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reviewed Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London, #2)

Ben Aaronovitch: Moon over Soho (Paperback, 2011, Gollancz) 4 stars

The second novel in Aaronovitch's Peter Grant series takes the police constable cum apprentice magician …

A restrained sequel (and it's for the better)

4 stars

While it may not have been quite the whirlwind thrill-ride of the first book that deeply explores a fantasy London, I think it was for the best. I don't know how you could top how, well, magical, the first book was and the thrill of discovering an urban fiction take on so many fantasy tropes made for this world by Aaronovitch. It feels more mature, more focused, and I enjoyed that. The basics of the world have been laid for us, and this book narrows its focus to dive deeper into magician societies and vampires. It really begins to explore those and allows us to understand those aspects of the world more. It doesn't try to up the excitement or ante from the first book, and I respect that. Too many authors, or directors, or any creator of any type of medium, fall into the trap of "bigger is better" and continually try to one-up themselves. Aaronovitch doesn't, and instead focuses on making a good story. I'm grateful for that.