This community is for fans of Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series. Discussion, fanworks are all welcome.
Re-read: Rivers of London/Midnight Riot, Chapters 9 and 10
In these chapters, Peter meets Tyburn Lady Ty, and it doesn't go well. Don't blow up priceless marble antiques, Peter! That's not how you win friends and influence people! Lady Ty is kind of an asshole, but she's not really wrong, is she? The Folly is outdated. I think Nightingale knows this, deep down, which is one of the reasons he takes on Peter as an apprentice.
We get quite a bit of detai about Peter's father and his heroin addiction, and get more hints about his disastrous A-levels. The more we learn about Peter's childhood as the series goes on, the more I want to hug him.
Anyhow, there's not a lot of time to worry about Lady Ty, because Mr. Punch is escalating his murder spree, but fortunately Peter has a cunning plan to arrest him, so they go and get a warrant from the ghost magistrate and OMGWTFNIGHTINGALE!!!!!!!
Seriously, I nearly had a quiet heart attack the first I read this chapter. I was sure Nightingale was going to die. Maybe I should've figured out that Aaronovitch wouldn't have created a character with so much potential only to kill him off in the first book, but in my defense, overpowered mentor figures don't tend to have long lifespans in fantasy literature, at least not after they meet the hero. I thought Nightingale was going to be the Qui-gon Jinn to Peter's Obi-wan. But then he survived, and I breathed a big sigh of relief, and then OMGWTFLESLEY!!!!!
I liked that despite all the magic, it was plain old-fashioned police work that let Peter figure out that Lesley was sequestered. Peter really is a good copper, even if he doesn't always believe it himeslf.
What did you guys think? Were you any better at predicting the plot twists than I was?




This scene is the reason I always word search "Nightingale" to make sure he survives whatever novel I'm on. I'll still read. I just want to be prepared if he suffers the fate of all mentors before him.
I live in fear that Nightingale will get killed off in the very last book, as a way of passing the legacy of English magic to Peter.
The thing about Lady Ty is that she is an absolute jerk but she suggests some very necessary improvements. Sure, they're to her advantage but still she makes some good point. I cannot wait for a show down between her and Mama Thames (you know it's coming).
I would love a Star Wars and RoL fusion fic. I just love fusion fics. Nightingale casually blowing up a Y-wing starfighter (the closest to a tiger tank I could think of). Force-sensitive Lesley. The Rivers of London as beings of the pure force etc
Magic as the Force would work pretty well, I think. With Peter deciding that this whole "midichlorians" thing is bullshit, and launching an obsessive scientific inverstigation into what really makes the Force tick.
I'm hoping, base on the title, that The Hanging Tree will have lots of Lady Ty in it, and that we'll get a nuanced portrayal of her. One thing I hate in stories is when everyone who opposes or dislikes the heroes is evil and/or stupid. Aaranovitch has avoided that so far -- Lady Ty and Seawoll are antagonistic, but as a reader I can respect them and see where they're coming from, even if ultimately I'm on Peter and Nightingale's side. Hopefully this keeps on being true.
Oh god, why'd you have to remind me of the midichlorians. The worst plot device ever.
I think what Aaronovitch does really well with Peter is that Peter respects everyone he meets. To varying degrees! Not only that, he also listens to them, might not agree with them but he does listen. So that comes through in how we see Ty and Seawoll who could easily have been written as harridans or nags. And even Lesley, as questionable as she has become, you can still understand that Peter feels some form of kinship with her and he gets why she might have gone dark side.
Sorry it got a bit rambly, but Aaronovitch writes females from male PoV really well basically haha.
I think this is the first time we see just how powerful the Rivers really are. Mind control is a really interesting thing, especially when you're reading it from the POV of Peter, the person who's being nonconned into drinking Lady Ty's water. I mean, it sounds ridiculous when you say it like that, but I love how we can see Peter's thought process and how horrified he is with the loss of autonomy. And how he has think and act fast in order to save his own ass, too.
Also, when Lesley is at the hospital next to the poor blind guy she says "And I complained when I had my braces in", which gave me chills because of what will happen to her /O\
The scene where Nightingale almost dies is so wellwritten, I felt tense and nervous even though I knew nothing was gonna happen.
OMGWTFLESLEY indeed, I'm not looking forward to what's gonna happen soon... :((((
Yeah, Lady Ty is genuinely menacing, and it drives home just how incredibly powerful Mama Thames and Father Thames could be if they really let loose. And it also hints at just how powerful Nightingale is since, as Peter realizes, he's what's keeping the balance between the magical and mundane worlds. Lots of really good foreshadowing in that scene.
Lesley... *sniffle* I'll never be over what happens to her.
Nightingale is very powerful - he stopped a tank with magic! My mind is now going places replacing every Chuck Norris fact with Nightingale facts XD
If someone who never read the books before is reading this thread, they're probably thinking that Lesley will die. She won't die, I promise! But, yeah, things will get shitty for her :(
I like the slow build we get with Nightingale -- we get occasional off-hand remarks about the badass things he's done, various supernatural creatures (including the Rivers themselves) act wary of him, we get that great moment where he blows up the till for Peter's experiment -- but we don't see him truly cut loose until Broken Homes, and then it's like FINALLY!
Forreal! All we get is hints and then boom! BAMF Nightingale \o/