Cannonball Read 11

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

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He loves having people make jokes about his name… so feel free to pile in when introduced.

The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch

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According to official listings, The Furthest Station is Peter Grant #5.7, which if you ask me is an infuriating state of affairs. I love this series so much, mostly because of the people, places, and things in them. And it’s starting to feel like Aaronovitch is only writing tangents these days. There are the graphic novels plus this novella, but I really mostly want to know is WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH LESLEY MAY. I swear to you, every time I go to Wikipedia to see if I’ve got it all straight, there’s another side-bar Peter Grant story to read. I […]

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12/30/2017 's CBR9 Review No:48 |

Class-war evil supernatural black fungus

Rivers of London Vol. 3: Black Mould by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel

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I raced through Rivers of London: Black Mould when I brought it home from the library (pro tip: if a book is brand new and it’s not on the shelves but it’s definitely in the catalog, ask your librarian to check the back room! maybe it hasn’t even been shelved yet!), but honestly it didn’t make much more of an impact on me other than to keep moving the Rivers of London universe forward for me. Not that that isn’t of value, because of course it is of value, but I have gotten so hooked on this series, and am […]

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12/7/2017 's CBR9 Review No:40 |

Magic is about control, focus, and being able to concentrate when you’re drowning to death.

The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch

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I’m definitely rolling downhill with these Rivers of London/Peter Grant books. They are predictably a delight, and I catch myself racing through them and savoring them all at once. I’m very happy to report that The Hanging Tree provides a great moving-forward of things, myth-arc-wise. I had been a little worried after the two graphic novel intervals between this and Foxglove Summer. But we’re back on track, with delightful reference to the happenings of Body Work and Night Witch (and only a handful of contradictions). In fact, I would say that The Hanging Tree is stronger than some of the […]

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9/7/2017 's CBR9 Review No:37 |

Resources, as they say, become available.

Rivers of London Vol. 2: Night Witch by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel

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Ben Aaronovitch’s “Rivers of London”/PC Peter Grant series continues – and completes, unless he’s planning on returning to this form after The Hanging Tree, which is next, and a standard novel – its dip into the medium of graphic novel with Night Witch, with a very mytharc-y story. Again, sorry if “mytharc” is a thing non-X-Files fans don’t say. Anyway, because it’s a story that is much more linkable to the overall arc of the series than Body Work was, I much prefer it, if I have to choose a favorite. Because the stakes are so high in the overall […]

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8/23/2017 's CBR9 Review No:36 |

Your friendly neighborhood late medieval manor house often had a fish pond.

Rivers of London Vol. 1: Body Work by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel

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It’s been years and years and years since the last time I read a graphic novel, and this may sound crazy, but I was actually a little nervous about whether I’d be comfortable enough with the format to make this transition in the Peter Grant series. Body Work is the continuation of the “Rivers of London”/PC Peter Grant series from Ben Aaronovitch. I mis-copied the info, and I thought that Body Work belonged after Foxglove Summer, but there’s an indication that it comes after Broken Homes, which I found confusing, but no matter when it all comes down to it, […]

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8/23/2017 's CBR9 Review No:34 |

Next time the Library, not Bookstore

The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

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I put off reviewing this one because I didn’t want to get my first full intentional Cannonball with a mild disappointment.  I’d picked it up because I wanted something to read on a trans-Atlantic flight but ended watching Moana (cute although the songs weren’t as awesome as advertised) and Assassin’s Creed (wow, was that a bad movie) instead. I picked it up to read a few days later because the premise sounded interesting and it was billed as the first installment of a best-selling series. I should have known better, since I don’t have a great record with best-sellers or […]

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8/20/2017 's CBR9 Review No:53 |

The night may be dark and full of terrors, I thought, but I’ve got a big stick.

Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

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Ben Aaronovitch did a really smart thing with Foxglove Summer, which was to de-escalate, take it down a few notches, and bring us back to basics. I complained after Broken Homes that things were getting too complicated and also sort of repetitive. Foxglove Summer is a breath of wonderfully Peter Grant-laden fresh air. When you study Shakespeare, at some point or another, you get to the idea of the Green World. My college advisor was deeply in favor of Northrup Frye’s theory, and I have been indoctrinated for life, it would seem, because I can’t help but apply this concept […]

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7/11/2017 's CBR9 Review No:29 |

God bless busybody community matriarchs, and all that sail in them.

Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch

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More, please. More, more, more. I just love me some Peter Grant. And fair warning to the reader who may be interested in this series: this book, Broken Homes, which is Book 4 of the “Rivers of London” series, isn’t the strongest of the bunch. But it’s still a delight and a treat, and I will fight anyone who isn’t a fan. Listen, I have five more “Dark Tower” books to read in the next five weeks, but I still just checked out Foxglove Summer (Book 5 of “Rivers of London”) from the library, and investigated the graphic novel series […]

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6/30/2017 's CBR9 Review No:26 |


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