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

Re-read 9/9/21:

I think I may have enjoyed this better the second time around. No spoilers, but I am reminded quite heavily of a Seanan McGuire October Daye novel. Those who know, know. That being said, I got even more into all the nerdy references this time and it was good. Very good.

Original Review:

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. :)

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