Tag: Moon Over Soho

First 3 Rivers of London Novels Available once again in North America!

Posted on Tuesday, January 16th, 2024

We’re very happy to report that the first three novels in Ben Aaronovitch‘s acclaimed, internationally-bestselling Rivers of London/Peter Grant series are available in print once again in North America! The new editions of RIVERS OF LONDON (formerly MIDNIGHT RIOT), MOON OVER SOHO and WHISPERS UNDERGROUND are published by JABberwocky.

Here’s the synopsis for book one (which uses the 10th anniversary text)…

Restored to its original British title Rivers of London, this Author’s Preferred Edition includes revised text never before seen by US readers and a new introduction by the author.

My name is Peter Grant and until recently I was just another probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right thinking people as the Metropolitan Police and by everyone else as the filth. My only concerns in life were avoiding a transfer to the Case Progression Unit – We do paperwork so other coppers don’t have to – and where to get a hot coffee while on late shift. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from a man who was dead, but disturbingly voluble and that brought me to the attention Chief Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in Britain.

And that, as they say, is where the story really starts.

Now I’m in plain clothes and the first apprentice wizard in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated. Now I’m dealing with nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the River Thames and digging up graves in Covent Garden – and that’s just the routine stuff.

Because 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 fallen to me to bring order out of chaos – or die trying. Which, I don’t mind telling you, would involve a hell of a lot of paperwork.

The fourth and following novels are published in North America by DAW Books; the novellas are published in North America by Subterranean Press. In the UK, all of the books are published by Gollancz/Orion.

Here are just a few of the great reviews these novels have received so far…

‘It is smart, funny and filled with oddness.’ — Terry Brooks on RIVERS OF LONDON

‘[F]resh and original and a wonderful read. I loved it.’ — Charlaine Harris on RIVERS OF LONDON

‘In this fast-paced paranormal police procedural, Aaronovitch introduces Peter Grant, a rookie cop who can see ghosts. This unusual talent saves him from a potential life of office work when Chief Insp. Thomas Nightingale sends him for wizard training. Britain’s police force has long known of the supernatural, and Grant is to assist Nightingale in solving many of London’s magical problems—most notably, the mysterious string of violent attacks that tend to end with the perpetrator’s face falling off. As the brutal epidemic spreads, Grant must race to finish his magic lessons and solve an ages-long dispute between the rivers of Britain. Though the novel sometimes feels just a little too jam-packed with plot points and adventures, it’s witty, fun, and full of vivid characters, and the plot twists will keep even seasoned mystery fans guessing.’ — Publishers Weekly on RIVERS OF LONDON

‘… thoroughly entertaining… An engaging (if occasionally violent) mix of magic and police procedural, this is a great kick-off to a very promising series, as well as the most satisfying fantasy thriller to hit bookshelves in quite some time.’ — SFX on RIVERS OF LONDON

‘… sweet relief for readers allergic to cliché.’ — Locus on RIVERS OF LONDON

‘Filled with detail and imagination, the quality of this achievement stands out…’ — Peter F. Hamilton on RIVERS OF LONDON

‘The excitement and entertainment hasn’t stopped in the slightest… this book once again blew my mind, and kept me reading well into the late night/early morning. You needn’t pick up RIVERS OF LONDON, Aaronovitch’s first in this series, but you’d regret it by the time you got to the end of MOON OVER SOHO and found out how good it was.’ — Fantasy Book Review

‘MOON OVER SOHO is a gripping continuation of RIVER OF LONDON’s well executed blend of police-procedural and fantasy with a good splash of horror thrown in. This is urban fantasy done with a loving attention to detail and enlivened by an ever present wit making this series a must-read for anyone who likes their fantasy with a strong edge of realism.’ — SF Book Reviews

‘A fantastic follow-up to MIDNIGHT RIOT. Aaronovitch does a great job of bringing even minor characters to life. One of Grant’s fellow cops, Leslie, plays a minor role throughout the story – but her involvement is an emotional cornerstone that brings a surprisingly bittersweet element into play… MOON OVER SOHO is an excellent addition to the paranormal police genre.’ — Examiner

‘One of the most refreshing things about former Doctor Who writer Aaronvitch’s Rivers of London series of magical procedurals is that they are blessedly free of manufactured rivalries. Instead, Police Constable (and freshly minted wizard) Peter Grant works for a supernatural branch of the London police department that is more interested in solving crimes than creating drama. In Grant’s third outing (after MOON OVER SOHO), he gets called in to help with a magic-linked murder at an Underground station. The victim turns out to be the son of a U.S. senator, with a sketchy, not-quite-human roommate. To solve the murder, Grant and his associates, including disfigured fellow magician Lesley May and trigger-happy FBI agent Kimberley Reynolds, plumb the city’s depths as well as its secret history. This fast, engrossing novel is enjoyable, cheerful, and accessible to new readers.’ — Publishers Weekly on WHISPERS UNDEFGROUND

‘… the Peter Grant novels by Ben Aaronovitch are a great way to feel like you’re actually visiting the city by the Thames… Ben Aaronovitch writes some of the funniest prose in current fantasy. These books are extremely entertaining, mainly because narrator Peter Grant has a hilarious voice and a sly sense of humor… quirkily effective prose and dry humor, making it a pure pleasure to read… I’m usually not a big fan of urban fantasy, but this series is so much fun that I always look forward to the next installment. If you’re looking for a fast-moving, entertaining urban fantasy that’ll make you feel like you’re visiting London vicariously this summer, pick up series opener MIDNIGHT RIOT / RIVERS OF LONDON. And if you’ve already read the first two books, you’ll probably be glad to hear that the newest installment WHISPERS UNDER GROUND is just as good.’ — Tor.com

‘The quality of the writing is superb with an instantly engaging style and subtle humour that makes reading the novel a real joy and almost impossible to resist… The ending is pretty dramatic and very much a seat-of-your-pants cliff hanger that really does leave you wanting more, I can’t wait to read more in the life of Peter Grant.’ 5/5 — SF Book Reviews on WHISPERS UNDERGROUND

‘The prose is witty, the plot clever and the characters incredibly likeable…’ — Time Out on WHISPERS UNDERGROUND

‘The voice is persuasive and funny as all get-out, and the reader is engaged with the narrative from the very first page. Aaronovitch has written a diverse cast of characters who all feel like real people with their own specific motivations. This book is simply wonderful.’ — RT Book Reviews on WHISPERS UNDERGROUND

New Russian Editions of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London!

Posted on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2023

There are new Russian editions of the first three of Ben Aaronovitch‘s Rivers of London novels, published by Эксмо’s Fanzon imprint!

  1. RIVERS OF LONDON — Реки Лондона
  2. MOON OVER SOHO — Луна над Сохо
  3. WHISPERS UNDERGROUND — Шепот под землей

All three Russian editions were translated by Трубецкая Елизавета Георгиевна (Trubetskaya Elizaveta Georgievna). Here’s the synopsis for Реки Лондона…

Премия Академии НФ, фэнтези и хоррора.

Финалист премии «Дети ночи» и премии Грэма Мастертона.

Меня зовут Питер Грант, и я был на испытательном сроке в должности констебля в этой могущественной армии правосудия, которую законопослушные люди называют лондонской полицией.

Моя история началась, когда я попытался допросить свидетеля преступления, который был уже мертв… Это привлекло внимание инспектора Томаса Найтингейла, последнего мага в Англии.

Теперь я детектив-констебль и ученик колдуна, первый за последние пятьдесят лет.

Мой мир стал намного сложнее: в пригородах устраивают свои гнезда вампиры, боги и боги Темзы враждуют, а в сердце города, который я так люблю, что-то прогнило… Злонамеренный мстительный дух захватывает обычных лондонцев и превращает в марионетки, чтобы разыграть драму насилия и отчаяния. Призрак бунта и мятежа проснулся в городе, а мне придется навести порядок в этом хаосе — или умереть, пытаясь сделать это.

The three novels in the bestselling series are published in the UK by Gollancz, in North America by JABberwocky, and widely in translation. Here’s the English-language synopsis for RIVERS OF LONDON…

My name is Peter Grant, and I used to be a probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service, and to everyone else as the Filth.

My story really begins when I tried to take a witness statement from a man who was already dead…

Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. After taking a statement from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost, Peter comes to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny.

Suddenly, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.

Ben Aaronovitch’s MOON OVER SOHO Available Now in Slovakia!

Posted on Friday, January 6th, 2023

There’s a new Slovakian edition of Ben Aaronovitch‘s second Rivers of London novel, MOON OVER SOHO! Published by Slovart as MESIAC NAD SOHO, and translated by Oľga Kralovičová, here’s the synopsis…

V pokračovaní čarodejníckej detektívky strážmajster Peter Grant, učeň posledného registrovaného policajného čarodejníka inšpektora Thomasa Nightingala, vyšetruje brutálnu vraždu novinára v klube Groucho. Zároveň ho však zavolajú k mŕtvole amatérskeho džezového hudobníka Cyrusa Wilkinsa, ktorý údajne zomrel na infarkt. Lenže pri jeho tele Peter cíti vestigium – počuje klasickú džezovú skladbu… žeby jeho smrť spôsobilo čosi nadprirodzené? Uf… Peter sa opäť vnára do sveta nekalej mágie a rozširuje svoje čarodejnícke vzdelanie a schopnosti.

The novel is published in the UK by Gollancz, in North America by JABberwocky, and widely in translation. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Body and Soul. The song. That’s what London constable and sorcerer’s apprentice Peter Grant first notices when he examines the corpse of Cyrus Wilkins, part-time jazz drummer and full-time accountant, who dropped dead of a heart attack while playing a gig at Soho’s 606 Club. The notes of the old jazz standard are rising from the body – a sure sign that something about the man’s death was not at all natural but instead supernatural.

Body and soul – they’re also what Peter will risk as he investigates a pattern of similar deaths in and around Soho. With the help of his superior officer, Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, the last registered wizard in England, and the assistance of beautiful jazz aficionado Simone Fitzwilliam, Peter will uncover a deadly magical menace – one that leads right to his own doorstep and to the squandered promise of a young jazz musician: a talented trumpet player named Richard “Lord” Grant – otherwise known as Peter’s dear old dad.

Slovart also publishes the first novel in the series, as RIEKY LONDYNA.

The latest novel in the series, the internationally best-selling and acclaimed AMONGST OUR WEAPONS, is out now, published by Orion in the UK and DAW Books in North America.

MOON OVER SOHO and WHISPERS UNDERGROUND eBooks Available in North America

Posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2022

Just a quick post today to announce that eBook editions of Ben Aaronovitch‘s acclaimed second and third Rivers of London/Peter Grant novels are available again in North America! Published by JABberwocky, they are also available print-on-demand.

Here’s the synopsis for MOON OVER SOHO…

My name is Peter Grant, and I’m a Police Constable in that mighty army for justice known as the Metropolitan Police (a.k.a. the Filth). I’m also an apprentice wizard, the first in fifty years.

When your dad is an almost famous jazz trumpeter, you know the classics. And that’s why, when Dr Walid called me down to the morgue to listen to a corpse, I recognized the tune it was playing as the jazz classic ‘Body and Soul.’ Something violently supernatural had happened to the victim, strong enough to leave its imprint on his corpse as if it were a wax cylinder recording. The former owner of the body, Cyrus Wilkinson, was a part-time jazz saxophonist and full-time accountant who had dropped dead of a heart attack just after finishing a gig.

He wasn’t the first, but no one was going to let me exhume corpses just to see if they were playing my tune. So it was back to old-fashioned police legwork, starting in Soho, the heart of the scene, with the lovely Simone – Cyrus’s ex-lover, professional jazz kitten and as inviting as a Rubens portrait – as my guide. And it didn’t take me long to realise 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.

The eBook is available via Kobo, Apple, and Amazon.

Here’s the synopsis for WHISPERS UNDERGROUND…

My name is Peter Grant, police officer, apprentice wizard and well dressed man about town. I work for ECD9, otherwise known as the Folly, and to the Murder Investigation Team as ‘oh god not them again.’ But even their governor, the arch sceptic and professional northerner DCI Seawoll, knows that sometimes, when things go bump in the night, they have to call us in.

Which was why I found myself in an underground station at five o’clock, looking at the body of James Gallagher, US citizen and Arts Student. How did he avoid the underground’s ubiquitous CCTV to reach his final destination, and why is the ceramic shard he was stabbed with so strongly magical?

As the case took me into the labyrinth of conduits, tunnels and abandoned bomb shelters that lay beneath the streets I realised that London below might just be as complicated and inhabited as London above.

And worse, James Gallagher’s father is a US senator, so the next thing I know, I’ve got Special Agent Kimberley Reynolds of the FBI “liaising” with the investigation and asking awkward questions. Such as ‘just what are you guys hiding down here’ and ‘how did you conjure that light out thin air?’

The eBook is available via Kobo, Apple, and Amazon.

JABberwocky also publish the first novel in the series, RIVERS OF LONDON (formerly MIDNIGHT RIOT in the US). The novels are published in the UK by Gollancz/Orion, and in Germany by DTV. The latest novel in the series is AMONGST OUR WEAPONS, published by DAW Books in North America and Orion in the UK.

New Taiwanese Covers for Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series!

Posted on Thursday, April 21st, 2022

The first four books in Ben Aaronovitch‘s acclaimed, internationally best-selling Rivers of London series (倫敦探案系列) have been given new covers in Taiwan! Originally published between 2016-17, by Marco Polo (馬可孛羅文化事業), read on for some more details for each novel as well as the stunning new covers.

RIVERS OF LONDON, the first in the series, is published in Taiwan as 倫敦河惡靈騷動, and is translated by Zheng Yuxin (鄭郁欣). The new cover is above, and here’s the synopsis…

寒冷週二的凌晨時分，柯芬園聖保羅教堂的西門廊前躺著一具沒有頭的屍體。就要結束實習工作、接下來將分派到倫敦警察廳所屬轄區警局的菜鳥彼得．葛蘭特，基於職責在案發現場盤問了一名衣著老派過時的矮小男子，沒想到對方竟一五一十細細陳述了案發經過，其內容可信度非常高，只不過彼得恐怕沒辦法將這段證詞呈報給調查小組──

誰會相信一個平凡人光揮舞一根球棒就能將被害者的頭敲飛？誰又能接受提供證詞的這位老先生，是個死了足足一百二十年、站在光線下整個人變透明的鬼魂？

不過彼得相信，對現代警察來說，「看得見不存在的事物」是個不可或缺的重要技能，沒想到納丁格爾督察長不但願意接受這聽起來像胡謅的說法，還將彼得納入警察廳內最神祕的特殊犯罪部，聯手調查這樁超自然色彩濃厚的謀殺案。

在這個魔法捲土重來、惡靈騷動再起的時刻，暴力與叛亂已在古老的倫敦城內甦醒，想要解決一連串的詭譎怪案，還得有點福爾摩斯的腦袋與哈利波特的能力才行…

The second novel in the series, MOON OVER SOHO, is published in Taiwan as 蘇活月爵士魅影, and is also translated by Zheng Yuxin.

蘇活區，倫敦夜晚最熱鬧的地方，同時也是爵士樂發展的中心。在那裡，你可以找到歷史悠久且風格各異的酒吧和俱樂部，樂手們全都嚮往登上此處的表演舞臺，演奏最道地動聽的音樂。

一具被判定為自然死亡的屍體上，彼得．葛蘭特聽見了經典爵士樂曲的魔法殘跡，經調查後發現，過去一段時間大倫敦地區每年至少有三名爵士音樂家在演出後二十四小時內死亡，很可能是有某個術士或鬼魂、精靈之類的存在，正有計畫地殺害倫敦的爵士樂人──幾天後，再次傳來某個長號手暴斃的噩耗。

棘手的死亡事件不只一樁，就在魔法爵士殺手再度犯案的當晚，一名中年男子陰莖遭割裂、失血過多死在俱樂部裡，英國最後一位巫師警官納丁格爾告訴彼得，這是「陰牙」造成的傷口，很可能是某種超自然生物所為。

這下子彼得可頭大了，一個以爵士樂手為目標的魔法殺手，與一個擁有傷人利齒的超自然生物，該從哪個方向展開調查才好？首先，彼得必須找尋爵士樂專家的幫助，而他心底已經有了最佳人選……

悠揚輕柔的爵士樂聲響起，為流連倫敦街頭的人們帶來多少歡愉，

曲終人散的某個闇暗角落，躺著一具被魔法奪走性命的沉默軀體。

誰能同時扮演福爾摩斯與哈利波特的角色？只有菜鳥警察彼得．葛蘭特！

Translated by Han Yichen (韓宜辰) and Lin Zhaoling (林詔伶), WHISPERS UNDERGROUND is published as 地底城魔法暗湧 in Taiwan.

二次世界大戰後，英國的巫師所剩無幾，魔法逐漸式微、光明隨之遠離，除了納丁格爾與他唯一認可的學徒彼得．葛蘭特之外，再沒有人使用和練習魔法。然而，黑魔法師無臉男的出現，徹底打破了納丁格爾的認知，原來自一九五○年代起，就有巫師在牛津大學祕密教授魔法，更有學員加入黑暗勢力，製造出邪惡的超自然生物，讓倫敦陷入危機。

找出黑魔法師的真實身分，成為菜鳥警察彼得的當務之急，一樁發生在倫敦地鐵站的命案，卻令彼得不得不分心轉向追查，因為殺害死者的凶器，竟是一塊殘留魔法的陶器碎片。同時，命案死者的敏感身分，也招來了美國FBI派探員跨海介入調查。

死者是否又是一名非法學習法術的巫師？沾有魔法殘跡的陶器從何而來？被要求加入凶案調查小組的彼得，不但得全力追查凶器來源與凶手，還不能讓FBI發現任何「不尋常」的異狀。一方面諜對諜作戰，一方面向河神、半妖等超自然生物打聽情報，彼得這才驚異地發現，在倫敦紛亂複雜的地下鐵深處，很可能潛藏了一座不為人知的神祕之城……

And last, but by no means least, the fourth novel in the series, BROKEN HOMES, is published in Taiwan as 天空塔黑巫再現. Lin Zhaoling also translated this novel.

地底城事件結束後，納丁格爾與他的學徒彼得．葛蘭特體認到，黑魔法師無臉男的勢力已經擴張到他們難以察覺的深處，無論這位黑魔法師真正的目的為何，徹查所有的小鱷魚名單、找出無臉男的真實身分，絕對是當務之急。因此，即便是一樁看似簡單的交通意外，也不能錯過任何線索。

彼得的直覺沒錯，小鱷魚成員的交通意外演變為一件毀屍滅跡的凶殺案；不久之後，竟有第二名可疑的小鱷魚成員在地鐵站內跳軌自殺。一具屍體或許只是意外，但兩具屍體就不可能只是巧合，而且一定與無臉男有關。

為了化被動為主動，彼得決定設下誘餌引無臉男出現，沒想到出現的卻是令他們意想不到的另一個熟面孔，死去的伍德維爾．詹托的看護——凡倫卡，來自俄羅斯的魔法學徒，危險度極高的暗夜女巫。

現在，倫敦有兩名出手凶狠的非法巫師逍遙法外了。最令人擔心的是，暗夜女巫是否與黑魔法師相互聯手？小鱷魚的命案又是何人所為？此時，彼得追查到一本遭竊的德國魔法書，屬於瘋狂建築師艾瑞克．史騰堡所有，更進一步發現這些喪命的死者，都與史騰堡所蓋的空中花園大樓有關……

高掛空中的冠冕，點亮城市的火炬，

魔法與工業的結合，是不切實際的空想，還是真實存在的世紀之作？

The Rivers of London series is published in the UK by Gollancz; in North America by Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-) and Subterranean Press (novellas); in Germany by DTV; and widely elsewhere in translation.

The ninth novel in the series, the Sunday Times #1 AMONGST OUR WEAPONS, was published this month by Orion Books (UK), DAW Books (North America), and DTV (Germany).

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.

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.

Eyes Open: Peter Grant Invades Germany’s U-Bahn!

Posted on Tuesday, September 8th, 2020

We are very grateful to Elisa for sharing with us photos of these posters for Ben Aaronovitch‘s two latest books in Germany! Up in various subway stations, we think that’s rather excellent, and wanted to share them here, too.

The two books features are EIN WEISSER SCHWAN IN TABERNACLE STREET (FALSE VALUE, the eighth Peter Grant novel); and DIE FLÜSSE VON LONDON – SCHWARZER MOND ÜBER SOHO, an omnibus edition including the first two novels (RIVERS OF LONDON and MOON OVER SOHO).

Both books are published in Germany by DTV, who have published all of Ben’s books set in this world. The omnibus is out now. Here’s the synopsis for EIN WEISSER SCHWAN IN TABERNACLE STREET, which is due out in Germany on October 23rd…

Peter Grant ist suspendiert…

Peter Grant, unser Londoner Lieblings-Bobby und Zauberlehrling, steht vor völlig neuen privaten Herausforderungen. Welche ihn zu gleichen Teilen mit Panik und Begeisterung erfüllen. Beruflich bekommt er es mit der Serious Cybernetics Corporation zu tun, dem neuesten Projekt des Internet-Genies Terrence Skinner. Und prompt holt die Magie ihn wieder ein. Denn in den Tiefen der SCC ist ein Geheimnis verborgen: eine geheime magische Technologie, die bis weit ins 19. Jahrhundert zurückreicht, dem Zeitalter von Ada Lovelace und Charles Babbage. Und die brandgefährlich ist für die gesamte Welt.

The series is published in the UK by Gollancz; in North America by Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-) and Subterranean Press (novellas). The series has also been published widely in translation. Here’s the English-language synopsis for FALSE VALUE…

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.

Finally, here’s the poster graphic…

New Rivers of London Omnibus Edition out in Germany!

Posted on Friday, August 21st, 2020

The first two novels in Ben Aaronovitch‘s internationally-bestselling Peter Grant/Rivers of London series are published in Germany today in a new omnibus edition! Published by DTV, the two novels are: DIE FLÜSSE VON LONDON and SCHWARZER MOND ÜBER SOHO. Here’s the new edition’s synopsis, which is a great place for new readers to start…

Der Doppelband für Neueinsteiger

Die Anfänge der unglaublichen Laufbahn des Peter Grant, seines Zeichens Police Constable in London − mit einer ausgeprägten Begabung fürs Magische. Ein Umstand, der seinen Vorgesetzten nicht entgeht. Und schon nimmt Peters Karriere eine gänzlich unerwartete Wendung: Er wird Zauberlehrling, der erste in England seit fünfzig Jahren! Das große Abenteuer beginnt.

DTV has published all of Ben’s novels and novellas in Germany, in print and audiobook. The eight novel, FALSE VALUE, is due to be published in Germany as EIN WEISSER SCHWAN IN TABERNACLE STREET, on October 23rd.

The series is published in the UK by Gollancz: RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDERGROUND, BROKEN HOMES, FOXGLOVE SUMMER, LIES SLEEPING, FALSE VALUE.

Here’s the English-language synopsis for book one (in case you’ve somehow managed to miss this series)…

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.

Ben Aaronovitch’s LA LUNA SU SOHO Out Now in Paperback!

Posted on Friday, June 26th, 2020

A new Italian paperback edition of LA LUNA SU SOHO, the second Rivers of London/Peter Grant novel by Ben Aaronovitch, is out today! Published by Fanucci Editore, here’s the synopsis…

Una canzone. Questo è ciò che Peter Grant, poliziotto della Metropolitan Police Service di Londra e apprendista stregone, non può far a meno di notare quando esamina per la prima volta il cadavere di Cyrus Wilkins, batterista jazz part-time e contabile a tempo pieno. Causa del decesso: attacco cardiaco durante un’esibizione al Club 606 di Soho. Fin qui tutto normale. Ma le note del buon vecchio jazz risuonano da quel corpo esanime come fosse uno stereo. E Peter sa che si tratta di una morte tutt’altro che naturale.

E mentre qualcosa di inquietante e di magico si muove nell’ombra uccidendo una serie di musicisti jazz dilettanti e semi-professionisti durante le loro esecuzioni, Peter dovrà indagare anche su un secondo intricatissimo caso che nulla ha a che vedere con il primo. Mentre investiga intorno a questa serie di morti tutte avvenute nel quartiere di Soho, Peter scoprirà che la misteriosa minaccia magica porta direttamente sulle tracce di un giovane musicista jazz, un talentuoso trombettista di nome Richard “Lord” Grant, altrimenti noto come suo padre. Con l’aiuto del detective Thomas Nightingale, l’ultimo mago presente in Inghilterra, e l’appassionata di jazz Simone Fitzwilliam, tenterà di combattere il più terribile degli incubi che avanza strisciando per le strade di Soho in cerca di un po’ di Jazz.

Dopo I fiumi di Londra Ben Aaronovitch torna con il secondo, rocambolesco urban fantasy della serie Peter Grant, La luna su Soho.

Fanucci has also published RIVERS OF LONDON — the first novel in the series — as I FIUMI DI LONDRA.

MOON OVER SOHO and the rest of Ben’s Rivers of London novels and novellas are published in the UK by Gollancz. The series is published in North America by Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-) and Subterranean Press (novellas). The series has also been published widely in translation.

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.

‘MOON OVER SOHO is very good. Ben Aaronovitch continues the successful formula of RIVERS OF LONDON in bringing to the surface the endearing minutae of a city that he clearly adores. He also demonstrates the “real world” problems of a ritual magician trying to have some sort of ‘normal’ life… Grant continues to observe his world(s) in a detached way – a narrative voice that lends itself well to dry humor (and fits less neatly with the book’s few over-the-top action scenes). Mr. Aaronovitch is, in short, writing the best contemporary occult detective series on the shelf today, and that’s by a substantial margin.’ — Pornokitsch

‘Unexpectedly and truly fun, RIVERS OF LONDON promised many great things for the further adventures of Peter Grant. MOON OVER SOHO… [is] just as entertaining and just exciting as the first, with added depth to boot… an excellent, and in my opinion better, continuation to Peter Grant’s story. Aaronovitch in no way disappoints, so readers of the first book should have no fear of that digging in to the second one. The authenticity and accuracy of the London described by Aaronovitch still amazes me, in fact his books are almost worth reading just for that and the cultural references.’ 5/5 — LEC Book Reviews

… enormous storytelling gusto… exhilarating and emotionally affecting…’ — SF Reviews

‘The excitement and entertainment hasn’t stopped in the slightest… this book once again blew my mind, and kept me reading well into the late night/early morning. You needn’t pick up RIVERS OF LONDON, Aaronovitch’s first in this series, but you’d regret it by the time you got to the end of MOON OVER SOHO and found out how good it was.’ — Fantasy Book Review

‘… as funny as it is fantastic… [The plot] hops along happily to a toe-tapping time signature, with a sweet solo here and an awesome cacophony of noise there… vast amounts of fun…’ — Speculative Scotsman

INTRODUCING RIVERS OF LONDON: A Perfect Time to Start Reading Ben Aaronovitch’s Best-Selling Series!

Posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2020

Tomorrow, Gollancz publishes a new eBook collection featuring the first three novels in Ben Aaronovitch‘s acclaimed, best-selling Peter Grant/Rivers of London urban fantasy series! Perfect for newcomers to the series, we are sure it will help get you hooked on the series! Here’s the synopsis…

My name is Peter Grant, and until January I was just an ordinary policeman in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else).

Then my life took a turn for the strange, and now I’m a Detective Constable and trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years. My world has become somewhat more complicated, and it’s safe to say the problems London’s streets throw at me are now much more difficult to respond to.

But there’s someone out there causing trouble, using all manner of magic to do it, and they’re putting ordinary Londoners at risk. It’s fallen to me to bring order out of the chaos – or die trying.

Like I said, life is stranger now. But I’m a police officer at heart, London is my city, and I’ve got a job to do.

This eBook boxset contains the first three novels in the bestselling Rivers of London series. Full of warmth, humour, and mysteries that will keep you guessing, this is your perfect introduction to a whole new side of England’s capital.

The first three novels in the series are RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO and WHISPERS UNDERGROUND.

The other books in the series are also published in the UK by Gollancz: BROKEN HOMES, FOXGLOVE SUMMER, THE FURTHEST STATION (novella), THE HANGING TREE, LIES SLEEPING and FALSE VALUE. The stand-alone novella, THE OCTOBER MAN (set in Germany) is also available via Gollancz.

The series has been a best-seller in the UK, and is widely available in translation. For more details, check out Ben’s client page.

Next Month, INTRODUCING RIVERS OF LONDON…

Posted on Friday, May 22nd, 2020

Next month (June 11th), Gollancz is due to publish a new eBook collection featuring the first three novels in Ben Aaronovitch‘s acclaimed, best-selling Peter Grant/Rivers of London urban fantasy series. This is a fantastic opportunity for new readers to get hooked on the series (we have no doubt that you will be). Here’s the synopsis…

My name is Peter Grant, and until January I was just an ordinary policeman in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else).

Then my life took a turn for the strange, and now I’m a Detective Constable and trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years. My world has become somewhat more complicated, and it’s safe to say the problems London’s streets throw at me are now much more difficult to respond to.

But there’s someone out there causing trouble, using all manner of magic to do it, and they’re putting ordinary Londoners at risk. It’s fallen to me to bring order out of the chaos – or die trying.

Like I said, life is stranger now. But I’m a police officer at heart, London is my city, and I’ve got a job to do.

This eBook boxset contains the first three novels in the bestselling Rivers of London series. Full of warmth, humour, and mysteries that will keep you guessing, this is your perfect introduction to a whole new side of England’s capital.

The first three novels in the series are RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO and WHISPERS UNDERGROUND.

Gollancz has also published the other novels in the series, which currently also includes BROKEN HOMES, FOXGLOVE SUMMER, THE FURTHEST STATION (novella), THE HANGING TREE, LIES SLEEPING and FALSE VALUE. The stand-alone novella, THE OCTOBER MAN (set in Germany) is also available via Gollancz.

The series has been a best-seller in the UK, and is widely available in translation. For more details, check out Ben’s client page.

Two new Italian editions for Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant series!

Posted on Thursday, January 30th, 2020

Two new editions of Ben Aaronovitch‘s Peter Grant novels are published today in Italy: both RIVERS OF LONDON and MOON OVER SOHO are now available in paperback, published by Fanucci! Published as I FIUMI DI LONDRA and LA LUNA SU SOHO, respectively, here’s the synopsis for the first book…

Peter Grant, un aspirante agente di polizia in attesa di accedere al famigerato Metropolitan Police Service di Londra, ha due preoccupazioni: evitare la prospettiva di un noioso lavoro d’ufficio e guadagnarsi i favori della vivace e spregiudicata collega Leslie May. Nel corso di un’inchiesta su un caso di omicidio, Peter riesce inspiegabilmente a ottenere la testimonianza di uno strano individuo, estremamente loquace ma decisamente morto, e a richiamare su di sé l’attenzione dell’enigmatico ispettore Thomas Nightingale, l’ultimo mago d’Inghilterra, capo di un’unità segreta della polizia dedicata alla magia e al soprannaturale. Peter possiede poteri magici, e deve mettere le proprie straordinarie abilità al servizio del bene comune. Aggirandosi tra covi di vampiri nei sobborghi londinesi, negoziando tregue tra le divinità del Tamigi, dissotterrando tombe a Covent Garden, Grant cercherà di governare lo spirito di ribellione della città e riportare, forse, l’ordine nel caos che domina Londra.

The novels are published by Gollancz in the UK, and Del Rey in North America. Here’s the English-language synopsis for book one…

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 next novel in the Peter Grant/Rivers of London series, FALSE VALUE is due out next month — published by Orion Books (UK) and DAW Books (North America)

Five Peter Grant novels available as a UK Kindle “Gold Box” today only!

Posted on Sunday, January 5th, 2020

The first five novels in Ben Aaronovitch‘s critically-acclaimed, beloved Peter Grant series are available as a UK Kindle “Gold Box” today! Each novel is priced at 99p: RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDERGROUND, BROKEN HOMES, and FOXGLOVE SUMMER!

In case you haven’t had the chance to read the series, this is a fantastic way to get started (and hooked) on Ben’s great, entertaining and gripping novels! Here’s the synopsis for the first novel, to whet your appetite…

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 novels are published in the UK by Gollancz; in North America by Del Rey and DAW Books; and widely in translation. Ben has also written two novellas, which are published by Gollancz in the UK and Subterranean Press in North America. The eighth novel, FALSE VALUE, is due to be published next month by Orion (UK) and DAW Books (North America).

If you’re already caught up and can’t wait for FALSE VALUE, Orion has made an excerpt available! You can find that here.

If you love the series and characters, be sure to also check out the Rivers of London comic series, published by Titan Comics!

Full Cast Production of SCHWARZER MOND ÜBER SOHO now available!

Posted on Friday, May 10th, 2019

We’re very happy to report that there is a new German audiobook version of Ben Aaronovitch‘s MOON OVER SOHO! Produced using a full cast, SCHWARZER MOND ÜBER SOHO is out now, published by Audible. Here’s the synopsis…

Nach seinem Audible-Bestseller “Die Flüsse von London” endlich der zweite Teil der Hörspiel-Reihe um Peter Grant und seiner ausgeprägten Begabung fürs Magische.

Kurzinhalt: Police Constable Peter Grant ist nicht nur ein relativer Neuling bei der Metropolitan Police, sondern auch der letzte Zauberlehrling Londons. Sollte er aber ernsthaft gedacht haben, dass sein frisch überstandenes Abenteuer in die Kategorie “heftig” fällt, so kann er sich für sein nächstes schon mal eine neue, noch aufregendere Vokabel aussuchen.

In “Schwarzer Mond über Soho”, Ben Aaronovitchs Fortsetzung der “Flüsse von London”, sieht sich Peter Grant fantastischen Kriminalfällen und Gefahren einer völlig neuen Qualität gegenüber, die selbst den hartgesottensten Polizeibeamten in Angst und Schrecken versetzen würden. Definitiv ein Punkt auf der “lieber-nicht-Haben” Seite. Allerdings tritt auch Simone Fitzwilliam in sein Leben — verführerisch, sexy und voller Lebensfreude wird sie bald Peters Fels in der Schreckens-Brandung. Ein klarer Punkt für die “Haben” Seite.

Doch gerade als die Treffen zwischen Peter und Simone eine aufregend-angenehme Regelmäßigkeit annehmen, überschlagen sich die Ereignisse: London wird von einem mysteriösen Serienkiller heimgesucht, der es offenbar auf junge Jazzmusiker abgesehen hat. Als ob das allein für ein junges Polizistenherz nicht schon Aufregung genug wäre, tritt auch noch ein mächtiger und geheimnisvoller Schwarz-Magier ins Bild, der sich an Peters Fersen heftet. Peter erkennt schmerzhaft schnell, dass er kurz davor steht sein Zauberlehrling Gesellenstück abliefern zu müssen…

Mit einmaligen, britischen Humor erzählt Ben Aaronovitch die Fälle um Constable und Zauberlehrling Peter Grant weiter.

MOON OVER SOHO and the other Peter Grant novels are published by DTV in Germany, Gollancz in the UK, Del Rey (1-3) and DAW Books (4-) in the US, and widely in translation.

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.

In related, exciting news: the series was recently optioned for television by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s Stolen Pictures production company!