What do you do when at face value it looks like you're on the outs at your job? You use that to go undercover at a shady tech startup that values secrecy and loyalty above everything else. Or at least values it second to a good Douglas Adams homage. Tech guru Terrence Skinner has left California behind for the grey skies of London. Could it be for personal safety, which is what's bandied about among the employees, or could it have to do with whatever is in Serious Cybernetics Corporation's second building, Bambleweeny? It's rumored that that is where Deep Thought is, because the guy really can't pass up a Douglas Adams joke. But Peter knows that they're up to no good because of a run in he had a month before his first day at SCC. A run in with an American practitioner who was working at the London Library where he is looking into recovering the Mary Engine. The Mary Engine is the supposed creation of Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace and if the Faceless Man owned it, which Peter knows to be the case, then it has to be seriously magical. Of course the Faceless Man's daughter sold it on eBay resulting in previous catastrophic attempts to retrieve it, so it's reappearance in the hands of Terrence Skinner is worrisome. Which is why Peter is now a Vogon at SCC, that's security to the layman. And Terrence sure needs protection when Peter stops one of Skinner's own employees from stabbing him. The incident leads Peter to be a bit of a celebrity among the staff but more importantly it gets him an in with Skinner. Because the attacker worked in Bambleweeny this allows Peter to get behind that mysterious locked door to discover that Skinner might have created not just Artificial Intelligence but Artificial General Intelligence. Which is where the money really is. This AGI could change everyone's life. And sure, Skinner sounds convincing, but Peter lives in a world where magic exists, and, well, magic is more likely than AGI, which means everything must come back to the Mary Engine. With the help and hindrance of other practitioners Peter starts to formulate a plan. The problem is that this is bigger than he thought and he was really not cut out for undercover work. This could end very badly.

There's one thing no one who's a fan of Aaronovitch will ever doubt, and that's his geek cred, and I'm not even counting that he wrote for Doctor Who. Because if there's one thing true geeks love it's Douglas Adams references from the overt to the obscure and arguing about the singularity. And here Arronovitch has built an entire book around these core beliefs. Because yes, Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a religion as is the belief we will all be killed by Cylons. And possible baddie boss aside, who hasn't wanted to work at a company that has Vogons and Magrathea as job titles and locations? But the veneer of Adams isn't where False Value shines, it's in it's handling of Artificial Intelligence, Deep Thought as it were. AI is right at this moment an issue that everyone is dealing with, along with trying to grapple with what this means for us as a species. And I don't think it's a coincidence that both AI and the singularity came into the vernacular in the fifties, AI preceding the idea that AI will destroy us all by only about two years. Yet it's only truly now that the extreme warnings signs those of us raised in the eighties to recognize are blaring klaxons. Skynet people! SKYNET! But the thing is, the question asked daily is, is this true AI? Because most times, especially in fiction, if we're told it's AI there's no way it's AI. It might look like it can pass the Turing Test, but can it really? Because the truth is what the vast majority of people believe is AI, which at this precise moment is "writing" and "creating" and "making art," isn't AI, it's a complex program that has scrapped the entire internet and is plagiarizing the work of others. Others who are losing jobs because of AI. When one of my friends was playing with Midjourney I told her to stop. Immediately. She was helping the program learn while taking away jobs from artists such as myself. Never help the machines to rise up! Aaronovitch has a wonderful character with Peter because he understands all of this yet is skeptical. He knows when people tell you AI you should look for the man or woman behind the curtain. And because of his line of work, it could be a ghost literally in the machine. A very vindictive ghost. But still, it's not AI. But one day it just might be. I mean look how much of a shit show it is when the AI is really just a misnomer. So for now, us humans are the real danger, we were the Cylons all along.

With Beverly pregnant with twins, Peter has taken a job at the Serious Cybernetics Company in their security department. After thwarting a workplace shooting the company owner assigns Peter the job of investigating why the employee had so suddenly become angry enough to become violent and then not remember why afterwards. Of course magic is involved and the more Peter digs the more apparent it becomes that there is something dangerous, and possibly magically, hidden on the secretive floors few have access to.
We tie up a couple of lose ends that were not tied up in Lies Sleeping but other issues are still not resolved. It becomes even more apparent that magic is still alive and spread more widely throughout the world than Nightingale had thought as some more American magic practitioners show up to interfere in London’s magical world. We meet a few new characters, Tyrel Johnson and his family are ones I’d really like to see more of in future books. Mr Aaronovitch has been focused on Rivers of London graphic novels (compilations of the comic books) over the past couple of years but hopefully he will not leave his print fans in the lurch and we will see the next book in the series soon but while we wait I may just go find those graphic novels. The whole series is highly recommended.

“False Value” by Ben Aaronovitch-Brilliant Characters
Now in hardcover, the eighth book of the bestselling Rivers of London series returns to the adventures of Peter Grant, detective and apprentice wizard, as he solves magical crimes in the city of London.
Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Rather than sit around, he takes a job with émigré Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner's brand new London start up—the Serious Cybernetics Company.
Drawn into the orbit of Old Street's famous 'silicon roundabout', Peter must learn how to blend in with people who are both civilians and geekier than he is. Compared to his last job, Peter thinks it should be a doddle. But magic is not finished with Mama Grant's favourite son.
Because Terrence Skinner has a secret hidden in the bowels of the SCC. A technology that stretches back to Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, and forward to the future of artificial intelligence. A secret that is just as magical as it technological—and just as dangerous.
In “False Value”, the best part of Ben Aaronovitch’s writing is his characters. Peter Grant is authentic, compelling and deeply engaging as a character. Moreover, he evolves. In this book, Peter is more confident, less new to magic and more practiced. Even his relationships with the people in his life have changed. He spends more time with his girlfriend, which is appropriate given her status as an expectant mother. He’s also learned more about her life as a river goddess and some of those relationships impact his new job. All of the detail makes for strong character interactions and an amazing story.
The uncertainty surrounding Peter Grant’s future is another element that works well. Aaronvitch also utilizes two different times, especially at the beginning of the novel, to help build that uncertainty and the mysteries surrounding Peter’s new job, the people he’s surrounded with. All of the intrigue and mystery helps build suspense and makes for a thrilling story for readers to follow.
I certainly don’t want to spoil the story so let me just insist, this story rides right on the coattails of the past book and the uncertainty of Peter’s future is in part due to that novel. So, while you can read the book and enjoy it, a lot of the mystery and intrigue have a bigger impact if you’ve read the previous seven books. I happen to love series because of that very fact, you get to see events that build upon previous content and characters that learn and grow, which is exactly the type of story Ben Aaronovitch has built exceptionally well, ensuring the story is powerful. I can’t wait until the next book in the series.
If you like mystery, cops, and magic, this is an excellent series and a wonderful book, with fantastic characters. While I do recommend picking up the previous books in the series, I think readers will love the intrigue and the growth of the characters. I personally find I can’t put down the book.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

False Value is the 8th book in the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch. In this latest instalment, Peter Grant has left the police force and gone to work as a security guard at a high-tech company where things are not as they seem.

Of course, all the usual suspects make brief appearances, but they are, unfortunately, very brief. We find out what’s happening with Beverley, Abigail, Molly, Guleed, Seawoll, Agent Reynolds and Nightingale, but they are all there just to give Peter an assist. I know Peter is always the protagonist, but this time it feels like he’s more centre-stage than usual. Of all of them, I really wished there was more of Nightingale. (I love Nightingale)

There are lots of new players – Peter’s new boss, Tyrel Johnson (and his family), the company’s owner, Terrence Skinner, and a bunch of tech guys that work at Serious Cybernetics with Peter. There’s also a couple of magic-wielders from the US. When they mention the NY Public Library and The Librarians I had a flashback to that awesome show The Librarians (anyone?) and had to wonder if there was a connection.

Speaking of connections, true to his usual style, Aaronovitch hides a TON of hidden references in this book, from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy to Die Hard – I’d have to do another careful read-through to try and catch even half of them. It’s a lot of fun for pop-culture junkies to try and find them all.

The magic that we know and love about the series is still as prominent as ever, and things from previous books make appearances, including demon traps, talking foxes, and the magic-erasing properties of Molly’s ‘cousin’ Foxglove.

While I felt that there was a definite shift in the feel of this book compared to the previous seven (which seems fitting since this book’s cover is black while the others are all cream), I still enjoyed False Value immensely. And while the story is slightly different than our usual Rivers outing, it makes a lot of sense in Peter’s world. Plus it did a fantastic job of having magic collide with tech (those magic-infused drone dragonflies will haunt my nightmares!)

The action is packed (I stayed up until 6am reading this because I couldn’t put it down) and Aaronovitch’s characters are as clever and interesting as always.

Reading this series is like catching up with old friends… who just happen to be powerful wizard, Fae, talking foxes and river goddesses…

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On sheer enjoyment level, I'm always very enthusiastic about Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant series, and this one is no exception. I dug in and dug it well, indeed.

From the very start, we get knee-deep in many Douglas Adams homages almost immediately after getting a very emotional reference bot Bowie. I LOVE the whole idea of the Sirius Corporation. From first-day employees wearing a towel around their heads to Vogon management to a dozen other great London High-Tech Field goodies. You know, like Seattle tech goodies but LONDON.

Peter Grant, a magical investigator for the London police force, goes undercover, and this book is a pretty awesome mix of magic, intrigue, and high-tech mystery. I like it almost automatically. By default. But my main concern hearkened back to the earlier novels when it was established that technology tends to fry around magic. A bit of wrangling needed to happen and the full interesting import of later spoiler territory plot items comes to fruition nicely.

Did I have some issues? Perhaps. But the fact remains I still had a very good time and I really loved the twist. It may not be all that surprising, but the fact that it happened and could very well happen again makes my mind sparkle with the possibilities. :)

The following review appeared on the Dear Author blog on February 24, 2020:

Dear Ben Aaronovitch,

I’ve enjoyed all but one of your books in the Rivers of London series, so I was happy to obtain an ARC of False Value, book number eight.


With his girlfriend Beverley’s pregnancy and the death of Martin Chorley, once known as the Faceless Man, Peter is entering a new chapter of life. The opening of False Value finds Peter interviewing for a new job, too.

Tyrel Johnson, his prospective boss, is ex-police and has heard that Peter was let go. Peter is as vague as possible when he explains why, so as not to invoke the dreaded words, “special assessment unit,” (the police unit in charge of supernatural cases). Johnson offers Peter a security position at Serious Cybernetics Corporation, a high-tech company.

SCC is run by one Terrence Skinner, an Australian (by way of Silicon Valley) tech billionaire. The company employs a lot of nerds and has its quirks–floors with funny names, only in-house phones permitted on the premises, RPGs played while on break. Weirdest of all is the mystery surrounding a forbidden floor, Bambleweeny. No one knows what is housed there and an employee has been trying to break into it.

Johnson tasks Peter with figuring out who is behind the break-in attempts and why, a job made more difficult by Skinner’s refusal to disclose what work is done on Bambleweeny. But when Peter identifies the would-be thief, Stephen Higgins, he realizes that and he and Stephen crossed paths months before. Stephen is a suspect in a police case that involves the theft of a program written by Ada Lovelace for a nineteenth-century computing device known as the mary engine.

Months earlier, when Peter and his fellow police officers searched Stephen’s flat, Peter stepped on a demon trap, a magical landmine. He was able to disable it and sense a vestigium (magical signature) that is the mark of a powerful entity.

After Peter identifies Stephen, they meet at a pub to trade information. It wasn’t him who set the demon trap, Stephen tells Peter, but an unknown third party. Peter decides to join forces with Stephen and his companion, Mrs. Chin, with the intention of double-crossing them later. He allows Stephen to assume that he too is a thief who wants the contents of Bambleweeny.

But as it happens, the police have also tracked Stephen to the Serious Cybernetics Corporation. And Peter, increasingly friendly with his new co-workers and boss, knows that Johnson’s position allows him and his wife, Stacy, to provide for two foster children. If the police investigation implicates Skinner in a crime, Johnson could lose his job.

So Peter is at the nexus of four separate agendas—Stephen and Mrs. Chin’s, that of Johnson, his new boss, that of Nightingale, his old one, and that of the unknown magic user who set the demon trap. Can he successfully handle his conflicting loyalties? And can he discover what is stored in Bambleweeny and defuse any threat it may pose to the public?

Below are some of the reasons why I love this series:

1) Peter Grant

Peter is a genuine, honorable and loveable character. He is also creative and dedicated. It’s his hard work (I love that this series actually shows step-by-step legwork, as in police procedurals) and his perseverance that win the day. His compassion, his protectiveness of the public, and his sense of humor are additional factors in his lovability.

2) The rivers

The supernatural beings in the series run the gamut from intriguing to creepy to awe-inspiring. The genii loci of the Thames river and their children, the gods and goddesses of the river’s tributaries, are especially great. They are often portrayed as generous and charming yet powerful and unpredictable enough to pose a danger in the right circumstances. In False Value we see how Beverley Brook, a minor goddess and Peter’s girlfriend, can wield her power. She’s more ethical than many other magical beings but that power is still there.

3) Other secondary characters

This is a partial review. The complete review can be found on Dear Author, here::

https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/b-plus-reviews/review-false-value-by-ben-aaronovitch/

I have been eagerly awaiting False Value by Ben Aaronovitch to come out, because I am 100% hooked on the Peter Grant / Rivers of London series! This is the eighth book in the series, which is an urban fantasy set mostly in London, starring Peter Grant a young copper who gets recruited into the MET’s ‘magical arm’. They investigate all otherworldly activity such as magic, fairies, ghosts and the like.

In this installment of the series Peter has been suspended (for what happened in the last book), and while he’s on a forced sabbatical he actually ends up being recruited for an undercover assignment to investigate the goings on at The Serious Cybernetics Company. I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s a great read and full of the British humor I had been missing since the last book.

I will admit that during the first few chapters I found it a little confusing and had to really work to figure out what was actually going on, but once I settled into the book I couldn’t put it down. While Beverly (Peter’s main squeeze) showed up a few times throughout the book I did feel it was missing the usual banter and fun between her and Peter. And there was a little less of The Nightingale (Peter’s boss) in this one too. But other than those minor complaints I absolutely loved it. In fact, I highly recommend the whole series.

This is the first Rivers of London book that I haven’t listened to as an audiobook, and I certainly missed Kobna Hodbrook-Smith’s narration. In my mind his voice IS Peter Grant, and while I was hearing it in my head as I read, it wasn’t as good as the real thing. So if you are just starting out with this series I would definitely suggest the audiobooks!

FALSE VALUE is Book 8 in the fantastic (in multiple categories) Urban Fantasy RIVERS OF LONDON Series by Ben Aaronovitch. I adored Books 7 and 7.5 [LIES SLEEPING and THE OCTOBER MAN]. FALSE VALUE wasn't quite as fantastic to me, quite possibly because the techno theme went over my head and the corporate maneuvering left me uninterested. However, Feckless Hero police officer Peter Grant remains as adorable as ever, and the Denouement in the Super-Secret server warehouse, especially the open "portal to darkness," was scrumptious reading (with Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror resonances) and definitely might be a springboard to further exploration in the next novel or two. I certainly hope so. My 4 Star rating then is actually 4.5, and I imagine many other readers will consider FALSE VALUE a 5.

4.5 Stars

The Rivers of London series is one of my favorites in urban fantasy. The fabulous character development and comparable world-building are such a pleasure to read. Our latest outing, False Value, opens with Peter Grant working his new job, as security for the Serious Cybernetics Corporation. Or is he really? Readers left hanging on the outcome of Peter's suspension at the end of Lies Sleeping may initially be shocked, but hang in there. Nightingale still has his young apprentice's back. The action in this novel is multilayered and complex and for a while, in the middle, the reader may wonder where it's all headed. We have American practitioners (including one who is as powerful as the Nightingale), a rogue Aussie tech magnate, an analytical engine a la Ada Lovelace, references to the Lilly (putatively polymath Mary Somerville) and the Rose (a fictional Rosemarie Louise Moreno, a practitioner who foresees a portal into darkness), and a positively scary set of drones. Aaronovitch touches upon the power and reach of modern tech and we don't need the addition of magic to see the implications of societal risks. Meanwhile, we see more of Molly's "sister," Foxglove, and new security and interesting artwork she offers the Folly. I was so glad to have more Sahra Guleed! And let's not forget Beverley and their boisterous Bulge, and Peter's cousin, Abigail, who is on hand in the background, already hard at work in training. Though Peter's skill with formae continues to grow the most impressive duel is unquestionably that between the Nightingale and a mysterious American practitioner, who I wonder if we will see more of in the future.

This was a satisfying entry for the series and I'll have to console myself, since we probably won't see another for a few years, by listening (a few times!) to Kobna Holdbrook-Smith narrate this novel. If you haven't listened to his narration, I simply cannot recommend it highly enough.

I received a Digital Review Copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Peter Grant goes undercover at the Serious Cybernetics Company which is owned by American Terrence Skinner. He is working to discover if Skinner is doing something illegal - maybe money laundering. What he finds in much more and much more magical.

He finds a mystery that perhaps starts with Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage and has to do with an independent artificial intelligence. Only this intelligence is tangled up with magic. Also looking for this magical thing are a couple of librarians from New York City. Apparently, the New York Public Library is a hub for magic in the United States.

While Peter is trying to figure out what is going on, he is also getting used to the idea that he is soon to be a father of twins. Beverly Brook is pregnant. Given that she is a goddess on a river planning their future together has some complications.

I loved this addition to the Rivers of London series. I really enjoy Peter's snarky and irreverent personality. The story is fast-paced and the mystery was well-developed. Fans of the series won't want to miss this episode.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm so glad I kept up with this series! As I said in my review of the last novel in the series, Lies Sleeping, I had gone through a slump with this series for a few in the middle. I had to catch up to get to my ARC of Lies Sleeping, and the book didn't disappoint. It made it worth it.

Well, this one keeps up the quality!

We've got technology and magic colliding in this one. While the beginning can be a tad bit confusing (it jumps back and forth between months), the opening really sucks you into the story. The new characters introduced in this one, while most are probably only going to be in this one, were deep and developed and interesting.

My favorite part of this one, though, was a little more development of Foxglove and a lot more of Beverley.

I don't want to say too much and risk spoiling things, but highly recommend this series. Again, the caveat that you should have read the prior books in the series applies here.

Four out of five stars.

False Value is the latest in the long running P.C. Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovitch, in which a young London policeman discovers he can do magic, investigates mystical crimes, finds love, and does a truly horrific amount of paperwork. I’ve been a fan of the series for years, so I went in expecting quite a lot from False Value – and it absolutely stepped up and delivered.

One of the strong points of the series has always been the worldbuilding. It suggests a London which lives alongside the one we’re familiar with. One where vampires lurk in suburban basements, and where mystical pacts drive the tunnels of Crossrail. And this works, because both sides of the liminal divide are treated with equal attention, and equal respect. The pageants of the old gods of the river have all the colour, verve and life that sits at the heart of these celebrations even now. And the fluorescent flickers of the Silicon Roundabout, with its buzzwords and ruthlessness disguised as corporate beneficence is appallingly familiar. It’s also no less strange than a policeman who can fling fire from his fingertips, though perhaps a little more mundane.

For me it’s the blend that makes this world work. The way that the normal and the supernatural mix, the way they interweave, until the idea that the tech wizards over the river might have something in common with actual wizards seems worryingly plausible. Also, even as these worlds are being woven together by an expert hand, we get to see London. Living, breathing, occasionally kicking the crap out of someone, occasionally letting that sparkle at the bottom of a sewer grate be your wedding ring after all. Aaronovitch loves London, and it shows in the prose, whose descriptions balance sharp observation with wry affection. By the end of this story, I defy you not to love London too, or at least, understand it a little better.

So yes. We’re back in London. And yes, London is as fierce and driven and dark and beautiful as it ever was, laced with history, with romance and death, with people getting by, people getting rich, and people fighting to survive. You can feel that on the page.

Which brings us to Peter. In a lot of ways, we’ve watched Peter Grant grow up over the series. The man on these pages is perhaps a little more emotionally honest with himself than he had been. Carries a few more scars, physical and mental. This Peter Grant can still be surprised, which is a delight for him and us (well, except when he’s surprised by some new and exciting way to get himself killed, which is less good for him), but has the experience to be cautious. Watching Peter mature has been a joy, and he’s a good man here, I think. Someone who can be a friend, a partner, a mentor. Possibly not always doing the correct thing, but by his light, trying to eventually do the right one.

As a character study, it’s a joy to read. Peter’s internal voice is wry, cynical, observant and self aware. It’s a pleasure to be along for the ride with him, and that voice is what keeps you turning pages, trying to see what Peter is seeing, trying to work the corners of a mystery, trying to understand what’s coming next. And what’s next for him too, actually. Peter is comfortable in himself, I think, but trying to understand what’s next – and at the same time is warm and loving to his family, a smartarse, and a top-notch investigator.

There’s a wider cast, of course. Many are familiar faces to long time readers. Some are new. All of them have something. Each of them is memorable, from the odd denizens of London’s tech sector, to the at-least-as-odd denizens of its supernatural courts. They’re real. Police working on cases with minimal budgets and support, trying to do the best they can and keep the peace. Private security, balancing the needs of their bosses and a steady income with what they’re willing to do in service of either. Rivers who want to have fun – or not. And other things, stranger, darker things, they live here too. And if all of the people feel real, if we empathise with them, if we feel their sadness and their passion and their amity and their rage and their love for one another, we also feel the darkness, sitting just out of view, and it is no less intimate, no less real than the people who live with it, around it, or investigate it. It all works, this story of people, and works wonderfully.

So the world is brilliantly realised, the characters live and breathe. But is the story any good, though?
Well, in a word, yes. I do think it works better if you’ve read the previous books in the series. It would work as a standalone, but there’s context here, relationships built up, personal accretions constructed over the course of years of fiction, which you’d miss out on without the previous books. I probably missed more from not having read the comics. But yes, the story, it works. As a standalone, yes. As part of a wider series, of a wider universe – very much so.

I don’t want to give story spoilers here. But this one is a lot of fun. There’s some lovely personal interludes for Peter, working on his relationships. There’s some top-notch scheming. The investigative work is meticulous, the action sequences tense, the dialogue witty, the banter abundant. If Peter’s always half a step ahead in cracking the case, we’re always there with him, seeing what he sees, and trying to work out what’s going on. In finest mystery tradition, the clues are all there for us to work on. And this one is a pretty fine mystery, too. There’s heart-in-mouth moments, and the pindrop silences of quiet terror. There’s backchat between friends, and explosions. There’s action sequences that had me speeding through the pages, and emotional moments that had me savouring every word.

Basically, this is another fine entry in the series. You’ll want to pick it up, and once you do, you won’t be able to put it down.