Oktober [Hardcover]

Stephen Gallagher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1989

An apparently fatal incident occurs when schoolteacher Jim Harper is skiing near a small research station owned by the giant multinational Risinger-Genoud. Even treatment with their new, untried and experimental superdrug cannot save his life.

Or so it seems. For Jim Harper, though left for dead, has survived. But in the long haul back to health and sanity, he begins to realise that something terrible has happened to him. Now the only way in which he can unravel the mystery in his mind is to go back to the point where it began to develop – back to Risinger-Genoud and their Oktober programme. And Risinger Genoud are going to be very interested to see him.

Oktober is a frightening journey into a world of greed and lies, a world in which the cover-up is not only a way of life, but something planned ahead of time. Step by horrifying step, Jim Harper unravels what has been done to him, and then designs the perfect act of vengeance, an act that teeters on the brink of madness...

"In the best tradition of the international thriller and horror fields, Gallagher, author of the fine Valley of Lights, has created another blend of genres that shouldn't disappoint the deicated reader of either. Is it still paranoia when everybody really is after you? Gallagher answers that question with style, insight, and a riveting sense of suspense... Oktober ranks among the best thriller/horror novels of not just this year, but any year." (Mystery Scene)

"His prose is clear and diamond-sharp, his imagination dark and vivid... a beautifully crafted novel of paranoia and shadowy horror." (Starburst)

Stephen Gallagher is a novelist and screenwriter, and creator of TV's Eleventh Hour. Television adaptations of his novels Chimera and Oktober starred John Lynch and Stephen Tompkinson. His most recent novel is The Kingdom of Bones.

"If thriller reading were a sin, Stephen Gallagher would be responsible for my ultimate damnation. His work is fast-paced, well-written, infused with a sense of dark wonder, and altogether fresh." (Dean R Koontz)

"The finest British writer of bestselling popular fiction since le Carre." (The Independent)

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British writer Gallagher follows his crime/horror novel Valley of Lights with this tepid thriller centering on the illegal drug-testing activities of a multinational pharmaceutical firm called Risinger-Genoud. After having been accidentally knocked unconscious in the company labs, Englishman Jim Harper, a teacher in a Swiss private school, is secretly injected with an experimental amphetamine-like drug, which at first seems ineffective. Eventually, however, he is restored to consciousness--and begins to experience harrowing nightmares that threaten his sanity. Risinger-Genoud takes steps to cover up its involvement, dispatching a attractive female employee to keep tabs on Harper, now hospitalized in London. Escaping her clutches, Gallagher falls into a trap engineered by Rochelle Genoud, daughter of the company's founder. Unfortunately, Gallagher does not convince the reader of Harper's imminent danger or that the conglomerate's intentions for the drug are more than casually sinister. Though there are a few good chase scenes, and some of Harper's nightmares are suitably menacing, the novel doesn't achieve any momentum.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 255 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st Tor edition (September 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312932057
• ISBN-13: 978-0312932053
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,347,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Novelist, screenwriter and director, born in Salford, Lancashire and specialising in contemporary suspense.

STEPHEN GALLAGHER was described by The Independent as "the finest British writer of bestselling popular fiction since le Carré ... Gallagher, like le Carré, is a novelist whose themes seem to reflect something of the essence of our times, and a novelist whose skill lies in embedding those themes in accessible plots." According to Arena magazine, "Gallagher has quietly become Britain's finest popular novelist, working a dark seam between horror and the psychological thriller."

The Daily Telegraph wrote, "Since Valley of Lights, he has been refining his own brand of psycho-thriller, with a discomforting knack of charting mental disintegration and a razor-sharp sense of place." Charles de Lint wrote in Mystery Scene magazine, "Gallagher is a master of abnormal psychology and he just gets better and better." Also in Mystery Scene David Mathew added, "never a writer to rest on his laurels, he has written good hard thrillers, some horror genre work (such as Valley of Lights), and a novel (Oktober) that might even qualify as a vague distortion of contemporary world fantasy... in places. You might go as far as to employ that overused phrase sui generis. He is, at any rate, one of the best writers of his generation."

Winner of British Fantasy and International Horror Guild awards, Stephen Gallagher's screen work began with Doctor Who and includes miniseries adaptations of his novels Chimera and Oktober, which he also directed. He created and wrote for both the British and American versions of Eleventh Hour, which starred Patrick Stewart in the UK and Rufus Sewell in Jerry Bruckheimer's CBS remake. His most recent novel is The Kingdom of Bones and his next will be The Suicide Hour, both from Random House.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars oktober - another winner from stephen gallagher, January 23, 2012

By 

Mr. G. Antonelli - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oktober (Kindle Edition)

I first read this when it came out in paperback years ago. It was my second novel of Stephen's after the amazing Valley of Lights. This was the one that secured my admiration of his books.

I loved the sense of place that he evokes and the rising desperation of a man out of his depth against a powerful pharmaceutical company.

At the time I was studying Chemistry at university and it struck a chord. It is, if anything, more relevant in this day and age.

Some people have criticised the ending for leaving matters in the air but for me it's the main thing I remembered prior to re-reading it. At the time it did what a good novel should and got me thinking. It certainly made me want to buy his next novel.

Which is what I did - I'm proud to say I have read every novel he has published since.

These new ebook versions mean I can have his whole back-catalogue in one easy place. One of the few authors I will make time to re-read!

5.0 out of 5 stars A very rewarding thriller, January 19, 2012

By 

Stephen Jordan (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oktober (Kindle Edition)

I really enjoyed it. Oktober plays with an impressive cauldron of genres. While clearly paced and written like a thriller, the plot is backed up with a weight of scientific knowledge and a disturbing, beautifully-realised supernatural element. One Amazon reviewer mentioned that the only 'real danger' occurs when the protagonist 'tries to find out what happened to him', but I disagree. Jim is in constant danger from the outset, from others and his own personal demons. The world is out to get him, and something is always breathing down his neck. The use of multiple strands, following a wide cast of characters, allows the reader a glimpse of the broader effects of his actions (and of those pursuing him). Though there is some fairly substantial technical jargon to wade through and some of the characters that are not given enough page time to fully form, the book never becomes too complex or boring. It's tough, cool and definitely worth a look.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Below average thriller., January 4, 2007

By 

NoWireHangers (Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oktober (Paperback)

I enjoyed Gallagher's supernatural thriller "Valley of Lights" so when I found "Oktober" I decided to check it out. The plot, about a man, Jim, who is injected with a mysterious drug, sounded interesting, but the story was not well crafted at all. The first problem is that Jim never seems to be in any real danger. He's just having occasional nightmares. The only real danger is when he starts to try to find out what happened to him. The pharmaceutical company has some big conspiracy against him, but the potential of this plot is never fully realized, and the same is true for most of the subplots. The result is a mix of rather uninteresting, slow paced plot elements, leading up to a rather confusing ending. Not recommended.