We are very happy to announce that Ben Aaronovitch will be embarking on a 15-stop book tour to mark and celebrate the release of his latest book, THE OCTOBER MAN, and also Independent Bookshop Week in the UK! Ben will be visiting as many local bookshops as is physically possibly (not to mention playing rather fast-and-loose with the definition of a “week”). We would love to see as many of you as possible on this tour, so be sure to buy your tickets as quickly as possible, in order to reserve your place. (We expects tickets to go fast, so do not tarry!)
Sunday 9th June 6:30pm, CYMERA, Edinburgh
Tuesday 11th June 6:30pm, Goldsboro Books, London (Covent Garden)
Wednesday 12th June 6:30pm, Daunt Books Hampstead, London (Hampstead)
Thursday 13th June 7:30pm, Toppings & Company Ely, Ely, Cambridgeshire
Friday 14th June 7pm, Haslemere Bookshop, Haslemere, Surrey
Sunday 16th June 7pm, Linghams Booksellers, Wirral, Cheshire
Monday 17th June 7pm, Lindum Books, Lincoln
Tuesday 18th June 12:30pm – 1:30pm, The Bakewell Bookshop, Bakewell, Derby
Tuesday 18th June 7:30pm, Kibworth Books, Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire
Wednesday 19th June 1pm – 2pm, Burway Books, Church Stretton, Shropshire
Wednesday 19th June 7:30pm, Book-ish, Crickhowell, Wales
Thursday 20th June 12pm – 1pm, Mostly Books, Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Thursday 20th June 7:30pm, Bookseller Crow, London (Crystal Palace)
Friday 21st June 12:30pm – 1:30pm, Storysmith, Bristol
Friday 21st June 6:30pm, Winstone’s Sidmouth, Sidmouth, Devon
THE OCTOBER MAN is set in the same world as Ben’s internationally best-selling, critically-acclaimed Peter Grant/Rivers of London series, albeit this time with a new protagonist! Here’s the synopsis…
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.
THE OCTOBER MAN is published in the UK by Gollancz on June 13th. You can preorder a copy through your local Independent Bookshop, here. The novella is also due to be published in North America by Subterranean Press, and is available to order now.
Here are just a couple of the early reviews the novella has received…
‘In this enjoyable spin-off from the Rivers of London urban fantasy series, Aaronovitch successfully transfers his blend of the supernatural and humor from England to the Continent as he introduces Tobias Winter, a German police officer who practices magic… Supernatural mystery fans who enjoy more whimsical takes on the paranormal will hope for more of Winter and Sommer.’ — Publishers Weekly
‘Aaronovitch expands the universe of his Rivers of London series (Broken Homes, 2014) to include new characters operating in different countries with ties to supernatural crimes and detective work. THE OCTOBER MAN introduces Tobias Winter, a sanctioned magic practitioner who investigates the supernatural angles of crimes for the Abteilung KDA (which fans will recognize as the German extension of the British Folly)… Aaronovitch delivers yet another classic detective novel rich with the magical world building accomplished in his previous work.’ — Booklist
‘Winter’s stolidness is a feature rather than a bug. While there are moments of adventure and daring, the story of this crime is both a satisfying whodunit and a primer on how magic works in Deutschland. THE OCTOBER MAN would be an interesting place to enter the Rivers of London world. Rather than fae, a new reader would anticipate werewolves, perhaps — and still greatly enjoy Aaronovitch’s work. Those who know the Folly will appreciate this outsider’s view of Grant and Nightingale, as well as learn a bit about how the latter spent the war, while still greatly enjoying Aaronovitch’s work, even if it is set someplace new.’ — Locus (Adrienne Martini)