Czech Audiobook edition of WHISPERS UNDERGROUND now available via Audible!


The Czech audiobook edition of Ben Aaronovitch‘s third Peter Grant novel, WHISPERS UNDERGROUND is available now through Audible! Published by Tympanum as ŠEPOT PODZENÍ, and read by Tomáš Kobr, here’s the synopsis…

Další případ ze světa nejúspěšnější městské fantasy uplynulého desetiletí! Peter Grant na cestě do labyrintem londýnského metra. Jmenuji se Peter Grant. Není to tak dávno, co jsem byl obyčejný četnický zelenáč v řadách londýnské Metropolitní policie. Teď jsem policejní detektiv a čarodějnický učeň. Jenže inspektor Nightingale má plné ruce práce s pátráním po Muži bez tváře, takže stojím nad mrtvolou amerického studenta na stanici metra Baker Street sám. Vlastně ne sám, FBI mi poslala na pomoc nějakou mladou ambiciózní křesťanku. No, hezká je, ale veškerá kouzla jsou pro ni jasné dílo ďáblovo. Je na čase ponořit se strašidelné hlubiny nejstarší, největší a nyní i nejvražednější podzemní dráhy na světě.

The print edition of the novel is published in Czechia by Argo. The Peter Grant series is published in the UK by Gollancz, in North America by Del Rey (1-3) and DAW Books (4-), and widely in translation. Here’s the English-language synopsis for WHISPERS UNDERGROUND

Peter Grant is learning magic fast. And it’s just as well – he’s already had run-ins with the deadly supernatural children of the Thames and a terrifying killer in Soho. Progression in the Police Force is less easy. Especially when you work in a department of two. A department that doesn’t even officially exist. A department that if you did describe it to most people would get you laughed at. And then there’s his love life. The last person he fell for ended up seriously dead. It wasn’t his fault, but still.

Now something horrible is happening in the labyrinth of tunnels that make up the tube system that honeycombs the ancient foundations of London. And delays on the Northern line is the very least of it. Time to call in the Met’s Economic and Specialist Crime Unit 9, aka ‘The Folly’. Time to call in PC Peter Grant, Britain’s Last Wizard.

Here are just a handful of the reviews the novel has received…

‘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

‘… 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

‘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

The next novel in the series, FALSE VALUE, is due to be published in February 2020.

Czech edition of RIVERS OF LONDON now available from Audible


The Czech translation of Ben Aaronovitch‘s RIVERS OF LONDON is now available as an audiobook from Audible! Published by Tympanum as ŘEKY LONDÝNA, here’s the synopsis…

Jmenuji se Peter Grant. Ještě nedávno jsem byl obyčejný četnický zelenáč v řadách londýnské Metropolitní policie. Jedné noci jsem se ale při vyšetřování jisté vraždy pokusil získat svědeckou výpověď od muže, který byl sice mrtvý, ale jinak znepokojivě výřečný, což mi zajistilo pozornost vrchního inspektora Nightingalea, posledního čaroděje Anglie. A právě tehdy začal můj příběh.

Nyní jsem policejní detektiv a čarodějův učeň, první učedník za padesát let, a můj svět už není zdaleka tak jednoduchý, jak býval. Jedna z nejúspěšnějších městských fantasy uplynulého desetiletí vás zavede do Londýna, ve kterém u policie slouží čarodějové a po ulicích se prohánějí zlovolní duchové či božstva na válečné stezce.

The novel is also published in print in Czechia by Argo, as are books 2-6 in the series (more to come!).

RIVERS OF LONDON and the other novels in the Peter Grant/Rivers of London series are published in the UK by Gollancz; in the US by Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-) and Subterranean Press (novellas); and widely in translation around the world.

In case you haven’t had the chance to read RIVERS OF LONDON, yet, 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.

And last but by no means least: don’t miss the news that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have option the Rivers of London series!

First two Peter Grant novels available in Czech audio!


Great news! The first two novels in Ben Aaronovitch‘s Peter Grant series are now available in Czech audio editions! Produced by Tympanum, and narrated by Tomáš Kobr, the novels are published as ŘEKY LONDÝNA (RIVERS OF LONDON) and MĚSÍC NAD SOHO (MOON OVER SOHO), here’s the synopsis for the first book…

Jedna z nejúspěšnějších městských fantasy uplynulého desetiletí vás zavede do Londýna, ve kterém u policie slouží čarodějové a po ulicích se prohánějí zlovolní duchové či božstva na válečné stezce.

Jmenuji se Peter Grant. Ještě nedávno jsem byl obyčejný četnický zelenáč v řadách londýnské Metropolitní policie. Jedné noci jsem se ale při vyšetřování jisté vraždy pokusil získat svědeckou výpověď od muže, který byl sice mrtvý, ale jinak znepokojivě výřečný, což mi zajistilo pozornost vrchního inspektora Nightingalea, posledního čaroděje Anglie. A právě tehdy začal můj příběh.

Nyní jsem policejní detektiv a čarodějův učeň, první učedník za padesát let, a můj svět už není zdaleka tak jednoduchý, jak býval.

The print editions of the novels are published in Czech by Argo. The series is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Del Rey (1-3) and DAW Books (4-6). The English-language audiobooks are published by Orion Audio, and are narrated by the superb Kobna Holdbook-Smith. The series has also been published widely in translation. Here’s the English-language synopsis for the first novel…

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 voluable, 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.