The October Man: A Rivers of London Novella

Product Information

Unlike some other urban fantasies with your garden variety vampires and werewolves, Aaronovitch has only given us hints of such folks, or when he does it’s in a new style, with new rules, and only subtly hinted at. And unlike resurrecting the old Celtic and Norse (and Greek, Egyptian, Slavic, etc. etc.) pantheons, our writer describes Genius loci – or gods of the rivers. These are incarnations of the rivers themselves with godlike powers. We meet Father Thames, up near the source, and Mother Thames in the city and then all the tributaries as lesser gods and goddesses. In the interview, Ben mentions that he doesn't have a 'meta' plot all worked out for the series, that his philosophy is 'take care of the story and the meta will work itself out.' I think that explains a great deal about the immediate and meta plotting of the books, which might prove unsatisfying for those who look for an explicitly "progressing" arc rather than episodes in the adventures of life (Note: I too wish my own meta-life would make more progress, but my approach to my own life must be something like Ben's writing). At any rate, my take-away is that Kobna and the series are reassuringly linked. Thank the urban-fantasy audio gods. Or the river ones. 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. I'm happy to report that this sixth episode of this terrific UF series is definitely as good as the rest, if not better. I feel that we're really getting to know the characters well. Peter Grant is developing in both his magic skills and his policing skills, making new gadgets and spells to fight crime. Nightingale as ever if there to support Peter and pull him out of trouble by dealing with the heavy stuff when required. Peter's relationship with the river Goddess, Beverley Brook is looking happy and settled and Lady Ty, Goddess of the River Tyburn also features as much of the activity is on her turf and some of the younger river folk have got themselves into trouble. This book, however, takes everything that has been building up in the previous five books and focuses yet again on the Faceless Man and poor Leslie. In my opinion, this was a squee-worthy move on the author's part. At least, I was practically slathering with all the great reveals and directions it took.

Anyway, the case itself - as I had expected - wasn’t all that important despite the spreading fungal rot and potential Roman connection having been quite interesting (at least to me). Instead, it was about introducing Tobias and German magic. Can’t say I’m a fan of all the institutions and regulations, but it did bring the narrative home, so to speak. ;) Momentum is critical when dealing with practitioners. Magic takes concentration, even for malevolent spirits of the dead. For a successful capture you have to pile the pressure on, and never them them catch their balance." False Value By Ben Aaronovitch. Gollancz. 21 May 2019. ISBN 9781473207882 . Retrieved 23 September 2019. I felt at home in the Folly once more. Also I got more of Mr. Witcher and it was great to watch him doing his magic in the battle field. Thought, I think, Molly still has to wait for her star-hour. I would eagerly wait for that! :) A Peeler could summon aid by shaking his rattle while in hot pursuit of a felon and hoping that people would stop laughing long enough to help. The rattle was soon superseeded by the whistle, whose principal advantage was that, not only could you have a number of prearranged signals for a variety of situations, but you didn't look like a total tit using it.This leads to a familiar but noticeably different read and one I really did enjoy. The length of the book could be seen as a tester to see how well expanding the "universe" would be (from this read I think pretty well) although I wished the story was longer. Ben Aaronvitch's Peter Grant series has become one of the most satisfying urban fantasy detective novels in the field. Read it, and then listen to Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's audio version. You can thank me later. If I try very hard to find something to complain about in this episode, it is the presence of some not very subtle product placements, but most of it is done in a humorous tone, so I will give Peter Grant the benefit of the doubt (I blame another author for souring me on the practice - Craig Johnson. Now I see paid advertisements everywhere) Plotting remains pleasantly unpredictable for me. While the stories ostensibly have a main investigation, Peter leads a busy life. There are opportunities to learn more about magic and its practitioners, Peter's family, the ongoing investigation into Leslie, side investigations such as hunting down the Little Crocodiles, learning about the history of the Folly and so forth. Because of it, both the plots and the pacing often surprise me. I also enjoy that it is very much a 'police procedural.' Peter occasionally goes to a desk, he works a computer, he explains to the reader the structure of a murder investigation within the London police. He frequently has asides to explain the approach and legality of police actions: "Guleed circled around the names and the timeline for twenty minutes, twenty minutes being about the amount of time it takes your average suspect--sorry, I mean witness--to forget the details of the lies they've just told you, before asking about the drugs." And so we come to Aaronovitch’s brilliant sixth book in the series (though there are a few short stories and some graphic novels – of which I am ravenously reading). Published in 2016 we are now in the desperate wait for the next in the series, 2018’s(!) Lies Sleeping.

As always we get a lot of information on London and it's architecture and a little glimpse into the history of the city, which is just great. Khaleeli, Homa and Weale, Sally (16 June 2015). "Michelle Obama tells London schoolgirls 'the world needs you' ". The Guardian. Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London novels are set for TV adaptation". TheGuardian.com. 7 July 2022. That said, I'd really prefer Grant & Co. There were just a couple of points where I laughed, one early on:

Customer reviews

Condemned prisoners were loaded onto tumbrils at Newgate Gaol, and would wind their way through the streets of London, past the rookeries at St. Giles, before hitting the long straight road into the open countryside and the Tyburn Tree.