I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Winter’s Gifts by Ben Aaronovitch
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Book 9.5 of Rivers of London
Publisher: Subterranean Press (December 1, 2023)
Length: 227 pages
Author Information: Website
With nary a sign of the next Rivers of London novel in sight, what’s a girl to do? Fortunately, Ben Aaronovitch has expanded upon this universe with several novellas that follow secondary characters, which is what led me to Winter’s Gifts—a wonderful way to keep my connection to this world alive.
This story follows FBI Agent Kimberley Reynolds, a character who has shown up previously in the main series working alongside Peter Grant on another magical case. Though not a practitioner herself, she has been trained to recognize magic, and when one of her retired colleagues calls in an “X-Ray Sierra India” incident, no one at the agency understands the code until it reaches Kim’s desk. Following her instincts, she traces the call and sets off on a journey from Washington D.C. to the frozen wilderness of north Wisconsin, discovering that a bizarre tornado has leveled most of the town, but the missing agent is still nowhere to be found.
As Kim continues her investigations, the plot weaves together elements of First Nations traditions, early American history, as well as supernatural threats, creating a unique tableau which explores themes of magic and tradition. The situation quickly escalates as obstacles seem to keep turning up to prevent our protagonist and her newfound allies among the local authorities from doing their jobs, ranging from sabotage of evidence to uncanny weather events. Not to be deterred, Kim continues to follow elusive clues that lead back to the origins of an ancient mystery, awakening a malevolent force.
As the first book in the Rivers of London world to take place in the United States, Ben Aaronovitch had his work cut out for him. No doubt his experience as a screenwriter came in handy though, as in many ways, Winter’s Gifts read like an episode of a supernatural FBI television series. The author also shifts gears dramatically to follow Kim who is a very different character than Peter Grant, and in this area, he did a significantly better job than he did in The October Man, which focused on German investigator Tobias Winter. Whereas I felt a lack of distinction in the narrative styles between Tobias and Peter, that was thankfully not an issue here, as Kim had her own unique personality and a way about her that was unmistakable. Were there times Aaronovitch slipped up on his Americanisms and got a few awkward terms mixed up or some words wrong here and there? Sure, but they were no big deal. On the whole, Kim felt like a relatable presence in a Midwest setting that was overall quite convincing.
Still, Winter’s Gifts runs into the same issue as most of the novellas in this series in that it was too short, and the plot felt too sparse. There’s so much to explore here, yet it feels as though Aaronovitch has barely scratched the surface of topics like indigenous traditions and history. On the plus side, if this was the first book of a new series starring Agent Kimberley Reynolds, I would be totally on board. I love her character, especially her backstory and her personal religious beliefs, and it’s a real shame we didn’t get a more nuanced exploration into those aspects. Her limited presence in the main series has always intrigued me, but after getting a glimpse of her personality here in Winter’s Gifts, I definitely want to know more. For while chances are this will be a one-off novella, Kim truly has the potential to evolve into a captivating protagonist in her own right.
At the end of the day, Winter’s Gifts left me with the feel of a “throwaway story” as most novellas of this type tend to do, but with that said, it still delivered an enjoyable, entertaining, and well-crafted tale. I’d probably recommend it primarily to mega fans of Rivers of London, as only they would truly appreciate the significance of side characters and certain details of the world, but of all the shorts that take place in this universe, this one is among my favorites.
