis for MONDAY, MONDAY…

It’s the case of a Swedish Werewolf in London, the unmissable next chapter in the life of full-time cop and part time wizard Peter Grant. Grant works as part of a very special London police unit investigating unusual crimes involving magic and the general weirdness that permeates London’s dark underbelly.

What starts as a routine undercover operation to break up an organised teenage pickpocket gang turns into something far more dangerous when the Metropolitan police are confronted by a Swedish werewolf who’ll stop at nothing to avoid capture. Now it’s up to Peter and his cohort of chums to hunt the deadly lycanthrope and bring him to justice!

Here, too, is a handy chronology for the Rivers of London comics, novels and novellas…

New RIVERS OF LONDON Comics Boxset Out Now!

Posted on Tuesday, December 14th, 2021

A new Rivers of London comics boxset is out now! Written by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel, and collecting volumes 4-6 — DETECTIVE STORIES, CRY FOX, and WATER WEED — it is published by Titan Comics in comic stores today! (It’ll be released in other bookstores more widely on December 14th.) Here’s the synopsis…

CSI meets Harry Potter in this graphic novel from Ben Aaronovitch, writer of the bestselling Rivers of London supernatural police procedural crime novel series, and Andrew Cartmel author of The Vinyl Detective.

A stunning box set edition of three of the bestselling graphic novels in the Rivers of London sequence, starring Ben Aaronovitch’s laconic trainee wizard and budding detective, Peter Grant.

Volume 4: DETECTIVE STORIES — From foiling an aspiring god to confronting a virtual flasher, Peter Grant’s police history has been anything but conventional; whether that’s chasing down ‘Falcon’ crimes with the aid of modern technology, or confronting timeless villainy with his magical skill-set. Now he faces what might be his biggest challenge as he faces an internal investigation at the hands of the Met’s best internal investigation officer, DI Chopra and all that’s at stake is his badge.

Volume 5: CRY FOX — Vengeful Russian mobsters are looking to hire members of London’s own more-then-natural underworld to bring bloody retribution down on the witch Varvara. However, the ex-Soviet sorcerer is under the protective wing of London’s own wizarding cop, Peter Grant (now a proper detective and everything), and to get the attention of Grant and his colleagues, the daughter of a prominent Russian oligarch is kidnapped by parties unknown but possibly fox-like. What makes it worse is that Peter is going to have to leave his beloved London and gasp go out into the countryside! And when there’s trees and fields and wildlife involved, things never end well…

Volume 6: WATER WEED — An anthology series of stories featuring Police Constable Peter Grant, his partner, Sahra Guleed, and their associates, as they tackle supernatural crime on the streets of London! When two of the less well-behaved River goddesses, Chelsea and Olympia, decide to earn a few quid on the side, Peter and Bev find themselves drawn into a sordid cannabis-smuggling operation, controlled by London’s new queenpin of crime – the brutal and beautiful Hoodette!

The perfect gift for the Rivers of London novel fan who hasn’t discovered these amazing graphic novels yet! Includes Art Cards featuring the cover art from the individual graphic novels.

The first three story arcs have also been collected in a boxset, published by Titan Comics. Titan has also published the seventh and eighth collections, and are currently publishing the ninth story arc: ACTION AT A DISTANCE, THE FEY AND THE FURIOUS, and MONDAY, MONDAY.

Ben Aaronovitch Interviewed for Forbidden Planet

Posted on Monday, December 6th, 2021

Today, we have a two-part Forbidden Planet interview with Ben Aaronovitch, which was held to mark the tenth anniversary of RIVERS OF LONDON, the critically-acclaimed, best-selling first novel in the Peter Grant series.

Enjoy!

The series has grown quite a bit over ten years, as you’d expect. It now includes eight novels (a ninth is on the way!), three novellas, and multiple short stories — many of which have been published in translation all over the world.

Collected Edition of MONDAY, MONDAY Out Now!

Posted on Tuesday, November 30th, 2021

The collected edition of Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel‘s ninth Rivers of London comics series, MONDAY, MONDAY, is out today! Published by Titan Comics, here’s the synopsis…

It’s the case of a Swedish Werewolf in London, the unmissable next chapter in the life of full-time cop and part time wizard Peter Grant. Grant works as part of a very special London police unit investigating unusual crimes involving magic and the general weirdness that permeates London’s dark underbelly. 

What starts as a routine undercover operation to break up an organised teenage pickpocket gang turns into something far more dangerous when the Metropolitan police are confronted by a Swedish werewolf who’ll stop at nothing to avoid capture. Now it’s up to Peter and his cohort of chums to hunt the deadly lycanthrope and bring him to justice!

Series art is by José María Beroy, and colours by Jordi Escuin.

Titan Comics has published all of the previous eight series, too…

The comics are set in the same world as Ben’s Peter Grant/Rivers of London series of novels and novellas, published by Gollancz in the UK; Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-) and Subterranean Press (novellas) in North America; and widely in translation. The first novel, RIVERS OF LONDON (MIDNIGHT RIOT in North America) celebrated its tenth anniversary this year.

If you’d like to read the series in chronological order, here’s a handy graphic to guide you…

Andrew Cartmel is also the author of the Vinyl Detective series, published by Titan Books in the UK and North America.

Ben Aaronovitch’s DIE FÜCHSE VON HAMPSTEAD HEATH Out Now in Audio!

Posted on Tuesday, November 16th, 2021

The audiobook edition of Ben Aaronovitch‘s DIE FÜCHSE VON HAMPSTEAD HEATH is out now! The German edition of WHAT ABIGAIL DID THAT SUMMER, it is published by GoyaLiT, and narrated by Dietmar Wunder.

Es ist Ferienzeit in London und Abigail, Peter Grants lästige Cousine, kann mehr oder weniger tun und lassen, was sie will. Was bei allen, die sie kennen, eigentlich die Alarmglocken schrillen lassen sollte. Doch Peter ist irgendwo auf dem Land auf Einhornjagd, sodass niemand Abigail davon abhält, magischen Unfug zu treiben — und einem Geheimnis auf die Spur zu kommen: In der Gegend von Hampstead Heath verschwinden immer wieder Teenager. Nach kurzer Zeit tauchen sie wieder auf, unverletzt, aber ohne eine Erinnerung, wo sie waren. Wer hat sie fortgelockt — und warum? Unterstützt von einer Bande sprechender (und ziemlich eingebildeter) Füchse stürzt sich Abigail ins magische Abenteuer.

It is published in the UK by Gollancz and in North America by Subterranean Press. It is the first novella set in the Rivers of London world to star Abigail Kamara.

DIE FÜCHSE VON HAMPSTEAD HEATH and Ben’s other Rivers of London novels and novellas are also all published in Germany in print and eBook, by DTV. GoyaLiT has also published them all as audiobooks in Germany.

New Ben Aaronovitch Novel on the Way!

Posted on Monday, November 15th, 2021

Just a very quick post, in case you missed the news: The ninth novel in Ben Aaronovitch‘s Rivers of London/Peter Grant series is on the way! Due to be published in the UK by Orion Books on April 7th, 2022, it is already available for pre-order. The novel is also due to be published in North America by DAW Books, on April 12th, 2022.

We’ll share more information (title, synopsis, and cover) soon! Watch this space!

Two New Rivers of London Spanish Paperback Editions Out Now!

Posted on Tuesday, November 9th, 2021

Today, Oz Editorial publish two new Rivers of London/Peter Grant paperback editions: MOON OVER SOHO and THE HANDING TREE! The second and sixth novels in Ben Aaronovitch‘s series, they are published in Spanish as LA LUNA SOBRE EL SOHO and EL ÁRBOL DEL AHORCADO. Here’s the synopsis for the former…

Vuelve Peter Grant, el detective más mágico de Scotland Yard.

Cyrus Wilkins, bajista de jazz por las noches y contable de día, sufre un ataque al corazón durante una actuación en el Club 606 del Soho. Cuando el detective de Scotland Yard y aprendiz de mago Peter Grant examina su cadáver, no puede evitar fijarse en la canción que emerge del cuerpo de la víctima… un claro indicio de que una fuerza sobrenatural acabó con su vida. Con la ayuda de su padre, el famoso trompetista Lord Grant; el inspector Nightingale, el último mago de Inglaterra; y la hermosa y misteriosa aficionada al jazz Simone Fitzwilliam, Peter tratará de acabar con una magia muy poderosa que amenaza la vida en el célebre y pintoresco barrio del Soho.

Oz Editorial has published the first six novels in the series in Spain.

The Rivers of London novels and novellas are published in the UK by Gollancz; the books are published in North America by Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-) and Subterranean Press (novellas).

Here’s the English-language synopsis for MOON OVER SOHO…

I was my dad’s vinyl-wallah: I changed his records while he lounged around drinking tea, and that’s how I know my Argo from my Tempo. And it’s why, when Dr Walid called me to the morgue to listen to a corpse, I recognised the tune it was playing. Something violently supernatural had happened to the victim, strong enough to leave its imprint like a wax cylinder recording. Cyrus Wilkinson, part-time jazz saxophonist and full-time accountant, had apparently dropped dead of a heart attack just after finishing a gig in a Soho jazz club. He wasn’t the first.

No one was going to let me exhume corpses to see if they were playing my tune, so it was back to old-fashioned legwork, starting in Soho, the heart of the scene. I didn’t trust the lovely Simone, Cyrus’ ex-lover, professional jazz kitten and as inviting as a Rubens’ portrait, but I needed her help: there were monsters stalking Soho, creatures feeding off that special gift that separates the great musician from someone who can raise a decent tune. What they take is beauty. What they leave behind is sickness, failure and broken lives.

And as I hunted them, my investigation got tangled up in another story: a brilliant trumpet player, Richard ‘Lord’ Grant – my father – who managed to destroy his own career, twice. That’s the thing about policing: most of the time you’re doing it to maintain public order. Occasionally you’re doing it for justice. And maybe once in a career, you’re doing it for revenge.

The series has also been published widely in translation, and has been an international best-seller.

ICYMI: Ben Aaronovitch & Andrew Cartmel Discuss MONDAY, MONDAY

Posted on Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021

Today, we’re very happy to be able to share with you all a Forbidden Planet video clip of Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel discussing their latest Rivers of London comics story, MONDAY, MONDAY.

The collected edition of MONDAY, MONDAY is due to be published next month (November 30th) by Titan Comics. Here’s the synopsis…

It’s the case of a Swedish Werewolf in London, the unmissable next chapter in the life of full-time cop and part time wizard Peter Grant. Grant works as part of a very special London police unit investigating unusual crimes involving magic and the general weirdness that permeates London’s dark underbelly.

What starts as a routine undercover operation to break up an organised teenage pickpocket gang turns into something far more dangerous when the Metropolitan police are confronted by a Swedish werewolf who’ll stop at nothing to avoid capture. Now it’s up to Peter and his cohort of chums to hunt the deadly lycanthrope and bring him to justice!

Titan Comics also publishes the first eight story arcs in the authors’ Rivers of London series, available now in print and digital editions.

The Rivers of London comics are set in the same universe as Ben’s best-selling, highly acclaimed Rivers of London/Peter Grant novels, which are published widely around the world. (See Ben’s author page for more details on where the books are available.)

This Week: Ben Aaronovitch Event at Waterstones Canterbury!

Posted on Monday, October 25th, 2021

This Friday, October 29th, Waterstones Canterbury will be hosting Ben Aaronovitch for an event celebrating the 10th Anniversary of RIVERS OF LONDON! The event will see Ben chatting with Mark Stay, and begins at 6:30pm. More details can be found, and tickets bought here.

Ben’s fantasy police procedurals set in a reimagined London have a Pratchett level of subversive wit. They have sold millions. Come and get any of his books signed. He will be interviewed by Mark Stay, whose Crow Folk is a tale of witches, demons, and bellringers in wartime Kent. Think Dads Army, with paranormal activity.

RIVERS OF LONDON is the first novel in Ben’s internationally best-selling, critically-acclaimed Peter Grant/Rivers of London series, published in the UK by Gollancz, in North America by Del Rey (as MIDNIGHT RIOT), and widely in translation. Here’s the synopsis…

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 fifty 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.

THE OCTOBER MAN in UK Audible Promotion

Posted on Sunday, October 24th, 2021

Just a quick post to let you all know that the UK audiobook edition of THE OCTOBER MAN is included in the latest Audible 2-for-1 promotion! Ben Aaronovitch‘s first Rivers of London novella set outside of the UK, it stars Tobias Winter. Published by Orion Audio, here’s the synopsis…

A brand-new stand-alone novella in the Rivers of London series!

Tobias Winter has been assigned to the Abteilung KDA — the Department for Complex and Unspecific Matters.

Despite the intriguing department name, as Winter explains, dealing with the strange and the supernatural is ‘actually 90 percent paperwork’. But this is a story about the other 10 percent of the job: the life-threatening danger part.

This is a tale about the Queen of the Harvest, the October Man, and the little-known time the vineyard around Trier started to eat people…

Winter may be P. C. Peter Grant’s German counterpart, but surviving this investigation is entirely down to him…

The promotion runs from today until October 30th.

Here are just a few of the reviews the novella has received so far…

‘In this enjoyable spin-off from the Rivers of London urban fantasy series, Aaronovitch successfully transfers his blend of the supernatural and humor from England to the Continent as he introduces Tobias Winter, a German police officer who practices magic… Supernatural mystery fans who enjoy more whimsical takes on the paranormal will hope for more of Winter and Sommer.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘Aaronovitch expands the universe of his Rivers of London series (Broken Homes, 2014) to include new characters operating in different countries with ties to supernatural crimes and detective work. THE OCTOBER MAN introduces Tobias Winter, a sanctioned magic practitioner who investigates the supernatural angles of crimes for the Abteilung KDA (which fans will recognize as the German extension of the British Folly)… Aaronovitch delivers yet another classic detective novel rich with the magical world building accomplished in his previous work.’ — Booklist

‘Winter’s stolidness is a feature rather than a bug. While there are moments of adventure and daring, the story of this crime is both a satisfying whodunit and a primer on how magic works in Deutschland. THE OCTOBER MAN would be an interesting place to enter the Rivers of London world. Rather than fae, a new reader would anticipate werewolves, perhaps — and still greatly enjoy Aaronovitch’s work. Those who know the Folly will appreciate this outsider’s view of Grant and Nightingale, as well as learn a bit about how the latter spent the war, while still greatly enjoying Aaronovitch’s work, even if it is set someplace new.’ — Locus (Adrienne Martini)

‘Sommer and Winter are an interesting team, the latter especially being a fascinating take of the “ordinary copper” style trope that these books do so well… THE OCTOBER MAN is a must for any fan of the series so far and, unusually, a good introduction to the series. It only marginally connects to the big plot of the main books, but does introduce all the core ideas and distinctive style. More please, and soon.’ — Starburst

‘There is a joyous familiarity to Aaronovitch’s writing, meaning that fans of the series will delight in seeing how unexplainable events are dealt with in the Rhineland, without ever feeling like they left Grant or London behind… Aaronovitch continues to develop his well-crafted magical alternate/fantasy history backdrop with his usual level of attention to detail. Familiar geographical and historical touchstones are cleverly rolled away, leaving you with a non-fiction reading list that will keep you curious long after you’ve closed the last page… The characters are at once likeable and engaging… an enjoyable jaunt to the Continent that leaves you hoping that the Rivers Of London series will be packing its bags to take us on another outing to a new destination around the globe soon.’ — SciFi Now

All of Ben’s Rivers of London novels and novellas are published in the UK by Gollancz (and Orion Audio).

New Slovak Edition of RIVERS OF LONDON!

Posted on Friday, October 8th, 2021

Ten years after it was first published, Ben Aaronovitch‘s RIVERS OF LONDON continues its global conquest! A new Slovak edition of the novel is now available, published by Slovart as RIEKY LONDYNA. The first novel in the author’s Peter Grant series, here’s the synopsis…

Jedna z najúspešnejších mestských fantasy za posledných desať rokov! Keď sa Peter Grant zamestnal u londýnskych strážcov zákona, netušil, že na britskej polícií existuje akési zvláštne oddelenie mágie a nadprirodzených javov. Po nečakanom stretnutí s duchom sa však stane prvým učňom inšpektora Nightingala, jediného predstaviteľa tohto zvláštneho útvaru. A ešte ako zelenáč musí nielenže riešiť dva zdanlivo nesúvisiace zločiny a zistiť, čo robí z obyčajných ľudí krutých zabijakov, ale okrem toho aj sprostredkovať mier medzi dvoma bohmi rieky Temže, ktorí sú na vojnovej nohe.

RIVERS OF LONDON is published in the UK by Gollancz, in North America by Del Rey (as MIDNIGHT RIOT), and widely in translation. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

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 fifty 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.

The series has grown to include eight novels, three novellas, a short story collection, and nine comic series (to date).

MONDAY, MONDAY #4 is Out Now!

Posted on Wednesday, October 6th, 2021

A werewolf is on the loose in London and will stop at nothing to avoid capture!

The fourth issue in Ben Aaronovitch & Andrew Cartmel‘s latest Rivers of London comics series, MONDAY, MONDAY is out today! Available with three covers — by Abigail Jill Harding (above), Vv Glass, and David Buisian (below) — it is published by Titan Comics.

Titan Comics has published all of the Rivers of London comics to date.

The Rivers of London comics are set in the same world as Ben’s internationally-bestselling, acclaimed Peter Grant / Rivers of London series of novels and novellas — published in the UK by Gollancz; in North America by Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-) and Subterranean Press (novellas); it is also published widely in translation.

New Spanish Paperback Editions of MOON OVER SOHO & THE HANDING TREE Out Next Month!

Posted on Friday, October 1st, 2021

Next month, Oz Editorial are due to publish new, paperback editions of MOON OVER SOHO and THE HANDING TREE! The second and sixth novels in Ben Aaronovitch‘s Peter Grant/Rivers of London series, they are published in Spanish as LA LUNA SOBRE EL SOHO and EL ARBOL DEL AHORCADO. Here’s the synopsis for the former…

Vuelve Peter Grant, el detective más mágico de Scotland Yard.

Cyrus Wilkins, bajista de jazz por las noches y contable de día, sufre un ataque al corazón durante una actuación en el Club 606 del Soho. Cuando el detective de Scotland Yard y aprendiz de mago Peter Grant examina su cadáver, no puede evitar fijarse en la canción que emerge del cuerpo de la víctima… un claro indicio de que una fuerza sobrenatural acabó con su vida. Con la ayuda de su padre, el famoso trompetista Lord Grant; el inspector Nightingale, el último mago de Inglaterra; y la hermosa y misteriosa aficionada al jazz Simone Fitzwilliam, Peter tratará de acabar con una magia muy poderosa que amenaza la vida en el célebre y pintoresco barrio del Soho.

Oz Editorial has published the first six novels in the series in Spain.

The Rivers of London novels and novellas are published in the UK by Gollancz; the books are published in North America by Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-) and Subterranean Press (novellas).

Here’s the English-language synopsis for MOON OVER SOHO…

I was my dad’s vinyl-wallah: I changed his records while he lounged around drinking tea, and that’s how I know my Argo from my Tempo. And it’s why, when Dr Walid called me to the morgue to listen to a corpse, I recognised the tune it was playing. Something violently supernatural had happened to the victim, strong enough to leave its imprint like a wax cylinder recording. Cyrus Wilkinson, part-time jazz saxophonist and full-time accountant, had apparently dropped dead of a heart attack just after finishing a gig in a Soho jazz club. He wasn’t the first.

No one was going to let me exhume corpses to see if they were playing my tune, so it was back to old-fashioned legwork, starting in Soho, the heart of the scene. I didn’t trust the lovely Simone, Cyrus’ ex-lover, professional jazz kitten and as inviting as a Rubens’ portrait, but I needed her help: there were monsters stalking Soho, creatures feeding off that special gift that separates the great musician from someone who can raise a decent tune. What they take is beauty. What they leave behind is sickness, failure and broken lives.

And as I hunted them, my investigation got tangled up in another story: a brilliant trumpet player, Richard ‘Lord’ Grant – my father – who managed to destroy his own career, twice. That’s the thing about policing: most of the time you’re doing it to maintain public order. Occasionally you’re doing it for justice. And maybe once in a career, you’re doing it for revenge.

The series has also been published widely in translation, and has been an international best-seller.

Ben Aaronovitch’s FALEŠNÁ HODNOTA out now!

Posted on Thursday, September 30th, 2021

The Czech edition of FALSE VALUE is out now! The eighth novel in Ben Aaronovitch‘s acclaimed, best-selling Rivers of London/Peter Grant series, it is published in Czechia by Argo, as FALEŠNÁ HODNOTA. Here’s the synopsis…

Nové dobrodružství Petera Granta… a zároveň nový rozjezd! Jsme stále v Londýně, ale Peter už nepracuje u metropolitní policie. Po uzavření případu Muže bez tváře a dalších peripetiích se Peter usazuje, připravuje se na otcovskou roli a zároveň čelí poněkud nejisté budoucnosti. Nastupuje do soukromého sektoru, do IT firmy Terrence Skinnera, kde věci nejsou takové, jaké se zdají být. V rámci zaměstnání se musí naučit splynout s civilisty, kteří jsou ještě větší geekové než on, byť nadále zůstává v kontaktu se starými známými, jež ho provázeli při dřívějších vyšetřováních, ať operují v Rozmaru nebo třeba v Americe. A i zde má samozřejmě slovo magie. Pracoviště skrývá tajemství, technologii, která je sice high-tech a zkoumá možnosti umělé inteligence, ale má kořeny u Ady Lovelaceové a Charlese Babbage.

V pořadí osmý román série Řeky Londýna má všechno, na co jsme byli zvyklí z dřívějších částí – humor i svérázný pohled na svět – a také něco navíc: třeba to, že firma, kde teď Peter působí, nese silný otisk světa Stopařova průvodce po galaxii!

Argo has published all of the other previous novels in Ben’s series in Czechia, as well as a couple of his novellas and comic series (the latter co-authored with Andrew Cartmel).

FALSE VALUE is published in the UK by Gollancz, in North America by DAW Books; it is also available in Germany, published by DTV (as EIN WEISSER SCHWAN IN TABERNACLE STREET). Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm.

Leaving his old police life behind, he takes a job with Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner’s new London start up: the Serious Cybernetics Corporation.

Drawn into the orbit of Old Street’s famous ‘silicon roundabout’, Peter must learn how to blend in with people who are both civilians and geekier than he is. Compared to his last job, Peter thinks it should be a doddle.

But magic is not finished with the Met’s first trainee wizard in fifty years…

Because a secret is hiding somewhere in the building. A technology that stretches back to Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, and forward to the future of artificial intelligence. A secret that is just as magical as it technological – and twice as dangerous.

Here are just a few of the reviews the novel has received so far…

‘Aaronovitch showcases a superlative blend of whimsy and grit in the eighth Rivers of London urban fantasy… The suspenseful mystery at the novel’s core is laced with humor and charm. Jim Butcher meets Douglas Adams in this winning series installment.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

‘… sees Peter taking on new responsibilities both at work and at home and there’s a definite shift in tone towards the stranger side of magic and the broader implications of what a resurgence of strangeness means to the world at large. Aaronovitch is clearly having a blast building on the world he’s already created… The main character is a delight as always… The tone is light, witty, and action packed as always. Cinematic where has to be and detective chic in other places. And, as always, the description of London is so solid and real that you can practically feel the familiar layer of grime the city has… As always, Ben Aaronovitch takes the reader on an unforgettable ride into the fantastic.’ — Starburst (9/10)

‘… my favorite current series… delightful, compulsive and fresh — with a love of multicultural London evident on every page, wonderfully diverse characters, magic, mystery, and mayhem. Once you start, you will literally not be able to put them down.’ — Lavie Tidhar in Washington Post

‘Wonderfully blending technology and magic… Aaronovitch creates a fantastic blend of real-world London, harbouring a secret magical underground, delicately interwoven with an alternative history that touches on the origins of computer programming and the work of Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage… a solid crime/detective novel that provides fans of the series with another entertaining adventure for Peter Grant complete with dark humour and explosive action.’ — SciFi Now

‘FALSE VALUE is a rousing episode in the Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series’ — Canberra Times

‘[A] great read… I enjoyed the new direction and dynamics introduced here. Big things are clearly coming for Peter Grant and I’m looking forward to seeing where the next book will take us.’ — Bibliosanctum

‘[A]nother unmissable instalment of the Rivers of London series’… FALSE VALUE is a welcome addition to the collection and long may they keep coming — Crime Review

‘Packed with treasures and little bits of history and illusion this latest adventure from Ben Aaronovitch sends Peter deep into the ‘silicon roundabout’… What I love about these stories is the way they are told. You could be listening directly to the author, no filters and straightforward dialogue by real people. Peter is great and Nightingale as the much older generation is the comforting hand on the shoulder…’ — SF Crowsnest

Check Out the Covers for MONDAY, MONDAY #4!

Posted on Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021

Today, we have the three covers for Ben Aaronovitch & Andrew Cartmel‘s MONDAY, MONDAY #4! The three covers are by Abigail Jill Harding (above), Vv Glass, and David Buisian (below). Due to be published by Titan Comics on October 6th, here’s the synopsis for this issue:

A werewolf is on the loose in London and will stop at nothing to avoid capture!

Titan Comics has published all of the Rivers of London comics to date.

The Rivers of London comics are set in the same world as Ben’s internationally-bestselling, acclaimed Peter Grant / Rivers of London series of novels and novellas — published in the UK by Gollancz; in North America by Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-) and Subterranean Press (novellas); it is also published widely in translation.