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Ben Aaronovitch

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Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection Kindle Edition

by Ben Aaronovitch (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 5,585 ratings

Collects books from: Rivers of London

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Return to the world of Rivers of London in this first short story collection from bestselling author, Ben Aaronovitch. Tales from the Folly is a carefully curated collection that gathers together previously published stories and brand new tales in the same place for the first time.

Each tale features a new introduction from the author, filled with insight and anecdote offering the reader a deeper exploration into this absorbing fictional world. This is a must read for any Rivers of London fan.

Join Peter, Nightingale, Abigail, Agent Reynolds and Tobias Winter for a series of perfectly portioned tales. Discover what’s haunting a lonely motorway service station, who still wanders the shelves of a popular London bookshop, and what exactly happened to the River Lugg…

With an introduction from internationally bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Charlaine Harris.

This collection includes:
The Home Crowd Advantage
The Domestic
The Cockpit
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Granny
King of The Rats
A Rare Book of Cunning Device
A Dedicated Follower of Fashion
Favourite Uncle
Vanessa Sommer’s Other Christmas List
Three Rivers, Two Husbands and a Baby
Moments One-Three

Praise for the Rivers of London series:
“Ben Aaronovitch has created a wonderful world full of mystery, magic and fantastic characters. I love being there more than the real London” –Nick Frost
“A superlative blend of whimsy and grit…Jim Butcher meets Douglas Adams” —Publishers Weekly
“…my favorite current series… delightful, compulsive and fresh—with a love of multicultural London evident on every page, wonderfully diverse characters, magic, mystery, and mayhem. Once you start, you will literally not be able to put them down.” —Lavie Tidhar in Washington Post
“…recounted with deadpan British wit and irony…packed with fascinating historical detail… Lively and amusing and different.” —Kirkus

Print length

240 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

July 31, 2020
File size

2579 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Return to the world of Rivers of London in this first short story collection from #1 Sunday Times best-selling author, Ben Aaronovitch. Tales from the Folly is a carefully curated collection that gathers together previously published stories and brand new tales in the same place for the first time.Each tale features a new introduction from the author, filled with insight and anecdote offering the reader a deeper exploration into this absorbing fictional world. This is a must read for any Rivers of London fan.Join Peter, Nightingale, Abigail, Agent Reynolds and Tobias Winter for a series of perfectly portioned tales. Discover whats haunting a lonely motorway service station, who still wanders the shelves of a popular London bookshop, and what exactly happened to the River Lugg With an introduction from internationally bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Charlaine Harris. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

"Narrator Kobna Holdbrook–Smith reprises his role as Peter Grant in the first part of the audiobook, continuing his exemplary work voicing the sarcastic, young policeman turned wizard." ---AudioFile --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08BVW4Q6M
Publisher ‏ : ‎ JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc. (July 31, 2020)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 31, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2579 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 240 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #125,720 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #680 in Contemporary Short Stories
- #1,850 in Single Authors Short Stories
- #2,763 in Short Stories (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 5,585 ratings

About the author

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Ben Aaronovitch

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Ben Aaronovitch was born in 1964. Discovering in his early twenties that he had precisely one talent, he took up screenwriting at which he was an overnight success. He wrote for Doctor Who, Casualty and the world’s cheapest ever SF soap opera Jupiter Moon. He then wrote for Virgin’s New Adventures until they pulped all his books.

Then Ben entered a dark time illuminated only by an episode of Dark Knight, a book for Big Finish and the highly acclaimed but not-very-well-paying Blake’s 7 Audio dramas.

Trapped in a cycle of disappointment and despair Ben was eventually forced to support his expensive book habit by working for Waterstones as a bookseller. Ironically it was while shelving the works of others that Ben finally saw the light. He would write his own books, he would let prose into his heart and rejoice in the word. Henceforth, subsisting on nothing more than instant coffee and Japanese takeaway, Ben embarked on the epic personal journey that was to lead to Rivers of London (or Midnight Riot as it is known in the Americas).

Ben Aaronovitch currently resides in London and says that he will leave when they pry his city from his cold dead fingers.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

5,585 global ratings

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Kindle Customer

Nice ones

Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2023

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Very much true to the characters we know, and expanding their personalities. The new protagonists exist in their own right, complete and believable. But when are Peter and Beverley going to meet the baby God of the River Lugg? And what about the other promised short stories that haven't seen daylight in three years? Get on with it, Ben.
David

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Mary Soon Lee

A lovely addition for those who're already fans of Rivers of London.

Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2021

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This is a collection of short stories from Aaronovitch's marvelous Rivers of London, a series that blends urban fantasy and detective work. I love the series. I loved spending more time with the characters as I read this collection. I do not, however, think that it's the best introduction to Rivers of London. My preexisting fondness for the characters is part of why I liked these stories. Plus I think new readers might be mildly confused about the set up. Instead I'd highly recommend beginning with the first novel, variously titled "Midnight Riot" and "Rivers of London."

The first half of the book consists of stories narrated by Peter Grant, the main protagonist of the series. The second half contains stories from the perspective of the supporting cast. My favorite Peter Grant story was "The Cockpit" -- it would have been hard for me not to love a Peter Grant story that centers on bookshops and reading. My favorite of the remaining stories was "Favourite Uncle," a story that made me even fonder of Abigail than I already was, Abigail being a high schooler who wormed her way into a position as an apprentice magical practioner. With the single exception of "A Dedicated Follower of Fashion," I enjoyed every story. I wish there were more. Highly recommended for fans of Rivers of London. For those not already fans, I repeat my recommendation to begin the series at book one.

About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).

10 people found this helpful

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Joan I. Wendland

aaronovich delivers again

Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2023

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Short form or long Aaronovich never disappoints. Don’t miss out on these delightful interstitial stories. Extra points for the Abigail story

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2023

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Fantastic read for anyone!

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Recommend to Rivers fans, who prefer stories in one volume. Plus, Ben A’s hints of things to come!

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2020

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I was heartened by author Ben Aaronovitch’s closing note on page 135, which—during this horrible pandemic in the States—I greatly appreciate. See below.
“Until then, good luck, stay safe and keep the faith. —Ben Aaronovitch June 2020
Thank you, Ben A! I wish you the same.

I love having the Peter Grant stories together, especially the Kindle version of “A Rare Book of Cunning Device,” which was an Audible special. I enjoyed the stories about the Rivers of London’s secondary characters. There’s toddler god Lugg’s introduction to Dominic, Victor, and the three Teme goddesses. There are many good stories, but also a few I skimmed, including “A Dedicated Follower of Fashion.” It features disreputable people called the Deplorables, a name with a different and yet a similar sorta flavor here in the States. On the lighter side, this fashion story introduces Wanda, a baby genius locorum of the River Wandle, a tributary of the River Thames.

I skimmed The Moments, which are very short, short stories. I’m looking forward to hearing Kobna Holbrook-Smith narrate this audiobook. I’m re-reading Ben A’s introductions to the stories—and his hints of books, novellas, etc. to come.

8 people found this helpful

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Norris Ford 3

Tales of Writer Folly

Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2020

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Some of these have potential, but they're not really short stories, they are cash grab vignettes.
To be a short story, there should be some resolution, but he lazily cuts them short right before anything happens. He noted in the intro that he had the hang of the short form. He does not. This was only $2, so I'm not pissed, but he wasted so much potential here being lazy. Cut the pointless character stories and finish the good characters stories and you'll have something worthwhile

One person found this helpful

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kspeare

fun short stories

Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2020

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This is a collection of short stories from the world of Peter Grant and the Rivers of London. If you're a fan, that's all you need to know. If not, there are worse introductions to the Rivers of London world, but you'll be a little confused, and there are spoilers if that kind of thing matters to you. If you're going to read the full length books, begin at the beginning with MIDNIGHT RIOT, or you'll be super confused. I don't always start series at the beginning, but it *matters* with this one, as the first book sets up an arc that runs throughout the series.

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Lee Killough

A fun collection of snapshot stories

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2020

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I love the Rivers of London novels and enjoyed these short takes that like snapshots, as opposed to videos, give other characters from the series a bit of time in the limelight. Especially good reading for when you need, say, something short while waiting in the exam room for the doctor. Ben promises us Abigail's own novella...What Abigail Did That Summer. It's sure to involve the talking foxes. I hope it happens soon.

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Paul Tapner

The shorter cases of Peter Grant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 25, 2023

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A collection of short stories and pieces. This goes with the popular series of urban fantasy/crime novels called 'Rivers of London'. None of what it is in here will make any sense to anyone who isn't entirely up to date with the series.

So new readers go and start with book one 'Rivers of London'. Regular readers, read on.

This doesn't come from the regular publishers, and does appear to be a self published book. It's the usual slightly oversized size and typesetting of such. You can often find errors in the proofreading in these. But whilst I did find just one slight error in a sentence where a word seemed to be missing, that was that. So I wouldn't let it put you off.

Half of this book is short stories involving Peter Grant as the viewpoint character. The other half is stories involving some of the supporting characters. There's a good amount to choose from. There are introductions to each from the writer, and to the whole thing. He explains the genesis of it all and how each story came out and his ideas for them. Also where they are set in the chronology of the series. This is very useful. Especially with a couple of characters I had forgotten, since it had been a while for them and me.

There are some mild adult moments and language here. But few and far between.

There are six Peter stories. I really liked all of these. All use their setting really well. And have the advantage of being short and self contained. Sometimes in the novels there can be a lot going on and things can seemed a bit stretched or not getting attention, but these are all short and sharp and to the point. So that really works.

The second half has four stories featuring other characters. I didn't really care for the first of these, which is the one with the aforementioned adult stuff. But I didn't care for it because it was a new character, whom you wouldn't have gotten a proper intro to unless you read the intro to the story, and it did feel like it took a while to get to the point.

But that's the only entry here that didn't do it for me. The second one, featuring Abigail, has a superbly memorable ending. And there's also one with Dominic Croft from 'Foxglove Summer'. And the foxes. So that was great to come back to.

We also get three moments. Which are just scenes from the life of certain characters at certain times. The first of these involves Nightingale. To get something from his viewpoint is amazing, because of what it tells you about him. This really impacted and was a memorable read. The other two have other characters, but these also work.

Great collection, even with that one that didn't click for me, but that was just the odd one out. The afterwords from the writer promises more to come. I can't wait.

4 people found this helpful

Kinky Kid

Interesantes

Reviewed in Mexico on April 5, 2021

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Aunque el cuento corto no es mi género favorito, debo decir que esta colección de historias está súper entretenida, además de que te deja conocer más de algunos de los personajes que han aparecido a lo largo de la historia.

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CLEMOWBOOKS

Considering streaming these stories

Reviewed in Canada on February 13, 2021

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While the stories (including the novels and graphic novels) are easy to read as standalones, if you have a basic idea of the premise and some knowledge of the characters, I'm beginning to think I should assemble all the various pieces of the story and read them in sequence.
Unfortunately, Aaronovich keeps writing more tales.
And I can't stop reading them.

Funny, amusing, interesting, and above all... addictive.

Joyce Fernandez

Quite pointless

Reviewed in India on October 13, 2021

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I don't know if most of these fragments can be termed short stories. What, I wonder, was the objective. The introductions were equally pointless. Disappointed.

Régis de Saintdo

Fantastic

Reviewed in France on January 5, 2021

Verified Purchase

A big fan of this set, I already read some of these small stories before but they are so good!!

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Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection Kindle Edition

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