The rivers of London

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Rivers of London (in English Rivers of London ) is the first novel of the series of the same name by British author Ben Aaronovitch . The novel is about Constable Peter Grant of the Metropolitan Police in London, who, together with his superior, the wizard Nightingale, solves crimes of ghosts, vampires and other supernatural beings. In The Rivers of London , Peter Grant succeeds in solving a series of murders committed by people possessed by a ghost. The novel was published in English on November 25, 2011 and in German on January 1, 2012 on dtv . The book received mostly positive reviews from critics. The author received the New Writer of the Year Award.

action

When the young constable Peter Grant learns at the end of his two-year training that he has been assigned a purely office job, he is devastated. His dream is to establish law and order and solve crimes in London.

When Peter hears the only witness, Mr. Nicholas Wallpenny, while securing a murder scene, he is not too shocked that his witness is a ghost. Shortly afterwards, his path crosses that of the mysterious Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, the detective in charge of special cases. Surprisingly, Peter is assigned to him and quickly learns that London is very different from what he previously thought. Not only is Nightingale a magician in the service of the Crown who solves the supernatural crimes of vampires, ghosts, nymphs, river gods and other beings, he is also over a hundred years old. Peter becomes his apprentice and soon learns his first spells.

He needs them too, because soon afterwards he and Nightingale are investigating a terrible series of murders. The perpetrators are all under the magical influence of a stranger who apparently chooses his victims at random and lets them commit horrific crimes. In addition, Peter has to mediate in the conflict between two rival river gods, Father Thames and Mother Thames, and evade the siren-like effect of their daughters. Soon Peter not only makes an enemy of the river goddess Tyburn, but also makes a groundbreaking discovery: Apparently the series of murders follows an old play, The Tragical Comedy of Punch and Judy, and the killer is the ghost of a murdered actor, Henry Pyke. However, an attempt to arrest Henry Pyke goes wrong because the ghost has already figured out her plans, and Nightingale is shot. Peter has to go on investigating alone.

Peter achieves a breakthrough in the investigation when he realizes that Henry Pyke could only avoid his planned arrest and that Nightingale could only be shot because the ghost of Henry Pyke has control of an insider in the police force: The ghost has to control his colleague Leslie May, who is one of the few people who has insight into her plans to pursue the murderer. Peter tries to find Leslie and get her out of the mind's control, but he's late. Under the influence of Henry Pyke's spirit, Leslie manages to stir up first the audience at the Royal Opera House, then the entire district. Riots break out, which the police only with great effort bring back under control.

In this situation, Peter takes the last resort to arrest the ghost of Henry Pyke: He asks Molly, the Nightingale housekeeper and a fae, to take him back in time with a bite. Peter goes back to the time of Henry Pyke's murder, only to discover that the alleged witness, Nicholas Wallpenny, is actually Henry Pyke. Peter also notices that Henry is already possessed by a ghost, Mr. Punch, the ghost of rebellion and turmoil. Peter continues in the spirit of Mr. Punch through the past of London to Roman and Celtic times. There he succeeds in catching Mr. Punch and having him killed by a Celtic druid. That wipes out Mr. Punch, the spirit of rebellion and turmoil, but Leslie is still obsessed with the spirit of Henry Pyke. Peter manages to track down Leslie and persuade the ghost of Henry Pyke to leave Leslie's brain. Leslie has to go to the hospital injured because Henry Pyke has owned her so much that most of her face was destroyed in the process.

In parallel to solving the case, Peter also succeeds in establishing peace between mother and father Thames: the river god and the river goddess exchange hostages. Ash, a "son" of Father Thames and god of the River Ash in Surrey, goes to the Mother Thames family, while Beverley Brook, "daughter" of Mother Thames, is taken in by Father Thames's family in return.

people

police officers

  • Police Constable Peter Grant; a Metropolitan Police Service officer who, after completing his two-year training, is slated to get an office-only job.
  • Police Constable Lesley May; a police officer of the Metropolitan Police Service , colleague and friend of Peter, who is promised a steep career after her training.
  • Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale; Chief of the Follys and the last officially registered wizard in England.
  • Inspector Neblett; Peter and Lesley's boss and shift supervisor at Charing Cross Police Station.
  • Detective Chief Inspector Alexander Seawoll; a Senior Investigation Officer from the Murder Investigation Team charged with investigating the murder of William Skirmish.
  • Detective Sergeant Miriam Stephanopoulos; the closest colleague of DCI Seawoll.

River gods

  • Father Thames; also "The Old Man of the River" God for the upstream area of ​​the Thames (from the source to the Teddington Lock ).
  • Oxley; a "son" of Father Thames and his chief negotiator; Deity of the river of the same name.
  • Anna Maria de Burgh Coppinger; also Isis, wife of Oxley.
  • Ash; a "son" of Father Thames and god of the River Ash in Surrey.
  • Mama Thames; Goddess of the downstream area of ​​the Thames (from the Teddington Lock to the mouth of the river).
  • Beverley Brook; a "daughter" of Mama Thames and goddess of the watercourse of the same name in south London.
  • Cecilia Tyburn Thames; also Lady Ty, a "daughter" of Mama Thames and deity of the River Tyburn .
  • Fleet; a "daughter" of Mama Thames and deity of the river Fleet .
  • Lea; the eldest "daughter" of Mama Thames and goddess of the River Lea . Actually older than Mama Thames, it has recognized its authority as a tributary.
  • Brent; another childlike "daughter" of Mama Thames and goddess of the River Brent .

Other collaborators and allies of the Folly

  • Molly; the housekeeper at the Folly (Fae).
  • Dr. Abdul Haqq Walid; a world-renowned gastroenterologist and cryptopathologist who works closely with the Folly.
  • Frank Caffrey; Employees of "London Fire Brigade" and paratroopers of the reserve ; close ally of the folly.

Others

  • Augusta Coopertown; Danish emigrant from Hampstead .
  • Brandon Coopertown; her husband.
  • Isaac Newton ; the first wizard.
  • Richard "Lord" Grant; Peter's father.
  • Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Folsom; a senior ally of Lady Ty.
  • Simone; a very good friend of Peter in the 2nd part

background

The novel makes many references to the historical and mythological background of London and the Thames Valley .

Some of the characters are strongly associated with the Thames and its tributaries. Most prominent after the Thames itself are Beverley Brook, Lady Ty , Oxley and Lea . Effra, Ash, Brent and Crane are also mentioned.

reception

The novel was mostly praised by critics, especially the unusual combination of fantasy and crime elements, the humor and the breathtaking, exciting plot. Joshua S. Hill writes in Fantasy Review that The Rivers of London should be required reading for anyone who likes good fantasy, good writing, or good characters. The press of January 22, 2012 praised the humor and the exciting plot of the book. The Westdeutsche Zeitung wrote on January 31, 2012 that The Rivers of London was a successful mixture of fantasy novel and crime novel and also praised the humor. In its 03/2012 issue, TV Spielfilm and Brigitte magazine from May 30, 2012, compare the rivers of London with Harry Potter.

Critical voices like Matt Brown in The Londonist criticize the sometimes implausible acceptance of ghosts and the supernatural by the main characters and the lack of deep emotions.

The book is internationally successful and has been translated from English into French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Hungarian, Japanese and Czech, among others.

expenditure

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Press comments on the book "The Rivers of London" . dtv . Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  2. ^ Alison Flood: Galaxy shortlist gives Hollinghurst a second go against Booker rivals . The Guardian . October 17, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  3. ^ Joshua S. Hill: Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. (No longer available online.) In: Fantasy Book Review. Formerly in the original ; accessed on August 12, 2018 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.fantasybookreview.co.uk  
  4. ↑ Ben Aaronovitch: Ghost Train Through London. In: The press. January 22, 2012, accessed August 12, 2018 .
  5. ^ Press comments on the book "The Rivers of London" . dtv . Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  6. ↑ Matt Brown: Book Review: Rivers Of London By Ben Aaronovitch. In: Londonist. January 28, 2011, accessed August 12, 2018 .