Writing reviews for long running series of books becomes progressively more difficult. I think we've reached that stage with Foxglove Summer which is the fifth in Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant urban fantasy books.

The problem is not that it's a bad book (it's actually a highly enjoyable one) it's that I've both said much of what I want to say about the series before and I have to be careful what I say about events from previous books in the series. This is a bit limiting.

Never the less there are a few things that set this latest installment apart from previous entries in the series.

That's Not London!

The single biggest change here is that the story is not set in London, in fact London doesn't feature at all. For a series whose origin centered around the goddesses of the London rivers, that's a substantial departure.

Putting Peter Grant in a new location does allow Aaronovitch to freshen up things a bit though, because most of the usual cast are missing (although a certain river goddess does show up). So we've got some new people to interact with and a new geographical location, but the style of the story doesn't change too much.

Grant remains a self-deprecating narrator and the emphasis on nature as a source of magic is still front and center. Another thing that is still present is the strong emphasis on smells as a descriptive source. It's a narrative element that sets the series aside from most others in the genre.

Creeping Serialization

One of the things that happens with this sort of open ended series is that the ongoing subplots gradually take up more and more of the books. That is definitely the case with Foxglove Summer. The previous book ended with a pretty major twist/cliffhanger and it's one that is explored in some depth here, though still not resolved.

The clear implication is that this issue is going to flare up even bigger in future books, which is fine. What is perhaps less satisfying is that, given this is a fairly short book, the amount of time dedicated to the subplot leaves the central mystery relatively thin.

In all honesty calling it a mystery is giving it more credit than it really deserves. You'll probably have a pretty good idea about what is going on early on in the book. What kept me drawn in was the characters and dialogue not a desperate need to see how things would work out.

It's not just future sub-plots that are explored here either, but also the past. We finally get the details on the battle that essentially wiped out human wizards in the UK and at least some indication of what the impact of that might have been.

Magic and Science

One of the strengths of the entire series has been it's efforts to marry magic and science without simply explaining magic away as science. Grant continues to grasp only semi-successfully for explanations as to how his magic can work, but is able to apply modern policing techniques to some of the situations he finds himself in.

While the trope in these sorts of books (as with a lot of detective stories) is for the lone maverick, Grant is a lowly police officer and bound to follow the policies and protocols of the Metropolitan Police Force.

The fact that Grant is on a "special" squad of sorts gives Aaronovitch some leeway, but he spends a good deal of time explaining and using actual policing methods. Surprisingly few of which involve breaking down doors and threatening suspects.

Wait, What? It's Over?

What I found least satisfying about this particular book in the series was what seemed like a very abrupt ending. There is a pattern of Grant getting in over his head and having to be bailed out by other people, but in this case it really didn't seem like anything was resolved.

Peter was rescued certainly, but there didn't seem to be anything to stop future incursions for them Faery realm. Plus there are characters that were introduced and implied to be significant that are simply forgotten about and left undeveloped.

The whole thing has the feel of needing to get from A to B rather than being a full story in its own right. Which is definitely a negative mark, but Aaronovitch sort of gets away with it because the characters are so fun to spend time with.

Is This For Me?

Do you like Urban Fantasy?
Do you appreciate a light hearted view of a darkish subject?
Are you comfortable with British slang and references?
This might be for you, so start with the first book Rivers of London/Midnight Riot (depending on which side of the pond you buy it)

Did You Like It?

Yes, I really enjoy this Urban Fantasy series. The sense of humor sits well with me and Grant is a very likeable protagonist. There's nothing exceptionally challenging being presented here, but it's well executed and fun to read. I am hoping the next book steps things back up again though.