Books: Ninth House By Leigh Bardugo (2019)

"Galaxy 'Alex' Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug-dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. In fact, by age twenty, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most prestigious universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her? Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. Their eight windowless 'tombs' are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street’s biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living."

Ninth House is largely inspired by the writers time at Yale University. Bardugo became inspired upon discovering the tombs of Yale's secret societies as she walked down New Haven's Grove Street during her freshman year. When her friend sent her pictures from their time at Yale years later, Bardugo was struck with memories, both pleasant and unpleasant, which inspired her to explore trauma for this novel but also companionship through it. The "ninth house" in the novel is based on the Anderson Mansion, the real-life New Haven headquarters of the Yale secret society Shabtai.

This is also Leigh Bardugo's first adult novel, following her highly regarded Six of Crows and Shadow and Bone series for young adults. Still I felt the premise, while fun and interesting, could’ve been easily set and turned into a young adult book (I also see a Nteflix series here, as well, as it seems designed for a streaming channel). She may have had to turn down some of the language, but this book is easily a PG-13 romp –an adultish Buffy the Vampire Slayer except without the goofy humor and over-the-top dialogue.

The book is not boring, though, and Bardugo’s Alex is interesting character, a sort of grown up, teenage version of Haley Joel Osment’s Cole Sear character from The Sixth Sense (“I see dead people”). Still, though, its Darlington, who vanished before the beginning and is seen in flashbacks, that comes off as the most interesting of all. Bardugo also introduces a murder mystery into the plot, which sets up a classic procedural element that helps, at times, ground the Ninth House in reality. The book also sort of pokes fun (whether that is intentional or not, it’s what I took from it) at all the secret societies that have existed over the millennia, giving credence to the long rumored idea that the rich and powerful have used the supernatural to keep themselves in power.

In the same vein, though, I felt we did not get the coda the book was seemly setting up, as Bardugo curiously decides to avoid calling out those same people, the rich and the powerful, who use their privilege to hurt others, either by physical attacks, murder, emotional torture, or even supernatural magic to get what they want. But this abuse she sets up gets dropped along the way, giving it an unsatisfying ending

What saves this book, and will ultimately make me read the continuation sometime in 2023, is the wry humor. Despite the silliness of the plot, the gallows humor and an interesting lead have won me over.

Books: Doctor Who: The Way Through the Woods by Una McCormick (2011)

 

"Two teenage girls disappear into an ancient wood, a foreboding and malevolent presence both now and in the past. The modern motorway bends to avoid it, as did the old Roman road. In 1917 the Doctor and Amy are desperate to find out what's happened to Rory, who's vanished too. But something is waiting for them in the woods. Something that's been there for thousands of years. Something that is now waking up." 

A rare media tie-in that actually works –it has an effective setup and features some timey-wimey aspects that make it fun. The Way Through the Woods is a fast-paced entry in this series, with well-drawn characters and great humor. Both Amy and Rory is more the driver of this story, with Doctor sidelined in jail for most of the book. It does fall apart towards the end, mostly because the Doctor solves everything in like 5 minutes and the Ship spends way too much time using a young Harry’s memories for really no purpose. And while Reyne had questionable morals and Laura fell under his spell, his turn to real evil left me empty.

Fun book, with little or no real consequences, but worth the time.

Book: The October Man By Ben Aaronovitch (2019)

“Trier is famous for wine, Romans and for being Germany's oldest city. So when a man is found dead with, his body impossibly covered in a fungal rot, the local authorities know they are out of their depth. Fortunately this is Germany, where there are procedures for everything. Enter Investigator Tobias Winter, whose aim is to get in, deal with the problem, and get out with the minimum of fuss, personal danger and paperwork. With the help of frighteningly enthusiastic local cop, Vanessa Sommer, he's quick to link the first victim to a group of ordinary middle aged men - and to realize they may have accidentally reawakened a bloody conflict from a previous century. But the rot is still spreading, literally and with the suspect list extending to people born before Frederick the Great solving the case may mean unearthing the city's secret magical history. So long as that history doesn't kill them first.”

The October Man is lovely off-shoot to the Rivers of London series, were we meet Tobias Winter, who works for the Abteilung KDA (Complex and Diffuse Matters), a division within the Bundeskriminalamt (the Federal Crime Police) in Trier, a city on the banks of the Moselle. It lies in a valley in the west of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the border with Luxenbourg and within the important Moselle wine region. Much like the Folly, he investigates crimes of supernatural origin –or magic. Winter’s superior is only refrerred to as The Director (or Die Chefin), who was appointed by the KDA in 2005 by the new chancellor and is the only registered and qualified practitioner in post-unification Germany (before and during WWII, there were many). Oddly, the Director and Tobias are well aware of “the Nightingale” and his apprentice, Peter, but their British counterparts don’t know about them.

Anyways, much like the parent series, this novella has witty narration and enough snark to sometimes feel like its Peter Grant and not Tobias Winter talking. Still, Aaronvitch gives Tobias enough different quirks that you eventually settle down and realize they are two separate characters.  

The mystery of the murder is well constructed, and fans of deep procedural books, movies, and TV will appreciate how Tobias and Vanessa go about trying to solve it. It’s compelling enough to keep me reading, which I liked. Like any whodunits (even ones with magic and water Gods), it features a few twists and turns. However, I felt the ending was rushed and the motive for killer could’ve been better highlighted (like why the obsession to young Jackie to begin with). But the novella really reflects the work police must do during the investigation into a crime.

The local history of area and of Germany the writer relates does not affect the pacing, something the three novellas I’ve read so far have in common. Aaronovitch, like a lot of writers, can sometimes lose themselves in the weeds of world building. While a fun tale and Tobias grew on me, I don’t think he’s as engaging or as fun as Peter. But I would not be upset to either have the German version of the the Folly continue, or have the two eventually meet up. It could be fun.

Books: The Hanging Tree By Ben Aaronovitch (2017)

 

“Suspicious deaths are not usually the concern of Police Constable Peter Grant or the Folly—London’s police department for supernatural cases—even when they happen at an exclusive party in one of the flats of the most expensive apartment blocks in London. But the daughter of Lady Ty, influential goddess of the Tyburn river, was there, and Peter owes Lady Ty a favor. Plunged into the alien world of the super-rich, where the basements are bigger than the houses, where the law is something bought and sold on the open market, a sensible young copper would keep his head down and his nose clean. But this is Peter Grant we’re talking about. He’s been given an unparalleled opportunity to alienate old friends and create new enemies at the point where the world of magic and that of privilege intersect. Assuming he survives the week.”

As the sixth novel in the Rivers of London series plays out, we get some new developments in Peter's personal life, with the overall arc of the series takes a solid step forward. This tale still plays out as more procedural, even though we still get a lot magic. While Peter spends time hob-knobbing with the upper-crust of British life, Aaronovitch does not use this too much as social commentary on Peter’s life or his job. Here, also, DC Guleed, a female cop who wears a hijab, who debuted as a minor character in Whispers Under Ground, gets a co-starring role here. She’s a wonderfully realized here.

As always, Aaronovitch adds his dark humor, with some often time, and laugh out loud, clever comic touches. After the books fives diversion to the suburbs and novella that dealt with ghosts haunting the underground railway system, The Hanging Tree gets back to the main arc –dealing with the Faceless Man and his alliance with Lesley –though what their ultimate endgame is remains elusive.

Books: The Furthest Station By Ben Aaronovtich (2017)

“There have been ghosts on the London Underground, sad, harmless spectres whose presence does little more than give a frisson to traveling and boost tourism. But now there’s a rash of sightings on the Metropolitan Line and these ghosts are frightening, aggressive and seem to be looking for something. Enter PC Peter Grant, junior member of the Metropolitan Police’s Special Assessment unit a.k.a. The Folly a.k.a. the only police officers whose official duties include ghost hunting. Together with Jaget Kumar, his counterpart at the British Transport Police, he must brave the terrifying crush of London’s rush hour to find the source of the ghosts. Joined by Peter’s wannabe wizard cousin, a preschool river god and Toby the ghost hunting dog, their investigation takes a darker tone as they realize that a real person’s life might just be on the line.”

Technically, The Furthest Station was the first novella-length story to be published in Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series and chronologically, it is set somewhere between 2014’s Foxglove Summer and 2017’s The Hanging Tree. Still, 2021’s novella, What Abigail Did That Summer, leap frogs over this tale (and there is even a mention, of sorts, of that event here) to be the “first” tale set between the main series. Once again, we get hints at how Peter’s cousin, Abigail, is fitting in with all things magical in London.

Based on an interview at the end of this release, I get the impression that this novella was more or less designed (as probably the short story collection I’ve yet to acquire) to broaden the franchise out a bit by not really interfering with the main series. It gives Aaronvitch a chance to explore other ideas, add more dimensions to side characters, and give more information about the early days of the Folly.

While I’ve found great enjoyment with the series, for those who might not like books about magic, I would still highly suggest this one, if only because the procedural element sometimes is more the thrust of the story than the magic. In a sense, Aaronvitch fools the reader in believing your reading a tale about magic and wizards, when, in the end, the story has a more conventional policing methods. As for The Furthest Station, the story is tight, and like Foxglove Summer, focused on one through line. There are still plenty of loose ends here, which I hope will be further explored in the main series, but altogether a fun time is had.