a performance of a lifetime

The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronvitch (read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith)

Recently I was having a discussion about whether audiobooks counted as ‘reading’. And though semantically it isn’t, I very much consider it to be reading. Putting aside the very ablest implications of discounting audiobooks, they offer a wonderful extension of the reading experience.

I remember many years ago, when I worked in a bookshop after school, that you had to buy audiobooks on CD. They came in big clunky cases, with multiple CD’s and were unreasonably expensive. Back then the only people that bought them were those with visual impairments of one kind or another, or those undertaking a long road trip. They were very much a specialist item.

Oh how things have changed.

With the advancements of technology and streaming services audiobooks have found a place firmly in the mainstream. Audible, BorrowBox, YouTube and now even Spotify offer easy access on the go. I would say that at least a quarter of my yearly reads are consumed this way. It has opened up the world of non-fiction for me. And it’s great if (like me) you are the type of person that would always rather have their head in a book, but such a thing is tricky whilst driving/exercising/knitting/cleaning the house – the audiobook is an elegant solution. If I have headphones in there’s a good chance I’m listening to an audiobook.

This wasn’t always the case though. I was slow to hop on the audiobook bandwagon. But I remember the book, and the performance that did it. I had already read the books, well all the ones I could get my paws on. I discovered The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch by chance. I came across the first book in a Dymocks and decided to buy it. I’m not really sure why, I am not a big fantasy reader, nor do I read series as a general rule (please see the Ninth House review for insight as to why). But it must’ve been the pretty cover or something because I took it home and Peter Grant and the world of wizards and river gods have been with me ever since.

The tale begins when our hero, police constable Peter Grant takes a witness statement from a ghost, and then gets recruited to the magical arm of the London Metropolitan Police. And the magical world unfurls before Grant in a tantalizing series of mysteries. It’s part police procedural, part magical romp, and wholly delightful. I devoured these books at break-neck speed, each leaving me desperate for more.

Little did I know just how much more there was…

The audiobooks of this series are fucking magic. Narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, an Olivier award-winning actor, Aaronvitch’s London leaps off the page and into your mind. Holdbrook-Smith’s masterful performance is enchanting. He is a master at accents and voice performance, it’s hard to believe that it’s just one person.

This was the first time I fully understood the appeal of the audiobook. It isn’t just someone reading the words on the page - it's a full on performance. It’s what I imagine radio plays used to be like, and when you get a good narrator it can really add new texture and dimension to the story. That's what Kobna Holdbrook-Smith did for me. I find that I listen through all 9 Rivers of London books and the associated novellas at least once a year. I find the experience so comforting, so warm and so joyful.

And it has a special place in my heart for starting me on my audiobook journey.

A new Rivers of London novella has just been released and I can’t wait to give it a listen.