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Rivers of London (book series)

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For more information on subterranean rivers of London, see Subterranean rivers of London.
Rivers of London
AuthorBen Aaronovitch
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreUrban Fantasy
PublisherGollancz
Published2011–present
Media typePrint

The Rivers of London series (alternatively, the Peter Grant or the PC Grant series[1]) is a series of urban fantasy novels by English author Ben Aaronovitch, and comics/graphic novels by Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel, illustrated by Lee Sullivan.

Biblography

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Novels and novellas

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No.TitleDateLengthISBN
1Rivers of London
Midnight Riot		January 2011392 pages9780575097568
Peter Grant, having become the first English apprentice wizard in over seventy years, must immediately deal with two different but ultimately interrelated cases. In one he must find what is possessing ordinary people and turning them into vicious killers, and in the second he must broker a peace between the two warring gods of the River Thames and their respective families.[2]
2Moon Over SohoOctober 2011375 pages9780575097605
Police Constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant is called in to help investigate the brutal murder of a journalist in the downstairs toilet of the Groucho Club in London's Soho district. At the same time, Peter is disturbed by a number of deaths of amateur and semi-professional jazz musicians that occurred shortly after they performed. Despite the apparently natural causes of death, each body exhibits a magical signature which leads Peter to believe that the deaths are far from natural.[3]
3Whispers Under GroundJune 2012418 pages9780575097643
The son of a US senator is stabbed to death, and magic involvement is suspected. An FBI agent is involved with DC Grant's case. Meanwhile, in the sewers near the tunnels of London's Underground, something is happening.[4]
4Broken HomesFebruary 2013357 pages9780575132467
Another killer is on the loose, and the prime suspect could be an associate of the twisted magician known as the Faceless Man. A town planner goes under a tube train, and a grimoire has been stolen. And when Peter gets word of something very odd happening in Elephant and Castle, he has to investigate whether there is a connection.[5]
5Foxglove SummerNovember 2014377 pages9780575132504
Leaving London, Peter goes to a small village in Herefordshire, where there appears to be a supernatural element to the disappearance of two local girls. Having to cope with local cops, as well as local gods, Peter finds the mystery deepens.[6]
6The Hanging TreeNovember 2016387 pages9780575132559
Back in London, Peter faces the legacy of London's hangings. Investigating suspicious murders in the world of the super-rich, Peter finds himself in a world different from the one he is used to investigating.[7]
7The Furthest Station (novella)June 2017144 pages9781596068339
Peter needs to deal with commuting ghosts, forgetful commuters, and deciphering a ghost's urgent message.[8] Set between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree
7Lies SleepingNovember 2018406 pages9781473207813
Peter continues the investigations into Martin Chorley.[9]
8The October ManMay 2019180 pages9781473224315
Tobias Winter, the only apprentice in the "Abteilung komplexe und diffuse Angelegenheiten" (KDA) (Department for Complex and Diffuse Matters – the German equivalent of the Folly) investigates a suspicious death in a vineyard near the Moselle. His local colleague is Vanessa Sommer, who joins the KDA at the end as well.[10]
9False ValueFebruary 2020404 pages9781473207851
Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Rather than sit around, he takes a job with émigré Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner's new London start-up: the Serious Cybernetics Company.[11][12]
10What Abigail Did That Summer (novella)March 2021232 pages9781473224346
Ghost hunter, fox whisperer, troublemaker. It is the summer of 2013 and Abigail Kamara has been left to her own devices. This might, by those who know her, be considered a mistake. While her cousin, police constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant, is off in the sticks, chasing unicorns, Abigail is chasing her own mystery..[13][14] Set between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree, before the Furthest Station
11Amongst Our WeaponsApril 2022294 pages9780756414832
Peter Grant, now an expectant father, is tasked to investigate a suspicious magical death in London's silver vaults and uncover a centuries-old mystery.[15]
12Winter's Gifts (novella)June 2023294 pages9781473224377
It follows FBI Agent Kimberley Reynolds, introduced in Whispers Underground, who has subsequently become an ally of the Folly. Set after Lies Sleeping
13The Masquerades of Spring (novella)September 2024165 pages9781645242116
The Masquerades of Spring follows Nightingale and an old acquaintance of his from The Folly in 1920s New York, tracking down the history of a cursed saxophone.Set before Rivers of London
14Stone and SkyJuly 2025[16]400 pages9781473226715

Short Stories

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Tales from the Folly

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Tales from the Folly, a short story collection, was published in November 2020.[17]

Graphic novels

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The graphic novel series is cowritten by Andrew Cartmel. Initially published serially, the individual story arcs later appeared as graphic novels. All the graphic novels are published by Titan Comics.

No.TitleDateLengthISBN
1Body WorkJanuary 2011392 pages9780575097568
Originally released as five monthly issues. Involves a cursed car.[18] Set between Broken Homes and Foxglove Summer
1Body WorkMarch 2016128 pages9781782761877
Originally released as five monthly issues. Involves a cursed car.[18] Set between Broken Homes and Foxglove Summer
2Night WitchDecember 2016122 pages9781785852930
Originally published as five monthly issues. A Russian oligarch's daughter is kidnapped. In response, he kidnaps Night Witch Varvara Sidorovna.[19] Set between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree
3Black MouldJune 2017128 pages9781785855108
Originally released as five monthly issues. An investigation of a black mould infestation and a haunted ice cream van.[20] Set between Night Witch and The Hanging Tree
4Detective StoriesDecember 2017112 pages9781785861710
Originally released as four monthly issues. Peter encounters difficulty in making Detective. Set between The Hanging Tree and Cry Fox
5Cry FoxMay 2018112 pages9781785861727
Originally released as four monthly issues. A story centred around Reynard. Set between Detective Stories and Water Weed
6Water WeedOctober 2018112 pages1785865455
Originally released as four monthly issues. A story starting with an encounter between the river goddesses Chelsea and Olympia and a crew of possibly magic-using drug dealers.
7Action at a DistanceMarch 2019112 pages9781785865466
Nightingale searches for a serial killer in 1957 London.
8The Fey and the FuriousNovember 2020112 pages9781785865862
A story centring on Peter. Set after the events of Lies Sleeping
9Monday, MondayNovember 2021112 pages9781787736269
Originally released as four monthly issues. A routine undercover operation leads to a Swedish werewolf.[21]Set after the events in Amongst Our Weapons
10Deadly Ever AfterJanuary 2023112 pages9781787738591
Originally released as four monthly issues
11Here Be DragonsDecember 2023110 pages9781787741928
Originally released as four monthly issues between July and October 2023. After a rash of strange UFO sightings above the capital, a Met Police helicopter night patrol is attacked by what can only be described as a dragon![22]
12Stray Cat BluesOctober 2024112 pages9781787744288
Originally released as four monthly issues between May and August 2024.


Future instalments

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Aaronovitch has announced some forthcoming titles on his personal blog.

Aaronovitch has announced several works within the same fictional universe, but set outside the chronology of the main series. These works include a short story entitled 'Cock of The Wall' focusing on Petrus Aelius Bekemetus,[23] who Aaronovitch describes as a "temple official/Londinium wideboy" – i.e. set in Roman London which Peter Grant briefly visited in the third book of the series.[24]

Main characters

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  • Police Constable Peter Grant; an officer in the Metropolitan Police and the first official apprentice wizard in sixty years.
  • Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale; head of the Folly and the last officially sanctioned English Wizard.
  • Lesley May; Police Constable colleague of Peter's in the Metropolitan Police.
  • Detective Chief Inspector Alexander Seawoll; Senior Investigation Officer at the Westminster Murder Investigation Team.
  • Detective Sergeant Miriam Stephanopoulos; case officer of the Belgravia Murder Investigation Team and 'right-hand man' to DCI Seawoll.
  • Detective Constable Sahra Guleed; attached to Belgravia Murder Investigation Team, often works with Peter when his cases are in London.
  • Dr Abdul Haqq Walid; world-renowned gastroenterologist and cryptopathologist.
  • Frank Caffrey; LFB (London Fire Brigade) Fire Investigator, ex-para and a key "associate" of the Folly.
  • Professor Harold Postmartin D.Phil. FRS BMon, "Postmartin the Pirate", Archivist and expert for the Folly.
  • Molly; The Folly's domestic helper, whose species is not entirely clarified, but she has been referred to as fae-like in the novel Foxglove Summer.
  • Abigail Kamara; an annoyingly persistent teen-aged girl who is the de facto founding member of the Folly's Youth Wing. Lives at the same estate as Peter's parents.
  • Beverley Brook; "daughter" of Mama Thames and goddess of Beverley Brook, a small river in South London; in later books, Peter Grant's girlfriend.
  • Cecilia Tyburn Thames; aka Lady Ty, "daughter" of Mama Thames and goddess of the River Tyburn.
  • Oxley; god of the River Oxley, one of the "sons" of Father Thames and his chief negotiator.
  • Toby; Peter's dog, who can detect magic, indicated by yapping.
  • Varvara Sidorovna Tamonina (aka. Varenka Dobroslova); Russian/Soviet witch (Night Witch), magical WWII veteran (365th Special Regiment of the Red Army), later living on her own in Britain with a magically extended lifetime.

Stories listed by internal chronology

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In a blog entry,[25] the author has provided a list of the stories, by internal chronology.

Timeframe (if known) Story title Published
1920s The Masquerades of Spring (novella) 27 August 2024
1957 (framing story takes place after the events of The Hanging Tree and Water Weed) Action at a Distance (graphic novel) Parts 1–4, October 2018 through January 2019, collected 12 November 2019
1966 Moment #1 included in Tales from the Folly
1960s A Dedicated Follower of Fashion (short story) Waterstones edition of False Value, included in Tales from the Folly
January to June 2012 Rivers of London (novel) 10 January 2011 (2011-01-10)
During the 2012 Summer Olympics The Home Crowd Advantage (short story) 'London Edition' of Rivers of London and on his official website, included in Tales from the Folly
2012 Moment #3 included in Tales from the Folly
September to October 2012 Moon Over Soho (novel) 21 April 2011 (2011-04-21)
The Domestic (short story) Waterstones edition of Whispers Under Ground, included in Tales from the Folly
December 2012 Whispers Under Ground (novel) 21 June 2012 (2012-06-21)
The Cockpit (short story) Waterstones edition of Broken Homes, included in Tales from the Folly
March–April 2013 Broken Homes (novel) 25 July 2013 (2013-07-25)
Not given Body Work (graphic novel) Parts 1–5 – 16 July 2015 through 20 November 2015, collected 29 March 2016
August 2013 Foxglove Summer (novel) 13 November 2014 (2014-11-13)
What Abigail Did That Summer (novella) 18 March 2021
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Granny (short story) Waterstones edition of Foxglove Summer, included in Tales from the Folly
Night Witch (graphic novel) Parts 1–3 – 16 March 2016 through 18 May 2016, collected 1 November 2016
2014[26] King of the Rats (short story) Waterstones edition of The Hanging Tree, included in Tales from the Folly
Undisclosed month in 2014 The Hanging Tree (novel) 3 November 2016 in the UK,[27] 31 January 2017 in the US[28]
Late July 2014 The Furthest Station (novella) 28 September 2017
Black Mould (graphic novel) Parts 1–5 – 12 October 2016 through 8 March 2017, collected 25 July 2017
Undisclosed month in 2014 A Rare Book of Cunning Device (audio book) Audible special edition in 2017, included in Tales from the Folly
Detective Stories (graphic novel) Parts 1–4, 7 June 2017 through 3 September 2017, collected 29 December 2017
2014 Moment #2 included in Tales from the Folly
December 2014[29] Favourite Uncle (short story) Waterstones edition of Lies Sleeping, included in Tales from the Folly
Cry Fox (graphic novel) 8 November 2017, collected 26 June 2018
Water Weed (graphic novel) Parts 1–4, June 2018 through September 2018, collected 18 December 2018
Prologue dated 14 November 2014.[30] Main events summer 2015, based on reference to Michelle Obama's visit to a London school[31] (in reality, Tuesday 16 June 2015[32]) Lies Sleeping (novel) 18 November 2018 in the UK
The Fey and the Furious (graphic novel) 25 November 2020
The October Man (novella) 31 May 2019
January 2016[33] False Value (novel) 20 February 2020
Vanessa Sommer’s Other Christmas List (short story) Waterstones edition of The October Man, included in Tales from the Folly
Amongst Our Weapons (novel) April 2022
Three Rivers, Two Husbands and a Baby (short story) included in Tales from the Folly
Cock of the Wall (short story) unpublished as yet
Monday, Monday (graphic novel) 1 December 2021

On the page where the official order is given, the author writes: "One caveat – the short story The Home Crowd Advantage is obviously set in 2012 during the London Olympics, but because it was written before the chronology of the series had firmed up it contains a number of anachronisms. I've learnt to be philosophical about this sort of thing." Many of the stories give vague dates, and some of those dates conflict with the official series order (compare Foxglove Summer and The Furthest Station). The short story collection Tales from the Folly includes a note above each story indicating which of the novels it is set between.

Reception

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Sarah Shaffi wrote for The Guardian:

The books have consistently featured on bestseller lists, with the most recent two novels – 2022's Amongst Our Weapons and 2020's False Value – going straight to No 1 on the Sunday Times bestseller list...Aaronovitch’s work has been translated into 14 languages and sold in excess of five million copies worldwide, and has its own wiki, Follypedia.[34]

Reviewing the ninth book in the series, Amongst Our Weapons, in The Guardian, Lisa Tuttle wrote:

Aaronovitch has no peers when it comes to successfully combining the appeal of a down-to-earth police procedural with all-out fantasy: here are real places, real history and real problems complicated by the existence of magic, ancient spirits, fairies, ghosts and talking foxes, all dwelling alongside ordinary, clueless humans. His plotting is still satisfyingly inventive and the continuing characters maintain their charm in the ninth novel of a series that began in 2011.[35]

Adaptations

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On 1 May 2019 it was announced that a television adaptation of Rivers of London would be produced by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's production company, Stolen Picture.[36] However, according to Aaronovitch, the series is "still in the same state of permanent pre-pre-production".[37] On 7 July 2022, a new TV adaptation of the book series was announced, to be produced by Pure Fiction Television, See-Saw Films, and Unnecessary Logo—Aaronovitch's production company.[38] On 2 November 2023, it was announced that John Jackson would be lead writer on the television adaptation.[39]

At Dragonmeet convention in London, on 30 November 2019, it was announced that a role-playing game based on the book series would be published by Chaosium.[40] The game was released in PDF version on 30 November 2022, pending book version.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ The PC Grant Novels. Orion Publishing Group. 13 July 2018. ISBN 9781473214385. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  2. ^ Bullock, Saxon (14 January 2011). "Rivers Of London by Ben Aaronovitch – book review". SFX. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  3. ^ Ingham, Peter (24 June 2011). "Book Review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  4. ^ Walter, Damien (21 November 2012). "London: fantasy's capital city". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  5. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben (12 July 2018). Broken Homes. Orion Publishing Group, Limited. ISBN 978-0-575-13248-1.
  6. ^ "Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch book review - Fantasy Book Review". www.fantasybookreview.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  7. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben (12 July 2018). The Hanging Tree. Orion. ISBN 978-0-575-13258-0.
  8. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben (13 July 2018). The Furthest Station. Gollancz. ISBN 978-1-4732-2243-4.
  9. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben (13 July 2018). Lies Sleeping. Orion. ISBN 978-1-4732-0784-4.
  10. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben (5 November 2019). The October Man. Orion Publishing Group, Limited. ISBN 978-1-4732-2432-2.
  11. ^ "False Value By Ben Aaronovitch". penguinrandomhouse.com. Penguin Random House. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  12. ^ False Value By Ben Aaronovitch. Gollancz. 21 May 2019. ISBN 9781473207882. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  13. ^ "False Value By Ben Aaronovitch". penguinrandomhouse.com. Penguin Random House. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  14. ^ False Value By Ben Aaronovitch. Gollancz. 21 May 2019. ISBN 9781473207882. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  15. ^ "Amongst our weapons". Goldsboro Books. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  16. ^ "Ben Aaronovitch". Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Tales from the Folly Review".
  18. ^ a b Ben Aaronovitch; Andrew Cartmel (2017). Black Mould. Titan Comics. ISBN 9781785863851. - Rivers of London Reader's Guide
  19. ^ Ben Aaronovitch; Andrew Cartmel (2016). Night Witch. Titan Comics. ISBN 9781785852930.
  20. ^ Ben Aaronovitch; Andrew Cartmel (2017). Black Mould. Titan Comics. ISBN 9781785863851.
  21. ^ Ben Aaronovitch; Andrew Cartmel (2021). Monday, Monday. Titan Comics. ISBN 9781787736269.
  22. ^ Ben Aaronovitch; Andrew Cartmel (2024). Here Be Dragons. Titan Comics. ISBN 9781787740921.
  23. ^ "Temporarily Significant – Book and Comic Chronology". Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  24. ^ "Ben Aaronovitch on Twitter". Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  25. ^ "Temporarily Significant: Book and Comic Chronology".
  26. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben. Takes from the Folly states that this story occurs between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree.
  27. ^ "The Hanging Tree Announcement - Gollancz". Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  28. ^ "The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch: 9780756409678 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com.
  29. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben. Takes from the Folly states that this story occurs between The Hanging Tree and Lies Sleeping.
  30. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben. Lies Sleeping. p. 2.
  31. ^ Aaronovich, Ben (2018). Lies Sleeping. Gollancz. pp. 90–91. ISBN 9781473207837.
  32. ^ Khaleeli, Homa and Weale, Sally (16 June 2015). "Michelle Obama tells London schoolgirls 'the world needs you'". The Guardian.
  33. ^ This can be dated by a reference in the opening chapter of the novel, where Peter starts a new job on same day that David Bowie died, i.e., 10 January 2016
  34. ^ "Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London novels are set for TV adaptation". TheGuardian.com. 7 July 2022.
  35. ^ "The best recent science fiction and fantasy – reviews roundup". TheGuardian.com. 8 April 2022.
  36. ^ "Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to turn fantasy novel series Rivers of London into a TV series". Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  37. ^ Tabler, Elizabeth (29 April 2022). "An Interview With Ben Aaronovitch". Grimdark Magazine. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  38. ^ Shaffi, Sarah (7 July 2022). "Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London novels are set for TV adaptation". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  39. ^ "Rivers of London set writing team led by the Gentlemen scribe".
  40. ^ "Chaosium Announces Rivers of London Roleplaying Game". Retrieved 2 January 2020.
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