The October Man

A Rivers of London Novella Rivers of London, #7.5

by Ben Aaronovitch

192 pages

Published June 12, 2019 by Gollancz.

ISBN:: 978-1-4732-2431-5

(24 reviews)

With this long new novella, bestselling author Ben Aaronovitch has crafted yet another wickedly funny and surprisingly affecting chapter in his beloved Rivers of London series. If you thought magic was confined to one country—think again. Trier: famous for wine, Romans and being Germany’s oldest city. When a man is found dead with his body impossibly covered in a fungal rot, the local authorities know they are out of their depth. But fortunately this is Germany, where there are procedures for everything. Enter Tobias Winter, an investigator for the Abteilung KDA , the branch of the German Federal Criminal Police which handles the supernatural. His aim is to get in, deal with the problem, and get out with the minimum of fuss, personal danger and paperwork. Together with frighteningly enthusiastic local cop, Vanessa Sommer, he quickly links the first victim to a group of ordinary middle aged men whose novel approach to their mid-life crisis may have reawakened a bloody conflict from a previous century. As the rot spreads, literally, and the suspect list extends to people born before Frederick the Great, Tobias and Vanessa will need to find allies in some unexpected places. And to solve the case they’ll have to unearth the secret magical history of a city that goes back two thousand years. Presuming that history doesn’t kill them first.

1 edition

DigitalRob@ramblingreaders.org reviewed The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London, #7.5)

Great Entry with the German Flavor

4 stars

My two criticisms of this novella: resolved too easily and too short. Otherwise, I thought it was excellent, and I like the expansion of The Rivers universe, seeing the magical police from another country, Germany.

I found a review/summary on TrackOfWords.com (www.trackofwords.com/2019/07/...). It encapsulates my thoughts quite well: basically, this is a fresh, quick-paced magical adventure in a familiar world but with a unique German take.

Tobias is both familiar and unique as a character, and his mentions of Peter Grant and Nightingale deepen the familiarity. I do hope that we see more connections like this in future Rivers books. Tobias implies that Peter doesn’t have the same knowledge of the KDA that he has of the Folly, at least in personnel, which makes me wonder how these worlds might collide.

Enno reviewed The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London, #7.5)

Review of 'The October Man' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

While it's set in the same universe as the Peter Grant stories, this book has a completely different cast of characters. Tobias Winter is not exactly a German version of Peter, he's much too serious for that. I missed Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's narration from the start, and it took me a while to get used to the voice of Peter. Good job affecting a German accent, even if it sounds grating to my ears. I wonder how those reader feel who don't understand the many German word that get thrown in at every opportunity.

cargide reviewed The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London, #7.5)

Review of 'The October Man' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Distinto país, distintos personajes, mismo espíritu.
El único problema que se me ocurre es que Tobias puede resultar demasiado parecido a Peter, pero ahí queda todo.

Blind_Mapmaker reviewed The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London, #7.5)

Review of 'The October Man' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A great little novella that surprisingly manages to come across as authentically German and also funny and riveting at the same time. Apart from a very few instances where it sounds a bit weird, the book passes the native speaker test - and those instances are when it could really be Amtsdeutsch (Umkreis-Magieerfassung).

Tobias Winter (kudos for his hometown!) does come across as a bit blander than Peter Grant, but the more understated humour is a nice change of pace to Peter's near-constant spiderman antics. Also that gives the other characters more chance to shine, especially Tobi's (connection probably intended) mundane liaison Vanessa Sommer, making The October Man more of an ensemble piece that's closer to the latest novels than the early ones. What's also nice is the focus on the four female main characters - lots of agency there and a big change in depiction from the early novels.

The also lore gets expanded in interesting ways, both concerning Germany and magical history on the whole. Though some parts of the German history are, of course, rather horrific. We do get a Roman connection too - though Tobias Winter is less of an archaeology fanboy.

On the whole, the novella may not be above a 4.5 but it convinces where The Furthest Station falls flat. There are only 40 pages more, but they are about the case and the local colour and not about character interactions that should logically happen at that time, but have little bearing on the action. The case doesn't have a perfectly satisfying conclusion, but it's logical and not too far-fetched for the universe. What's more important is the way we're getting there.

unicorndeburgh reviewed The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London, #7.5)

Review of 'The October Man' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

A Rivers of London book that doesn't take place in London, and doesn't have Peter Grant in it. Shocking! It introduces an excellent cast of characters, German police officers who deal with magic, and is every bit as funny and action-packed as the London stories. Highly recommended.