The mid-Atlantic view from here

[flemmings]

I'm a little... bemused, I suppose, reading American writers' comments on Rivers of London. LMB was apprehensive that Aaronovitch would kill off Nightingale-- because so many fantasy writers kill off the mentor-- and pleased that he didn't. Kate Elliott was delighted that Peter actually has to work to master Newtonian magic, instead of being a spesshul chosen one who can yanno *just do it* because he's spesshul chosen, or fae, or whatever.

Maybe I don't read enough fantasy. But seriously, it never occurred to me that Aaronovitch would do either because, well, it's just not that kind of world. Maybe it's the fact that it's Newtonian magic which predominates: suggests order, logic, and reason in the human world. (Genii locorum are another matter, of course.) Peter's not special. He's a rookie cop who nearly became a paper-pusher until it turned out he was qualified to become an apprentice mage. Become. So of course he has to learn, and of course he needs someone to teach him, someone who won't be killed in the first book because then where'd Peter be? British ensemble cast, is what this feels like. Much more so than, say, Kate Griffin; and you don't relentlessly prune your cast every season (or book) to leave the shining hero still shining (as Griffin does, grump.)

Comments

[incandescens]

For what it's worth, my Irene constantly has to work on vocabulary lists for the Language. ;)

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

Well of course Irene's world is ordered, logical and reasonable. It's a Library. Where disordered, illogical and unreasonable elements (the fae, the vampires) are seen to be such, and not the natural order of things. Thus there is no royal road to Language for Irene. More's the pity, perhaps.

[incandescens]

It's actually struck me that Coppelia's been taking steps to make sure Irene wasn't given a trainee before, due to Irene actually having more facility with the Speech than most Librarians, for, ahem, no good reason that she cares to tell Irene about. However, since Irene doesn't work with other Librarians that much, she hasn't actually realised this yet - or at least, hasn't realised that it might be a general and unusual thing, rather than just a case of hard work and a bit of luck.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

Age-fried brain can't recall if Coppelia knows Irene's err you know. (No spoilers for casual readers.) And did you explain in the work how the Speech operates?

[yumiyoshi.livejournal.com]

Damn straight, and that's why I love Aaronovitch.

(I would be amused, though, to see some Non-Newtonian magic. Bring on the quantum mechanics!)

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

I wonder if Aaronovitch is thinking of future quantum developments. So far it's been a bent form of trad-- deities, vampires, and oh well whatever those were in the third. I'll go with Peter's judgment of earth benders, though it struck me then as more Marvel comics, super villaib strikes the earth and the earth opens up.

[mvrdrk.livejournal.com]

Now that's a review that would get me to read a book! I'll get it from the library later this week.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

Oh do, so I have someone else to squee with.

[mvrdrk.livejournal.com]

I'm on the wait list for Midnight Riot. Don't know if that's the right place to start or not.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

That's the right one. It's what Rivers of London was called in the US.

I maintain it reads better in hardcover, but it still reads well.