Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Did anyone think to check the building for personifications of Roman Gods

Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch

by 2 Comments

Modern day London: home to a vibrant mix of cultures, faiths, and hipster coffee shops. And, in Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series, also home to gods and goddesses, the fae, ghosts of past London, and the terrifying spirit of Mr Punch from the Punch & Judy puppet show. Really it’s not surprising that the Met Police need their own magic division to cope with a city where any building could embody the spirit of a 2500 year old anglo-roman who got worshipped as a […]

London’s Own Magician Cop (Bingo #4)

by 2 Comments

I would argue that the ‘urban’ part of Urban Fantasy is just as vital to the story as the fantasy part. I mean, could you imagine Kitty Norville outside of the wilds of Denver, or October Daye in any place other then San Francisco? Or perhaps Kate Daniels doesn’t require the damp heat of Atlanta and Sookie Stackhouse would be the same story set outside of her backwater swamp? Does Harry Dresden really need Chicago? (No, LIAR, Yes are the only correct answers here). And […]

Mindless fun

by Leave a Comment

I think going into this book I was expecting something more like the Shades of Magic series, rather than the paranormal mystery novel that it was. I enjoyed it nevertheless and plan on reading the next book in the series when I can get my hands on it. Like any origin story, there’s a lot of set-up in this first book of the series. It was fun entering this version of London with a dark, fantastical side, but the actual plot was a bit light. […]

He loves having people make jokes about his name… so feel free to pile in when introduced.

by Leave a Comment

According to official listings, The Furthest Station is Peter Grant #5.7, which if you ask me is an infuriating state of affairs. I love this series so much, mostly because of the people, places, and things in them. And it’s starting to feel like Aaronovitch is only writing tangents these days. There are the graphic novels plus this novella, but I really mostly want to know is WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH LESLEY MAY. I swear to you, every time I go to Wikipedia to see […]

Class-war evil supernatural black fungus

by 2 Comments

I raced through Rivers of London: Black Mould when I brought it home from the library (pro tip: if a book is brand new and it’s not on the shelves but it’s definitely in the catalog, ask your librarian to check the back room! maybe it hasn’t even been shelved yet!), but honestly it didn’t make much more of an impact on me other than to keep moving the Rivers of London universe forward for me. Not that that isn’t of value, because of course […]

Magic is about control, focus, and being able to concentrate when you’re drowning to death.

by Leave a Comment

I’m definitely rolling downhill with these Rivers of London/Peter Grant books. They are predictably a delight, and I catch myself racing through them and savoring them all at once. I’m very happy to report that The Hanging Tree provides a great moving-forward of things, myth-arc-wise. I had been a little worried after the two graphic novel intervals between this and Foxglove Summer. But we’re back on track, with delightful reference to the happenings of Body Work and Night Witch (and only a handful of contradictions). […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo