Rivers of London
#2514.06 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 10 books Status Ongoing 2011–present Reading commitment High Ben Aaronovitch Last reviewed 2026-08-11
Overview
An ongoing London-set urban fantasy police procedural, following a young Metropolitan Police constable recruited into a small, secretive unit that handles magic, ghosts, and the city's living river-goddesses.
Urban fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (10 works) counts toward ranking
Peter Grant Ben Aaronovitch
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Rivers of London | 2011 | 1 | core | 3.84 (154,946 ratings) |
 | Moon Over Soho | 2011 | 2 | core | 4.08 (76,072 ratings) |
 | Whispers Under Ground | 2012 | 3 | core | 4.15 (66,328 ratings) |
 | Broken Homes | 2013 | 4 | core | 4.16 (56,718 ratings) |
 | Foxglove Summer | 2014 | 5 | core | 4.20 (51,278 ratings) |
 | The Hanging Tree | 2016 | 6 | core | 4.22 (41,859 ratings) |
 | Lies Sleeping | 2018 | 7 | core | 4.24 (33,951 ratings) |
 | False Value | 2020 | 8 | core | 4.08 (21,678 ratings) |
 | Amongst Our Weapons | 2022 | 9 | core | 4.10 (13,008 ratings) |
 | Stone and Sky | 2025 | 10 | core | 4.09 (10,899 ratings) |
10 full-length main-sequence novels (2011-2025), ongoing.
Library / Expanded (5 works)
Peter Grant Novellas Ben Aaronovitch
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Furthest Station | 2017 | 5.5 | N/A | |
 | The October Man | 2019 | 7.5 | N/A | |
 | What Abigail Did That Summer | 2021 | 8.5 | N/A | |
 | Winter's Gifts | 2023 | 9.5 | N/A | |
 | The Masquerades of Spring | 2024 | 9.6 | N/A |
5 novellas (2017-2024), each numbered .5 in the series' own convention; Expanded Canon.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Rivers of London? Rivers of London's Core Canon is 10 books, plus 5 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for Rivers of London? Publication order, starting with Rivers of London. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Rivers of London finished? Ongoing (2011–present).
- How much reading does Rivers of London take? High reading commitment (estimated from 10 Core Canon books · ~3,659 pages).
- How is Rivers of London ranked? #251 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 526,737 reader ratings across 10 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #251?
Ranked #251 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.06 across 10 core books.
- Backed by 527k reader ratings.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.84 to 4.24.
- Less than 0.01 behind #250, Inda (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 10 books · Ongoing · 527k ratings · Ranks #251 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running urban fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (10 Core Canon books)
- Moon Over Soho (2011)
- Rivers of London (2011)
- Whispers Under Ground (2012)
- Broken Homes (2013)
- Foxglove Summer (2014)
- The Hanging Tree (2016)
- Lies Sleeping (2018)
- False Value (2020)
- Amongst Our Weapons (2022)
- Stone and Sky (2025)
Documented internal/story order
- Rivers of London (2011)
- Moon Over Soho (2011)
- Whispers Under Ground (2012)
- Broken Homes (2013)
- Foxglove Summer (2014)
- The Hanging Tree (2016)
- Lies Sleeping (2018)
- False Value (2020)
- Amongst Our Weapons (2022)
- Stone and Sky (2025)
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Suggestions computed from what Rivers of London and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
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- Alex Verus Urban fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.17
- The Green Man Urban fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.16
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.06 across 526,737 ratings on 10 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit Rivers of London (Ben Aaronovitch) as a new single-author universe accepted 2026-08-11
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-11
Rule: Core = the 10 full-length main-sequence novels (2011-2025). Expanded = the 5 novellas, each numbered '.5' in the series' own convention. Ongoing.