Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch

4 reviews

spinebenderbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The October Man is another novella in the Rivers of London series. In this story set in Germany, Ben Aaronovitch introduces readers to Tobias Winter, a member of the German magic police force. I enjoyed this look at another country's equivalent to the Folly. The tone is fairly similar to that of the main books in the series in a way that will either be enjoyable or frustrating for readers. Some readers might prefer that the narrator had more to differentiate him from Peter's narration. However I enjoy Tobias as a character and feel that him being of a similar age and gender to Peter explains that similarity somewhat. He appears to idolise Peter in certain respects, which may also be in play. Vanessa Sommer is another great addition to the world of ROL and I hope we see more of this team.

The mystery that this novella focuses around is satisfyingly complicated for its length and is resolved at a good pace. I enjoyed meeting
the German Rivers and would be delighted to revisit them again in future. It was interesting to get a look at the different history they have with the Abteilung KDA than that of their London counterparts and the Folly.


Something that can bug me about urban fantasy set in our world is when the worldbuilding fails to suggest a vaster magical world outside of the city or country that a book is set in. It can feel very limited, without any hints that the magic element expands beyond the setting of the story. So I enjoy Aaronovitch taking the opportunity in short stories and novellas to expand on the mentions of non-British magic in his main novels. It gives the worldbuilding a more complete feeling.
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sandralaurentino's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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littlecat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No

3.0

As an audiobook, I didnt check the cover right and was a bit confused cause it is the same reader and style so I first through it was Peter Grant - I think its kind of bad that there is no distinct voice here in the writing but the styleof the books is fun.
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lilifane's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

 
AAAAAH! I loved this so so so so so much! The setting was everything! Boy, did I enjoy it (and the story and the characters as well).

So, to explain something, I have this one pet peeve: When a native English speaker uses German language in a book/movie /TV show and it's bad. You always see when German actors were cast for German roles and when they weren't (and most of the time they aren't). But I can forgive this. What I am less likely to forgive is when an English speaking author uses German words or phrases in their book and they're all wrong. I mean, how difficult could it be to do some minor research for this one German sentence you are using?! Hint: Google is not a great translator!

Anyway, this book did everything right! The amount of research the author has done is amazing! Yes, there are lots of stereotypes but they are kind of true to be honest? I loved all the little references to German (pop) culture and brands and people. Just a word here, a name there, very very entertaining! Oh how often I laughed out loud. I also liked how the locations were described, the names, the translations of the magic terminology!!! I think they make even more sense and sound more magical AND scientific in German. :D And after reading in the acknowledgements that Ben Aaronovitch asked his German Twitter followers for help, it all makes sense!

I was also pleasantly surprised by some heavy topics that were mentioned (althought the overall tone is very lighthearted and fun... well... as fun as you can be with these disturbing murders) and how they were handled. For example how to deal with someone who tells you they experienced a rape attempt or how not to deal with magical minorities. And I like how many diverse characters as well as strong female characters were part of this short story.

Speaking of the story, it was perfect for me. I made the experience that I enjoy the novellas in this series more than the regular books lately (Maybe because I got frustrated ba a certain main plot... ). But I also liked the mystery in this one and the pacing and the explanations and... just everything. Did I mention the characters. Kelly is refreshing, Vanessa deserves the world, and I loved Tobi's PoV a LOT (the way he talks about his parents gave me life, I can totally picture their family life). And I secretly want him and Peter to meet some day and Peter saying something like "Hey, Tobi, big fan of your work in Trier." I would really like that. In fact I would love for more books taking place in Germany. It woud be such a waste of perfectly good characters if they don't get to solve more cases together. Even the minor characters like the Director or the pathologist were fascinating. 
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