#RIvers of London

[spacecapart]

"I've never really understood what you might call physical love," said Nightingale. "But I do understand the bonds of friendship and family." (The Masquerades of Spring)

This was a bit of an experiment in colour palettes, but after The Masquerades of Spring finally confirmed that Nightingale is aroace I just had to draw something about it. The whole thing still makes me pretty emotional, honestly, and it felt fitting to finally finish this one during pride month.

(This is modern day Nightingale, but at some point I really do need to draw his 20-something y/o self as he was in Masquerades, he was so much fun.)

[darlingofdots]

take a shot every time Ben Aaronovitch describes a weirdly specific accent to mess with Kobna Holbrook-Smith specifically

[bigjinx]

I always love Beverly Brook but I especially love Beverly Brook in Foxglove Summer

[agardenandlibrary]

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

[astriiformes]

Been reading the second Rivers of London book, Moon Over Soho, and. Okay, for background, if you haven't read the books, they have a very academic magic system in which the principles of traditional English magic were codified by Isaac Newton alongside his more famous scientific work. Which is an inspired choice for a lot of reasons -- it's the exact time period there was a lot of systemization happening in the history of science, Newton specifically had a distinct interest in alchemy and the occult, etc. It works really well.

Anyway, I can't stop thinking about this one bit where a character mentions that a good number of the American wizards that fought in WWII were based out of the University of Pennsylvania because that would imply that the corresponding figure for the American magical tradition was probably Benjamin Franklin and god. That's really really good. I can totally see that guy as a wizard.

[freizusein]

Bev. Beverley Brook. Please let me meet you for coffee. Bev, I'm free on Thursday night. Beverley, River Thames goddess of the Beverley Brook. Your Hand In Marriage --- (did I mention I finished Stone and Sky?)

[nzbookwyrm]

Release date: 8 July 2025

'This isn't London. The rules are different up here, and so are the allegiances.'

Detective Sergeant Peter Grant takes a much-needed holiday up in Scotland. And he'll need one when this is over...

If more's the merrier, then it's ecstatic as his partner Beverley, their young twins, his mum, dad, his dad's band and their dodgy manager all tag along. Even his boss, DCI Thomas Nightingale, takes in the coastal airs as he trains Peter's cousin Abigail in the arcane arts.

And they'll need them too, because Scotland's Granite City has more than its fair share of history and mystery, myth ... and murder.

When a body is found in a bus stop, fresh from the sea, the case smells fishy from the off.

Something may be stirring beyond the bay - but there's something far stranger in the sky...

[travellingwiththedead]

‘I’ve never really understood what you might call physical love,’ said Nightingale. ‘But I do understand the bonds of friendship and family. You and Lucien are in love, and God knows that’s precious enough to be worth fighting for. But, more importantly, worth ignoring what polite society has to say on the matter.’

Ben Aaronovitch, "The Masquerades of Spring"

Ace!Nightingale, Ace!Nightingale ^.^

[sn0otchie]

[charleythehouseplant]

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

[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.

[youfecklessthug]

I need more blogs to follow so like/reblog this if you post:

Sherlock and co

Sherlock Holmes in general

Rivers of London

The mentalist

West wing

Midsomer murders

Agatha Christie

Psych

Leverage

Doctor who

(There are so many other things I like but I’m so tired this is all I can think of)

[bigjinx]

the lack of art for this series is honestly criminal

[hgeeky]

My year in books 2024 - book series

Over the year I managed to read 140 books (including audiobooks), not including the 4 I started and still have on the go, and 3 that I started and abandoned.

I read quite a few series, here are some thoughts on those (spoiler free). I'll probably follow up with another post or two for other fiction and non-fiction.

Rivers of London by Ben Aaranovitch

I've now read all 9 of the main novels (although I read the first two in 2023), plus Tales from the Folly and What Abigail Did That Summer, all as audiobooks.

Kobna Hollbrook-Smith is an incredible narrator

I absolutely adore the blend of magic, folklore and police bureaucracy. The acronyms and procedure are set out in a way that feels so true to life - with all the quirks that come with how these things translate into practice. And it makes the magic somehow more believable. Plus the characters are so often charming.

I'm looking forward to working my way through the novellas and graphic novels while I wait for the next instalment.

The Aubreyad/Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian

I managed all 20 of the completed novels, my first complete circumnavigation (at some point I'll try to get my hands on the unfinished 21st book)

This is very much thanks to @elodieunderglass posting about it here, which encouraged me to seek out the audiobooks (my library has the Ric Jerrom ones)

I had attempted Master & Commander once, many years ago, because a lot of my family like the books. My grandfather especially liked them, and I wish I had known him better (he died in 2000). But I couldn't cope with the naval jargon at the time and gave up.

I did enjoy the film, and I've enjoyed Hornblower on TV and the Sharpe books, so I do generally enjoy that sort of thing and the audiobooks turned out to be perfect for me.

Ric Jerrom does a wonderful job with the characters and I could let a lot of the naval jargon wash over me (occasionally I did look things up to try to get a better handle on things).

Jack and Stephen are now my blorbos for sure.

And I absoutely love how much O'Brian managed to fit into these books - the natural history, the mores of the time, even the politics, as well as the action, adventure and romance.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

I find these books rather moving, as well as fun

The combination works wonderfully for perking me up, helping me embrace life and find the joy in it, and that's always worth something

In fact it's remarkably impressive

The blend of characters is wonderful, the range of perspectives and personalities really helps me look at the world afresh, and not take things for granted so much.

Jackson Brodie by Kate Atkinson

I read the first one in 2023, and 2-5 in 2024

I've long adored Kate Atkinson's books, and I've read at least two of the Jackson Brodie books before (1 and 4) but thought I'd give the whole series a go

Perhaps not entirely as successful as some of her other books, I did still enjoy them all. I think Big Sky (number 5) was my favourite.

Phryne Fisher by Kerry Greenwood

I really enjoyed the TV adaptation a few years ago so I thought I'd give the audiobooks a go when I saw that my library has them

They are light and easy-going, with grate narration by Stephanie Daniel

I read the first one last year, and got through 2-8 this year. I particularly enjoyed 3 (Muder on the Ballarat Train), 4 (Death at Victoria Dock), 5 (The Green Mil Murder) and 8 (Urn Burial). I didn't mind a bit that I could remember some of the plots from the TV show.

The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir

I gave Gideon the Ninth a go after seeing a lot of posts about it on here, and finding I could get it through Audible plus (which I get occasionally when I can get a discount)

It was an absolute headfuck of a fever dream for most of it and I loved it

Eventually I used some credits to get Harrow and Nona and loved them too. Harrow was also a headfuck but I think I'd got slightly more into the swing of things for Nona.

I went back to relisten to Gideon to see what I made of it, after having more context and it was good in a different way. I enjoyed having more things make sense and I appreciated many of the characters a lot more.

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein

When I found out my library had the audiobooks read by Andy Serkis, I thought it would be rude not to borrow them

I enjoyed The Hobbit the most.

I found Return of the King a bit of a slog. It all felt too ponderous when it was focused on humans, elves or dwarves, but fortunately the hobbits, ents and orcs gave it a lot more life and helped get me through.

Edit: Oops I forgot The World of the White Rat!

World of the White Rat - T Kingfisher

I didn't start at the beginning and I've not read everything

I gave the books a go thanks to Audible Plus and now I'm in love with them

Swordheart is my favourite, I've now listened to it twice

I've also covered the first 3 Saint of Steel books and have number 4 ready and waiting

I've also listened to quite a few other T Kingfisher books which aren't in the same world (or at least, not obviously) and loved those too - more on those in a separate post (if I manage it)

[astriiformes]

Been thinking a lot about ace and aro representation lately thanks to one Mr. Thomas Nightingale, especially since finishing The Masquerades of Spring the other day, and one thing I keep circling back to is how much I love it when aspec character reveals are intrinsically tied to queer community.

There's always, inevitably backlash when characters are confirmed as ace or aro, often in the form of people who are upset about them being the "wrong" kind of queer or insinuating that aspec rep doesn't "count" as queer representation in the same way as other identities. So there's something really significant about reveals that position the character in question as sharing something important with other queer people. In The Masquerades of Spring, it's Nightingale affirming Gussie and Lucy's gay relationship in the same breath as he admits he doesn't really understand "physical love" himself. I am also reminded of another one of my favorite ace character reveals, from the podcast ars PARADOXICA, where Dr. Sally Grissom reassures a lesbian character (in the 1950s) that the secret of her identity is safe with her, as another queer woman. Both these moments not only reveal Sally and Nightingale to be aspec, but they position them as queer, with ties to other queer people and who feel something of a sense of queer community.

And that's so important. I've been in fandom for a long time, and I've seen the ways people treat canonically ace and aro characters, and one of the most common threads is to act like being aspec isn't queer enough to be respected, or to truly count as representation. So it means a lot to see creators take an obvious stand against that when they reveal characters' identities. It won't necessarily stop the bigots, but it means a lot to me as an aro/ace person to see. And I'd love to see more of it in fiction.

[summerday]

Ben Aaranovitch, Rivers of London book 1: Yeah so this police constable is a lesbian but she's super hard and no one is allowed to make jokes about it

Ben Aaranovitch, most recent novella: AND -AND THEN THE MAIN DETECTIVE GUY TURNS UP TO THE NEW YORK DRAG BALL IN A DRESS IN THE 1920s BECAUSE HE CAN