Adrienne Martini Reviews Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch
Amongst Our Weapons, Ben Aaronovitch (DAW 978-0-7564-1483-2, $27.00, 302 pp, hc) April 2022. Cover by Stephen Walter & Patrick Knowles.
Amongst Our Weapons is not the book to start with if you want to read some Ben Aaronovitch. Instead, pick up series opener Midnight Riot (Rivers of London in the UK) to be fully introduced to the world of Detective Constable Peter Grant and the magical demimonde that Aaronovitch has created. In that book, you will fall in love with Grant’s swagger, wit, and heart, as well as his writer’s creation of a world where, say, Punch of ‘‘and Judy’’ fame can slip literally into the skin of a human woman and cause havoc, which the police will have to sort out and clean up. That first title will also let you know if Grant’s world is one that you care to explore or not. Also good. Not every book is for every reader.
Amongst Our Weapons is the ninth book in the series – there are also novellas and graphic novels and, soon (allegedly), a TV show – and Grant’s story continues to evolve. His river goddess girlfriend is about to give birth to twins, the Folly needs to ramp up staff, Lesley is up to no good, and a weird murder needs to be investigated. It’s business as usual for both Grant and Aaronovitch. Amongst Our Weapons moves Our Peter forward and expands several story arcs in an intriguing way.
Adrienne Martini has been reading or writing about science fiction for decades and has had two non-fiction, non-genre books published by Simon and Schuster. She lives in Upstate New York with one husband, two kids, and one corgi. She also runs a lot.
This review and more like it in the December 2022 issue of Locus.
While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on reader donations to keep the magazine and site going, and would like to keep the site paywall free, but WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT to continue quality coverage of the science fiction and fantasy field.
©Locus Magazine. Copyrighted material may not be republished without permission of LSFF.
