“Peter Grant is facing
fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and
enthusiasm. Rather than sit around, he takes a job with émigré Silicon Valley
tech genius Terrance Skinner's brand new London start
up—the Serious Cybernetics Corporation.
Drawn into the orbit of Old Street's famous 'silicon roundabout', Peter must
learn how to blend in with people who are both civilians and geekier than he
is. Compared to his last job, Peter thinks it should be a doddle. But magic is
not finished with Mama Grant's favorite son. But Terrence Skinner has a secret hidden
in the bowels of the SCC, a technology that stretches back to Ada Lovelace (an
English mathematician and writer, who was chiefly known for her work on Charles
Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine) and
forward to the future of artificial intelligence. A secret that is just as
magical as it technological—and just as dangerous.”
The eighth book in the Rivers of London series
is a more serious, more straightforward tale than previously. The humor is
still there, the in-jokes and sly references for longtime fantasy readers and
pop culture geeks are still here, but the tone is shifted a bit. Peter seems
older (though some timeline issues are discussed below), maybe a bit more
settled as he awaits the birth of his twins with Beverly Brooks. Aaronovitch
also tries something new here with the narrative, with the first bunch of
chapters bouncing back and forth between December 2015 and January 2016. It’s a
bit jarring at first. And Skinner, a quirky little tech billionaire has referenced Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in all his organizational
roles and policies, which is fun for Hitchhiker’s fans, but the author does
take the joke a bit far.
After seven books, False Value is setting up a
new arc, and I’m unsure where this will go. A lot of what urban fantasy readers
like about this sub-genre is put on hold somewhat, as this book sets a more
science fiction vibe, a Doctor Who vibe in some respect (as Aaronovitch
launched his career with the franchise some 35 years ago), if I may be so bold.
There some new characters, especially American’s Stephen and the Librarian,
Mrs. Chin stand out. I’m still not sold on the whole baby situation and will be
curious where this will go, as well.
The ninth book won’t be released in paperback
until the end of March, so this series goes into sleep mode for now.
Also, it took me a while, but I eventually
noticed that despite the year or two between books, in the universe of the
River of London series, that timeline is much smaller.
The author mentioned at one
time that the three first novels were originally supposed to be set in 2011,
giving Peter enough head start of his apprenticeship to tackle the character of
Antoine Bobet in 2012, during the London Olympic games and as seen in his short
story The Home Crowd Advantage (first released on his blog and is now included
in the short story collection Tales From the Folly, which I’ve still not acquired).
But eventually, those first three books all happened in 2012. So The Home Crowd Advantage is slightly
off-canon as it is set 2012. I’m sure not many noticed. The fourth book, Broken
Homes (2013) is set the spring of 2013, followed by Foxglove Summer and the
novella What Abigail Did that Summer. There are few story stories and graphic
novels that take place sometime later in 2013 and early 2014. The Furthest
Station (2017) novella is set in the summer of 2014, with The Hanging Tree (also
2017) settling into the fall of that year; Lies Sleeping (2018) is set in the
summer of 2015, as is the novella The October Men (in October, naturally).
False Value (2020) is set in 2016, as Peter’s first day at the Serious
Cybernetics Corporation coincides with the death of David Bowie, which
pinpoints the date to January 10th, 2016. But the real beginning is set in
December 2015.
The reason I bring this up is
because to keep the story smooth, but knowing that his universe is getting
bigger (graphic novels, games, and novellas), you have to keep an eye on
continuity. As such, False Value has a lot references to 3D printers and
drones. At times, I felt what he wanted both to do was seemed far more advanced
in 2016 than they should be –though he points out in a Technical Note at the back
of the book that those two modern devices remain a “rapidly evolving technology,”
so who knows, maybe is 2016 they could do what the story needed them to do.
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