What a magnificent, lighthearted novella it was! There are not always a lot of authors who can add to their stories and series as time goes on without spoiling them, but Ben Aaronovitch absolutely nailed it!
The Peter Grant series is one of my absolute favourite book series and no one writes magic, mysteries, and comedy for adults quite like Aaronovitch does. What a smashing book!

Thank you Subterranean Press for the opportunity to review this ARC

4.5 Stars

Chock full of all the things I love best about the Rivers of London series, this novella follows Peter Grant, acerbic critic of British architecture, Metropolitan Police Constable, and apprentice wizard, as he and practitioner wannabe Abigail, his cousin, investigate a series of peculiar, disintegrating ghost sightings along a particular train line. "Starling" Grant's charming persistence pays off, we meet a delightful, if a bit wild, baby River god, and arrive at Abigail's fulfillment of her end of the Latin bargain that Peter made with her a couple of books back. Yikes!

This was a very enjoyable read, though I missed Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's brilliant narration. We know what I'll be loading on my Audible app, come release date!

There is something about stories set between novels that are really nice. You know that no one is going to die since you have read further along in the series and know who is still living. This is a novella that has Peter tracking down ghost reports on the Tube with help from Jaget who now is now in charge of anything weird on the London Underground. The plus with this being a smaller story we do get more of Abigail and it really looks like in this story that as she grows up she will be working for the Folly as well.

The story is good and the nice thing is there isn’t a lot of actual magic in the story that hasn’t been seen before performed by anyone. What does seem to do the trick for this one is a nice combo of police legwork with the magic helping it out with the ghosts.

The Furthest Station was a fun and quick read! This story follows apprentice mage and police constable Peter Grant as he tries to find out why there has been a sudden increase in spectral incidents on the London Underground. The persons who have encountered the ghosts quickly lose all memory of their encounter, which adds to the intrigue of the mystery (and creates difficulties for Peter when he tries to gather witness testimony). The story features Peter's cousin Abigail very prominently, which I very much enjoyed! Readers who enjoy reading about the history of the Folly have a few things to look forward to as well.

While this book does not further the story of the Folly v. the Faceless Man (the novella takes place between Foxglove Summer and the Hanging Tree), it still features the same humor, random cultural references, and gumshoeing that Aaronovitch's readers love (myself included). The Furthest Station has all of the things that I love about the Rivers of London series, just in a smaller package. I would definitely recommend picking this book up!

@SubPress

Ghosts on the Metropolitan Train Line? Assault on a commuter by a non-existent person? When the British Transport Police Underground Unit is called, the commuter does not recall the incident. Another commuter who was accosted expresses surprise and disbelief at police presence within ten minutes after he called the police. This calls for intervention by the Special Assessment Unit aka The Folly headed by Peter Grant and Detective Chief Inspector Nightingale with an assist from teenage volunteer, Abigail.

In total seven incidents, seemingly supernatural, were mentioned in police reports as having happened on the London Tube's Metropolitan Line. Abby compiles a list of train stops in question. Peter and Nightingale plan on boosting the intensity of ghosts by feeding them magic hoping they will appear as entities that talk and react. Using low-grade light called werelight, several ghosts are conjured up and try to impart information about a magical abduction before they vanish.

The team of Peter and Nightingale was greatly enhanced by Abby's diligence and determination. Mentoring Abigail in magic could assist her in becoming an equal member of The Folly in the future. This is my first foray into the Peter Grant series that mixes urban fantasy and police procedural techniques. "The Furthest Station" by Ben Aaronovitch was a nice place to start.

Thank you Subterranean Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "The Furthest Station".

I have intended to read the Peter Grant series for some time now & and greater motivation than this novella will not be needed.

I HAD SO MUCH FUN READING IT!

Ben Aaronovitch seriously knows how to mix mundane police investigation with magic and come up with something unique and very entertaining.

And I also owe him a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, which - as I read the book on the metro, albeit not in London, to get as authentic a reading experience as possible - caused some disturbance among fellow-travellers. Hopefully not as much as a possible ghost would/could.

The writing is clear and succinct interlaced with wry humour, the main characters are interesting and likeable. The story is intriguing throughout, with the show-rather-than-tell approach and not overburdened with unnecessary details.

It is clear that the author knows London like the back of his hand and the extensive info we are offered concerning Tube transport as well as the major congregation of ghosts in the area is not to be sneezed at. :)

Recommended to all who like police procedural dramas with a twist and don't mind MAGIC occupying the territory of the MUNDANE in a very British way: politely and discretely, while offering cups of tea, takeaways and numerous rides on the Metropolitan Line.

I just love love love this series and the wait between the installments is kind of killing me. So I was super pleased to at least have this novella to read to satisfy my need to spend more time in the wonderful world Ben Aaronovitch has created.

The case at the heart of this book is an increasing number of ghost sightings on the tube. People report seeing them, but soon after that forget to have ever seen them. The ghosts seem to have a message to deliver, but this proves difficult given that people keep forgetting what they were told within minutes.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this short book, I sped through it in two sittings and my only complaint is that it is so short and I now have to wait who knows how long until the next book comes out. At the same time, this shortness actually works in the book's favour as well - the case presented is a lot easier to follow and the author does not get lost in discussions about other things. It is a neat case that works great in showcasting Abigail as a character (I didn't remember liking her this much!). She is absolutely brilliant and her interaction with Peter is amazing. I love how Aaronovitch manages to built these believable relationships between people and how different every single relationship is to the others. Abigail and Peter behave in a way siblings do and I love that! I love their dynamic and how she challenges him all the while being so so similar to him.

I adore Peter a whole lot and he still is my favourite character in all the Urban Fantasy books I read recently. He is smart and funny and just enough of a geek to be adorable while at the same time getting better and better at his job without losing his inherent optimism. I cannot wait to see where the series goes next!

This is a novella of the Peter Grant series, it's number 5.7. I honestly never heard of this series until I got the E-ARC for this book and now I'm reading them all. This book was so funny, I loved Peter's dry sense of humor. I love the premise of ghost police in London. I'm not a big fan of the mystery genre but supernatural mysteries, like this one, are so fun to read.

It gave me the same feeling as reading Angie Sage's Septimus Heap series did. It's not that these are children's books by any means, there's an F-bomb every once in a while and it's a pretty adult concept, but the writing style felt similar, and the attitude towards ghosts and magic felt similar to me. And that's a great thing since I adore the Septimus Heap series.

The Folly is also a pretty interesting organization. Everything is very scientific. The ghosts are classified into categories, there's methods for testing theories, and yet it combines that science with classical education, learning Greek and Latin.

I jumped into this series with this novella so I didn't fully understand everything right off the bat but it's written so well, giving just enough information so that even if you're reading out of order you can grasp whats happening, but not overloading you with information either. I loved it enough to go back and read the whole series. I currently reading book 2, Moon Over Soho, and I highly recommend this series. 4 out of 5 stars!

This novella is being released June 30th, so you have plenty of time to go read the other books before this one comes out!

I received this book for free, through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

A delightful side adventure in the Peter Grant universe. I found myself chuckling, highlighting as a went, enjoying Grant’s wry observations of the city and it’s denizens.

All the elements that make the series so remarkable, lovable and familiar are here: the humor, the sudden realization that Peter has gotten himself in over his head, references to destroyed landmarks, strange and remarkable Rivers, Molly’s sinister looming and her cooking experiments, Toby’s reluctance to obey, Peter’s inevitable distractions into research, notes on police procedure and interview techniques, commentary on casual racism, and further observations on Nightingale’s remarkable dress code and his failure to modernize.

“Normally these days we shunt files back and forth as email attachments, but the Folly prefers to do things the old-fashioned way. Just in case someone leaks our emails, and also because only one of us currently lives in the 21st century.”

Written as a novella, it’s a little more streamlined than the average Peter Grant book. Kumar, with his willingness to work with ‘weird bullocks’, has contacted Peter for assistance. There have been ghost sightings on the Metropolitan Line of the Tube train and passengers have been strangely unable to remember any details.

“Okay,” said Jaget after a pause. “That’s the second most freakiest thing you’ve ever shown me.”
I snapped off the werelight. “That was really odd,” I said.
“Yeah, even by your standards of odd that was odd,” said Jaget. “What next?”

As usual, the clever social commentary, self-depreciation and genuine curiosity had me chuckling, underlying a bit or two every few pages. I adore the way Aaronovitch is able to make me chuckle without resorting to absurdity, although there is that too. Although I kind of wish he’d stop referencing all the fabulous ‘ethnic’ places to eat, because I was hungrier than usual eating this one, especially when he snacked on crab with ginger and spring onions. But that provides a nice contrast to some more emotional moments, particularly one where Peter recognizes “it isn’t about your personal convictions. It’s about what the person standing on the edge needs.”

The story is remarkably well balanced with a minimum of digressions, so it may be even more palatable than the novels for some. Weaknesses were minor, with the most glaring being a quick wrap-up. I rather think Aaronovitch would just keep writing, but someone has to cut him off. At any rate, it’s not that bothersome. I just flipped back to the beginning and re-read it. Absolutely delicious although I’m not sure how it compares with the Chinese crab-ginger dish. Can’t wait to hear it read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.



Many, many thanks to Subterranean Press and NetGalley for giving me an advance peek!

I loved this and would love more if these short stories! It's a case of ghosts mysteriously appearing to passengers on the Metropolitan line and Peter has to figure out why. It's a nice little self contained mystery. You don't need to be completely caught up with the series to know what is going on, but if you haven't read a couple of books, you're going to be lost.

Short story just to keep in touch with the people of the Folly and to see Abigail taking the place that was Leslie's. Ghosts, kidnapping (as usual) and undergrounds, the same ingredients for the new novella.

Una breve storia per non perdere di vista i nostri amici del Folly e per vedere l'evoluzione di Abigail che, a quanto sembra, prenderá il posto che era di Leslie. Fantasmi, rapimenti (come al solito) e metropolitane, gli ingradienti che conosciamo per una nuova storia.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW

I really enjoyed this book, I loved the story and the plot, pace and characters were all spot on. It was just the right amount of mystery, paranormal and police procedural for me - 4 stars

Amazing, the only way it could have been better was if it were a full length novel!

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---

He asked if we were really ghost hunting, and I said we were.

“What, like officially?”

“Officially secret,” I said because discretion is supposed to be, if not our middle name, at least a nickname we occasionally answer to when we remember.


This novella hit the spot -- a short, but fully developed, adventure with our friends from the Rivers of London series -- full of action, a bit of snark, and seeing Peter in his element (and far out of it, too). Would I have preferred a full novel? Sure -- but if I can't have one, this is more than adequate.

Peter Grant, apprentice wizard and Police Constable, is investigating several reports of a ghost terrorizing people on the Underground during the morning commute. Naturally, even when interviewed immediately following a sighting the witness would only be able to remember details for a few moments before they forgot and/or rationalized them away. Which makes it pretty difficult to ask follow-up questions. As Peter continues to investigate, he ends up finding a very non-supernatural crime that he needs to deal with, even if he goes about it in a pretty supernatural way. While there's little in this series that I don't like, but Peter doing regular policework is one of my favorite parts.

Along for the ride (and looking for trouble) is his cousin, Abigail Jumara, acting as a summer intern for the Folly. Honestly, I barely remembered her when she shows up here -- but I eventually remembered her, and I was glad to see her back. I'm not necessarily sure that I need to see her all the time, but seeing more of her would definitely be pleasant.

In addition to the subplot about Abigail's future, there's a subplot revolving around another personification of a river -- not one of Mama Thames', either. I enjoyed it, and thought it fit in nicely with the rest of the novella, while giving us the requisite dose of a body of water.

There's not a lot to sink your teeth into here -- but the novella length doesn't leave you wanting more (like a short story would). It's good to see the Folly involved in smaller cases. Not just the serial killing, major magical threat, etc. kind of thing -- but the "smaller" stuff, too.

For any fan of the Folly/Peter Grant/Rivers of London series, this is one to get. It'd even make a pretty good introduction to the series for someone who hasn't yet discovered this fun UF series.


Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Subterranean Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post -- thanks to both, I needed something like this.
N.B.: As this was an ARC, any quotations above may be changed in the published work -- I will endeavor to verify them as soon as possible.

This reads to me like the skeleton of a Ben Aaronovitch book. I've read all the others in this series, and they're written in depth, with each character clearly delineated, with their own back story, and developing as the series goes on. A casual reader could pick up any one of them and find enough exposition seamlessly woven into the narrative to give them a grasp of what it's all about and thus enjoy the story as a stand-alone. There's none of that here. Yes, familiar characters appear, but familiar only if you've read the other books.
It's as if there's a presumption that the reader has done so and therefore we meet the protagonists only as a series of names with little to distinguish one from the other. Even when you know who they are, everything still feels a bit thin and unsatisfactory. If I were his editor, I'd set Aaronovitch on an extensive rewrite to bulk the book up and give the narrative and characters more depth. A pity, because I love the rest of the series and was looking forward to reading this one.

Another fantastic entry in Rivers of London series - it has a compelling and sympathetic mystery that widens out the world of magic in London, the Rivers themselves, and Folly history, is very funny (to be expected), and gives the Mr. Aaronovitch a chance to explore a few, up to this point, relatively tertiary characters that will likely be important in the future. For my money this is one of the best urban fantasy series around and this novella does not disappoint. One caveat; I think new reader will enjoy this very much but its length doesn't really allow for the sort of "catching up" chat that the novels provide, so be prepared for some mild brow furrowing if this is your first introduction to these characters. Highly recommend.

Having just finished 'Rivers of London' the first in the Peter Grant series, and courtesy of Netgalley, I was able to fast forward straight to 'The Furthest Station', the sixth Peter Grant novel. As before, it's part urban fantasy and part police procedural, a combination that has understandably found an enthusiastic and committed audience of readers.

'The Furthest Station' is actually a novella and can be read in a hour or two, it is also a lot of fun. Another London-centric plot, here concerning ghosts harassing passengers on London Underground's Metropolitan Line, who almost immediately forget the experience has happened. The sense of place is spot on and the interactions between the characters remain amusing and charming.

This series of stories has the potential to run and run.

3/5

https://tvgeekingout.wordpress.com/2017/04/17/the-furthest-station-by-ben-aaronovitch/?frame-nonce=cce8a5a86d

Enjoyable and Light-hearted

This is an enjoyable 144 page novella, part of the PC Peter Grant series set in the world of "Rivers of London".
There are ghost-sightings in the subway, more than normal, and Peter as a member of the Folly has to handle it.
This starts a light-hearted romp in which we meet some of the cast from the novels, like Jaget from the BTP, learn that even rivergoods have a childhood and especially see, how Abigail, his cousin, develops to an asset of the Folly.
There could be more of Beverly, and there is nothing to advance the main plot line with the Faceless Man and Lesley, but in my opinion it is ok, that the author reservs those for the novels.
Nevertheless I do not think, that any fan of the series will miss on the opportunity to get a view at the things that happen outside the main plot line.
I really liked the book and would recommend it to everyone, but I think, you should know the characters already from the novels to get the most of it.

5/5 stars

* I got an e-arc for review from the publisher via netgalley *