Review: False Value

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

The Rivers of London series is one of my favorites in urban fantasy. The fabulous character development and comparable world-building are such a pleasure to read. Our latest outing, False Value, opens with Peter Grant working his new job, as security for the Serious Cybernetics Corporation. Or is he really? Readers left hanging on the outcome of Peter's suspension at the end of Lies Sleeping may initially be shocked, but hang in there. Nightingale still has his young apprentice's back. The action in this novel is multilayered and complex and for a while, in the middle, the reader may wonder where it's all headed. We have American practitioners (including one who is as powerful as the Nightingale), a rogue Aussie tech magnate, an analytical engine a la Ada Lovelace, references to the Lilly (putatively polymath Mary Somerville) and the Rose (a fictional Rosemarie Louise Moreno, a practitioner from the past who foresaw a portal into darkness), and a positively scary set of drones. Aaronovitch touches upon the power and reach of modern tech and we don't need the addition of magic to see the implications of societal risks. Meanwhile, we see more of Molly's "sister," Foxglove, and new security and interesting artwork she offers the Folly. I was so glad to have more Sahra Guleed! And let's not forget Beverley and their boisterous Bulge, and Peter's cousin, Abigail, who is on hand in the background, already hard at work in training. Though Peter's skill with formae continues to grow the most impressive duel is unquestionably that between the Nightingale and a mysterious American practitioner, who I wonder if we will see more of in the future.

This was a satisfying entry for the series and I'll have to console myself, since we probably won't see another for a few years, by listening (a few times!) to Kobna Holdbrook-Smith narrate this novel. If you haven't listened to his narration, I simply cannot recommend it highly enough.

I received a Digital Review Copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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