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    The October Man
    The October Man
    The October Man
    Audiobook4 hours

    The October Man

    Written by Ben Aaronovitch

    Narrated by Sam Peter Jackson

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateMay 31, 2019
    ISBN9781541489837
    The October Man
    Author

    Ben Aaronovitch

    Born and raised in London, Ben Aaronovitch worked as a scriptwriter for Doctor Who and Casualty before the inspiration for his own series of books struck him whilst working as a bookseller in Waterstones Covent Garden. Ben Aaronovitch’s unique novels are the culmination of his experience of writing about the emergency services and the supernatural.

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    Reviews for The October Man

    4/5

    305 ratings22 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The October Man was an entertaining read, although there was a bit of redundancy at the start for long time readers of the Rivers of London/Peter Grant series. I was excited that this story was taking place in Germany and with a new character as well. Tobias Winter is an apprentice wizard who is experienced but not entirely ready to step out and start battling anyone. I will say that although I knew this story was being told from a different narrative, Tobias’ voice was very similar to Peter Grant and the structure of this story was also what I would expect from a Peter Grant book. I wish there had been something unique about both Tobias and this setting that would have made this novella stand out and excite me about the possibilities off a spinoff.In The October Man, I liked the setting and, more to the point, the wine region setting. I really liked Tobias’ liaison, Vanessa Sommer. She wasn’t what Tobias was expecting but I think her addition and her reaction to the world Tobias presents her with was very promising. She was a bit like a happy and eager puppy but I liked that about her. The mystery behind the fungal rot was historical in nature and fascinating. I liked the new characters that were introduced and I did find myself wanting to spend more time with these characters. I can only hope that more will come in the future and that Tobias would develop a voice of his own that stands apart from the crowd. Overall, The October Man was a lovely series installment and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
    • 3/5
      Welp, not what I was expecting/hoping for. Not terrible. I agree with most of the other comments, that Tobias is a less interesting version of Peter Grant. I think he has some potential -- Peter, after all, has gotten noticeably funnier over time, but I am also a bit mystified as to why Tobi is important. I have a suspicion that all will be revealed in time, and I am particularly intrigued by the German group starting a seasonal trend (Winter, Sommer), and by the frequent mentions of the werewolves. I have a terrible memory, so I am vaguely certain that the werewolves were Nazi operatives or something, but I'd have to go look that up again, and it doesn't seem necessary at this point. It feels like filler/background work for the next chapter. I guess sometimes all series get An Empire Strikes Back moment, but I also wouldn't be surprised if there was some kind of non-compete clause where Peter can't appear in this type of novella -- I do enjoy what Subterranean press brings to the table, but I can see where they might also have some kind of publishing limitations.
    • 5/5
      Great addition to Rivers of London series with a new hero in Germany’s version of magical police. Looking forward to the inevitable crossover with Herr Winter & Peter Grant.
    • 3/5
      This is in reference to the audio book.

      I give this a three star because I have pretty bad expectations for novella spin-offs; without the main characters, the story usually falls flat.

      So this book did surprisingly well at maintaining the usual cop-slash-wizard procedural story. I expected a lot of the re-hashing, and there was definitely a lot of that.

      The real problems are as follows:

      1. How much German am I supposed to know?
      - I understand all the German is supposed to build atmosphere and certainly the German accent added to that too, but it made a lot of things incomprehensible to me. Most of the names of places and departments flew by me. I ended up buying the Kindle book to follow along - I realised I’d lost track of the suspects 2/3 of the way through the book.

      2. Sibilant much?
      - I thought publishing houses put more effort into audiobooks these days, so it was with great surprise to find that nothing was done to tone down the sibilants in the audio. All the over-powering “s” physically hurt me - I had to crank down the treble in my car to get through most of the book.

      So overall, if you are really desperate for a story set in the Peter Grant word (fully understanding that there is no actual Peter Grant or a very diluted version of him), then pick up this book. And even then, pick up the Kindle version; you’d save your ears, and the story would make more sense (if, like me, you don’t know German).
    • 4/5
      Meet the German version of Peter Grant. Not quite as funny, but he has his moments, Tobias Winter is sent to the picturesque town of Trier to investigate a strange death. There are river goddesses, demi-humans and all the usual madness you would expect from Mr Aaronovich. I am guessing we will be seeing more of this character in future.
    • 3/5
      Started yesterday and finished this morning. I love these novellas. No padding, just a good story and a bit more infilling of the WWII backstory. Plus a half star and a bit.
    • 3/5
      Trier is one of Germany’s oldest cities, scratch the surface and the history goes back and beyond the Romans if you know where to look. It is also known for wine and a relatively peaceful life. However, when a body is found in unusual circumstances, it is covered in noble rot, then the authorities realise that it needs an unconventional investigation. A call is put into the Abteilungand and Investigator Tobias Winter is dispatched to the city. He is joined by one of the local police, Vanessa Summer, to see if they can fathom out just what is going on, but first, he is going to have to explain to her just what he does and why he is there…

      Their leads take them to the owner of a local vineyard, Jacky Stracker, who is the latest in a long line of family members who have a deep connection to the land and the loci around. She tells them some stories about her grandfather and how he used to leave offerings to the river. Tobias buys a bottle of wine and leaves it on the tree with his business card. Shortly after, he is rung up by a lady calling herself Kelly, she is the goddess of the river and wants to talk. It doesn’t take long for them to find out who he is and discover who his friends are. Bringing them in for questioning reveals that they are just a group of guys who want to drink wine and talk about art. But there is something else going on, and slowly it dawns on them they are witnessing the continuation of a conflict that has been going on for over a century in the magical realm of the city.

      I liked this a lot and it was an interesting story taken from the perspective of the German equivalents to Grant and Nightingale. The plot was fairly straightforward with some nice touches and interplay between the two main characters. You also get the sense that he spent a fair amount of time there researching the city, and it has those details that I have come to expect in the previous books as we tear around London. However, I did miss Peter, Nightingale, the Folly and London that I have come to know from all the other books. Would be good to see each character travel to each other’s city in future books.
    • 3/5
      Kind of redundant to the rest of the series, but competently written
    • 3/5
      I didn't like this story at first, but it grew on me. Rather like a mold. ;) A departure from London, we learn that there are Rivers in other parts of the world as well, at least in Germany, where this story takes place. At first, I didn't care for the fact that Peter Grant and Nightingale wouldn't be making an appearance, but as the story continued I got over it and began to appreciate that we were being introduced to how magic might be working in other places than London. The mystery was compelling.
    • 4/5
      Assuming you've been reading the saga of Peter Grant (...and why are you reading this story if you haven't?) I see this as an experiment as to what Peter might have been like if he had enjoyed a normal, middle-class upbringing. The flavor of this story is certainly dryer and more matter-of-fact than the typical shenanigans of the Folly and that's probably a commentary on Tobias Winter's outlook on things. I presume that, at some point, Tobias and Peter will have to meet and that will be amusing.
    • 4/5
      Set in Germany, this is the German equivalent of Peter and the Folly, it's a novella that packs a lot in and hints at another series that might be fun. It would be interesting to see Tobias Winter meet Peter, there would probably be beer and a lot of complaining about bosses and mutual respect, if not friendship.Tobias Winter is called on to investigate a mysterious death in Trier, helped by a local cop Vanessa Sommer (and yes this does produce a "really?" response from Tobias. The two of them are interesting together and they do work well together.The mystery was well done, I was left wanting more.
    • 4/5
      Interesting - Winter is very Peter-Grant-ish, the Director is somewhat Nightingale-ish. I hope Sommer does better than Leslie. The mystery is weird and neatly handled; police procedures are not too different, though they've got more active magic handlers than the Brits do (the emergency squad, in particular - not mages, but they deal with magic). And the rivers are mixing into things - again, Winter's interactions are quite like Peter Grant's (one aside, of course).
    • 3/5
      A new Rivers of London novel (although the cover says "novella") that's set in Trier, Germany and introduces us to Peter Grant's Deutsche counterpart, Tobias Winter. I'm not giving anything away by saying there's also a female version of Leslie (pre-face destruction) named Vanessa Sommer. Har har. The story is okay but feels much less substantial than the London tales. Tobias is just not as interesting as Peter Grant is, and certainly doesn't have near as much a sense of humor. There's no real extended team, although the leader of the Special Circumstances group, Elton, seems promising. Another element skimped on is Nightingale's opposite number, called simply "the Director". She appears briefly at the end of the book and Tobi's references to her are rather fleeting. I wish Aaronovitch had stretched himself and given us a female protagonist. He did make Tobi an apprentice of three years' standing, so we didn't wade through the basics with him. There are some mentions of The Folly, as well as the WW2 wizardry we heard about from Nightingale, but now from the other side so that at least was of interest. Aaronovitch continues his annoying habit of dropping in terms and titles without explanation or even, in this case, translation until several pages later, and sometimes not at all. My German is pretty decent but never covered police terminology, so stopping to figure out what he's referring to got old. Will wait and see how this new tack goes. I wouldn't call it fluff, but it's nowhere near as rich and engaging as are the London-based stories
    • 3/5
      The book is set in Germany in an alternate universe where supernatural or mythological forces are real. The protagonist, Tobias Winter, is a police officer in the unit designated to deal with crimes involving the supernatural. In the German Trier wine region man is found dead (possibly murdered) by a fungus that normally grows on grapes. Tobias is dispatched to the region and works with a partner from the local police. The book then proceeds like a typical police crime mystery but with the addition of the supernatural. There are many clever or humorous elements in the book. I liked the way the author blended the supernatural elements with the matter of fact German attitude to science as well as police work and bureaucracy.A fun and lightweight read (the author calls it a novella, my hardcover copy was two hundred pages).
    • 4/5
      A light, mostly pleasant - there are a few grisly descriptions - case of strange deaths in Trier Germany, where Peter Grant is more of a specter than a absent person, two young law officers deal with the local complications. Not much traction, but nothing painful, with Trier being the best character.
    • 4/5
      I’ve been waiting impatiently for the next episode in the “Rivers of London” series, so I was delighted to spot this on the library’s ‘new books’ rack. Then I discovered that even though it’s considered part of that series, it’s not set in London and the characters are all new. When a dead body is found enveloped with fungus, specifically the one that causes the ‘noble rot’ on wine grapes, Tobias Winter is called in. He’s the agent from the German version of the Folly. He’s assigned Vanessa Sommer as a regular police partner for the case. Soon more bodies turn up, and the signs point to a secret hundreds of years old, and involves a river goddess who has reincarnated, ghosts, magic, and a vineyard. This is a short book- a novella, really- so a lot happens in a short time. Vanessa (and the readers) are brought up to speed on the magical situation during drives from place to place and a dinner scene. Tobias has a different voice from Peter’s; he’s much more serious and doesn’t have the wit when describing things that Peter does. It took me a while to warm up to him. Vanessa has promise; she catches on to things very quickly. While I really hope to see more of Peter Grant and Nightingale, I look forward to seeing more of Winter and Sommer (really?!?!), too. Four stars; good magic and murder plot but too rushed.
    • 4/5
      This is the first work I've read in this world, but I am still able to enjoy it without any lack of understanding. This was an quick and enjoyable read in the supernatural detective genre, which is something that is incredibly up my alley. I recommend it if you like that type of read.I received this book for free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      A novella starring the German equivalent of The Folly and its staff finding a body covered in a mysterious fungal rot. Very good plot and the main characters are good as well, if a little less entertaining than Peter Grant and company, more pedestrian magic if you will. It was nice to get a different view of magic in this universe since we know The Folly's version quite well and it made me wish for Aaronovitch to take a stab at more countries. The audio version is read my a different reader than the "regular" series, so it made for a natural division between the two.
    • 4/5
      An excellent expansion of the Rivers of London series. Although short, this tale manages to show the Folly's German counterpart as a wholly distinct entity, yet still a believable part of the RoL world.I still love Peter Grant, but I hope to see more of Tobias Winter.Received via NetGalley.
    • 4/5
      A short side book in the Rivers of London series. Tobias Winter is Peter Grant's German counterpart: a young police detective and apprentice magician. When a body turns up covered in a rapidly growing wine fungus, Tobias is tasked with finding what caused this clearly unnatural death. A local river spirit both complicates matters and helps provide the solution.Tobias is a bit blander than Peter and not as snarky, but he is an appealing character. Fans of the Rivers of London will want to read this, and it also stands alone quite well.
    • 4/5
      A spinoff! Peter Grant is referenced, somewhat enviously, but not seen in this novella about the German magical bureaucracy, which isn’t supposed to exist post-WWII but does anyway. Many of the spirits are dead, or deeply embittered (or probably both), because of Nazi crimes, but our guy is just trying to do a job, which happens to be investigating some rather odd wine-related deaths. I wanted more about what exactly the Nazis did but I understand that doesn't fit with the deeply bureaucratic structure of magic regulation as Aaronovitch has set it up.
    • 4/5
      A nice in between story in this series that opens up the world a bit more. We have had references to the German magicians before so it was nice to get a story from their viewpoint for a change. I definitely still want Peter Grant as the main character, but I do hope we get more adventures with Tobias and Vanessa!