Book Review - Ben Aaronovitch's Lies Sleeping
Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch
Published by: Gollancz
Publication Date: November 20th, 2018
Format: Paperback, 406 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)
Martin Chorley and his co-conspirator Lesley May will be run to ground and made to pay for all their crimes. Which are numerous. Operations Tinker, Wentworth, Carthorse, Cartwheel, and Marigold were all separate investigations into their crimes, now combined under the aegis of the Folly and Operation Jennifer. The Folly is groaning under the influx of police officers, but Molly seems happy to feed them all, even opening up the dining room. Their only hope of finding Martin Chorley is through his connections to other Little Crocodiles, that Oxford dining club that was more about magic and less about running riot. Which is why Richard Williams is under surveillance. He ticks all the boxes. And soon his heart will tick no more because Chorley is tying up loose ends and as soon as the police approach Richard Williams all hell breaks loose. He doesn't die immediately. But he does die. But they find a clue in his papers. A screenplay for movie set in Roman London called Against the Dark written by Richard Williams and Gabriel Tate from a story by John Chapman. This is right up Chorley's alley. His romantic view of the Dark Ages might just have something to do with his plans, why else would he silence Williams? And Chapman and Tate as it turns out once they hear back from Australia and America. All three people associated with the screenplay being deceased is a dead giveaway that it's integral to Chorley's plans. But the first real lead they get is Richard Williams's interest in bells. He made several visits to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry where they forged a bell for him. He provided them with the materials, some of it nicked from archaeological sites throughout London. The bell draws Peter in and he knows it's magic. This bell is important and could very well be the lure they need. They use the large police presence for Michelle Obama's visit to Whitechapel to make the foundry look unguarded. But Lesley fails to make off with the bell and they all think that despite it's beauty, destroying the bell is a plus because it hobbles Chorley's plans. It won't stop them, he'll just make another bell, but bells take time. And in that time they start to put the pieces together; Roman London, the Temple of Mithras, St. Paul's, The Silmarillion, and last but not least, Mr. Punch. Will this knowledge be enough or will Martin Chorley make myth reality?
Lies Sleeping is the big culmination of, well, basically everything that has come before. The book hits the ground running with all the various MET operations that are folded into one unwieldy operation, Jennifer, that is to deal with all of Martin Chorley's crimes under the remit of the Folly. That means Nightingale is in charge. From the first few pages it feels as if this book is struggling to do too much. I've been reading this series over the last three months so there hasn't been the passage of time that usually occurs between volumes, so, logically, I should know every single little detail, and yet I found myself spending an inordinate about of time on Follypedia. Every police officer that has ever appeared is pulled into this operation. And yeah, apparently I should have remembered who David Carey was but by the time I got to Follypedia I'd forgotten his name. This happened repeatedly. He's very forgettable. So while Aaronovitch does successfully tie together all the loose ends, from Martin Chorley to Lesley May to Mr. Punch to all that stuff I'd rather forget from the comics, I really don't like the comics, it doesn't create a satisfying story. It's just one thing happening after another with what feels like a cast of thousands. The Rivers of London series has always perfectly balanced the character of Peter Grant with the character of London itself. With little moments and asides that feel like lovely character studies. Quiet moments. Here there's no time for those quiet moments. There's no working along with Peter to solve a crime it's just them, and a lot of them, trying to run Chorley to ground. All the characters have become stock figures and the one who suffers the most is Lesley May. I no longer get where she's coming from. Yes, revenge and a return to her life before Mr. Punch has always seemed her motivator, but here, here she has a chance at that and she blows it all up. Yes, Aaronovitch is probably setting her up to be the next Big Bad, but her change seems too out of character. She monologues about her hatred of magical creatures at one point and I couldn't help thinking she's turning into a bit of a bigot but without any reason why. I need the why. But I'll give Aaronovitch the benefit of the doubt, because the ending with Mr. Punch in the very first book felt convoluted and dreamlike, and here Aaronovitch is, seven books later, and he knows he messed up and is trying to set it to right. And as someone who has recently watched all of I, Claudius, I gotta admit he got Roman Britain and the Roman mindset down perfectly, when in doubt kill someone and make them a god.
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