The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovitch

I said in my very brief review of “Aboard the RMS Antiqua” that I found Berrycloth-Young to be overly verbose. He definitely is, but it actually helps roll this story right along. The rhythm of his writing (speaking from a Watsonian viewpoint) is almost hypnotic. I like it a lot. I actually like Gussie a lot, too.

I quite enjoyed The Masquerades of Spring. It was a fun romp with some historically realistic touches which were, at times, a bit hard to read. Such as it is with our own history, not colored by magic. I didn’t enjoy reading about the racism and homophobia, but I appreciated their inclusion instead of them being glossed over like it never happened.

It was neat seeing Nightingale in a completely different context to his “future” appearance in The Rivers of London. Younger versions of characters are often fun to see and get to know. Having him at the helm of this investigation made me almost feel sorry for Gussie, what with the go-go-go attitude about the whole thing.

Despite the running around that happens here, I found The Masquerades of Spring fairly cozy. Big enough stakes without being too big. Plus seeing some of how things work on my side of the pond was a treat, even if it was actually a very small amount.

I feel like The Masquerades of Spring might be a good jumping on point for the series, but not at the same time. The tones between it and The Rivers of London don’t quite match up. But then, Gussie and Grant are just two completely different characters and the time-frames are so different… not to mention the lack of gore here. I also realize I’m reading the Rivers of London in a slightly odd order so… there’s that. Anyway… The Masquerades of Spring was fun. I definitely recommend giving it a read.