#RIvers of London

[sn0otchie]

[evenaturtleduck]

One thing I really love about the Rivers of London series is that the narrator is this guy who is canonically interested in almost everything and periodically gets distracted during stakeouts because he stops to read a plaque, so it's very natural in the course of the narration for him to be like, "Hold that thought and let me tell you the history of this very tasteful lingerie shop in Soho."

[corainne]

Due to recent developments I wanted to recommend two books for people who might want to educate themselves and/or read up on Asexuality.

The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality by Julie Sonder Decker is a really good primer if you don’t really know anything about the topic, it explains the basics and goes into romantic attraction and sexual activity, talks about common assumption about asexuality and is really catered towards people with no previous knowledge. It’s a decade old now, so it is somewhat dated, but still an excellent start.

Meanwhile Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen talks a lot about the lived experience of asexuals, both as individuals and in relationships, I found it to be very insightful and validating, amd if you want to understand asexuals better I think this might be really helpful

If anyone has other recommendations please feel free to add them, especially fiction books, my bookshelves are severely lacking in that regard

[book--brackets]

Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce (1983-1988)

From now on I'm Alan of Trebond, the younger twin. I'll be a knight.

And so young Alanna of Trebond begins the journey to knighthood. Though a girl, Alanna has always craved the adventure and daring allowed only for boys; her twin brother, Thom, yearns to learn the art of magic. So one day they decide to switch places: Thom heads for the convent to learn magic; Alanna, pretending to be a boy, is on her way to the castle of King Roald to begin her training as a page. 

But the road to knighthood is not an easy one. As Alanna masters the skills necessary for battle, she must also learn to control her heart and to discern her enemies from her allies.

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (2011-present)

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.

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.

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.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (2018)

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father's inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty--until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk--grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh--Miryem's fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. She will face an impossible challenge and, along with two unlikely allies, uncover a secret that threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike.

Bartimaeus by Jonathan Stroud (2003-2005)

Nathaniel is a boy magician-in-training, sold to the government by his birth parents at the age of five and sent to live as an apprentice to a master. Powerful magicians rule Britain, and its empire, and Nathaniel is told his is the "ultimate sacrifice" for a "noble destiny."

If leaving his parents and erasing his past life isn't tough enough, Nathaniel's master, Arthur Underwood, is a cold, condescending, and cruel middle-ranking magician in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The boy's only saving grace is the master's wife, Martha Underwood, who shows him genuine affection that he rewards with fierce devotion. Nathaniel gets along tolerably well over the years in the Underwood household until the summer before his eleventh birthday. Everything changes when he is publicly humiliated by the ruthless magician Simon Lovelace and betrayed by his cowardly master who does not defend him.

Nathaniel vows revenge. In a Faustian fever, he devours magical texts and hones his magic skills, all the while trying to appear subservient to his master. When he musters the strength to summon the 5,000-year-old djinni Bartimaeus to avenge Lovelace by stealing the powerful Amulet of Samarkand, the boy magician plunges into a situation more dangerous and deadly than anything he could ever imagine.

The Hollows by Kim Harrison (2004-present)

All the creatures of the night gather in "the Hollows" of Cincinnati, to hide, to prowl, to party . . . and to feed.

Vampires rule the darkness in a predator-eat-predator world rife with dangers beyond imagining—and it's Rachel Morgan's job to keep that world civilized.

A bounty hunter and a witch with serious sex appeal and an attitude, she'll bring 'em back alive, dead . . . or undead.

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (2017-2018)

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around--and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was just five years old, he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the form of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever. 

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? And who is the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams?

Septimus Heap by Angie Sage (2005-2013)

Septimus Heap, the seventh son of the seventh son, disappears the night he is born, pronounced dead by the midwife. That same night, the baby's father, Silas Heap, comes across an abandoned child in the snow--a newborn girl with violet eyes. Who is this mysterious baby girl, and what really happened to the Heaps' beloved son Septimus?

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (1968)

The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone…

…so she ventured out from the safety of the enchanted forest on a quest for others of her kind. Joined along the way by the bumbling magician Schmendrick and the indomitable Molly Grue, the unicorn learns all about the joys and sorrows of life and love before meeting her destiny in the castle of a despondent monarch—and confronting the creature that would drive her kind to extinction….

Redwall by Brian Jacques (1986-2011)

Redwall Abbey, tranquil home to a community of peace-loving mice, is threatened by Cluny the Scourge savage bilge rat warlord and his battle-hardened horde. But the Redwall mice and their loyal woodland friends combine their courage and strength.

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (2013-2020)

With her glass slippers and devotion to good deeds, Sophie knows she'll earn top marks at the School for Good and join the ranks of past students like Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks and wicked black cat, seems a natural fit for the villains in the School for Evil.

The two girls soon find their fortunes reversed--Sophie's dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School for Good, thrust among handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.

But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are?

[spacecapart]

Since I'm a little bit worried about money this month, I thought I'd make a big post plugging my online shop!

These prints are just a small selection of what you can find on my Storenvy, which there's a link to on my blog page and in my pinned post. I've got more than 60 prints of various sizes, and nearly 150 button badge designs featuring characters from dozens of fandoms!

I'd really appreciate it if you checked it out, and just sharing this post is a huge help as well.

[philcoulsonismyhero]

I'm doing some rereading, and this bit in Broken Homes always cracks me up. You're both nerds, lads, let's move on

(Transcribed in alt text)

[angeloftheeasterngate]

Rivers of London fans, how are we doing in the wake of Nightingale being canonically asexual?

[agardenandlibrary]

Peter: you can't call them black magicians.

Nightingale: given that we are likely the only people who will ever use this terminology, how important is this, really

Peter: Some people would call *me* a black magician.

Nightingale: then what should we call them?

Peter: ethically challenged magicians.

One book later:

[suddenly-frankenstein]

the bunch of Thomas Nightingale (and Toby) from the "Rivers of London" commissions I did for @buntcadger

god, I haven't read the books yet (!!) but I already love this man sm :)

+ a lil silly photo booth series

[darlingofdots]

a scene I would like to see: somebody throws Peter Grant into a random body of water to get rid of him, except said body of water takes one look at him, says "hell no, I want nothing to do with this, you smell like an Isaac and I don't have the insurance to deal with flooding like that if the Thames girls get mad at me, noooo thank you" and just spits him right back out. right in front of the fucker who threw him in.

[sn0otchie]

[dsudis]

I’ve been rereading the Rivers of London books the past couple of weeks, and it’s just now struck me:

Edwin Payne and Thomas Nightingale were born in the same year.

I have no idea what to do with this information, but!

[corainne]

Reasons I love Abdul Haqq Walid, an incomplete list

he's a whole ass gastroenterologist with students and papers and shit, and does the whole magic pathologist thing in his spare time

always doing his best to keep these idiots (affectionate) alive

would probably chain Nightingale to a hospital bed if truly necessary

was like "that's some nice magic tricks you have, but I'll stick with medicine"

[spacecapart]

'Some days it seems so long ago, and some days…'

I'm deeply fond of Thomas Nightingale and also he frequently makes me very sad, so I wanted to draw something about that. Also, I figured if anyone would suit Leyendecker illustration vibes, which I'm really into right now, he would.

(Drawn in alcohol markers and coloured fineliners, and image described in alt text.)

Edit: I have a few A5 prints of this image available in my online shop! Check out my blog page or pinned post for a link to my Storenvy.

[philcoulsonismyhero]

I Should be sleeping, but unfortunately I finished relistening to Moon Over Soho again earlier after I finished Amongst Our Weapons again the other day and decided to just loop back around, and I continue to be Deeply not normal about Thomas Nightingale.

2396 names of wizards who died in WWII and he personally carved every single one of them into the remembrance wall at Casterbrook. 3 out of 5 of every military aged wizard in Britain died and the rest of them gave up the craft due to injury and/or trauma, but he persisted, alone. He started aging backwards in his 70s but stopped at the approximate age he was during the war. He still remembers how and where all of his friends died. "Some days, it seems so long ago, and some days..."

I keep thinking of the DS9 pilot and the Prophets bringing Sisko back to his wife's death over and over again because "you exist here". Nightingale still exists in the war. And then Peter comes along and drags him into the 21st century and refuses to let him stay wallowing in his grief and spots Exactly all the ways in which he's broken and needs someone to keep the cracks from widening. Peter’s mum says what would one more killing be to a man with blood on his hands, and Peter thinks of the strain he's seen in Nightingale and decides no, no more, there's Always Another Way. For moral and ethical reasons, but also because Nightingale has been damaged enough. And it started when he put his foot down over the jazz vampires and threw 'what did all your friends die for?' in Nightingale's face.

I am. So very Not Normal about them in general and about that conversation in particular

[onaa-ohokthen]

It's always amusing reading Rivers of London series reviews by Americans where they complain that Kim isn't "realistic". Yeah no shit, but she's EXACTLY what Americans look like to non-americans. Weird jesus bitches who are too fond of guns and authority.