Paperback, 478 pages
german language
Published Oct. 27, 2018 by dtv Verlagsgesellschaft.
Peter Grant ist Police Constable in London mit einer ausgeprägten Begabung fürs Magische. Was seinen Vorgesetzten nicht entgeht. Auftritt Thomas Nightingale, Polizeiinspektor und außerdem der letzte Zauberer Englands. Er wird Peter in den Grundlagen der Magie ausbilden. Ein Mord in Covent Garden führt den frischgebackenen Zauberlehrling Peter auf die Spur eines Schauspielers, der vor 200 Jahren an dieser Stelle den Tod fand.
...aber dieses Buch nicht zu lesen ist kein echtes Versäumnis.
Content warning I tell you who did it.
Here I am, already having to swallow my words. Writing the Sunshine review, I said that urban fantasy isn't really for me. And then I go and really enjoy this book! Maybe it just needs to be written by a Brit.
Yeah, this book is very British, in its humor, in its setting, in its main character (a simple police constable, with the helmet and all.), and it's a great take on urban fantasy. You can tell that Aaronovitch must have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the city, and he uses it very well to inform the more fantastical aspects of his story. I also love how he involves certain English subcultures, like the Travelers and Nigerian immigrants. That's the stuff that makes it feel like a real, breathing city, you know? Only downside is maybe that our constable in question, Peter Grant, is a horny, young man and I'm not always a fan of how that is portrayed.
Something I did find interesting is that this is the first book in the series. Not that the plot was bad, it was just... bizarre in a way you don't expect in a first book in a series. Really? The spirit of riot and rebellion represented by Mr Punch possesses a ghost, who possesses a bunch of people who have their face magically altered to look like the puppet? And the sidekick is the mastermind behind it all? That just screams "we're four or five books in, and the author is kind of running out of his more normal ideas" to me. Then again, it made more sense when I learned that he used to be a writer for Doctor Who. Either, he was able to weave a lot more of those "normal" ideas into his writing for that show, or it taught him that you can never get too wacky.
I'm definitely looking forward to checking out the sequels.
Excellent modern paranormal with a British twist.
I enjoy the pace of the story, the characters, and the mysteries surrounding the paranormal in this setting.
A fun and silly paranormal crime novel. Very good fun.
So I absolutely adored this comic, the perfect compliment to the PC Peter Grant series.
One thing I have always loved about the PC Peter Grant series is that it describes a London that I feel like I really know. It's diverse and place of many different cultures, not just in the people, but the locations too and Ben does a great job of capturing that in this comic, much like in the novel.
The story is gripping and fits well with the novels, and there's a few shorts in the end which show a bit more detail around some of the characters lives. Which is kinda funny and shows insight that you don't really get in the novels.
This is going to be one of those comics I recommend to everyone I think. Then again the whole universe is so maybe I'm biased.
So I absolutely adored this comic, the perfect compliment to the PC Peter Grant series.
One thing I have always loved about the PC Peter Grant series is that it describes a London that I feel like I really know. It's diverse and place of many different cultures, not just in the people, but the locations too and Ben does a great job of capturing that in this comic, much like in the novel.
The story is gripping and fits well with the novels, and there's a few shorts in the end which show a bit more detail around some of the characters lives. Which is kinda funny and shows insight that you don't really get in the novels.
This is going to be one of those comics I recommend to everyone I think. Then again the whole universe is so maybe I'm biased.
Like... Harry Potter meets the police and the Doctor (Who).
Bon, j'avais écrit un long texte, mais une sauvegarde loupée a tout détruit. Je résume donc.
On suit ici un narrateur qui entre dans la brigade surnaturelle de la police de Londres. il y enquête en parallèle sur plusieurs .... affaires. ces affaires mettent évidement à mal sa vision rationaliste du monde, mais pas ses importantes capacités intellectuelles (il y a plusieurs passages où j'ai eu l'impression que le type était vraiment bien plus brillant qu'un policier habituel). Ces enquêtes se passent plus ou moins bien. Et si le rythme de l'enquête est parfois un peu bancal, il y dans le ton de l'écriture un côté assez plaisant qui donne bien envie de lire la suite.
Bon, j'avais écrit un long texte, mais une sauvegarde loupée a tout détruit. Je résume donc.
On suit ici un narrateur qui entre dans la brigade surnaturelle de la police de Londres. il y enquête en parallèle sur plusieurs .... affaires. ces affaires mettent évidement à mal sa vision rationaliste du monde, mais pas ses importantes capacités intellectuelles (il y a plusieurs passages où j'ai eu l'impression que le type était vraiment bien plus brillant qu'un policier habituel). Ces enquêtes se passent plus ou moins bien. Et si le rythme de l'enquête est parfois un peu bancal, il y dans le ton de l'écriture un côté assez plaisant qui donne bien envie de lire la suite.
