The October Man: A Rivers of London Novella
Jun 2019 · Hachette UK
4.3star
49 reviewsreport
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208
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About this ebook
A Rivers of London novella, from Sunday Times Number One bestselling author Ben Aaronovitch.
Trier is famous for wine, Romans and for being Germany's oldest city. So 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.
Fortunately this is Germany, where there are procedures for everything.
Enter Investigator Tobias Winter, whose aim is to get in, deal with the problem, and get out with the minimum of fuss, personal danger and paperwork. With the help of frighteningly enthusiastic local cop, Vanessa Sommer, he's quick to link the first victim to a group of ordinary middle-aged men - and to realise they may have accidentally reawakened a bloody conflict from a previous century. But the rot is still spreading, literally and with the suspect list extending to people born before Frederick the Great solving the case may mean unearthing the city's secret magical history.
. . . so long as that history doesn't kill them first.
Praise for the Rivers of London novels:
'Ben Aaronovitch has created a wonderful world full of mystery, magic and fantastic characters. I love being there more than the real London'
NICK FROST
'As brilliant and funny as ever'
THE SUN
'Charming, witty, exciting'
THE INDEPENDENT
'An incredibly fast-moving magical joyride for grown-ups'
THE TIMES
Discover why this incredible series has sold over two million copies around the world. If you're a fan of Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams - don't panic - you will love Ben Aaronovitch's imaginative, irreverent and all-round irresistible novels.
Trier is famous for wine, Romans and for being Germany's oldest city. So 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.
Fortunately this is Germany, where there are procedures for everything.
Enter Investigator Tobias Winter, whose aim is to get in, deal with the problem, and get out with the minimum of fuss, personal danger and paperwork. With the help of frighteningly enthusiastic local cop, Vanessa Sommer, he's quick to link the first victim to a group of ordinary middle-aged men - and to realise they may have accidentally reawakened a bloody conflict from a previous century. But the rot is still spreading, literally and with the suspect list extending to people born before Frederick the Great solving the case may mean unearthing the city's secret magical history.
. . . so long as that history doesn't kill them first.
Praise for the Rivers of London novels:
'Ben Aaronovitch has created a wonderful world full of mystery, magic and fantastic characters. I love being there more than the real London'
NICK FROST
'As brilliant and funny as ever'
THE SUN
'Charming, witty, exciting'
THE INDEPENDENT
'An incredibly fast-moving magical joyride for grown-ups'
THE TIMES
Discover why this incredible series has sold over two million copies around the world. If you're a fan of Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams - don't panic - you will love Ben Aaronovitch's imaginative, irreverent and all-round irresistible novels.
Ratings and reviews
4.3
49 reviews
Ewan S
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September 27, 2020
Too bitsy and a lot of uncoordinated events that all seemed too much of a trial run. The new characters were nowhere near as likeable as the London rivers series
1 person found this review helpful
Midge Odonnell
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November 24, 2020
As a huge fan of the Rivers Of London novels I was really looking forward to this novella. So much so I actually purchased it in hardcover instead of on my eReader. I have to REALLY like a series or author to buy a physical book as my bookshelves are groaning so I tend to prefer the digital format. This one made the cut though and I am really happy with that decision. The main thing that you notice is that it seems in this Urban Fantasy World you have to be snarky and sarcastic to be a practitioner. Tobias Winter has that facet to his character and I fully understand why some reviewers felt like they could hear Peter Grant talking through him. For me, the character is different enough that I did not feel this way but some of the characteristics are very reminiscent of Grant (I suspect they are this way because this is Mr Aaronovitch's personality coming through his writing). I also really enjoyed all the little nods back to The Folly and the thought of Tobias Winter getting his longed for visit there makes me squee and jump up and down in my comfy reading chair. The main plotline is decribed very well in the story blurb so I am not going to touch on that as I am worried about inadvertantly throwing in a spoiler or 5. Suffice to say it is was an extremely welcome expansion of the Universe and a great way to bring in new characters and situations. This review has been a long time coming. I actually read this book between the 31st March and 3rd April so my memory is a bit foggy about all the plot lines. Fortunately, I have a notebook where I jot some initial thoughts on the book and an overall ranking so between the book blurb and that I did have a reasonable handle on what I thought at the time of reading.
2 people found this review helpful
Martin Rhodes
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August 8, 2019
Nice little story, very short. But nice to open up the range of places and characters for later stories may be.
1 person found this review helpful
About the author
Before becoming a bestselling author, Ben Aaronovitch was a screenwriter for Doctor Who and a bookseller at Waterstones. He now writes full time, and every book in his Rivers of London series has been a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller. He is published in 14 languages and has sold more than 2 million copies around the world. Aaronovitch is also a trustee on the board of Cityread London and is a long-time supporter of Nigeria's premiere arts and cultural festival, The Aké Festival. He still lives in London, the city he likes to refer to as 'the capital of the world'.
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