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.

This is a spin-off of Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London. Set in Germany we follow detective and magic practitioner Tobias Winter. I do prefer the Peter Grant series, but this is well worth the read. Somewhere someone called Aaronovitch's books CSI Hogwarts. I also really enjoy the graphic novels created from the Rivers series.

You should always realize that my ratings for Ben Aaronovitch are relative to his own works; his Peter Grant series is generally five-star in comparison to any other urban fantasy. In this novella, he leaves Grant behind to follow Tobias Winter, a special agent in the special division for magical enforcement in Germany. Winter is relaxing at his parent’s house when he gets a call about “possible infraction in Trier,” which is official-speak for a potentially magic-related death. He is assigned a liaison officer, Frau Sommer, and together they work to solve the mystery.

It’s an interesting idea, to base the concept of a story on the idea of a world and the police procedural structure, but to leave out any characters from the last seven books. Tobias needs to explain the whole ‘magic’ thing to Sommer, so a reader joining the world at this particular point would not be left out. In a way, that’s a nice idea. For series fans, however, I’d say this will feel slightly disappointing, as there have been so many interesting characters throughout the seven books that I could name a handful that would be a lot of fun to explore. Kumar, from the Underground; the sword-wielding Li; Madame Tang; even, dare I say, more Abagail. I know he’s been doing some of the exploration with the graphic novels (Guhleed, Nightingale, the River Twins), but those prove less character-expanding and more about the adventure.

Tobias, unfortunately, felt largely like a watered-down Peter to me. Less funny, more methodical, prone to explaining but also still prone to methodological leaps. He gets a run and a cooking interlude to help distinguish himself. Sommer felt largely bland, with portentous hints.

There’s a bit of German language sprinkled in. To be honest, I’m not sure why. It doesn’t really give much of a sense of atmosphere, and since German isn’t really a common language, it’s largely incomprehensible. Here’s one bit:

“I joined the Bundeskriminalamt rather than the Polizei Baden-Württemberg so Papa wouldn’t be able to order me about at work.”

or

“Trier is not famous as a policing hotspot, having been voted Germany’s Quaintest Town five years in a row in the poll of popular destinations conducted by the Deutsche Zentrale für Tourismus.”

Sigh. Ben, Ben, Ben. You’re missing the point of using non-English words in your writing when you are writing in English. You are supposed to be conveying the inexplicable, or a cultural signifier, n’est-ce pas?

This is going to sound grumpy, I suppose; but you should always assume that I like an Aaronovitch book and what I have to specify are the ways in which it wasn’t a five-star read. The writing is clear and sophisticated. There’s certainly weird bullocks, as Det. Seawoll would say, but it’s used to good effect. Violence and gore for the sake of being thrilling and titillating is generally avoided, although there’s certainly some more horrific elements here than what we’ve usually seen Peter deal with. A new kind of fae sneaks in, as well as more encounters with rivers. Plot moves reasonably fast, although typically twisty, once we get Tobias out to Trier. Setting is developed decently, and definitely feels different from London policing.

That said, I’d really prefer Grant & Co. There were just a couple of points where I laughed, one early on:

“Despite my admiration for Förstner’s ability to insult both of us at the same time, my brain still finally managed to flag a crucial piece of information.”

I was left feeling like I spent the day with Peter’s older, more serious brother. A decent story, but I missed the sense of fun.

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.

The Rivers of London world expands with this short novella focused on the experiences of Tobias Winter, Germany's answer to Peter Grant. It's not clear if the novella is a standalone, an attempt to introduce characters that Peter & Co will interact with later, or the first salvo in a new series of a related expanded universe. I enjoyed the work but found myself missing Peter (Tobias is either less compelling or perhaps less familiar) and sometimes a bit frustrated with the Winter & Sommers development line which, for my tastes, ran rather too similar to the development of Grant and May albeit with a rather happier ending (perhaps Aaronvitch is going for a what if/if only vibe?). That being said the mystery was great and the peek into Germany's (and France's!) magic worlds was intriguing, so if Aaronvitch's next book was a full Winter & Sommers novel, I would be 100% all in.

ARC via NetGalley

An expansion of the Rivers of London universe that I didn't know I wanted/needed until now. Honestly, this is one of the best contemporary fantasy series out there and I love the sort of parallel lines Mr. Aaronovitch brings to Tobias Winter's apprenticeship and the general German approach to magic, Nightingale, and fairy/magic creature societies. The mystery, per usual, is tight and virtually plot-hole proof and we get an idea of how magic is affecting the larger world, or, more specifically, the EU. If there's a small nitpick here it's that Tobias isn't super realized, he sounds a bit too much like Peter Grant in some places, while Vanessa Sommer reads as a much fuller, clearer, and more complex character, so I'd like to propose a protagonist switch? All in all, a fun, fun, fun read and a good gateway drug for anyone who wants to dabble in these books. A super strong recommend!

I haven't read this series for some years, so I thought I'd see if I could pick this up a it was billed as standalone. Definitely worth the effort! Now I have to go back and read the books I missed! I hope we see more of these characters in the future.

Lou Jacobs's Reviews > The October Man

The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch
The October Man (Rivers of London, #7.5)
by Ben Aaronovitch (Goodreads Author)
M 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review Mar 14, 2019 · edit
really liked it

"Life is too short to drink bad wine" .. a quote attributed to noted German writer and statesman, Johan Wolfang von Goethe. This directly ties in with the theme and narrative of Aaronovich's next urban magical mystery. Although the scene is Trier, the oldest city in Germany, this short novel will provide a nice fix for lovers of "The Rivers of London" series. The quote can be taken quite literally or as related to our story. .... a group of middle age men caught in mid-life crisis with virtually dead end jobs and insignificant personal relationships decide to better themselves and form a "Good Wine Drinking Club" with scheduled meetings associated with not only drinking but enjoying the local arts. Somewhat magically their lives are all improved. However, a man is found murdered near a vineyard and his body is completely enveloped by a grey fungus ... "noble rot", which is known to be used in the wine industry to turn out a batch of marvelous sweet wine. The man has been asphyxiated with his airway completely blocked by the infestation of the fungus.
Even the local authorities know they are out of their element and summon the aid of the Abeilung KDA - the branch of the German police handling supernatural cases. Tobias Winter, one of only two sanctioned practitioners of Magic in Germany, is summoned to investigate the murder. When he arrives he finds himself partnered with local police official, Vanessa Sommer. In the course of their investigation a frequent guffaw results when they introduce themselves as Sommer & Winter.
Their investigation quickly provides a direct link of the murder to the Good Wine Drinking Club members. Multiple twists in the narrative uncover the nature of the secret magical history of the city and it's inhabitants dating back to Roman times ... especially implicated are the Straker family, involved in the wine making industry for multiple generations. Naturally , Tobias uncovers evidence of magical Vestigium and utilizes the local River Spirits to progress his investigation.
Thanks to NetGalley and Subterrean Press for providing an ARC of this delightful romp in exchange for an honest review. @SubPress

A delicious entry in the Rivers of London series, this novella introduces readers to the German equivalent of Nightingale, Grant, and the Folly denizens. Tobias Winter, one of Germany's only two practitioners, is paired with Vanessa Sommer to investigate the supernatural death of first one man, and later several, near a vineyard struggling to make a comeback. Readers get to learn about German magic traditions, werewolves, river goddesses of Germany, noble rot, and more. It's a fantastic treat for fans of this series and can be an introduction to the series for newcomers.

Another enjoyable romp with magical, mythical bad guys and river goddesses! Only this time the story takes place in Germany with new characters. Interestingly the London practitioners, Nightingale and Peter Grant, are mentioned as peers/ possible rivals across the channel. Looks like Aaronovitch is setting up an international network of practitioners for future novels. I missed Peter and Beverly but overall enjoyed the new novella and look forward to the next chapter.

In The October Man, Ben Aaronovitch introduces Germany's answer to Peter Grant in the person of Tobias Winter. Winter is called to Trier to investigate a possible "infraction" where he teams up with Vanessa Sommer to find out why a body was covered with fungus just down the hill from a vineyard. Magic is definitely in play as the case comes down to a few hundred year old desire for revenge/love with the personification of a German river on the part of a dead magician. A very interesting new part of the "Rivers" universe has just opened up! Read and enjoy!

Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read this volume!

Had the chance to read an ARC copy of this and I enjoyed it! This was not about Peter Grant, so it was a nice detour to see what their German counterparts were going.

I agree with a previous reviewer that the flow was a little disjointed; I had a small problem connecting the story everyone it jumped, but I enjoyed the story!

I look forward to more on Tobi Winter and Vanessa Sommer; and hopefully a look at the French too!

So this was pretty cool. Instead of following Peter or Nightingale (why???) we follow another magic practitioner named Tobias Winter. Tobias is the equivalent to our Peter Grant in England, only Tobias operates in Germany. Tobias is working on a case that seems to involve wine, ghosts, and magic.

Tobias's family seemed very interesting and I wanted to know more about his dad, mother, and the family's history with policing. I did love the introduction of Vanessa and how she finds out about magic being real and that Tobias can do it. We even have a goddess in this one (seriously this series is lousy with goddesses, everyone is one it seems).

I liked the narration though Tobias at times can sound a bit like Peter in my opinion.

"There are bad things in the world, and most of them aren't my job. But, of the things that are my responsibility, revenants are the worse.

"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."

The flow was not that great though which is the main reason why I gave this four stars. The book stops and starts throughout. Usually in a Peter Grant story his voice is so forceful through the whole thing I don't notice the laggy bits as much. Or I probably do and it doesn't bother me as much.

The book setting changing to Germany was a good idea. I honestly don't know much about German forklore/magic/spirits/etc. so it was pretty cool that this book revolved around that. I honestly didn't get a few words that were used though and felt a little bit confused here and there. Not often, but a little. There is also some discussion of the Nazis and Hitler and Hitler not being a revenant.

I really got a kick out of the ending with Tobias and Vanessa finding out about the fact that there were more magic users out there in places like London (Peter and Nightingale), the French reopened something called The Academy, and now we know of Germany and the Abteilung KDA - the Department for Complex and Unspecific Matters.