Casting Shadows

This is a roleplaying games blog so what follows is a view of its subject through that perspective. That view of the Rivers of London book series, otherwise known as the Peter Grant series, is aided by the author being a roleplaying gamer himself and allowing the joy of that to seep into the writing and the lives of characters. Currently, the series has grown to include the still expanding line of novels, a few novellas from different character points-of-view, some impactful short stories, a series of graphic novels done in tandem with collaborators which intersect with the novels, the audio versions of the books featuring extraordinary narrators, and an RPG by Chaosium. There is, of course, the persistent rumor of a pending TV series, but as it keeps pending I will keep considering it a rumor – even when the author himself speaks of it.

The reason I am doing this small series on the Rivers of London is motivated by the existence and quality of the RPG, of course, but it is also about the real moments of truly beautiful writing which present moments of profundity in what could otherwise be taken as yet another urban fantasy or police procedural. Looking at a book cover or hearing a description is more likely to be reductive or simply comparative. Those moments, secreted throughout the series, deserve better.

If you, Dear Reader, feel the same way then I would ask you to reveal the existence of those moments yourself. Don’t spoil them or give them away, but be the friend who suggests the book and intimates there are things within that the covers hide, that the action, magic, and comedy seek to disguise, and that the promotional copy ignores. Like the titular rivers, these stories wend their way through and around all the moments of life, and if you look, you can see these moments glittering in the waters, waiting for you.

The Books

I got into this series by luck and a whim just before Book 4 was released, which was a nice place to start. I had three great novels to enjoy and a fairly short wait for the next. During my read of the first novel, I started a daily commute by car and checked out the audiobook. I was blown away by the quality of the narration and the pairing of Ben Aaronvitch as author and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as the voices of the characters is one made in heaven. Now in re-reads, I switch between pure text, pure audio, and both together and it is glorious.

The books and the novellas are done in a retrospective narrative style with one exception which is that one character is regularly done as present-tense narration. The novels, except for the 10th, are purely the domain of Peter Grant as the PoV character, and over the course of the series there are signs that the distance between the recounting of the tale and whatever present the character lives in has grown longer. As we move through the series in other words, the voice and perspective seem to be that of an older man than the one who began it – almost like some things happened which ate into his time. IYKYK.

Peter Grant begins the series as a newly-minted police constable who is charming, a good networker, and quite easy to distract. His career path, until a fateful meeting at a crime scene, is not looking promising. That meeting gives him all the right channels into which to pour his great talents, and sufficiently compelling secrets to hold his attention. He, unlike so many lost and wandering in this life, is about to learn the missing piece which helps him to understand the world and might help him realize his place in it.

The tone of voice is light and quick, it makes use of all the great tricks of oral storytelling in text format and makes a real effort to bring London into focus as its setting in ways which inform the characters and their stories, not just giving the reader a visual backdrop. There is in-character humor in the moment, and Peter often injects humorous commentary from his present as the narrator. Of course, there is police procedure, investigation, peril, and magic – not to mention romance, chases, escapes, loyalty, friendship, love, and betrayal. Icing on the cake is that Aaronvitch does not feel the need to explain everything, you get to think along with the characters and are rewarded by re-reading.

The characters are allowed to have room, and are given respect. Not all of their secrets are ours – or Peter’s – to know, but there are always careful signs of secret dreams, of losses, and things best kept out of sight. Sometimes these things come out, sometimes we just feel them, and the realness of the character, in the back of our minds, like memories of people we knew, and could have known better.

The Game

If you have been around and been a gamer for awhile, there is a good chance you have seen an adaptation of at least one book or film into an RPG which has left you wondering if the team assigned to it had investigated the source material beyond a surface level or understood how the way their system works does or does not cooperate with the feel of that material.

With Chaosium’s Rivers of London there is no doubt that they had investigated deeply, continue to do so, and were willing and able to fine tune the system to match the feel and heart of the material. This is in no small part due to the skill and attention to detail of the Game Line Editor, Dr. Lynn Hardy, and the adroit efforts of Paul Fricker as System Developer. As a bonus, Ben Aaronvitch, author, creator, and gamer, remains an active participant – not some absentee licensor behind a cloud of non-gamer agents and hoodlums.

The game itself, as is discussed in better detail in my impressions video, uses a purposefully-streamlined version of BRP. Play is fast, intuitive, and gives structure where it is needed and flexibility where it is thematically appropriate. Characters play and develop in much the same way we perceive them doing in the books, and it is easy to pick up a pre-gen or create your own and get right to playing.

The design and presentation of the book is as playful and welcoming as the series characters are, with some of the violent or frightening edges and tones filed away for inclusion as desired by the group and the more colorful and whimsical elements placed in the forefront. Much like Peter’s journey into discovering the world and all of its hidden magic, the game can go in the directions we desire from a more familiar place. As such it makes a great fit for long-form campaigns or episodic sessions in families or other groups of mixed interests, ages, and sensibilities.

What I want from the game

In my play of the game, while I of course enjoy the action and the hopefully clever use of limited apprentice-level magic, it is those moments of profundity that I hope for. What makes those moments possible in the books is the author’s honest understanding and heartfelt portrayal of the characters in their world. Their voices and feelings come through and make their situations feel real.

I have set and played sessions set in the titular London of the books, and in Korea where I live. The world makes sense and fits into place with the real world as you start to look around and fill in the blanks with Aaronvitch’s logic (and magic). Of course, Chaosium offers supplements and case files to help fill the world and keep play in motion (and help the author more easily keep track of his world a la Larry Niven and known space?).

As I continue to play the game, I look forward to exploring different parts of the world including those amazingly described places in and around London – not to imagine them per se – but to have them be relevant to the experiences of the characters we play and the challenges community policing in the demi-monde put before them.

This series of posts?

Subsequent posts in this series will focus on one or more of the novels, some useful material for gaming in those novels, and a nudge toward and hint about those moments of profundity we talked about way up at the top of this entry.

Until then, Dear Reader, take care~