False Value

Executive Summary: Another enjoyable entry in the series. He mixes things up a little bit and I enjoyed it more than the last entry, probably because of its connections to tech. Audiobook: One of the things I love best about this series is the narration of Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. He does his usual fantastic job here, that really makes this series a must listen for me.Full ReviewI was late to picking up the Rivers of London books because I didn't have a great track record with Urban Fantasy. As such I'd been slowly consuming the series whenever I was in the mood for something light and fun. It took me about 3 years before finally catching up late last year. When this one came out earlier this year I didn't pick it up right away more out of habit than anything else. I ended up saving this for a time when I just wanted something short and fun and this fit the mold.Looking back at my review for [b:Lies Sleeping 36534574 Lies Sleeping (Rivers of London, #7) Ben Aaronovitch https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1517326409l/36534574.SY75.jpg 58260751], I enjoyed it far less than my friends seem to. I don't really remember the details anymore, but I apparently felt it more of a stand alone story. This one fits that mold as well, but enjoyed it slight more.I found the first part of this book a bit confusing at first and then a bit frustrating as he kept shifting the focus when I wanted to know what would happen next. This is something I'm used to in multiple POV stories, but not from this series with its single POV.As someone who works as as Software Engineer, but not for any of the Big Tech companies, I can only assume he does a good job in portraying the kind of environment that they often work in. For me I've never had that “we have all the amenities on sight so you never want to leave thing” going on. I did find some of the supporting characters very familiar however.I loved the inclusion of Ada Lovelace and the Babbage machine. I've actually seen a working Babbage machine at the Computer History in California and I've been fascinated by them ever since. I loved the blend of technology and magic in general of this book.I think that for me is why I ended up enjoying this one more than the last, because it is also pretty stand alone. There was some pretty interesting new world building elements. I'll be curious to see how that plays in future novels.I'm now once again caught up on the series. I'm not sure if I'll pick up the next one on release day or once again save it for when I need a fun, light read, but I'll be picking it up either way.