CWs:

mass shootings, gun violence

False Value is the eighth book in Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series. This book sees Peter taking a job at a tech company to try to solve a mystery with links to Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace.

I found this a frustrating read. To begin with, there is so much nonsensical jargon related to the tech company that I felt disorientated. Now this is likely on purpose, to highlight the ridiculousness of most tech companies, but it felt overdone. The book also starts out being written in time shifts, which took some getting used to, and then the shifts are abandoned partway through. And while I can understand why Aaronovitch chose to do this to conceal certain facts to begin with, I don't think that it fully worked.

The central mystery of the novel was wholly unsatisfying. I never fully understood what was going on, and

the bait and switch with who the real villain was came seemingly out of nowhere in a way that felt befuddling rather than shocking.

I found Peter and Beverley's relationship frustrating as well, for numerous reasons. I enjoy them as a couple but we're all the way in book eight and it's only now that Peter's starting to think about the ethical quandaries of Beverley's powers? And Beverley's interest in Stacy Carter and her family felt somewhat out of character for Beverley, who has never expressed concerns about the way Peter's job impacts families' livelihoods before.

All in all, this book was a disappointing addition to the series.

After a true highlight in the last book, this one fell a little flat for me. The plot was… thin and I didn’t really enjoy the constant references to other sci-fi/fantasy franchises. Before, these “nerdy” snippets had always felt like an insight into Peter’s hobbies and character, but in this book they were invasive into all aspects of the plot. It was dull at best and cringe at worst, taking away from Aaronovitch’s own world-building for me.

As always though, I loved hearing more about the magical world and new spells. (The goddess of the Regent’s Canal is my new favourite character and that whole sequence was the best thing in this book by far! 🍞)

There was some good action peppered throughout, but I was disappointed in the final scenes

the villain is not as villainous as previous ones have been by half and it was so fast-paced I felt it was over before it had even begun. I was quite invested in the plot and what was happening with all the drones and engines until the end when it didn’t come to the peak I was expecting.