a journal of the [tolerated] plague and [mostly] pestilence year

Read Among Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch, the ninth installment in the Rivers of London urban fantasy series. Which I found superior to the earlier volumes. As the ninth novel in the series, it obviously shows some signs of fatigue in the relatively thin plot that painstakingly connects a series of no-spoilers with the Spanish Inquisition, in the convenient so convenient appearance of a new kind of magical being, and in the convoluted uncovering of this connection in the final pages. However, the witty remarks of Peter Grant still make me smile and his move to becoming a father is rather charming. Recommended for the comforting feeling of being reunited with a familiar.

Over the four week summer period “everyone” was away (on vacations), I managed to deal with long delayed projects, keep my Biometrika slate mostly clean, and work on an incoming grant. Plus, made an uninterrupted series of compotes from my neighbour’s fallen apples and rhubarb sticks from the local market, as I found a much faster way to bake them in the microwave oven, with no danger for kitchen pans! Observing in the process a phase transition phenomenon where the contents very suddenly change structure and the bowl overflows, despite my frequent stirring. And I found time to lazily bike with my wife on weekends to traffic-free Paris, incl. light dinners outside (except during heatwaves), like a nice and perfectly spicy Korean bulgogi near Denfert. Had some DIY experiences as well, incl. changing my 2000 Twingo car battery, which had run flat after at least three months of idleness (now that our children no longer drive it)! Which as usual induced several (dreaded) trips to the DIY store…

Watched Extraordinary Attorney Woo, which is a Korean TV series following an autistic attorney at law, which has some original features but leaves me uneasy about its rather charicaturesque depiction of autism. At least, addressing discrimination and sexism (albeit with mixed results, as in the stereotyped representation of both female heads of the law firms). And The Soul, a Taiwanese horror + sci-fi + noir movie whose foggy atmosphere was rather appealing but alas following a terrible scenario.

false value

A very pleasant eighth volume in the Rivers of London series after a few so-so episodes! The relentless deadpan of Peter Grant is back full shape, the plot is substantial and gripping, new and well-drawn characters abound, and the story offers an original retelling of the Difference Engine. (Not that I have reservations about Gibbson’s plus Sterling’s 1990 version!) Including mentions of Jacquard’s loom, card fed organ automates, Ada Lovelace and Mary Somerville. Plus providing great satire on Ai companies with a hardly modified “Deep Thought” pastiche. Enjoyable all along and definitely a page turner that I read within three days..! And being strongly immersed in the current era, from the passing away of David Bowie to the dearful impact of Theresa May as home secretary. Presumably missing a heap of references to geek culture and subcultures, apart from Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy. And too many quotes to report, but some mentions of stats (“the Red Army had done a statistical analysis with demon traps just as they had with conventional minefields. The conclusions had been the same in both cases.” (p.50) and “Beverley climbed into the bath with a second-hand copy of Statistics for Environmental Science and Management” (p.69), which is a genuine book.) As often the end is a bit murky and a bit precipitated, but not enough to whine about. Recommended (conditional on having read the earliest ones in the series)!

Lies sleeping [book review]

This is the seventh book in the Rivers of London series, by Ben Aaronovitch, which I have been expecting a long time. Avoiding the teasers like The Furthest Station, which appears primarily as a way to capitalise on readers’ impatience. And maybe due to this long wait or simply fatigue of the writer (or reader?!), I found this volume quite weak, from the plot which major danger remains hidden to the duh? title, to the cavalcade of past characters (most of whom I could not place), to the somewhat repetitive interaction of Peter Grant with his colleagues and the boring description of car rides from one place of London to another, to an absence of hidden treasures from the true London, to the lack of new magical features in this universe, to a completely blah ending… Without getting into spoilers, this chase of the Faceless Man should have been the apex of the series, which mostly revolved around this top Evil, should have seen a smooth merging of the rivers when they join and die in the Channel, but the ending of this book is terribly disappointing. Sounds like the rivers are really drying out and should wait for the next monsoon to swell again to engaging pace and fascinating undercurrents! Although it seems the next book is on its way (and should land in Germany).

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.

The Hanging Tree

This is the fifth sixth volume of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series. Which features PC Peter Grant from the London’s Metropolitan Police specialising in paranormal crime. Joining a line of magicians that was started by Isaac Newton. And with the help of water deities. Although this English magic sleuthing series does not compare with the superlative Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell single book, The Hanging Tree remains highly enjoyable, maybe more for its style and vocabulary than for the detective story itself, which does not sound completely coherent (unless I read it too quickly during the wee hours in Banff last week). And does not bring much about this part of London. Still a pleasure to read as the long term pattern of Aaronovitch’s universe slowly unravels and some characters get more substance and depth.