Nothing is what it seems…

Writer: Ben Aaronvitch with Andrew Cartmel
Artist: Lee Sullivan
Colors: Paulina Vassileva
Letters: Rob Steen
Covers: Anna Dittmann; Robert Hack
Editor: Kristen Murray
Publisher: Titan Comics

Let me start by saying that I have never read the previous Rivers of London series so I’m coming into this book cold and… I like it. A lot. We begin with a suspicious death in the Netherlands that sets off alarm bells across the Wizarding world of this universe. This leads to one Peter Grant, police officer and first sanctioned wizard in almost 80 years, and his gorgeous river goddess girlfriend Beverly Brook getting called back from vacation and thrust headfirst into espionage, street racing and, most dangerous of all, the Fairie Realm.

Ben Aaronvitch and Andrew Cartmel have crafted a fully realized world that seamlessly blends modern policing, with all of its technology and advancements, with wizards and witchcraft. It’s fascinating and addresses one of my biggest issues with The Harry Potter series: why ignore common sense things such as mobile phones or forensics that would make life so much easier, even in a world with magic? On top of that, the characters are all pretty amazing and, more importantly, show what modern London (or New York, or Paris, or anywhere) actually looks like in their diversity of race, backgrounds and experiences.

Lee Sullivan and Paulina Vassileva give us some pretty great art that immerses you into this world, taking us from the banks of the Eastern Scheldt to London’s club scene to the backwoods of the underground racing world.

Overall I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the previous works of this series and seeing where the current story takes me.

Four Horns out of Five