STONE & SKY

Reviewed by Steven H Silver

Stone & Sky sends Peter Grant, Abigail, Nightingale, and many of their various associates to Aberdeen, Scotland, theoretically on vacation, but also to discover why and how an eldritch panther is stalking the woods outside the city. The new setting continues to expand the world through which Aaronovitch's characters move, as well as the types of creatures and magics they must face. It also allows him to explore the characters' growth by removing them from their native habitats.

In the past, Aaronovitch has mostly followed an individual character, whether it is Peter Grant in the Rivers of London novels or Abigail, Nightingale, or others in his novellas, in Stone & Sky, he focuses on Grant's investigations in some chapters and Abigail's investigations in others. While Abigail if focused mostly on finding the panther and giving support to Nightingale, who is working on the case mostly off scene, she also finds time to explore his sexuality with the mysterious Ione, who seems to be hunting the panther. Grant, on the other hand, is pulled away from his holiday with Beverly and their twins in order to look into an attack on a man and a mysterious body which seems to have gills. These two investigations run in parallel to each other with very little overlap throughout most of the novel. It is clear, however, that they will eventually come together to allow Peter and Abigail to solve the mystery of what is happening outside Aberdeen.

In many ways, the two parallel investigations is an ingenious structure, allowing Aaronovitch to provide all the clues he wants, but not show how they connect to each other to form a larger picture. The reader, therefore, is left in the dark as much as Peter or Abigail, trying to figure out how the various discoveries fit together, even after it becomes apparent that they are working on cases which connect to each other. At the same time, there are plenty of red herrings and dead ends so the reader can't be sure which pieces are important and which are simply misleading.

Although the rules of magic in Scotland are the same as in England, Peter and Abigail find themselves dealing with an entirely different type of magical fauna. Not only does Abigail have to investigate the panther, but Peter finds himself dealing with a gull of unusual size and, despite most of the story taking place in and around Aberdeen, the city's location on the coast means there are plenty of magical sea creatures who are introduced to both the readers and the investigators. When another magic user enters the scene, Peter discovers that there is another theory of magic which is similar to that with which he is familiar, but it is also different and capable of doing different things. It is a little surprising that Nightingale doesn't take a larger role once this discovery is made.

Although Stone & Sky has the feeling of a one off adventure, there are hints that the expansion of Grant's world, both geographically and magically, will lead to bigger things in future books. His relationship with Beverly and their co-parenting of their twins hints are a role for the next generation of river deities and magic users. Abigail's story shows her growing up and becoming more sure of herself as an investigator, although she also shows signs of being less than satisfied with being Nightingale's apprentice. While standing on its own, Stone & Sky also feels like a transitional novel, although it remains to be seen what the series will transition to.

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