Review: Broken Homes

Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Broken Homes is the fourth instalment in Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant series mixing magic and today's police work, and while there's still a lot of policing going on, I didn't feel like the case (or a case) was the focus of the story. So many things happened...
The rivers had a party, which was a convenient way to introduce another one of them and bring Beverley back. Ordinary people did things without always knowing why, bringing the Faceless Man back into focus. Lesley started a thing with Zach, and Zach brought the quite people up for a pub crawl. Oh, and a late German architect did some pretty weird things... (Also, as always in English books, they didn't get all of the German right, but it was close.)

The pacing of the book wasn't so great, which is probably why I lost track of the story line inbetween. The humour was great as always, though, and I loved learning a bit more about what Nightingale can actually do, and what's going on (or was going on) with magic in other countries. There was also, once more, the introduction to a new character who will hopefully get a place with the other regulars, even though it's getting a bit crowded. I think everyone from before was included in Broken Homes, but sometimes only with pretty minor roles that could have been left out to leave more room for an overall story arc.

The cases mostly couldn't be solved in a satisfactory way, at least not for the public. I won't add spoilers here, so just assume that the Faceless Man was quite active in the background. He was also very active behind Peter's back, showing how convenient it can be to have a first person narrator sometimes. Ben Aaronovitch really dropped a bomb on us readers in the end, holy shit!

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Review: Whispers Underground

Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked Whispers Under Ground, the third PC Grant novel after Rivers of London. Peter starts out with a visit to a girl from his parent's neighbourhood, who saw a ghost and knows that Peter can do magic and stuff - so she called him. That has nothing to do with the actual story, though, which starts the following night with the discovery of a dead man at Baker Street station. Peter got called onto the case because something seemed off, but it is "only" the murder weapon that seems to be imbued with magic. At the same time, the people from the Folly are also busy trying to find the Faceless Man, an "ethically challenged" magician hiding and working in London.

The story around the Faceless Man is definitely set out to continue for some time, and didn't play a major role here. Nevertheless, it was nicely interwoven with the story. Just like Abigail, the girl from the neighbourhood, who kind of closed the circle of the book.
The cast is generally still increasing, it seems. The rivers from the first book still always appear somehow, Abigail was already introduced in the last one (Moon Over Soho), and Peter again got to know a few new characters from the "magical London" who, at least I suspect that, might turn up again. It seems that the magical world is a small world indeed.

My only qualm - no, disappointment - with the book was the final reveal of the murderer and his motive. It seemed so... dumb, dull, something like that. And it most certainly wasn't what the blurb on my copy said: "whispers of vengeance from beyond the grave". I wonder who made that up.

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Review: The Rosie Project

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The Rosie Project is a "romantic comedy" (I guess) about a genetics professor trying to find a life partner. He's clearly somewhere on the autistic spectrum and reading the story from his (quite) unfeeling point of view is interesting, though it didn't always work.

I wasn't very impressed with this book; for me, it couldn't deliver what it (and the critics) promised. Here are some of my main qualms with The Rosie Project:

Right at the beginning, Don's supposedly best friend Gene has asked him to deliver a lecture that he was supposed to give himself. Fine.
The lecture is on a topic Don knows nothing about (Asperger's syndrome). Ok, weird, but he's very intelligent, so he can probably cope (at least he didn't complain).
Gene also neglects to mention what kind of lecture is required or whom it's for. This leads to a near-catastrophe when Don launches into a genetics (because that's what he's a professor of) focussed lecture on Asperger's in front of parents with kids affected by this illness. Why would Gene, as a friend, not warn Don who would be his audience? And why would an always deliberate, plan-based individual like Don not ask for this information in advance?
The same question, about Gene being a friend, also applies to Don's shock when he learns that these lectures never start on time. A warning would have been nice...

The time it takes to test the first blood sample against Rosie's cheek swap was way too quick. Even considering that he prepared the blood sample before the written part of their conversation occurs, even with that "very quick" new equipment... It looks like only a few minutes, and that's just not possible.
And, by the way, for someone who is so much into science and has lots of high quality science discussions, Don is incredibly reluctant to mention anything scientific in his account of these events. Neither about how the equipment works, nor what he actually does or what his group/institute is working on. We only have that information about Gene.

Upon their first arrival at the lab, Don takes two beers for himself and Rosie from the lab fridge. Later, he even goes from his office to the lab to get one from that fridge. I don't know about Australia, but in Germany you don't usually keep beer in a lab fridge. We have social rooms and kitchens for that, and knowing what's also in a lab fridge really makes you think twice about keeping food or drink in there. Plus, it's of course absolutely forbidden. And, seriously, in the same room with that new, high-tech and probably expensive machine?? Why would they place it in a former tea-room, anyway?

The book is written in first person, from Don's point of view. There's a ball scene which starts with him not being able to apply the theoretic dancing skills he learned in ten days to actual music and a live partner. He blames this on having not trained with actual music. Soon after that disaster, he dances with someone else - perfectly. A few pages on, he admits that he could have done better, but failed on purpose because he didn't like his partner. What kind of first person POV is that??

Last but not least, Don changes his appearance and his behaviour for a woman who doesn't quite match with him (she's a smoker, for God's sake!). He gives up almost everything that kept him grounded, turns his whole life around (at age 40) - for whom? The woman he apparently (for the more emotional reader) fell in love with on first sight, with no rationality behind it. It's so dumb it made me realise I shouldn't read any "romantic comedy" any more.
Also, imagine the gender roles were switched - feminists would be all over this!

Overall, The Rosie Project neither entertained me nor did it make me laugh (although I did recognise some scenes that were supposedly funny, just not for me). The only light in all this mess was the preview of the next book, where Don apparently starts regretting how he changed - at least partly. I'm not sure I should dare to read that, though...

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