Books: False Value By Ben Aaronovitch (2020)

“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.