The Folly Irregulars discussion

So, I might have said that I'm a huge fan of the series. Like, have Kobna on Audible on endless repeat kind of fan. But I also gravitate towards some books more than others. This time when I'm listening to Broken Homes, I'm finding Aaronovitch is a bit more scatter-shot than other books (Whispers and Lies both seem very seamless to me, where everything is important). I feel like there are a lot of world-building threads put out in this book that now, in context of the series, may not have gone anywhere. In particular, the magical staff idea--in this book it is mentioned as a way to perform great feats and avoid "thermotological degredation" (I have no idea how the book spells that!). I found as the series progressed, that Peter worries less and less about 'cauliflower brain'--and certainly, Nightingale doesn't seem to worry at all--and the staffs aren't used much. He loses it in the first battle with Chorley, although I think he has it handy in the final battle. Any other opinions on this?

It's "thaumatological" ... which I can see, with a British accent added, being easily mistaken for "thermotological" (whatever that would be--autocorrect doesn't recognize it). "Thaumaturgy" is a fancy word for "magic."