Rivers of London: A Who’s Who of Lurkers, Workers, Hangers-on, and Ne’er-do-wells~
This is part five of what I thought might be a three part series on The Rivers of London novels by Ben Aaronovitch and its enchanting roleplaying game from Chaosium. In part one, we gave a shamelessly quick overview of the books and of the game. In part two, we surveyed the first three novels with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it callousness. In the third installment, we touched on the five current novellas and their key differences from the novels with the special care and nonchalant casualness of a certain Mr. Palmer when lying. In our fourth outing on this subject we returned to the novels and brutally avoided spoilers the way some architects avoid loveliness. In this post, we will once again divert our attention from the books to talk to an insufficient degree about some of the amazing characters who fill the moments of levity, of drama, of fear, and of profundity which set this series apart from the others in its category on the shelves of Waterstones and the few surviving bookstores like it in this blighted digital age.
Rivers of London: Murder, Brutalism, and Cheeky Nandos
This is part four of a series exploring the source material from The Rivers of London novels by Ben Aaronovitch which has given rise to a charming RPG from Chaosium. This series explores inspirations for and attitudes about playing the game, hoping to encourage gamers to look past the expectations of typical urban fantasy and police procedurals to find the beautiful and moving moments of something much deeper. It would be nice too, if readers who have not yet tried a roleplaying game but love the series, could be enticed by this series to give it a try. The world you love in the books can come to life in your own play. It’s a kind of magic.
Rivers of London: ‘Tis the Season for Novellas
This is part three of a series exploring the source material from The Rivers of London novels by Ben Aaronovitch which inspired and supports a streamlined BRP roleplaying game by Chaosium. The motivation behind the series is to explore approaches to playing the game, and to acknowledge and inspire gamers to look past the upbeat and humorous writing, punctuated by police procedure and magical action, to find the beautiful and moving moments of perhaps unexpected potency which make the books stand out. The combination, if grasped and brought into a game, is killer.
Rivers of London: Riots, and Jazz, and Sten Guns, oh my!
This is part two of a series exploring the source material of The Rivers of London roleplaying game by Chaosium which should surprise no one is the Rivers of London book series by Ben Aaronovitch. In part one, we did a ridiculously quick overview of the premise of the series, an even faster overview of the game, and made a note about how the upbeat and humorous writing, punctuated by police procedure and magical action, was also home to beautiful and moving moments of perhaps unexpected potency. In this installment, the first three books are to be brought into the Achieving Best Evidence suite and without benefit of Molly’s cooking, will give up some of the secrets they have been hiding.
Rivers of London: Not all Magic and Laughter (or dice)
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 an 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.
