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{{Short description|Series of urban fantasy novels by Ben Aaronovitch}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2020}}
{{for|more information on subterranean rivers of London|Subterranean rivers of London}}

{{Infobox book series
{{Infobox book series
|name = Peter Grant
|name
| image = [[File:Rivers of London logo.png|frameless|class=skin-invert]]
|image =
|image_caption =
|image_caption =
| books = {{Plainlist|*''[[Rivers of London (novel)|Rivers of London]]'' (2011)
|books = '''In timeline order<ref name="sequence"/>'''<br/><br/>[[Rivers of London (novel)|Rivers of London]]<br>("Midnight Riot" in the US) ''(2011)''<br/>[[Moon Over Soho]] ''(2011)''<br/>[[Whispers Under Ground]] ''(2012)''<br/>[[Broken Homes]] ''(2013)''<br/>Body Work (graphic novel) ''(2016)''<br/>[[Foxglove Summer]] ''(2014)''<br/>Night Witch (graphic novel) ''(2016)''<br/>[[The Furthest Station]] (novella) ''(2017)''<br/>[[The Hanging Tree (novel)|The Hanging Tree]] ''(2016)''<br/>Black Mould (graphic novel) ''(2017)''<br/>Lies Sleeping ''(2018)''<br/>The October man (novella) ''(2019) ''<br/>
*''[[Moon Over Soho]]'' (2011)
|author = [[Ben Aaronovitch]] (Novels and Graphic Novels)<br/>[[Andrew Cartmel]] (Graphic Novels)
*''[[Whispers Under Ground]]'' (2012)
|country = United Kingdom<!-- Do not link, per WP: OVERLINK -->
*''[[Broken Homes]]'' (2013)
|language = English<!-- Do not link, per WP: OVERLINK -->
*''[[Foxglove Summer]]'' (2014)
|genre = [[Urban Fantasy]]
*''[[The Hanging Tree (Aaronovitch novel)|The Hanging Tree]]'' (2016)
|publisher = [[Victor Gollancz Ltd|Gollancz]]
*''[[The Furthest Station]]'' (2017)
|pub_date = 2011-2018
*''Lies Sleeping'' (2018)
|media_type = Print}}
*''The October Man'' (2019)
*''False Value'' (2020)
*''What Abigail Did That Summer'' (2021)
*''Amongst Our Weapons'' (2022)
*''Winter's Gifts'' (2023)
*''The Masquerades of Spring'' (2024)}}<!-- Please do not add graphics to this list of the novels.-->


| author = [[Ben Aaronovitch]]
The '''''Peter Grant series''''' (alternatively, the '''''Rivers of London series''''' or the '''''PC Grant series''''')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9781473218383|title=The PC Grant Series|publisher=[[Orion Books]]|accessdate=8 July 2017}}</ref> is a series of [[urban fantasy]] novels by English author [[Ben Aaronovitch]], and comics/graphic novels by Aaronovitch and [[Andrew Cartmel]], illustrated by [[Lee Sullivan (comics)|Lee Sullivan]].
| country = United Kingdom<!-- Do not link, per WP: OVERLINK -->
| language = English<!-- Do not link, per WP: OVERLINK -->
| genre = [[Urban Fantasy]]
| publisher = [[Victor Gollancz Ltd|Gollancz]]
| pub_date = 2011–present
| media_type = Print
}}


The '''''Rivers of London''''' '''series''' (alternatively, the '''''Peter Grant''''' or the '''''PC Grant''''' '''series'''<ref>{{cite book |title=The PC Grant Novels |url=https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/titles/ben-aaronovitch/the-pc-grant-novels/9781473214385/ |publisher=Orion Publishing Group |access-date=4 March 2023 |date=13 July 2018|isbn=9781473214385 }}</ref>) is a series of [[urban fantasy]] novels by English author [[Ben Aaronovitch]], and comics/graphic novels by Aaronovitch and [[Andrew Cartmel]], illustrated by [[Lee Sullivan (comics)|Lee Sullivan]].
== Plot overview ==


== Bibliography ==
=== Novels and novellas ===
=== Novels and novellas ===
==== ''Rivers of London'' ====
(American Title: ''Midnight Riot'')
{{Main article |Rivers of London (novel)}}
The novel centres around the adventures of Peter Grant, a young officer in the [[Metropolitan Police]]; who, following an unexpected encounter with a ghost, is recruited into the small branch of the Met that deals with magic and the supernatural.


{{Book table |background=#FF5F5A |book_number= | title= |publish_date= |aux1=Length |isbn= |books=
Peter Grant, having become the first English apprentice wizard in over seventy years, must immediately deal with two different but ultimately inter-related cases. In one he must find what is possessing ordinary people and turning them into vicious killers, and in the second he must broker a peace between the two warring gods of the River Thames and their respective families.<ref name="SFX">{{cite web|url=http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/01/14/rivers-of-london-by-ben-aaronovitch-%E2%80%93-book-review/ |title=Rivers Of London by Ben Aaronovitch&nbsp;– book review |publisher=''SFX'' |date=14 January 2011 |first=Saxon |last=Bullock|accessdate=25 November 2011}}</ref>
{{Book list
| book_number = 1
| title = [[Rivers of London (novel)|Rivers of London]]


| alt_title = Midnight Riot
==== ''Moon over Soho'' ====
| publish_date = January 2011
{{Main article|Moon Over Soho}}
| aux1 = 392 pages
Following the events of ''Rivers of London'' Police Constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant is called in to help investigate the brutal murder of a journalist in the downstairs toilet of the [[Groucho Club]] in London's [[Soho]] district. At the same time Peter is disturbed by a number of deaths of amateur and semi-professional jazz musicians that occurred shortly after they performed. Despite the apparently natural causes of death each body exhibits a magical signature which leads Peter to believe that the deaths are far from natural.<ref name="telegraph">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8594001/Genre-Science-Fiction.html |work= The Daily Telegraph |title = Book Review|first=Peter |last=Ingham |date=24 June 2011 |accessdate=28 November 2011}}</ref>
| isbn = 9780575097568
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Peter Grant, having become the first English apprentice wizard in over seventy years, must immediately deal with two different but ultimately interrelated cases. In one he must find what is possessing ordinary people and turning them into vicious killers, and in the second he must broker a peace between the two warring gods of the River Thames and their respective families.<ref name="SFX">{{cite web|url=http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/01/14/rivers-of-london-by-ben-aaronovitch-%E2%80%93-book-review/ |title=Rivers Of London by Ben Aaronovitch&nbsp;– book review |publisher=SFX |date=14 January 2011 |first=Saxon |last=Bullock|accessdate=25 November 2011}}</ref>
}}
{{Book list
| book_number = 2
| title = [[Moon Over Soho]]
| publish_date = October 2011
| aux1 = 375 pages
| isbn = 9780575097605
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Police Constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant is called in to help investigate the brutal murder of a journalist in the downstairs toilet of the [[Groucho Club]] in London's [[Soho]] district. At the same time, Peter is disturbed by a number of deaths of amateur and semi-professional jazz musicians that occurred shortly after they performed. Despite the apparently natural causes of death, each body exhibits a magical signature which leads Peter to believe that the deaths are far from natural.<ref name="telegraph">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8594001/Genre-Science-Fiction.html |work= The Daily Telegraph |title = Book Review|first=Peter |last=Ingham |date=24 June 2011 |accessdate=28 November 2011}}</ref>
}}
{{Book list
| book_number = 3
| title = [[Whispers Under Ground]]
| publish_date = June 2012
| aux1 = 418 pages
| isbn = 9780575097643
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = The son of a US senator is stabbed to death, and magic involvement is suspected. An FBI agent is involved with DC Grant's case. Meanwhile, in the sewers near the tunnels of London's Underground, something is happening.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Walter |first=Damien |date=2012-11-21 |title=London: fantasy's capital city |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2012/nov/21/london-fantasy-capital-city-damien-walter |access-date=2024-05-31 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
}}
{{Book list
| book_number = 4
| title = [[Broken Homes]]
| publish_date = February 2013
| aux1 = 357 pages
| isbn = 9780575132467
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Another killer is on the loose, and the prime suspect could be an associate of the twisted magician known as the Faceless Man. A town planner goes under a tube train, and a grimoire has been stolen. And when Peter gets word of something very odd happening in Elephant and Castle, he has to investigate whether there is a connection.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.gollancz.co.uk/titles/ben-aaronovitch/broken-homes/9780575132481/ |title=Broken Homes |date=2018-07-12 |isbn=978-0-575-13248-1 |language=en-US |last1=Aaronovitch |first1=Ben |publisher=Orion Publishing Group, Limited }}</ref>
}}
{{Book list
| book_number = 5
| title = [[Foxglove Summer]]
| publish_date = November 2014
| aux1 = 377 pages
| isbn = 9780575132504
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Leaving London, Peter goes to a small village in Herefordshire, where there appears to be a supernatural element to the disappearance of two local girls. Having to cope with local cops, as well as local gods, Peter finds the mystery deepens.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch book review - Fantasy Book Review |url=https://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/Ben-Aaronovitch/Foxglove-Summer.html |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=www.fantasybookreview.co.uk}}</ref>
}}
{{Book list
| book_number = 6
| title = [[The Hanging Tree (Aaronovitch novel)|The Hanging Tree]]
| publish_date = November 2016
| aux1 = 387 pages
| isbn = 9780575132559
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Back in London, Peter faces the legacy of London's hangings. Investigating suspicious murders in the world of the super-rich, Peter finds himself in a world different from the one he is used to investigating.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.gollancz.co.uk/titles/ben-aaronovitch/the-hanging-tree/9780575132580/ |title=The Hanging Tree |date=2018-07-12 |isbn=978-0-575-13258-0 |language=en-US |last1=Aaronovitch |first1=Ben |publisher=Orion }}</ref>
}}
{{Book list
| book_number = 7
| title = [[The Furthest Station]] (novella)
| publish_date = June 2017
| aux1 = 144 pages
| isbn = 9781596068339
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Peter needs to deal with commuting ghosts, forgetful commuters, and deciphering a ghost's urgent message.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.gollancz.co.uk/titles/ben-aaronovitch/the-furthest-station/9781473222434/ |title=The Furthest Station |date=2018-07-13 |isbn=978-1-4732-2243-4 |language=en-US |last1=Aaronovitch |first1=Ben |publisher=Gollancz }}</ref> ''Set between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree''
}}
{{Book list
| book_number = 8


==== ''Whispers Under Ground'' ====
| title = Lies Sleeping
{{Main article|Whispers Under Ground}}
| publish_date = November 2018
The son of a US senator is stabbed to death, and magic involvement is suspected. An FBI agent is involved with DC Grant's case. Meanwhile, in the sewers near the tunnels of London's Underground, something is happening.
| aux1 = 406 pages
| isbn = 9781473207813
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Peter continues the investigations into Martin Chorley.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.gollancz.co.uk/titles/ben-aaronovitch/lies-sleeping/9781473207844/ |title=Lies Sleeping |date=2018-07-13 |isbn=978-1-4732-0784-4 |language=en-US |last1=Aaronovitch |first1=Ben |publisher=Orion }}</ref>
}}


{{Book list
==== ''Broken Homes'' ====
| book_number = 9
{{Main article|Broken Homes}}
| title = The October Man
Another killer is on the loose, and the prime suspect could be an associate of the twisted magician known as the Faceless Man. A town planner goes under a tube train, and a grimoire has been stolen. And when Peter gets word of something very odd happening in Elephant and Castle, he has to investigate whether there is a connection.
| publish_date = May 2019
| aux1 = 180 pages
| isbn = 9781473224315
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Tobias Winter, the only apprentice in the "Abteilung komplexe und diffuse Angelegenheiten" (KDA) (Department for Complex and Diffuse Matters – the German equivalent of the Folly) investigates a suspicious death in a vineyard near the [[Moselle]]. His local colleague is Vanessa Sommer, who joins the KDA at the end as well.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.gollancz.co.uk/titles/ben-aaronovitch/the-october-man/9781473224322/ |title=The October Man |date=2019-11-05 |isbn=978-1-4732-2432-2 |language=en-US |last1=Aaronovitch |first1=Ben |publisher=Orion Publishing Group, Limited }}</ref>
}}
{{Book list
| book_number = 10
| title = False Value
| publish_date = February 2020
| aux1 = 404 pages
| isbn = 9781473207851
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Rather than sit around, he takes a job with émigré Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner's new London start-up: the Serious Cybernetics Company.<ref>{{cite web |title=False Value By Ben Aaronovitch |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/538836/false-value-by-ben-aaronovitch/9780756416461/ |website=penguinrandomhouse.com |publisher=Penguin Random House |accessdate=6 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=False Value By Ben Aaronovitch |date=21 May 2019 |url=https://www.gollancz.co.uk/titles/ben-aaronovitch/false-value/9781473207882/ |publisher=Gollancz |isbn=9781473207882 |accessdate=23 September 2019}}</ref>
}}


{{Book list
==== ''Foxglove Summer'' ====
| book_number = 11
{{Main article|Foxglove Summer}}
| title = What Abigail Did That Summer (novella)
Leaving London, Peter goes to a small village in Herefordshire, where there appears to be a supernatural element to the disappearance of two local girls. Having to cope with local cops, as well as local gods, Peter finds the mystery deepens.
| publish_date = March 2021
| aux1 = 232 pages
| isbn = 9781473224346 | line_color = novel
| short_summary = Ghost hunter, fox whisperer, troublemaker. It is the summer of 2013 and Abigail Kamara has been left to her own devices. This might, by those who know her, be considered a mistake. While her cousin, police constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant, is off in the sticks, chasing unicorns, Abigail is chasing her own mystery..<ref>{{cite web |title=False Value By Ben Aaronovitch |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/538836/false-value-by-ben-aaronovitch/9780756416461/ |website=penguinrandomhouse.com |publisher=Penguin Random House |accessdate=6 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=False Value By Ben Aaronovitch |date=21 May 2019 |url=https://www.gollancz.co.uk/titles/ben-aaronovitch/false-value/9781473207882/ |publisher=Gollancz |isbn=9781473207882 |accessdate=23 September 2019}}</ref> ''Set between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree, before the Furthest Station''
}}
{{Book list
| book_number = 12
| title = Amongst Our Weapons
| publish_date = April 2022
| aux1 = 294 pages
| isbn = 9780756414832 | line_color = novel
| short_summary = Peter Grant, now an expectant father, is tasked to investigate a suspicious magical death in London's silver vaults and uncover a centuries-old mystery.<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Amongst our weapons |url=https://www.goldsborobooks.com/product/amongst-our-weapons |access-date=27 September 2022 |website=Goldsboro Books}}</ref>
}}
{{Book list
| book_number = 13
| title = Winter's Gifts (novella)
| publish_date = June 2023
| aux1 = 294 pages
| isbn = 9781473224377
| line_color = novel
| short_summary =It follows FBI Agent Kimberley Reynolds, introduced in ''Whispers Underground'', who has subsequently become an ally of the Folly. ''Set after Lies Sleeping''
}}
{{Book list
| book_number = 14
| title = The Masquerades of Spring (novella)
| publish_date = September 2024
| aux1 = 165 pages
| isbn =
9781645242116
| line_color = novel
| short_summary =''The Masquerades of Spring'' follows Nightingale and an old acquaintance of his from The Folly in 1920s New York, tracking down the history of a cursed saxophone.''Set before Rivers of London''
}}


{{Book list
==== ''The Hanging Tree'' ====
| book_number = 15
{{Main article|The Hanging Tree (novel)}}
| title = Stone and Sky
Back in London, Peter faces the legacy of London's hangings. Investigating suspicious murders in the world of the super-rich, Peter is in a different world to the one he is used to investigating.
| publish_date = July 2025<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.benaaronovitch.com/|title=Ben Aaronovitch|accessdate=21 November 2024}}</ref>
| aux1 = 400 pages
| isbn = 9781473226715
| line_color = novel
| short_summary =
}}
}}


=== Short Stories ===
==== ''A Rare Book of Cunning Device'' ====
A free Audible short story narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith who reads the audio versions of the full-length novels in the series. Peter is summoned to the British Library to capture a poltergeist who is making mischief in the basement.


==== ''The Furthest Station'' (novella) ====
==== '' '' ====
''Tales from the Folly,'' a short story collection, was published in November 2020.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.crimereview.co.uk/page.php/review/9565 | title=Tales from the Folly Review }}</ref>
{{Main Article|The Furthest Station}}
In this novella, published in September 2017, Peter needs to deal with commuting ghosts, forgetful commuters, and deciphering a ghost's urgent message.


==== ''Lies Sleeping'' ====
=== ===
The graphic novel series is cowritten by [[Andrew Cartmel]]. Initially published serially, the individual story arcs later appeared as graphic novels. All the graphic novels are published by Titan Comics.
Published in November 2018, Peter continues the investigations into Martin Chorley.


{{Book table |background=#FF5F5A |book_number= | title= |publish_date= |aux1=Length |isbn= |books=
==== ''The October Man'' (novella) ====
{{Book list
Published in June 2019. Tobias Winter, the only apprentice in the "Abteilung Komplexe und diffuse Angelegenheiten" (KDA) (Department for Complex and Diffuse Matters - the German equivalent of the Folly) investigates a suspicious death in a vineyard near the Mosel. His local colleague is Vanessa Sommer, who is going to join the KDA in the end as well.
| book_number = 1
| title = Body Work
| publish_date = January 2011
| aux1 = 392 pages
| isbn = 9780575097568
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Originally released as five monthly issues. Involves a cursed car.<ref name="sequence">{{cite book|title=Black Mould|author1=Ben Aaronovitch|author2-link=Andrew Cartmel|author2=Andrew Cartmel|isbn=9781785863851|year=2017|publisher=[[Titan Comics]]|author1-link=Ben Aaronovitch}} - Rivers of London Reader's Guide</ref> ''Set between Broken Homes and Foxglove Summer''
}}


{{Book list
=== Graphic novels ===
| book_number = 1
The Rivers of London graphic novel series each tell a separate story arc in individual comics that when finished are collected and sold in electronic form as well as hardback and softback bound editions.
| title = Body Work
| publish_date = March 2016
| aux1 = 128 pages
| isbn = 9781782761877 | line_color = novel
| short_summary = Originally released as five monthly issues. Involves a cursed car.<ref name="sequence">{{cite book|title=Black Mould|author1=Ben Aaronovitch|author2-link=Andrew Cartmel|author2=Andrew Cartmel|isbn=9781785863851|year=2017|publisher=[[Titan Comics]]|author1-link=Ben Aaronovitch}} - Rivers of London Reader's Guide</ref> ''Set between Broken Homes and Foxglove Summer''
}}
{{Book list
| book_number = 2
| title = Night Witch
| publish_date = December 2016
| aux1 = 122 pages
| isbn = 9781785852930 | line_color = novel
| short_summary = Originally published as five monthly issues. A Russian oligarch's daughter is kidnapped. In response, he kidnaps Night Witch Varvara Sidorovna.<ref>{{cite book|title=Night Witch|author1=Ben Aaronovitch|author2-link=Andrew Cartmel|author2=Andrew Cartmel|isbn=9781785852930|year=2016|publisher=[[Titan Comics]]|author1-link=Ben Aaronovitch}}</ref> ''Set between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree''
}}
{{Book list
| book_number = 3
| title = Black Mould
| publish_date = June 2017
| aux1 = 128 pages
| isbn = 9781785855108
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Originally released as five monthly issues. An investigation of a black mould infestation and a haunted [[ice cream van]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Black Mould|author1=Ben Aaronovitch|author2-link=Andrew Cartmel|author2=Andrew Cartmel|isbn=9781785863851|year=2017|publisher=[[Titan Comics]]|author1-link=Ben Aaronovitch}}</ref> ''Set between Night Witch and The Hanging Tree''
}}


{{Book list
'''''Body Work''''' - Starting with a car on a killing spree, with no driver, Peter investigates a Bosnian refugee and a seemingly-harmless wooden bench with the darkest of paths...<ref>{{cite book|title=Body Work|author1=[[Ben Aaronovitch]]|author2=[[Andrew Cartmel]]|isbn=9781785853647|year=2016|publisher=[[Titan Comics]]}}</ref>
| book_number = 4
:* Hardback: {{isbn|9781785853647}}, First edition March 2016
| title = Detective Stories
:* Softback: {{isbn|9781782761877}}, First edition March 2016
| publish_date = December 2017
::* Set between ''Broken Homes'' and ''Foxglove Summer''<ref name="sequence">{{cite book|title=Black Mould|author1=[[Ben Aaronovitch]]|author2=[[Andrew Cartmel]]|isbn=9781785863851|year=2017|publisher=[[Titan Comics]]}} - Rivers of London Reader's Guide</ref>
| aux1 = 112 pages
::* Originally released as five monthly issues.
| isbn = 9781785861710
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Originally released as four monthly issues. Peter encounters difficulty in making Detective. ''Set between The Hanging Tree and Cry Fox''
}}
{{Book list
| book_number = 5
| title = Cry Fox
| publish_date = May 2018
| aux1 = 112 pages
| isbn = 9781785861727
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Originally released as four monthly issues. A story centred around Reynard. ''Set between Detective Stories and Water Weed''
}}


{{Book list
'''''Night Witch''''' - Russian Oligarch's daughter is kidnapped and he thinks kidnapping Nightwitch Varvara Sidorovna will help the situation.<ref>{{cite book|title=Night Witch|author1=[[Ben Aaronovitch]]|author2=[[Andrew Cartmel]]|isbn=9781785852930|year=2016|publisher=[[Titan Comics]]}}</ref>
| book_number = 6
:* Hardback: {{isbn|9781785853647}}, First edition November 2016
| title = Water Weed
:* Softback: {{isbn|9781785852930}}, First edition December 2016
| publish_date = October 2018
::* Set between ''Foxglove Summer'' and ''The Hanging Tree''<ref name="sequence" />
| aux1 = 112 pages
::* Originally released as five monthly issues.
| isbn = 1785865455
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Originally released as four monthly issues. A story starting with an encounter between the river goddesses Chelsea and Olympia and a crew of possibly magic-using drug dealers.
}}


{{Book list
'''''Black Mould''''' - Sahra Guleed joins Grant is determining the source of Black Mould invading the suburbs while Nightingale takes on a haunted ice cream van.<ref>{{cite book|title=Black Mould|author1=[[Ben Aaronovitch]]|author2=[[Andrew Cartmel]]|isbn=9781785863851|year=2017|publisher=[[Titan Comics]]}}</ref>
| book_number = 7
:* Hardback: {{isbn|9781785863851}}, First edition June 2017
| title = Action at a Distance
:* Softback: {{isbn|9781785855108}}, First edition July 2017
| publish_date = March 2019
::* Set between ''Night Witch'' and ''The Hanging Tree'' (Although the readers guide at the back of ''Black Mould'' places this story after ''The Hanging Tree''<ref name="sequence" />, a brief reference is made in ''The Hanging Tree'' to the events in this story<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/943233035|title=The hanging tree|last=1964-|first=Aaronovitch, Ben,|isbn=9780575132573|location=London, England|oclc=943233035}}</ref>)
| aux1 = 112 pages
::* Originally released as five monthly issues.
| isbn = 9781785865466
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Nightingale searches for a serial killer in 1957 London.
}}


{{Book list
'''''Detective Stories''''' - Peter is trying to make Detective which is a bit complicated when your exam proctor is 90% sure you are crazy or a practical joke!
| book_number = 8
:* Softback: {{isbn|9781785861710}}, First edition December 2017 TBC
| title = The Fey and the Furious
::* Set between ''The Hanging Tree'' and ''Cry Fox''.
| publish_date = November 2020
::* Originally released as four monthly issues.
| aux1 = 112 pages
| isbn = 9781785865862
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = A story centring on Peter. ''Set after the events of Lies Sleeping''


}}
'''''Cry Fox''''' - Reynard is up to his tricks again and this time it involves some old Russian friends.
:* Softback: {{ISBN|9781785861727}}, First edition June 2018
::* Set between ''Detective Stories'' and ''Water Weed''.
::* Originally released as four monthly issues.


{{Book list
'''''Water Weed''''' - When Chelsea and Olympia decide to earn a few quid on the side, Peter and Bev find themselves confronting London's new queenpin of crime – the brutal and beautiful Hoodette!
| book_number = 9
:* Softback: {{ISBN|9781785865459}}, First Edition December 2018
| title = Monday, Monday
::* Originally released as four monthly issues, June 2018 - September 2018.
| publish_date = November 2021
| aux1 = 112 pages
| isbn = 9781787736269


| line_color = novel
=== Future installments ===
| short_summary = Originally released as four monthly issues. A routine undercover operation leads to a Swedish werewolf.<ref name="Monday Monday">{{cite book|title=Monday, Monday|author1=Ben Aaronovitch|author2-link=Andrew Cartmel|author2=Andrew Cartmel|isbn=9781787736269|year=2021|publisher=[[Titan Comics]]|author1-link=Ben Aaronovitch}}</ref>''Set after the events in Amongst Our Weapons''
Listed below are forthcoming titles, as confirmed on Ben Aaronovitch's blog.
}}


{{Book list
==== ''What Abigail Did That Summer'' ====
| book_number = 10
''What Abigail Did That Summer'' is a forthcoming novella set between ''Foxglove Summer'' and ''The Hanging Tree''. In the series chronology it will be the first novella, taking place before ''The Furthest Station''.
| title = Deadly Ever After
| publish_date = January 2023
| aux1 = 112 pages
| isbn = 9781787738591


| line_color = novel
==== ''False Value'' ====
| short_summary = Originally released as four monthly issues
Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Rather than sit around, he takes a job with émigré Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner's brand new London start up - the Serious Cybernetics Company. Publication date, Nov 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=False Value By Ben Aaronovitch |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/538836/false-value-by-ben-aaronovitch/9780756416461/ |website=penguinrandomhouse.com |publisher=Penguin Random House |accessdate=6 July 2019}}</ref>
}}


{{Book list
==== ''Untitled Kimberley Reynolds Novella'' ====
| book_number = 11
Following FBI Agent Kimberley Reynolds, who was introduced in Whispers Underground, and has subsequently become an ally of the Folly, this novella is set after Lies Sleeping.<ref name="temporarilysignificant">{{cite web|url=http://temporarilysignificant.blogspot.co.uk/p/a-chronology-of-rivers-of-london-books.html|title=Temporarily Significant - Book and Comic Chronology|language=English|accessdate=October 1, 2017}}</ref>
| title = Here Be Dragons
| publish_date = December 2023
| aux1 = 110 pages
| isbn = 9781787741928


| line_color = novel
==== Graphic novels ====
| short_summary = Originally released as four monthly issues between July and October 2023. After a rash of strange UFO sightings above the capital, a Met Police helicopter night patrol is attacked by what can only be described as a dragon!<ref name="Here Be Dragons">{{cite book|title=Here Be Dragons|author1=Ben Aaronovitch|author2-link=Andrew Cartmel|author2=Andrew Cartmel|year=2024|isbn=9781787740921|publisher=[[Titan Comics]]|author1-link=Ben Aaronovitch}}</ref>
In additional to the novels and novellas listed above, there are also 2 forthcoming graphic novels; '''Action at a Distance''', and '''The Fey and the Furious''' will take place after the events of Lies Sleeping.<ref name=temporarilysignificant/>


}}
==== Other work ====

Aaronovitch has also announced several works within the same fictional universe, but set outside the chronology of the main series. These works include a short story entitled 'Cock of The Wall' focusing on Petrus Aelius Bekemetus,<ref name=temporarilysignificant/> who Aaronovitch describes as a "temple official/Londinium wideboy" - i.e. set in [[Roman London]] which Peter Grant briefly visited in the first book of the series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Ben_Aaronovitch/status/896717110868684800 |title=Ben Aaronovitch on Twitter |accessdate=October 7, 2017 |language=English}}</ref> Also planned is an untitled Novella focusing on Peter's mentor Thomas Nightingale.<ref name=temporarilysignificant/> On 1st May 2019 it was announced that a television adaptation of Rivers of London would be produced by [[Simon Pegg]] and [[Nick Frost]]'s production company, [[Stolen Picture]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-05-01/rivers-of-london-tv-series-simon-pegg-nick-frost-ben-aaronovitch |title=Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to turn fantasy novel series Rivers of London into a TV series |accessdate=May 10, 2019 |language=English}}</ref>
{{Book list
| book_number = 12
| title = Stray Cat Blues
| publish_date = October 2024
| aux1 = 112 pages
| isbn = 9781787744288
| line_color = novel
| short_summary = Originally released as four monthly issues between May and August 2024.
}}

}}



=== Future installments ===
Aaronovitch has announced some forthcoming titles on his personal blog.
<!-- ==== Graphic novels ====
None announced at this time. -->

Aaronovitch has announced several works within the same fictional universe, but set outside the chronology of the main series. These works include a short story entitled 'Cock of The Wall' focusing on Petrus Aelius Bekemetus,<ref name="temporarilysignificant">{{cite web|url=http://temporarilysignificant.blogspot.co.uk/p/a-chronology-of-rivers-of-london-books.html|title=Temporarily Significant – Book and Comic Chronology|language=English|accessdate=1 October 2017}}</ref> who Aaronovitch describes as a "temple official/Londinium [[wide boy|wideboy]]" – i.e. set in [[Roman London]] which Peter Grant briefly visited in the third book of the series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Ben_Aaronovitch/status/896717110868684800 |title=Ben Aaronovitch on Twitter |accessdate=7 October 2017 |language=English}}</ref>

== Main characters ==
* Police Constable Peter Grant; an officer in the Metropolitan Police and the first official apprentice wizard in sixty years.
* Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale; head of the Folly and the last officially sanctioned English Wizard.
* Lesley May; Police Constable colleague of Peter's in the Metropolitan Police.
* Detective Chief Inspector Alexander Seawoll; Senior Investigation Officer at the Westminster Murder Investigation Team.
* Detective Sergeant Miriam Stephanopoulos; case officer of the Belgravia Murder Investigation Team and 'right-hand man' to DCI Seawoll.
* Detective Constable Sahra Guleed; attached to Belgravia Murder Investigation Team, often works with Peter when his cases are in London.
* Dr Abdul Haqq Walid; world-renowned [[gastroenterologist]] and cryptopathologist.
* Frank Caffrey; LFB ([[London Fire Brigade]]) Fire Investigator, ex-[[Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom)|para]] and a key "associate" of the Folly.
* Professor Harold Postmartin D.Phil. FRS BMon, "Postmartin the Pirate", Archivist and expert for the Folly.
* Molly; The Folly's [[domestic helper]], whose species is not entirely clarified, but she has been referred to as fae-like in the novel ''[[Foxglove Summer]]''.
* Abigail Kamara; an annoyingly persistent teen-aged girl who is the de facto founding member of the Folly's Youth Wing. Lives at the same estate as Peter's parents.
* Beverley Brook; "daughter" of Mama Thames and goddess of [[Beverley Brook]], a small river in South London; in later books, Peter Grant's girlfriend.
* Cecilia Tyburn Thames; aka Lady Ty, "daughter" of Mama Thames and goddess of the [[River Tyburn]].
* Oxley; god of the River Oxley, one of the "sons" of Father Thames and his chief negotiator.
* Toby; Peter's dog, who can detect magic, indicated by yapping.
* Varvara Sidorovna Tamonina (aka. Varenka Dobroslova); Russian/Soviet witch (Night Witch), magical WWII veteran (365th Special Regiment of the Red Army), later living on her own in Britain with a magically extended lifetime.


== Stories listed by internal chronology ==
== Stories listed by internal chronology ==
{{original research|section|date=August 2020}}
In a blog entry<ref>http://temporarilysignificant.blogspot.com/p/a-chronology-of-rivers-of-london-books.html</ref>, the author has provided a list of the stories, by internal chronology.
In a blog entry,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://temporarilysignificant.blogspot.com/p/a-chronology-of-rivers-of-london-books.html|title = Temporarily Significant: Book and Comic Chronology}}</ref> the author has provided a list of the stories, by internal chronology.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
Line 118: Line 358:
! Story title
! Story title
! Published
! Published
|-
|1920s
|''The Masquerades of Spring'' (novella)
|27 August 2024
|-
|1957 (framing story takes place after the events of ''The Hanging Tree'' and ''Water Weed'')
|''Action at a Distance'' (graphic novel)
| Parts 1–4, October 2018 through January 2019, collected 12 November 2019
|-
|-
| 1966
| 1966
| Moment #1
| Moment #1
| included in ''Tales from the Folly''
|
|-
|1960s
|''A Dedicated Follower of Fashion'' (short story)
|[[Waterstones]] edition of ''False Value'', included in ''Tales from the Folly''
|-
|-
| January to June 2012
| January to June 2012
| ''[[Rivers of London (novel)|Rivers of London]]'' (novel)
| ''[[Rivers of London (novel)|Rivers of London]]'' (novel)
| {{Start date|2011|01|10|df=y}}
| {{Start date|2011|01|10|df=y}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lovereading.co.uk/book/9780575097568/isbn/Rivers-of-London-by-Ben-Aaronovitch.html |title=Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch - Lovereading UK |publisher=Love Reading |date=10 January 2011 |accessdate=25 November 2011}}</ref>
|-
| 2012
| Moment #3
|
|-
|-
| Before the [[2012 Summer Olympics]]
| the [[2012 Summer Olympics]]
| ''The Home Crowd Advantage'' (short story)
| ''The Home Crowd Advantage'' (short story)
| 'London Edition' of ''[[Rivers of London (novel)|Rivers of London]]'' and on his [http://temporarilysignificant.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/the-home-crowd-advantage.html official website]
| 'London Edition' of ''[[Rivers of London (novel)|Rivers of London]]'' and on his [http://temporarilysignificant.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/the-home-crowd-advantage.html official website]
|-
| 2012
| ''Moment #3''
|included in ''Tales from the Folly''
|-
|-
| September to October 2012
| September to October 2012
| ''[[Moon Over Soho]]'' (novel)
| ''[[Moon Over Soho]]'' (novel)
| {{Start date|2011|04|21|df=y}}
| {{Start date|2011|04|21|df=y}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lovereading.co.uk/book/9780575097629/isbn/Moon-Over-Soho-by-Ben-Aaronovitch.html |title=Lovereading |publisher=Lovereading |date=13 October 2011 |accessdate=28 November 2011}}</ref>
|-
|
|''The Domestic'' (short story)
|[[Waterstones]] edition of ''[[Whispers Under Ground]]'', included in ''Tales from the Folly''
|-
|-
| December 2012
| December 2012
Line 143: Line 399:
| {{Start date|2012|06|21|df=y}}
| {{Start date|2012|06|21|df=y}}
|-
|-
|
| March-April 2013
|''The Cockpit'' (short story)
|''[[Waterstones]]'' edition of ''[[Broken Homes]]'', included in ''Tales from the Folly''
|-
| March–April 2013
| ''[[Broken Homes]]'' (novel)
| ''[[Broken Homes]]'' (novel)
| {{Start date|2013|07|25|df=y}}
| {{Start date|2013|07|25|df=y}}
Line 149: Line 409:
| Not given
| Not given
|''Body Work'' (graphic novel)
|''Body Work'' (graphic novel)
| Parts 1-5 - 16 July 2015 through 20 November 2015, collected 29 March 2016
| Parts 16 July 2015 through 20 November 2015, collected 29 March 2016
|-
|-
| August 2013
| August 2013
Line 157: Line 417:
|
|
|''What Abigail Did That Summer'' (novella)
|''What Abigail Did That Summer'' (novella)
| 18 March 2021
| forthcoming
|-
|-
|
|
|''The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Granny'' (short story)
|''Night Witch'' (graphic novel)
|''[[Waterstones]]'' edition of ''[[Foxglove Summer]]'', included in ''Tales from the Folly''
| Parts 1-3 - 16 March 2016 through 18 May 2016, collected 1 November 2016
|-
|-
|
|
|''Black Mould'' (graphic novel)
|'' '' (graphic novel)
| Parts 1-5 - 12 October 2016 through 8 March 2017, collected 25 July 2017
| Parts 2016 through , collected
|-
|-
|2014<ref>{{cite book |last= Aaronovitch |first= Ben |title= Takes from the Folly states that this story occurs between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree}}</ref>
| Late July 2013
| ''[[The Furthest Station]]'' (novella)
|'' '' ()
|''[[Waterstones]]'' edition of ''[[The Hanging Tree (Aaronovitch novel)|The Hanging Tree]]'', included in ''Tales from the Folly''
| 28 September 2017
|-
| 2014
| Moment #2
|
|-
|-
| Undisclosed month in 2014
| Undisclosed month in 2014
| ''[[The Hanging Tree (novel)|The Hanging Tree]]'' (novel)
| ''[[The Hanging Tree (novel)|The Hanging Tree]]'' (novel)
| 3 November 2016 in the UK,<ref>http://www.gollancz.co.uk/2016/09/the-hanging-tree-announcement/</ref> 31 January 2017 in the US<ref>http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/315855/the-hanging-tree-by-ben-aaronovitch/</ref>
| 3 November 2016 in the UK,<ref>http://www.gollancz.co.uk/2016/09/the-hanging-tree-announcement/</ref> 31 January 2017 in the US<ref>://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/315855/the-hanging-tree-by-ben-aaronovitch/</ref>
|-
| Late July 2014
| ''[[The Furthest Station]]'' (novella)
| 28 September 2017
|-
|-
|
|
|''Black Mould'' (graphic novel)
| Parts 1–5 – 12 October 2016 through 8 March 2017, collected 25 July 2017
|-
|Undisclosed month in 2014
| ''A Rare Book of Cunning Device'' (audio book)
| ''A Rare Book of Cunning Device'' (audio book)
| Audible special edition
| Audible special edition
|-
|-
|
|
|''Detective Stories'' (graphic novel)
|''Detective Stories'' (graphic novel)
| Parts 1-4, 7 June 2017 through 3 September 2017, collected 29 December 2017
| Parts , 7 June 2017 through 3 September 2017, collected 29 December 2017
|-
| 2014
| ''Moment #2''
| included in ''Tales from the Folly''
|-
|December 2014<ref>{{cite book |last= Aaronovitch |first= Ben |title= Takes from the Folly states that this story occurs between The Hanging Tree and Lies Sleeping}}</ref>
|''Favourite Uncle'' (short story)
|''[[Waterstones]]'' edition of ''Lies Sleeping'', included in ''Tales from the Folly''
|-
|-
|
|
Line 193: Line 465:
|
|
|''Water Weed'' (graphic novel)
|''Water Weed'' (graphic novel)
| Parts 1-4, June 2018 through September 2018, collected 18 December 2018
| Parts , June 2018 through September 2018, collected 18 December 2018
|-
|-
| Prologue dated 14 November 2014.<ref>{{cite book |last= Aaronovitch |first= Ben |title= Lies Sleeping |page= 2}}</ref> Main events summer 2015, based on reference to Michelle Obama's visit to a London school<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aaronovich |first=Ben |title=Lies Sleeping |publisher=Gollancz |year=2018 |isbn=9781473207837 |pages=90–91}}</ref> (in reality, Tuesday 16 June 2015<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Khaleeli |first1=Homa |last2=Weale |first2=Sally |name-list-style=and |date=16 June 2015 |title=Michelle Obama tells London schoolgirls 'the world needs you' |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/16/michelle-obama-london-schoolgirls-education-first-lady}}</ref>)
|
| Lies Sleeping (novel)
| Lies Sleeping (novel)
| 18 November 2018 in the UK
| 18 November 2018 in the UK
|-
|-
|
|
| The Fey and the Furious (graphic novel)
| The Fey and the Furious (graphic novel)
| 10 November 2020 (forthcoming)
| November 2020
|-
|-
|
|
| The October Man (novella)
| The October Man (novella)
| 31 May 2019
| 31 May 2019
|-
|-
| January 2016<ref>This can be dated by a reference in the opening chapter of the novel, where Peter starts a new job on same day that [[David Bowie]] died, i.e., 10 January 2016</ref>
|
| False Value
| False Value
| 20 February 2020
| 20 February 2020
|-
|-
|
|Outside of main sequence
| ''Vanessa Sommer’s Other Christmas List'' (short story)
|''Action at a Distance'' (graphic novel)
|[[Waterstones]] edition of ''The October Man'', included in ''Tales from the Folly''
| Parts 1-4, October 2018 through January 2019, collected 12 November 2019
|-
|-
|
|
|''Amongst Our Weapons'' (novel)
|Cock of the Wall (short story)
| April 2022
|-
|
|
|''Three Rivers, Two Husbands and a Baby'' (short story)
|included in ''Tales from the Folly''
|-
|-
|
|
|''Cock of the Wall'' (short story)
|Untitled Nightingale Novella
| unpublished as yet
|-
|
|
|''Monday, Monday'' (graphic novel)
|1 December 2021
|-
|}
|}


On the page where the official order is given, the author writes: "One caveat - the short story The Home Crowd Advantage is obviously set in 2012 during the London Olympics but because it was written before the chronology of the series had firmed up it contains a number of anachronisms. I've learnt to be philosophical about this sort of thing." Many of the stories give vague dates, and some of those dates conflict with the official series order (compare Foxglove Summer and The Furthest Station).
On the page where the official order is given, the author writes: "One caveat the short story The Home Crowd Advantage is obviously set in 2012 during the London Olympics but because it was written before the chronology of the series had firmed up it contains a number of anachronisms. I've learnt to be philosophical about this sort of thing." Many of the stories give vague dates, and some of those dates conflict with the official series order (compare Foxglove Summer and The Furthest Station).


==Reception==
== Main characters ==
Sarah Shaffi wrote for ''The Guardian'':
Note: the following section contains major spoilers for later books in the series.
{{Blockquote|text=The books have consistently featured on bestseller lists, with the most recent two novels – 2022's ''Amongst Our Weapons'' and 2020's ''False Value'' – going straight to No 1 on the Sunday Times bestseller list...Aaronovitch’s work has been translated into 14 languages and sold in excess of five million copies worldwide, and has its own wiki, Follypedia.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jul/07/ben-aaronovitchs-rivers-of-london-novels-are-set-for-tv-adaptation | title=Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London novels are set for TV adaptation | website=[[TheGuardian.com]] | date=7 July 2022 }}</ref>}}
* Police Constable Peter Grant; an officer in the Metropolitan Police and the first official apprentice wizard in sixty years.

* Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale; head of the Folly and the last officially sanctioned English Wizard.
Reviewing the ninth book in the series, ''Amongst Our Weapons'', in ''The Guardian'', [[Lisa Tuttle]] wrote: {{Blockquote|text=Aaronovitch has no peers when it comes to successfully combining the appeal of a down-to-earth police procedural with all-out fantasy: here are real places, real history and real problems complicated by the existence of magic, ancient spirits, fairies, ghosts and talking foxes, all dwelling alongside ordinary, clueless humans. His plotting is still satisfyingly inventive and the continuing characters maintain their charm in the ninth novel of a series that began in 2011.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/apr/08/the-best-recent-science-fiction-and-fantasy-reviews-roundup | title=The best recent science fiction and fantasy – reviews roundup | website=[[TheGuardian.com]] | date=8 April 2022 }}</ref>}}
* Lesley May; formerly Police Constable in the Metropolitan Police and de facto apprentice to Nightingale; now criminal associate of the Faceless Man and subject to an internal investigation

* Detective Sergeant Miriam Stephanopoulos; case officer of the Belgravia Murder Investigation Team and de facto Senior Investigating Officer.
== Adaptations ==
* Sahra Guleed; Constable, often works with Peter when his cases are in London.
On 1 May 2019 it was announced that a television adaptation of ''Rivers of London'' would be produced by [[Simon Pegg]] and [[Nick Frost]]'s production company, [[Stolen Picture]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-05-01/rivers-of-london-tv-series-simon-pegg-nick-frost-ben-aaronovitch |title=Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to turn fantasy novel series Rivers of London into a TV series |accessdate=10 May 2019 |language=English}}</ref> However, according to Aaronovitch, the series is "still in the same state of permanent pre-pre-production".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tabler |first1=Elizabeth |title=An Interview With Ben Aaronovitch |url=https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/an-interview-with-ben-aaronovitch/ |website=Grimdark Magazine |access-date=13 July 2022 |language=en-AU |date=29 April 2022}}</ref>
* Dr Abdul Haqq Walid; world-renowned [[gastroenterologist]] and cryptopathologist.
On 7 July 2022, a new TV adaptation of the book series was announced, to be produced by Pure Fiction Television, See-Saw Films, and Unnecessary Logo—Aaronovitch's production company.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shaffi |first1=Sarah |title=Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London novels are set for TV adaptation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jul/07/ben-aaronovitchs-rivers-of-london-novels-are-set-for-tv-adaptation |access-date=11 July 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=7 July 2022 |language=en}}</ref> On 2 November 2023, it was announced that [[John Jackson (writer)|John Jackson]] would be lead writer on the television adaptation.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/drama/rivers-of-london-set-writing-team-led-by-the-gentlemen-scribe/5187530.article | title=Rivers of London set writing team led by the Gentlemen scribe }}</ref>
* Frank Caffrey; LFB ([[London Fire Brigade]]) Fire Investigator, ex-[[Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom)|para]] and a key "associate" of the Folly.

* Professor Harold Postmartin D.Phil. FRS BMon "Postmartin the Pirate" Archivist and expert for the Folly.
At Dragonmeet convention in London, on 30 November 2019, it was announced that a [[role-playing game]] based on the book series would be published by [[Chaosium]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chaosium.com/blogchaosium-announces-rivers-of-london-roleplaying-game/ |title= Chaosium Announces Rivers of London Roleplaying Game |accessdate=2 January 2020 |language=English}}</ref> The game was released in PDF first on 30 November 2022, with the print version released 17 April 2023<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chaosium.com/blogrivers-of-london-the-rpg-out-in-hardcover-april-17th/ |title= Rivers of London the RPG out in hardcover April 17th |language=English}}</ref>
* Molly; The Folly's [[domestic helper]], of not entirely clarified species, but she has been referred to as fae-like in the [[PC Grant]] novel "[[Foxglove Summer]]".

* Abigail Kamara; an annoyingly persistent teen-aged girl who is the de facto founding member of the Folly's Youth Wing. Lives at the same estate as Peter's parents.
==See also==
* Beverley Brook; "daughter" of Mama Thames and goddess of [[Beverley Brook]], a small river in South London; in later books, Peter Grant's girlfriend.

* Cecilia Tyburn Thames; aka Lady Ty, "daughter" of Mama Thames and goddess of the [[River Tyburn]].
* [[GURPS Infinite Worlds#Azoth-7]], also based on the premise of Isaac Newton as a major wizard.
* Oxley; god of the River Oxley one of the "sons" of Father Thames and his chief negotiator.
* Toby; Peter's dog, who can detect magic, indicated by barking
* Varvara Sidorovna Tamonina (aka. Varenka Dobroslova); Russian/Soviet witch (Night Witch), magical WWII veteran (365th Special Regiment of the Red Army), later living on her own in Britain with a magically extended lifetime


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


{{Ben Aaronovitch}}
[[Category:Contemporary fantasy novels]]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Rivers of London (book series)| Peter Grant (book series)]]
[[Category:Contemporary fantasy novel series]]
[[Category:Fantasy novel series]]
[[Category:Fantasy novel series]]
[[Category:Speculative crime and thriller fiction]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Metropolitan Police officers]]

Latest revision as of 17:58, 6 January 2025

Rivers of London


AuthorBen Aaronovitch
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreUrban Fantasy
PublisherGollancz
Published2011–present
Media typePrint

The Rivers of London series (alternatively, the Peter Grant or the PC Grant series[1]) is a series of urban fantasy novels by English author Ben Aaronovitch, and comics/graphic novels by Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel, illustrated by Lee Sullivan.

Bibliography

[edit]

Novels and novellas

[edit]
No.TitleDateLengthISBN
1Rivers of London
Midnight Riot
January 2011392 pages9780575097568
Peter Grant, having become the first English apprentice wizard in over seventy years, must immediately deal with two different but ultimately interrelated cases. In one he must find what is possessing ordinary people and turning them into vicious killers, and in the second he must broker a peace between the two warring gods of the River Thames and their respective families.[2]
2Moon Over SohoOctober 2011375 pages9780575097605
Police Constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant is called in to help investigate the brutal murder of a journalist in the downstairs toilet of the Groucho Club in London's Soho district. At the same time, Peter is disturbed by a number of deaths of amateur and semi-professional jazz musicians that occurred shortly after they performed. Despite the apparently natural causes of death, each body exhibits a magical signature which leads Peter to believe that the deaths are far from natural.[3]
3Whispers Under GroundJune 2012418 pages9780575097643
The son of a US senator is stabbed to death, and magic involvement is suspected. An FBI agent is involved with DC Grant's case. Meanwhile, in the sewers near the tunnels of London's Underground, something is happening.[4]
4Broken HomesFebruary 2013357 pages9780575132467
Another killer is on the loose, and the prime suspect could be an associate of the twisted magician known as the Faceless Man. A town planner goes under a tube train, and a grimoire has been stolen. And when Peter gets word of something very odd happening in Elephant and Castle, he has to investigate whether there is a connection.[5]
5Foxglove SummerNovember 2014377 pages9780575132504
Leaving London, Peter goes to a small village in Herefordshire, where there appears to be a supernatural element to the disappearance of two local girls. Having to cope with local cops, as well as local gods, Peter finds the mystery deepens.[6]
6The Hanging TreeNovember 2016387 pages9780575132559
Back in London, Peter faces the legacy of London's hangings. Investigating suspicious murders in the world of the super-rich, Peter finds himself in a world different from the one he is used to investigating.[7]
7The Furthest Station (novella)June 2017144 pages9781596068339
Peter needs to deal with commuting ghosts, forgetful commuters, and deciphering a ghost's urgent message.[8] Set between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree
8Lies SleepingNovember 2018406 pages9781473207813
Peter continues the investigations into Martin Chorley.[9]
9The October ManMay 2019180 pages9781473224315
Tobias Winter, the only apprentice in the "Abteilung komplexe und diffuse Angelegenheiten" (KDA) (Department for Complex and Diffuse Matters – the German equivalent of the Folly) investigates a suspicious death in a vineyard near the Moselle. His local colleague is Vanessa Sommer, who joins the KDA at the end as well.[10]
10False ValueFebruary 2020404 pages9781473207851
Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Rather than sit around, he takes a job with émigré Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner's new London start-up: the Serious Cybernetics Company.[11][12]
11What Abigail Did That Summer (novella)March 2021232 pages9781473224346
Ghost hunter, fox whisperer, troublemaker. It is the summer of 2013 and Abigail Kamara has been left to her own devices. This might, by those who know her, be considered a mistake. While her cousin, police constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant, is off in the sticks, chasing unicorns, Abigail is chasing her own mystery..[13][14] Set between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree, before the Furthest Station
12Amongst Our WeaponsApril 2022294 pages9780756414832
Peter Grant, now an expectant father, is tasked to investigate a suspicious magical death in London's silver vaults and uncover a centuries-old mystery.[15]
13Winter's Gifts (novella)June 2023294 pages9781473224377
It follows FBI Agent Kimberley Reynolds, introduced in Whispers Underground, who has subsequently become an ally of the Folly. Set after Lies Sleeping
14The Masquerades of Spring (novella)September 2024165 pages9781645242116
The Masquerades of Spring follows Nightingale and an old acquaintance of his from The Folly in 1920s New York, tracking down the history of a cursed saxophone.Set before Rivers of London
15Stone and SkyJuly 2025[16]400 pages9781473226715

Short Stories

[edit]

Tales from the Folly

[edit]

Tales from the Folly, a short story collection, was published in November 2020.[17]

Graphic novels

[edit]

The graphic novel series is cowritten by Andrew Cartmel. Initially published serially, the individual story arcs later appeared as graphic novels. All the graphic novels are published by Titan Comics.

No.TitleDateLengthISBN
1Body WorkJanuary 2011392 pages9780575097568
Originally released as five monthly issues. Involves a cursed car.[18] Set between Broken Homes and Foxglove Summer
1Body WorkMarch 2016128 pages9781782761877
Originally released as five monthly issues. Involves a cursed car.[18] Set between Broken Homes and Foxglove Summer
2Night WitchDecember 2016122 pages9781785852930
Originally published as five monthly issues. A Russian oligarch's daughter is kidnapped. In response, he kidnaps Night Witch Varvara Sidorovna.[19] Set between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree
3Black MouldJune 2017128 pages9781785855108
Originally released as five monthly issues. An investigation of a black mould infestation and a haunted ice cream van.[20] Set between Night Witch and The Hanging Tree
4Detective StoriesDecember 2017112 pages9781785861710
Originally released as four monthly issues. Peter encounters difficulty in making Detective. Set between The Hanging Tree and Cry Fox
5Cry FoxMay 2018112 pages9781785861727
Originally released as four monthly issues. A story centred around Reynard. Set between Detective Stories and Water Weed
6Water WeedOctober 2018112 pages1785865455
Originally released as four monthly issues. A story starting with an encounter between the river goddesses Chelsea and Olympia and a crew of possibly magic-using drug dealers.
7Action at a DistanceMarch 2019112 pages9781785865466
Nightingale searches for a serial killer in 1957 London.
8The Fey and the FuriousNovember 2020112 pages9781785865862
A story centring on Peter. Set after the events of Lies Sleeping
9Monday, MondayNovember 2021112 pages9781787736269
Originally released as four monthly issues. A routine undercover operation leads to a Swedish werewolf.[21]Set after the events in Amongst Our Weapons
10Deadly Ever AfterJanuary 2023112 pages9781787738591
Originally released as four monthly issues
11Here Be DragonsDecember 2023110 pages9781787741928
Originally released as four monthly issues between July and October 2023. After a rash of strange UFO sightings above the capital, a Met Police helicopter night patrol is attacked by what can only be described as a dragon![22]
12Stray Cat BluesOctober 2024112 pages9781787744288
Originally released as four monthly issues between May and August 2024.


Future installments

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Aaronovitch has announced some forthcoming titles on his personal blog.

Aaronovitch has announced several works within the same fictional universe, but set outside the chronology of the main series. These works include a short story entitled 'Cock of The Wall' focusing on Petrus Aelius Bekemetus,[23] who Aaronovitch describes as a "temple official/Londinium wideboy" – i.e. set in Roman London which Peter Grant briefly visited in the third book of the series.[24]

Main characters

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  • Police Constable Peter Grant; an officer in the Metropolitan Police and the first official apprentice wizard in sixty years.
  • Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale; head of the Folly and the last officially sanctioned English Wizard.
  • Lesley May; Police Constable colleague of Peter's in the Metropolitan Police.
  • Detective Chief Inspector Alexander Seawoll; Senior Investigation Officer at the Westminster Murder Investigation Team.
  • Detective Sergeant Miriam Stephanopoulos; case officer of the Belgravia Murder Investigation Team and 'right-hand man' to DCI Seawoll.
  • Detective Constable Sahra Guleed; attached to Belgravia Murder Investigation Team, often works with Peter when his cases are in London.
  • Dr Abdul Haqq Walid; world-renowned gastroenterologist and cryptopathologist.
  • Frank Caffrey; LFB (London Fire Brigade) Fire Investigator, ex-para and a key "associate" of the Folly.
  • Professor Harold Postmartin D.Phil. FRS BMon, "Postmartin the Pirate", Archivist and expert for the Folly.
  • Molly; The Folly's domestic helper, whose species is not entirely clarified, but she has been referred to as fae-like in the novel Foxglove Summer.
  • Abigail Kamara; an annoyingly persistent teen-aged girl who is the de facto founding member of the Folly's Youth Wing. Lives at the same estate as Peter's parents.
  • Beverley Brook; "daughter" of Mama Thames and goddess of Beverley Brook, a small river in South London; in later books, Peter Grant's girlfriend.
  • Cecilia Tyburn Thames; aka Lady Ty, "daughter" of Mama Thames and goddess of the River Tyburn.
  • Oxley; god of the River Oxley, one of the "sons" of Father Thames and his chief negotiator.
  • Toby; Peter's dog, who can detect magic, indicated by yapping.
  • Varvara Sidorovna Tamonina (aka. Varenka Dobroslova); Russian/Soviet witch (Night Witch), magical WWII veteran (365th Special Regiment of the Red Army), later living on her own in Britain with a magically extended lifetime.

Stories listed by internal chronology

[edit]

In a blog entry,[25] the author has provided a list of the stories, by internal chronology.

Timeframe (if known) Story title Published
1920s The Masquerades of Spring (novella) 27 August 2024
1957 (framing story takes place after the events of The Hanging Tree and Water Weed) Action at a Distance (graphic novel) Parts 1–4, October 2018 through January 2019, collected 12 November 2019
1966 Moment #1 included in Tales from the Folly
1960s A Dedicated Follower of Fashion (short story) Waterstones edition of False Value, included in Tales from the Folly
January to June 2012 Rivers of London (novel) 10 January 2011 (2011-01-10)
During the 2012 Summer Olympics The Home Crowd Advantage (short story) 'London Edition' of Rivers of London and on his official website, included in Tales from the Folly
2012 Moment #3 included in Tales from the Folly
September to October 2012 Moon Over Soho (novel) 21 April 2011 (2011-04-21)
The Domestic (short story) Waterstones edition of Whispers Under Ground, included in Tales from the Folly
December 2012 Whispers Under Ground (novel) 21 June 2012 (2012-06-21)
The Cockpit (short story) Waterstones edition of Broken Homes, included in Tales from the Folly
March–April 2013 Broken Homes (novel) 25 July 2013 (2013-07-25)
Not given Body Work (graphic novel) Parts 1–5 – 16 July 2015 through 20 November 2015, collected 29 March 2016
August 2013 Foxglove Summer (novel) 13 November 2014 (2014-11-13)
What Abigail Did That Summer (novella) 18 March 2021
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Granny (short story) Waterstones edition of Foxglove Summer, included in Tales from the Folly
Night Witch (graphic novel) Parts 1–3 – 16 March 2016 through 18 May 2016, collected 1 November 2016
2014[26] King of the Rats (short story) Waterstones edition of The Hanging Tree, included in Tales from the Folly
Undisclosed month in 2014 The Hanging Tree (novel) 3 November 2016 in the UK,[27] 31 January 2017 in the US[28]
Late July 2014 The Furthest Station (novella) 28 September 2017
Black Mould (graphic novel) Parts 1–5 – 12 October 2016 through 8 March 2017, collected 25 July 2017
Undisclosed month in 2014 A Rare Book of Cunning Device (audio book) Audible special edition in 2017, included in Tales from the Folly
Detective Stories (graphic novel) Parts 1–4, 7 June 2017 through 3 September 2017, collected 29 December 2017
2014 Moment #2 included in Tales from the Folly
December 2014[29] Favourite Uncle (short story) Waterstones edition of Lies Sleeping, included in Tales from the Folly
Cry Fox (graphic novel) 8 November 2017, collected 26 June 2018
Water Weed (graphic novel) Parts 1–4, June 2018 through September 2018, collected 18 December 2018
Prologue dated 14 November 2014.[30] Main events summer 2015, based on reference to Michelle Obama's visit to a London school[31] (in reality, Tuesday 16 June 2015[32]) Lies Sleeping (novel) 18 November 2018 in the UK
The Fey and the Furious (graphic novel) 25 November 2020
The October Man (novella) 31 May 2019
January 2016[33] False Value (novel) 20 February 2020
Vanessa Sommer’s Other Christmas List (short story) Waterstones edition of The October Man, included in Tales from the Folly
Amongst Our Weapons (novel) April 2022
Three Rivers, Two Husbands and a Baby (short story) included in Tales from the Folly
Cock of the Wall (short story) unpublished as yet
Monday, Monday (graphic novel) 1 December 2021

On the page where the official order is given, the author writes: "One caveat – the short story The Home Crowd Advantage is obviously set in 2012 during the London Olympics, but because it was written before the chronology of the series had firmed up it contains a number of anachronisms. I've learnt to be philosophical about this sort of thing." Many of the stories give vague dates, and some of those dates conflict with the official series order (compare Foxglove Summer and The Furthest Station). The short story collection Tales from the Folly includes a note above each story indicating which of the novels it is set between.

Reception

[edit]

Sarah Shaffi wrote for The Guardian:

The books have consistently featured on bestseller lists, with the most recent two novels – 2022's Amongst Our Weapons and 2020's False Value – going straight to No 1 on the Sunday Times bestseller list...Aaronovitch’s work has been translated into 14 languages and sold in excess of five million copies worldwide, and has its own wiki, Follypedia.[34]

Reviewing the ninth book in the series, Amongst Our Weapons, in The Guardian, Lisa Tuttle wrote:

Aaronovitch has no peers when it comes to successfully combining the appeal of a down-to-earth police procedural with all-out fantasy: here are real places, real history and real problems complicated by the existence of magic, ancient spirits, fairies, ghosts and talking foxes, all dwelling alongside ordinary, clueless humans. His plotting is still satisfyingly inventive and the continuing characters maintain their charm in the ninth novel of a series that began in 2011.[35]

Adaptations

[edit]

On 1 May 2019 it was announced that a television adaptation of Rivers of London would be produced by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's production company, Stolen Picture.[36] However, according to Aaronovitch, the series is "still in the same state of permanent pre-pre-production".[37] On 7 July 2022, a new TV adaptation of the book series was announced, to be produced by Pure Fiction Television, See-Saw Films, and Unnecessary Logo—Aaronovitch's production company.[38] On 2 November 2023, it was announced that John Jackson would be lead writer on the television adaptation.[39]

At Dragonmeet convention in London, on 30 November 2019, it was announced that a role-playing game based on the book series would be published by Chaosium.[40] The game was released in PDF first on 30 November 2022, with the print version released 17 April 2023[41]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ The PC Grant Novels. Orion Publishing Group. 13 July 2018. ISBN 9781473214385. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  2. ^ Bullock, Saxon (14 January 2011). "Rivers Of London by Ben Aaronovitch – book review". SFX. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  3. ^ Ingham, Peter (24 June 2011). "Book Review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  4. ^ Walter, Damien (21 November 2012). "London: fantasy's capital city". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  5. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben (12 July 2018). Broken Homes. Orion Publishing Group, Limited. ISBN 978-0-575-13248-1.
  6. ^ "Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch book review - Fantasy Book Review". www.fantasybookreview.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  7. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben (12 July 2018). The Hanging Tree. Orion. ISBN 978-0-575-13258-0.
  8. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben (13 July 2018). The Furthest Station. Gollancz. ISBN 978-1-4732-2243-4.
  9. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben (13 July 2018). Lies Sleeping. Orion. ISBN 978-1-4732-0784-4.
  10. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben (5 November 2019). The October Man. Orion Publishing Group, Limited. ISBN 978-1-4732-2432-2.
  11. ^ "False Value By Ben Aaronovitch". penguinrandomhouse.com. Penguin Random House. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  12. ^ False Value By Ben Aaronovitch. Gollancz. 21 May 2019. ISBN 9781473207882. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  13. ^ "False Value By Ben Aaronovitch". penguinrandomhouse.com. Penguin Random House. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  14. ^ False Value By Ben Aaronovitch. Gollancz. 21 May 2019. ISBN 9781473207882. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  15. ^ "Amongst our weapons". Goldsboro Books. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  16. ^ "Ben Aaronovitch". Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Tales from the Folly Review".
  18. ^ a b Ben Aaronovitch; Andrew Cartmel (2017). Black Mould. Titan Comics. ISBN 9781785863851. - Rivers of London Reader's Guide
  19. ^ Ben Aaronovitch; Andrew Cartmel (2016). Night Witch. Titan Comics. ISBN 9781785852930.
  20. ^ Ben Aaronovitch; Andrew Cartmel (2017). Black Mould. Titan Comics. ISBN 9781785863851.
  21. ^ Ben Aaronovitch; Andrew Cartmel (2021). Monday, Monday. Titan Comics. ISBN 9781787736269.
  22. ^ Ben Aaronovitch; Andrew Cartmel (2024). Here Be Dragons. Titan Comics. ISBN 9781787740921.
  23. ^ "Temporarily Significant – Book and Comic Chronology". Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  24. ^ "Ben Aaronovitch on Twitter". Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  25. ^ "Temporarily Significant: Book and Comic Chronology".
  26. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben. Takes from the Folly states that this story occurs between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree.
  27. ^ "The Hanging Tree Announcement - Gollancz". Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  28. ^ "The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch: 9780756409678 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com.
  29. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben. Takes from the Folly states that this story occurs between The Hanging Tree and Lies Sleeping.
  30. ^ Aaronovitch, Ben. Lies Sleeping. p. 2.
  31. ^ Aaronovich, Ben (2018). Lies Sleeping. Gollancz. pp. 90–91. ISBN 9781473207837.
  32. ^ Khaleeli, Homa and Weale, Sally (16 June 2015). "Michelle Obama tells London schoolgirls 'the world needs you'". The Guardian.
  33. ^ This can be dated by a reference in the opening chapter of the novel, where Peter starts a new job on same day that David Bowie died, i.e., 10 January 2016
  34. ^ "Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London novels are set for TV adaptation". TheGuardian.com. 7 July 2022.
  35. ^ "The best recent science fiction and fantasy – reviews roundup". TheGuardian.com. 8 April 2022.
  36. ^ "Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to turn fantasy novel series Rivers of London into a TV series". Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  37. ^ Tabler, Elizabeth (29 April 2022). "An Interview With Ben Aaronovitch". Grimdark Magazine. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  38. ^ Shaffi, Sarah (7 July 2022). "Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London novels are set for TV adaptation". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  39. ^ "Rivers of London set writing team led by the Gentlemen scribe".
  40. ^ "Chaosium Announces Rivers of London Roleplaying Game". Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  41. ^ "Rivers of London the RPG out in hardcover April 17th".