“Martin
Chorley, aka the Faceless Man, wanted for multiple counts of murder, fraud, and
crimes against humanity, has been unmasked and is on the run. Peter Grant,
Detective Constable and apprentice wizard, now plays a key role in an
unprecedented joint operation to bring Chorley to justice. But even as the unwieldy might of the Metropolitan Police
bears down on its foe, Peter uncovers clues that Chorley, far from being
finished, is executing the final stages of a long term plan. A plan that has
its roots in London’s two thousand bloody years of history, and could literally
bring the city to its knees.To save his beloved city Peter’s going to need help from
his former best friend and colleague–Lesley May–who brutally betrayed him and
everything he thought she believed in. And, far worse, he might even have to
come to terms with the malevolent supernatural killer and agent of chaos known
as Mr Punch.”
The
seventh novel in the River of London series, I found myself a bit bored with
Aaronovitch’s detailed research. While I appreciate his efforts to create a
real, believable, smell inducing world, one where readers of the procedural
novels like more and less than the “magical” aspects, I also felt his obsession
with talking about buildings, their history and such, took the place of
characters and situations. I trust he knows what he’s doing, but the history
lesson became a bit pedantic as the book went along.
I was
also a bit disappointed with the Faceless Man 2.0, Martin Chorley. At the back
of my mind, I wondered when Aaronvitch would introduce the legend of King
Arthur into the series, along with the power behind the King, Merlin and Excalibur.
It comes here, but Chorley, in the end, turns out to be a low-level Bond
villain when its revealed his plan is just to reset world to a more simpler
time.
I’m also
learning that the recent novellas are having little impact on the main series,
but the graphic novels (currently nine) that have come out between books are
becoming more prominent and referenced in those novels. And this could become a
problem in the long run, as the series continues to grow in volumes. It forces
Aaronovtich to create more characters, more subplots (some that are short,
others that take longer to payoff), and spread his story through too many media
prints. I’m not a reader of the graphic novels and from my perspective, they
should not impact the main series, especially since some fans are claiming graphic
novels is seemly looking to be a higher priority with the author than the print
books.
There is
some humor in it, but not as much as earlier books, which implies that Peter is
growing up; it’s both nice and sad at the same time. False Value is next in the
series, but maybe I’ll wait to read it. Besides, in March sees the paperback
release of book nine and then I’ll be caught up. So maybe I’ll read something
else before the end of 2022.
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