Midnight Riot [Mass Market Paperback]

Ben Aaronovitch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2011

Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Fresh, original and a wonderful read. I loved it.”—Charlaine Harris

“Midnight Riot is what would happen if Harry Potter grew up and joined the Fuzz. It is a hilarious, keenly imagined caper.”—Diana Gabaldon

“Filled with detail and imagination . . . Aaronovitch is a name to watch.”—Peter F. Hamilton

“The perfect blend of CSI and Harry Potter.” --io9.com

“Aaronovitch has created a fun and funny character in Grant, who displays wit more than snark (a welcome attitude) and shows he can think on his feet. . . . It's a great start to what will hopefully be a long series of adventures.”--SFrevu.com

About the Author

Ben Aaronovitch was born in London in 1964 and had the kind of dull routine childhood that drives a man to drink or to science fiction. He is a screenwriter, with early notable success on BBC television’s legendary Doctor Who, for which he wrote some episodes now widely regarded as classics, and which even he is quite fond of. He has also penned several groundbreaking TV tie-in novels. After a decade of such work, he decided it was time to show the world what he could really do and embarked on his first serious original novel. The result is Midnight Riot, the debut adventure of Peter Grant.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; Original edition (February 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034552425X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345524256
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #275,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars London starring., February 13, 2011

By 

J. Shurin "carnivore" (London) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Midnight Riot (Mass Market Paperback)

Rivers of London is the long-awaited original series from popular TV and tie-in writer Ben Aaronovitch. A darkly comedic police procedural, Rivers is a deliciously more-ish book that is nearly impossible to put down.

The book (and presumably, the forthcoming series) features Peter Grant, a somewhat mediocre police officer who suddenly discovers that he's, well, magical. Or at least, suddenly aware of the magical. Young Grant was on the fast track to a bureaucratic desk job, but now his life is much, much more interesting. Grant is poached for duty by Chief Inspector Nightingale, the Met's divisional head (and the entire division) for Creepy Magical Stuff.

It all happens just in time. The Rivers of London, at least, their magical embodiments, are having a turf war - it is in the pushing and shoving phase, but still, if it goes wrong, the city will be in bad shape. Grant is also juggling a second supernatural case - a nasty serial-killer of a poltergeist is beating people to death and making their faces fall off.

The Occult Detective has transformed into a recognisable genre stereotype. The 'O.D.' generally has a supernatural knack but, more commonly, solves problems through fast talking, "people skills" and general cunning. He's a bit of an outsider, something exacerbated by the fact that he Knows stuff that The Rest of Us don't. He's the tarnished knight type - cynical due to the problems in his own past. And 98% percent of the time? He wears a long coat.

Peter Grant (and CDI Nightingale) are the most recent branches of the motley family tree that includes Felix Castor, Harry Dresden, Johns Taylor, Constantine and Silence, and even, arguably, Doctor Who. All slightly-detached, urbane fellows with an outsider complex, floor-length coats and a knack of spotting solutions from a Lovecraftian angle. If Peter Grant bucks the trend, it is only because he still wears his patrolman's uniform.

If anything, Grant is a little too much of an outsider. He blithely strolls through the book with a clinical detachment that borders on the unflappable - even when he's caught on fire or, you know, someone's face falls off. Part of it is Mr. Aaronovitch's humorously objective writing style - but there are still points where I wanted to check the lead for a pulse. Like Constantine or Castor, Grant needs the occasional smack to remind him that he's still part of the human race - but unlike those two, it isn't rooted in cynicism, more an airy casual acceptance of events that is, at times, even more alien.

Where Mr. Aaronovitch separates his work from the trench-coated crowd is with his depiction of London. I'm a PROUD LONDONER (e.g. I moved here ten years ago, still cheer for foreign sports teams and will inevitably move to the suburbs as soon as I save up the money) and was wildly pleased to see proper descriptions of MY city.

Physically, emotionally and historically, Mr. Aaronovitch captures the unglamorous essence of urban London life. From stumbling over drunks to sweating on the tube, the informative plaques on every paving stone and the insane difficulty of Central London driving... this is the city in all of its banal glory. John Constantine and Felix Castor wander through Londons soaked through with mysticism - Peter Grant patrols streets with lined with CCTV and German tourists. Grant's detachment helps convey his (and, clearly, Mr. Aaronovitch's) love/hate relationship with the city as well. It is insane, clunky and messy, but who could possibly imagine living anywhere else?

Peter Grant is a late, and welcome, addition to a long line of irritable, sartorially-questionable saviours. If the he doesn't seem to be taking things too seriously... and the entire narrative style is a bit tongue in cheek... and the setting is a bit grittier than expected... that all sums up to an entertaining atmosphere that keeps the pages turning. There may be not a lot of thriller-style tension, but there is a lot of action, all excellently orchestrated in the streets and streams of London.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Midnight Riot is a fast paced and off beat Urban Fantasy that features a quirky, curious and altogether charming main character, January 12, 2011

By 

Steph "booklover" (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Midnight Riot (Mass Market Paperback)

(What's this?)

Midnight Riot is a fast paced and off beat Urban Fantasy that features a quirky, curious and altogether charming main character named Peter Gordon.

Peter Gordon wants the glamour of working for the London police but finds that his curiosity and tendency to get `distracted' have put him on the fast track to a desk job. That is until he happens to be at the scene of a vicious and baffling murder and discovers some new information in the investigation from a `ghost' who claims to have witnessed the murder. In an attempt to restart his career Peter decides to stake out the site and get more information from the ghost. But what he finds instead is a distinguished gentleman named Thomas Nightingale who questions him! Thomas Nightingale happens to be a famed Chief Investigator and the last registered wizard in England. Soon Peter find himself assigned to the Chief Investigator as his apprentice and assistant. It turns out Peter has a rare gift for magic and a clever mind which the Inspector intends to use. Peter soon discovers a world that he never knew existed. Strange and horrible beings such as vampires and trolls, as well as familiar and mysterious enemies. As the Inspector and Peter try to pursue the murderer and puzzle the pieces of the seemingly unrelated murders, danger comes from a very unexpected place.

This story was fun to read as Peter is quickly introduced to an amazing and vivid if dangerous magical new world. Peter is game for trying almost anything and his adventurous are entertaining to read. Those who enjoy Jim Butcher's Dresden series or Simon Green's Nightside and Secret Histories series should give this new book a try. Because it is just starting is doesn't yet have the loveable cast found in other series. And the English vernacular and English cultural references can sometimes detract from the story. (Sometimes I didn't understand exactly what the author meant and had difficulty orienting myself.) Peter is a very likeable character who also happens to be very cunning and curious. So you just know he is bound to get into more trouble, which only makes the story more entertaining. While Peter doesn't have quite the charm, need for his own brand of justice (he is a cop after all) or delightful humor that the rebels in the other series have, Peter is a fresh and original character that kept me fascinated.

This new series has a little more horror and a bit more serious tone than Butcher's Dresden Files and Simon Green's Nightside and Secret Histories series. Overall, I prefer the prior series 1st books better but Midnight Riot is definitely an imaginative and fun winner which lovers of urban fantasy and likeable characters will want to read.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Completely enjoyable new paranormal series, January 20, 2011

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Midnight Riot (Mass Market Paperback)

(What's this?)

In Midnight Riot, the debut novel by Ben Aaronovitch, Peter Grant is a "copper," a newly-minted London bobby who's just not that good at it. His career seems headed for the paperwork brigade until, when investigating a strange murder, he gets a tip from a bizarre informant - a local ghost. Grant is soon noticed by Thomas Nightingale, a one-man paranormal investigative unit in the London police department. Once you get past the obligatory "yes (young protagonist), magic is REAL" moment, Grant is apprenticed to Nightingale, who sets out to teach him about magic and how to police the various supernatural creatures that populate London, all the while trying to track down a spectral killer who is wreaking bloody havoc on a seemingly random array of innocent bystanders.

Throughout this novel I was reminded of both Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series and Neil Gaiman's American Gods: A Novel. Like Butcher, Aaronovitch's characters are vivid, unforgettable, and manage to hook you in very little time. Like American Gods, key figures of mythology factor into the story, if only in a supporting role. There's also a Bones/Law & Order vibe that makes me think this was written with a TV adaptation in mind. Aaronovitch keeps things light and humorous, even when the events are anything but, and he's got a great sense of pacing. He also sets the stage for what one hopes will be many more supernatural adventures in Peter Grant's London.

It's not without a few flaws (nothing a more thorough editing job wouldn't fix, anyway), but Midnight Riot was an absolute blast to read and was more than enough to convince me to sign on to Peter Grant's adventures for the long haul. If you're a fan of the kind of paranormal adventures Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison and Harry Connelly dish out, you'll definitely want to add Midnight Riot to your "must read" list.