Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch is the third fantasy book that I read for the Once Upon a Time Challenge at Stainless Steel Droppings. I enjoyed this book very much. It was only the second book I read this month, but I suspect it will be my favorite for the month.
It is cross-genre fiction, blending fantasy and crime fiction. Most often I have seen it categorized as Urban Fantasy. The main character is a policeman and is actively investigating crimes so it also fits the definition of a police procedural.
Late last year, my husband, son, and I were discussing what constitutes an urban fantasy novel. "Urban" says set in a city. "Fantasy" says unreal, abnormal, supernatural. But the urban setting cannot be new to fantasy. So why do we now have a new sub-genre?
When I looked it up on the internet, it seems I am not the only one confused about this topic. Some said urban fantasies should have thriller elements. Some said an element of romance is required. One definition that made sense to me indicated that situations in urban fantasy novels take place in the real world we are used to, but fantastical or supernatural elements come into play, and possibly need to be controlled.
And, actually the term "urban fantasy" has been used since the 1980's to describe types of fiction. I guess it has just become more popular now. And yet, not easily defined.
I was first attracted to this series by the book covers... the UK covers, specifically. The first review I read had a great and very succinct description, so I am going to use it. This description is from Simon's Book Blog:
...a police procedural with a difference: Peter Grant is a trainee PC in the Metropolitan Police who discovers that he can see ghosts, and is immediately seconded to a tiny division of the force (tiny, as in - Peter brings the staff total up to two) which deals with crimes which have a supernatural element.I was intrigued by the police procedural element and had to give the book a try. Peter Grant is a probationary constable in the Metropolitan Police Service in London. He wants to be assigned to the CID, but it looks like he is headed for the dreaded Case Progression Unit, where he will be stuck doing paperwork. But right before this happens, he meets a ghost who witnessed a murder. And that leads to working with Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, in a specialist unit that deals with ghosts, spirits, vampires, you name it, when they are disrupting the peace in London.
This book was published with the title, Midnight Riot, in the US. The author has published two more books in the series, and a fourth, Broken Homes, is due to be published in the UK in July of this year and in the US in February 2014.
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