Rivers of London Vol 1: Body Work by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan & Luis Guerrero – A Graphic Novel Review

Blurb:

Peter Grant looks look your average London police officer, but he is actually a part-time wizard in a very elite branch of the Metropolitan Police. It’s his job to investigate those crimes that regular cops don’t like to talk about because they often involve vampires or strange things in Underground tunnels. Peter’s latest case features a self-driving killer automobile, a Serbian refugee, the Most Haunted Car in England, a handsome drug dealer with a nice paisley scarf and a seemingly harmless wooden bench with a dark past! Collecting the sell-out smash mini-series, Rivers of London: Body Work!

 

Authors: Ben Aaronovitch & Andrew Cartmel

Illustrators: Lee Sullivan & Luis Guerrero

Publisher: Titan

Release Date: 02/03/2016

Genre: Fantasy/Urban Fantasy/Crime

Pages: 128

My Chosen Format: Paperback

My Rating of ‘Body Work’: 4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon UK, Amazon US, Book Depository

 

Review:

I should note that this takes place in between books four and five. From what I have heard, book five makes reference to events from this story. That being said, you don’t need to have read all the books to enjoy this. I actually think I have only got through the first three, and I loved it.

Being a huge fan of the Peter Grant series of novels by Ben Aaronovitch, when seeing this little beauty just sat on the shelf in my local library, I had to grab it, run home, and read it within a space of about thirty minutes.

I was not disappointed.

The artwork is fantastic, despite the fact that I pictured the characters different in my head as the artist does on the pages. But that’s difference of opinion and artistic licence for you. The only negative I would throw out for the artwork is that, in the books, Molly is described as having a wicked set of teeth. She just has some nice pearly whites in the little mini-series at the end of the graphic novel. So was a little let down by that omission.

I listened to the original novels in audiobook format and the familiar witty style of Aaronovitch’s writing shines through in the comics, so much so that I found myself reading it in Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s voice (the narrator for the novels). I was a little wary that the style might be hurt by the adaption into comic book format, but was happily mistaken. The plot was fantastic and I came away feeling like I had read an entire, complete tale, despite it being only 30 minutes or so of furious reading.

The basic plotline is that of DC Peter Grant, Inspector Thomas Nightingale and their trusty sidekick Toby (their dog) on the hunt for parts of a haunted/cursed BMW that spells bad luck for anyone who drives it. There’s also a delightful little side plot that delves into Nightingale’s past and introduces the reader to the most haunted car in England.

Perhaps my only negatives, aside from Molly’s teeth, is how readily certain characters accept the use of magic (despite never having been introduced to it before). I’d have expected/liked to see them require a bit more convincing, maybe hyperventilate a little bit or just all out loose their composure. That didn’t happen. But, it didn’t detract too much from the story.

There was a slight bit of jumping around as far as the plot went. It made it hard to keep up at first but it settled down fairly quickly. These little negatives by no means make this any less enjoyable or fantastic a read.

All in all, I can’t wait to get my hands on the next instalment and I’ll certainly be listening to the other audiobooks that I have sat there waiting for me to get to. I also plan to raid my library for graphic novels … so expect many more graphic novel reviews in the future.