Published: February 20, 2020
Publisher: DAW
Series: Rivers of London #8 (US)
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 303 (eBook)
My Rating: 4 Stars
Synopsis:
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 Terrence Skinner’s brand new London start up—the Serious Cybernetics Company.
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 favourite son.
Because Terrence Skinner has a secret hidden in the bowels of the SCC. A technology that stretches back to Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, and forward to the future of artificial intelligence. A secret that is just as magical as it technological—and just as dangerous.
At the end of Lies Sleeping, Peter was placed on administrative leave after Lesley May killed Martin Chorley while he was in Peter’s custody. This book picks up with Peter starting a new job as a security guy for a big tech firm, specifically hired to find a mole in the company. Bev’s having twins and this is good pay and certainly a lot safer than being a cop, especially one dealing with magical stuff. But wait, PSYCHE! Peter is actually undercover and still working with Nightingale and the Folly, which was a massive relief to me.
He’s searching for something called the Mary Engine, which is a very old device rumored to be able to generate magic. There are tons of references to Ada Lovelace and the earliest “computers” and, in a way, it’s a bit of a history lesson or at least something that prompts the reader to go learn more about some of the real historical figures mentioned.
With the death of Martin Chorley and the disappearance of Lesley May, the tone of the story has changed massively. Peter’s now in a very different stage of life, with the nearing arrival of he and Bev’s twins, and the taking on of the undercover role. It’s back to being more of a “case of the week” type story, without the overarching arc of the Faceless Man to tie everything together. What was really awesome is that this installment introduces one of the American magical organizations, which interestingly enough happens to be the New York Public Library. They aren’t “bad guys” per se, but they do have their own motives and the duo in London keep ending up in the way of the Folly. It was interesting to see how the British and American magical societies interacted with one another. There’s a particularly awesome scene where Nightingale and Ms. Chen have a showdown – good stuff!
The aforementioned change in tone threw me off kilter initially, but I ended up really enjoying this book though I always felt like I was trying to catch up with the goings on. I attribute my mild confusion to playing a game while listening to most of this, which was not the best of life choices. The next and ninth novel is the the most recent full length installment, though I did find a pre-order placeholder for a 2024 release on the Blackwell’s UK website (no synopsis or title though).
Powder & Page 
Leave a comment