rather dull, if rother weird… [book review]

A book that I grabbed in Waterstones, Brussels, on a quick dash between two meetings. And which presumably attracted me because of the superficial [watery] similarity with the book series Rivers of London, which setting and style I like quite a lot. Or, one can always dream on, a light version of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell… Rotherweird is the first book in a trilogy by Andrew Caldecott, taking place in a sort of time space hole in (very) rural England, the river Rother being a true river in South-East England, near Hastings, but this first book does not put me in a particularly eager mood to seek the next volumes, as I find the story, the plot, the characters, and the settings all quite disappointing. Maybe having a truly parallel universe does not help (although it worked pretty well with Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell!). Having a boarding school with weird teachers does not either, as they are never exhibited as particularly competent in their own field and as students are absolutely invisible in the novel, while supposed to be the brightest in the whole of England. (Which makes a comparison with Harry Potter megalogy pointless.) Having this town of Rotherweird stuck in a rather indefinite time (and banning any attempt at history) could have been a great start but characters are very shallow, despite some funny lines, and do not contribute to make the universe more conceivable, just the opposite. Without indulging in spoilers, the final resolution is very very unconvincing.