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InCryptid #1
Discount Armageddon
Ghoulies. Ghosties. Long-legged beasties. Things that go bump in the night... The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity-and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manhattan while she pursues her career in professional ballroom dance. Sounds pretty simple, right? It would be, if it weren't for the talking mice, the telepathic mathematicians, the asbestos supermodels, and the trained monster-hunter sent by the Price family's old enemies, the Covenant of St. George. When a Price girl meets a Covenant boy, high stakes, high heels, and a lot of collateral damage are almost guaranteed. To complicate matters further, local cryptids are disappearing, strange lizard-men are appearing in the sewers, and someone's spreading rumors about a dragon sleeping underneath the city...
368 pages, ebook
First published March 6, 2012
About the author
Seanan McGuire
484 books16.5k followersHi! I'm Seanan McGuire, author of the Toby Daye series (Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses), as well as a lot of other things. I'm also Mira Grant (www.miragrant.com), author of Feed and Deadline.
Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).
I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(
Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).
I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,050 reviews
April 4, 2012
Imagine you are a trained and experienced fighter being attacked by snake men. You know that if you lose, the scaly creatures are unlikely to be merciful. You are armed with knives, a machete, and a pistol. There is a significant ricochet risk, so you begin defending yourself with the cutting implements. Unfortunately, the edged weapons aren't enough, and you are going to lose unless you try the gun. Do you
A. use the gun, despite the danger of being hit by a ricochet?
B. lose?
The main character of this novel chooses B. The book is loaded with similar problems of logic and consistency.
Literature of the fantastic requires a suspension of disbelief. This is understood by all regular readers of it, and they are willing to accept characters that are elves, half-elves, vampires, werewolves, fairies, space aliens, wizards, warlocks, witches, or even superheroes. But this book has a main character, Verity Price, who claims no special abilities or ancestry, getting around Manhattan by throwing herself from roofs, bouncing off walls, running over rooftops, swinging from fire escapes, and generally behaving as if she were Daredevil or Spider-Man. The author could have claimed that the character can do these incredible feats because of magic or technology, and regular fantasy readers would have accepted it. Instead, Ms. McGuire claims training and practice. An Olympic gold-medalist in gymnastics couldn't do this stuff without killing herself in short order, but this is how the main character routinely travels around the city.
Furthermore, Verity Price claims to be intelligent, giving her training as a cryptozoologist as evidence in support of her assertion, yet she regularly behaves like an idiot, and I don't mean forgetful, or overenthusiastic, or young and thoughtless. I mean an idiot.
Consider another scenario: You are somehow jumping around over rooftops and meet up with a hereditary enemy of your family. (I am going to be vague to avoid spoilers.) These hereditary enemies greatly outnumber your family, but fortunately, they think your family line is defunct. You are angry with this person, but you realize that he is, indeed, a representative of your numerous hereditary enemies. Your choices are
A. Keep your mouth shut about your true identity so that your family and you remain relatively safe, as you have been trained to do since birth.
B. Clearly tell this representatives of your enemies who you are so that he now knows your family still exists.
Our heroine chooses option B.
There are others, but I lack the heart to go on. The protagonist is stupid. The novel is stupid.
A. use the gun, despite the danger of being hit by a ricochet?
B. lose?
The main character of this novel chooses B. The book is loaded with similar problems of logic and consistency.
Literature of the fantastic requires a suspension of disbelief. This is understood by all regular readers of it, and they are willing to accept characters that are elves, half-elves, vampires, werewolves, fairies, space aliens, wizards, warlocks, witches, or even superheroes. But this book has a main character, Verity Price, who claims no special abilities or ancestry, getting around Manhattan by throwing herself from roofs, bouncing off walls, running over rooftops, swinging from fire escapes, and generally behaving as if she were Daredevil or Spider-Man. The author could have claimed that the character can do these incredible feats because of magic or technology, and regular fantasy readers would have accepted it. Instead, Ms. McGuire claims training and practice. An Olympic gold-medalist in gymnastics couldn't do this stuff without killing herself in short order, but this is how the main character routinely travels around the city.
Furthermore, Verity Price claims to be intelligent, giving her training as a cryptozoologist as evidence in support of her assertion, yet she regularly behaves like an idiot, and I don't mean forgetful, or overenthusiastic, or young and thoughtless. I mean an idiot.
Consider another scenario: You are somehow jumping around over rooftops and meet up with a hereditary enemy of your family. (I am going to be vague to avoid spoilers.) These hereditary enemies greatly outnumber your family, but fortunately, they think your family line is defunct. You are angry with this person, but you realize that he is, indeed, a representative of your numerous hereditary enemies. Your choices are
A. Keep your mouth shut about your true identity so that your family and you remain relatively safe, as you have been trained to do since birth.
B. Clearly tell this representatives of your enemies who you are so that he now knows your family still exists.
Our heroine chooses option B.
There are others, but I lack the heart to go on. The protagonist is stupid. The novel is stupid.
February 9, 2017
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads
4.5 stars
I read DISCOUNT ARMAGEDDON over four and a half years ago when it was first released, and all I can say in regards to why I'm only just now getting back to it is . . . It was a casualty of Mt. TBR.
And I am ashamed.
B/c seriously, guys, this book screams, "JESSICA! I AM HERE FOR YOUUUUU!"
No, really. It does.
We all know that Fae are my favorite, and that Native American folklore is #2, but what doesn't come up very often is any random creature fest. This is b/c most random creatures fall under the "Fae" umbrella, BUT on the rare occasion that they don't, they fall under the cryptozoology umbrella.
You: Cryptozoology? What's that?
Me: Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience with the goal of identifying and describing beings from the folklore and the fossil record, which cryptozoologists refer to as cryptids. These include creatures that are otherwise considered extinct or beings from folklore, such as Bigfoot and chupacabras.
You: Ooohhh.
Me: EXACTLY.
Sanctuary was one of dumbest shows Syfy ever produced, but I watched every episode of every season, b/c CREATURES.
But that's just the beginning.
Meet Verity Price.
Verity is the eldest daughter in the most recent batch of Prices, a family that split from the Covenant (an organization of monster hunters), b/c DAMN THE MAN.
Okay, so it's more complicated than that.
The Covenant indoctrinates their followers that all non-human creatures are evil and must be eradicated, but the Prices started to question that philosophy. Then, when Mr. Price discovered that the latest (and worst) outbreak of cholera was the direct result of killing the last local unicorn (b/c they purify the water in their habitat), they said, DAMN THE MAN, and headed to 'MERICA.
Verity takes the familial attitude one step further and augments her monster killing/wrangling skills with . . . wait for it . . . ballroom dancing. B/c DANCE, she loves it. And dammit, she's determined to find a way to do both. At least while she's young.
ALSO, she throws sass like a pro.
So we've got a monster-wrangling, sass-throwing, ballroom-dancing heroine with a problem with authority . . . And really, do you need anything else?
I don't.
But if you're contrary, there's also a Covenant noob who gets schooled on reality, (adorable) technicolor mice who can (and will) turn anything into a religious celebration, the best pre-chapter quotes I've ever read, and a variety of cryptids who make awesome requests like, "Mayhem now, please."
So yeah. Highly recommended.
4.5 stars
I read DISCOUNT ARMAGEDDON over four and a half years ago when it was first released, and all I can say in regards to why I'm only just now getting back to it is . . . It was a casualty of Mt. TBR.
And I am ashamed.
B/c seriously, guys, this book screams, "JESSICA! I AM HERE FOR YOUUUUU!"
No, really. It does.
We all know that Fae are my favorite, and that Native American folklore is #2, but what doesn't come up very often is any random creature fest. This is b/c most random creatures fall under the "Fae" umbrella, BUT on the rare occasion that they don't, they fall under the cryptozoology umbrella.
You: Cryptozoology? What's that?
Me: Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience with the goal of identifying and describing beings from the folklore and the fossil record, which cryptozoologists refer to as cryptids. These include creatures that are otherwise considered extinct or beings from folklore, such as Bigfoot and chupacabras.
You: Ooohhh.
Me: EXACTLY.
Sanctuary was one of dumbest shows Syfy ever produced, but I watched every episode of every season, b/c CREATURES.
But that's just the beginning.
Meet Verity Price.
Verity is the eldest daughter in the most recent batch of Prices, a family that split from the Covenant (an organization of monster hunters), b/c DAMN THE MAN.
Okay, so it's more complicated than that.
The Covenant indoctrinates their followers that all non-human creatures are evil and must be eradicated, but the Prices started to question that philosophy. Then, when Mr. Price discovered that the latest (and worst) outbreak of cholera was the direct result of killing the last local unicorn (b/c they purify the water in their habitat), they said, DAMN THE MAN, and headed to 'MERICA.
Verity takes the familial attitude one step further and augments her monster killing/wrangling skills with . . . wait for it . . . ballroom dancing. B/c DANCE, she loves it. And dammit, she's determined to find a way to do both. At least while she's young.
ALSO, she throws sass like a pro.
So we've got a monster-wrangling, sass-throwing, ballroom-dancing heroine with a problem with authority . . . And really, do you need anything else?
I don't.
But if you're contrary, there's also a Covenant noob who gets schooled on reality, (adorable) technicolor mice who can (and will) turn anything into a religious celebration, the best pre-chapter quotes I've ever read, and a variety of cryptids who make awesome requests like, "Mayhem now, please."
So yeah. Highly recommended.
September 21, 2015
BR with
my MacHalo Freaks
Shelly starting Sept 18, 2015.
∞ Quick maths ∞
✔ Wackiness + humour = +3
✔ Cool female lead = +2
✔ Ever-cheering, religious mouse colony = +1
✔ Gorgons and bogeymen and cuckoos and dragons, oh my! = +1
✘ Few but very Chick-Lit-like romantic bits = -1.5
✘ Bland male lead = -2
= 3.5 stars
►► Not bad! It looks like this was pretty good! It looks like I want to continue with the series! It looks like I don't DNF all the books I read! It looks like there is hope for me yet!
►► Full review to come.
• • • •۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ°۰۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ°۰• • • •۰
▧ Pre-review nonsense:
►► A ballroom dancing cryptozoologist/strip bar waitress? Ghouls? Dragons? Asbestos supermodels? Talking mice?
Ooooh yes, I'm in.
→ Blah blah blah thread for this BR (this is a private group, let me know if you need an invite!)
∞ Quick maths ∞
✔ Wackiness + humour = +3
✔ Cool female lead = +2
✔ Ever-cheering, religious mouse colony = +1
✔ Gorgons and bogeymen and cuckoos and dragons, oh my! = +1
✘ Few but very Chick-Lit-like romantic bits = -1.5
✘ Bland male lead = -2
= 3.5 stars
►► Not bad! It looks like this was pretty good! It looks like I want to continue with the series! It looks like I don't DNF all the books I read! It looks like there is hope for me yet!
►► Full review to come.
• • • •۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ°۰۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ•۰° •ิ°۰• • • •۰
▧ Pre-review nonsense:
►► A ballroom dancing cryptozoologist/strip bar waitress? Ghouls? Dragons? Asbestos supermodels? Talking mice?
Ooooh yes, I'm in.
→ Blah blah blah thread for this BR (this is a private group, let me know if you need an invite!)
January 5, 2023
Re-Read 1/4/23:
My opinion on this series and this book in particular hasn't really changed all that much from the first time I read it. The world described is fun, delicious, and Verity is fun except when she's SO into clothes and dance. The only time that isn't a bad thing is when Battle IS Dance.
Did I have fun? Of course! Why would I want to re-read this or the whole series?
*rubs hands together*
Original Review:
Knowing what I know of Urban Fantasy, I rarely expect anything more than snark, beasties, first-person hijinks, and plain simple fun. Most of the time, the hero is actually a heroine, of course, and there's usually a number of other tropes we can expect, such as three-way love stories including a vamp and a were.
Fortunately for me, I've learned to really TRUST Seanan McGuire, for whether she's writing as Mira Grant or under Seanan, she has never led me astray or into three-way love stories, and when she does UF, she always remains fun. Popcorn fun? Yup.
For Here There Be Dragons. And dancers. And parthenogenesis.... BUT not without a longing for ANOTHER WAY! And ya, I was laughing about the virgin sacrifice along with Verity. Pretty classic.
This is a supremely easy read and I always look forward to geeking out, whether it's by mythical taxonomy, deep time zones, or a groan-worthy dancing story setup all throughout the novel just for the chance to apply it to a fight scene. I mean, come on. You either hate it or you love it, and I'm just one of those sick and twisted individuals that respect a book-length bar joke in the middle of bad romance and even more bad romance featuring monster's love lives.
I shouldn't have waited so long to read this. I just need to remember that no matter what book of hers I pick up, I'll enjoy. It's a nice feeling. :)
My opinion on this series and this book in particular hasn't really changed all that much from the first time I read it. The world described is fun, delicious, and Verity is fun except when she's SO into clothes and dance. The only time that isn't a bad thing is when Battle IS Dance.
Did I have fun? Of course! Why would I want to re-read this or the whole series?
*rubs hands together*
Original Review:
Knowing what I know of Urban Fantasy, I rarely expect anything more than snark, beasties, first-person hijinks, and plain simple fun. Most of the time, the hero is actually a heroine, of course, and there's usually a number of other tropes we can expect, such as three-way love stories including a vamp and a were.
Fortunately for me, I've learned to really TRUST Seanan McGuire, for whether she's writing as Mira Grant or under Seanan, she has never led me astray or into three-way love stories, and when she does UF, she always remains fun. Popcorn fun? Yup.
For Here There Be Dragons. And dancers. And parthenogenesis.... BUT not without a longing for ANOTHER WAY! And ya, I was laughing about the virgin sacrifice along with Verity. Pretty classic.
This is a supremely easy read and I always look forward to geeking out, whether it's by mythical taxonomy, deep time zones, or a groan-worthy dancing story setup all throughout the novel just for the chance to apply it to a fight scene. I mean, come on. You either hate it or you love it, and I'm just one of those sick and twisted individuals that respect a book-length bar joke in the middle of bad romance and even more bad romance featuring monster's love lives.
I shouldn't have waited so long to read this. I just need to remember that no matter what book of hers I pick up, I'll enjoy. It's a nice feeling. :)
March 19, 2012
I mean, I have not a TON of patience for Buffy-like cute blonde lead characters, but I can't deny that this book drew me in. The first 100 pages is a LOT of info dump, and it had my head reeling a bit, all the details in this magic-rich fantasy-character-alt universe, but something about the whimsey and the really grounded and amusing reality of the main character hooked me. I thought there were some potentially cliched relationships the author sidestepped quite well, and despite my confusion with some of the world-building, LOVED the little touches like the mice and the unicorn, super cute without being Twee. And I love dancing, so all that with the main character was really fun to read :)
All in all, a good addition to the urban fantasy world, will be reading the next (and catching up on this author's other series too, BEHIND!)
All in all, a good addition to the urban fantasy world, will be reading the next (and catching up on this author's other series too, BEHIND!)
December 30, 2012
I've been immersed in serious literature, academia and non-fiction lately, so when the library found me a copy of Discount Armageddon, I promptly put everything down to read it. To be honest, my reading relationship with McGuire's works has been problematic, so this was escapism of the basest sort. While I find a number of her ideas fabulous, her heroines are often inexplicably stupid and the world-building inconsistent. So understand, if I had any expectations of Discount, it was that McGuire would alternately interest and annoy; to some extent, those expectations were met. However, because McGuire seems to take herself and her protagonist less seriously than in her other series (October Daye, the Newsflesh series), it ended up being a fun, diverting read.
Verity Price comes from a family who has dedicated themselves to studying and protecting the non-human 'monsters' of the world, otherwise known as 'cryptids' (the book jacket actually does an accurate summary here). The tone starts ominously as Verity stakes out a nightclub with her telepathic cousin to hunt a ghoul with a taste for people. One glaring oddity of the book ensues when Verity lets the ghoul off with a 'no-more-human-flesh-and leave-my-city-or-I'll-kill-you' warning, despite earlier referring to him as a 'serial killer' and having--ahem--disposed of fifteen young women.
The tone changes, quickly developing into lighthearted fun when Verity awakes the next morning to Aeslin mice celebrating the union of the Noisy Priestess to the God of Things That It Is Almost Certainly Better Not to Be Aware Of, otherwise known as the anniversary of Verity's grandparents getting together. Although she's provided them with a luxurious Barbie Dream House in the closet, their celebrations have a way of intruding into the living space of the tiny NY apartment. The mice and their ceremonies become a delightful refrain through the book, serving to keep the tone light and providing a connection to Verity's upbringing. They did bring Men In Black's Grand Central locker creatures to mind ("All hail K"), but that's okay, especially when the Feast of Washing Out Mouths with Soap was mentioned. Adorable, and only excessive when they celebrated the very obvious Holy Feast of I Swear, Daddy, I'll Kiss the Next Man to Walk Through the Door.
McGuire's habit of telling and not showing is in full force, but it mostly works, especially as the first book in a series. At least as Verity is a 'cryptozoologist,' it includes interesting species profiles and NY commentary. Curiously, after the ghoul and another species that resembles a flying bat-ape, the remaining cryptids we meet are neutral and sentient creatures who display generally human traits and non-flesh-eating tendencies. With roots in a number of world folktales, they are all fascinating, and include a medusa, dragon princesses, Indian gods of honey/plenty and a waheela, a sort of wolf-bear. Verity has made contacts with many by working at Dave's Fish and Strips(!), a strip bar and cryptid haven run by a bogeyman(!). Although I was a little annoyed by the UF trope of waitress heroine (and shades of Sookie), neither Verity nor McGuire takes the strip club seriously, and we are not treated to titillating descriptions of thinly veiled misogyny.
The tone is generally humorous, but avoids the overwhelming snark that ends up sacrificing character emotion and is so problematic in the UF genre. Characters seem relatively robust, with perhaps the exception of the Covenant agent. My only complaint would be that they are somewhat young in their certainty of their worldview, paving the way for a couple of plot tropes. Verity is certainly callow and overconfident--after all, this is her first time living on her own--but nothing developmentally inappropriate (forgive me, young readers). In other words, when she blows her cover in a moment of indignant pique, and generally trusts to training and hormones a bit more than someone with more life experience and sense, I was not particularly surprised nor bothered by her lack of logic.
Aside from setting the ghoul free, there were perhaps a couple other of false notes. One was a contrivance that prevented any family help, basically an acceptable set-up, if somewhat at odds with the earlier story. Second was the Although I saw that plot point a mile away, I'm thankful McGuire avoided the over-angsty indecision that some books base their entire story on. A note regarding style: each chapter starts with a quote, and then a line describing the location, a device that seemed unnecessary.
Despite those problems, it remained a fun read, with lots of embedded humor. It was the perfect vehicle for McGuire's creative creature-building. At about 3.5 on my star scale, I'll be looking for the sequel.
Fun lines:
"Cryptids like to live where humans don't, but they also like to be close enough to steal cable."
"Yeah, wow. I didn't know people actually paused portentously in common conversation."
"The Argentine tango isn't here to play nicely with the other children. The Argentine tango is here to seduce your women, spill things on your rug, and sneak out your bedroom window in the middle of the night."
"'Telepaths have ethics?' Dominic's eyes narrowed, tone and posture united to convey his disbelief.
'My mother and I do," said Sarah, letting her head settle against the back of the chair. 'We mostly got them from Babylon 5, but they still work.'"
"Your average bugbear can set an apartment building on fire trying to make a bag of microwave popcorn. It's either a supernatural power, or they are really, really dumb about technology. Possibly a little of both."
"There was a long pause before Alex spoke again--long enough for him to count silently to ten. I know that pause very well. He's been incorporating that pause into basically every conversation we've had since I turned twelve."
And finally, the one that appealed to my biologist heart:
"Mother Nature is a freaky lady who probably created pot just so she could spend all her time smoking it."
Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2012/1...
Verity Price comes from a family who has dedicated themselves to studying and protecting the non-human 'monsters' of the world, otherwise known as 'cryptids' (the book jacket actually does an accurate summary here). The tone starts ominously as Verity stakes out a nightclub with her telepathic cousin to hunt a ghoul with a taste for people. One glaring oddity of the book ensues when Verity lets the ghoul off with a 'no-more-human-flesh-and leave-my-city-or-I'll-kill-you' warning, despite earlier referring to him as a 'serial killer' and having--ahem--disposed of fifteen young women.
The tone changes, quickly developing into lighthearted fun when Verity awakes the next morning to Aeslin mice celebrating the union of the Noisy Priestess to the God of Things That It Is Almost Certainly Better Not to Be Aware Of, otherwise known as the anniversary of Verity's grandparents getting together. Although she's provided them with a luxurious Barbie Dream House in the closet, their celebrations have a way of intruding into the living space of the tiny NY apartment. The mice and their ceremonies become a delightful refrain through the book, serving to keep the tone light and providing a connection to Verity's upbringing. They did bring Men In Black's Grand Central locker creatures to mind ("All hail K"), but that's okay, especially when the Feast of Washing Out Mouths with Soap was mentioned. Adorable, and only excessive when they celebrated the very obvious Holy Feast of I Swear, Daddy, I'll Kiss the Next Man to Walk Through the Door.
McGuire's habit of telling and not showing is in full force, but it mostly works, especially as the first book in a series. At least as Verity is a 'cryptozoologist,' it includes interesting species profiles and NY commentary. Curiously, after the ghoul and another species that resembles a flying bat-ape, the remaining cryptids we meet are neutral and sentient creatures who display generally human traits and non-flesh-eating tendencies. With roots in a number of world folktales, they are all fascinating, and include a medusa, dragon princesses, Indian gods of honey/plenty and a waheela, a sort of wolf-bear. Verity has made contacts with many by working at Dave's Fish and Strips(!), a strip bar and cryptid haven run by a bogeyman(!). Although I was a little annoyed by the UF trope of waitress heroine (and shades of Sookie), neither Verity nor McGuire takes the strip club seriously, and we are not treated to titillating descriptions of thinly veiled misogyny.
The tone is generally humorous, but avoids the overwhelming snark that ends up sacrificing character emotion and is so problematic in the UF genre. Characters seem relatively robust, with perhaps the exception of the Covenant agent. My only complaint would be that they are somewhat young in their certainty of their worldview, paving the way for a couple of plot tropes. Verity is certainly callow and overconfident--after all, this is her first time living on her own--but nothing developmentally inappropriate (forgive me, young readers). In other words, when she blows her cover in a moment of indignant pique, and generally trusts to training and hormones a bit more than someone with more life experience and sense, I was not particularly surprised nor bothered by her lack of logic.
Aside from setting the ghoul free, there were perhaps a couple other of false notes. One was a contrivance that prevented any family help, basically an acceptable set-up, if somewhat at odds with the earlier story. Second was the Although I saw that plot point a mile away, I'm thankful McGuire avoided the over-angsty indecision that some books base their entire story on. A note regarding style: each chapter starts with a quote, and then a line describing the location, a device that seemed unnecessary.
Despite those problems, it remained a fun read, with lots of embedded humor. It was the perfect vehicle for McGuire's creative creature-building. At about 3.5 on my star scale, I'll be looking for the sequel.
Fun lines:
"Cryptids like to live where humans don't, but they also like to be close enough to steal cable."
"Yeah, wow. I didn't know people actually paused portentously in common conversation."
"The Argentine tango isn't here to play nicely with the other children. The Argentine tango is here to seduce your women, spill things on your rug, and sneak out your bedroom window in the middle of the night."
"'Telepaths have ethics?' Dominic's eyes narrowed, tone and posture united to convey his disbelief.
'My mother and I do," said Sarah, letting her head settle against the back of the chair. 'We mostly got them from Babylon 5, but they still work.'"
"Your average bugbear can set an apartment building on fire trying to make a bag of microwave popcorn. It's either a supernatural power, or they are really, really dumb about technology. Possibly a little of both."
"There was a long pause before Alex spoke again--long enough for him to count silently to ten. I know that pause very well. He's been incorporating that pause into basically every conversation we've had since I turned twelve."
And finally, the one that appealed to my biologist heart:
"Mother Nature is a freaky lady who probably created pot just so she could spend all her time smoking it."
Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2012/1...
December 5, 2016
*** 4 ***
A buddy read with the Wednesday UF group at BB&B!!! Aeslin Mice, rejoice!!!
I loved it!!! Yes, I know, I have been loving many books lately, but what can I say - I have been lucky to read good books as of late and I would never complain about that gift from the universe!!! This book was the best to fill in my need for quirky, monster filled, and cheeky!!! As opposed to the ones of dark, gritty and cruelly merciless I have been reading at the same time - thus I feel completely balanced emotionally.
"..."My family’s been in hiding for four generations now, since my great-great-grandparents told the Covenant they were done exterminating innocent cryptids without regard for their place in a viable ecosystem."..."
Was this a perfect book? No. It had a wonderful world-building and created a rich mythology for itself in a very light manner and short period of time, but the main character, a human cryptozoologist named Verity Price, could be a bit bratty and kind of annoying at times... However, as we have come to expect form Ms. McGuire, it is overshadowed by the imagination the author presents us with and the playful way she makes a potentially grim story brim with humor and innate optimism. I love the variety of creatures she gifts us with in this Cryptid community (over nine hundred races of cryptids containing a very diverse population of monsters, changelings, and something like Fae creatures, all non-human and mostly considered mythological) and it made me root for the Price Family with all my heart!
For Verity Price cryptozoology is a family trade. They are the descendants of two family branches who deserted the Covenant of St. George, an order of monster-hunters, who tend to exterminate everything they consider to be other than human. They retained all of their knowledge and skills as monster-hunters, but they chose to delve deeper into the character of the so called "monster" and learn and understand their place in this Earth's ecosystem. Thus, they only eliminate true threats to others, while protecting and helping the rest of the misunderstood non-human creatures. Thus, the Covenant is the Prices' sworn enemy!!!
"...“Always remember two things about the Covenant: shoot first, and then keep shooting for as long as your ammunition holds out. You can’t reason with fanatics. All you can do is match them in your own fanaticism.”..."
Verity lives in Manhattan and it is her territory to protect and research. She works as a waitress in a strip club owned by a Boogeyman, non of her co-workers are human, but her heart-desire is to dance! Yes, she is an aspiring Ballroom Dancer and she wants to strike it big in the viciously competitive world of Latin Dance. Yes, the girl who could shoot to kill, take a monster down with her mastery of Krav maga, and can jump from tops of buildings using her skills of Free Running, she dreams of leaving her current profession behind and making it as a dancer. Nothing wrong with that, but her constant efforts of reminding us how much dance is all she ever wanted got a bit too much at times and was a bit eye-roll inducing when, just in case we forgot, she would incorporate her dance skills with either fighting, killing or surviving life-threatening situations, all to show us how grate dance is! We know that already - let's move on!!! I still loved her though. How can you not love a person who has so much compassion, understanding, and willingness to do whatever possible to make the world a better place for all of its inhabitants!!! She and her family are truly wonderful!
"...“Aeslin mice: Sapient, rodentlike cryptids that present as nearly identical to noncryptid field mice. Aeslin mice crave religion and will attached themselves to "divine figures" selected virtually at random when a new colony is created. They possess perfect recall; each colony maintains a detailed oral history going back to its inception. Origin unknown.”..."
My favorite part of the whole book - the religious cult of mice and cousin Sarah!!! I want to say I want me some of those at home, but then I can't imagine doing very well with an unspecified multitude of rodents running around the house, no matter how cute they are, how much they rejoice at my every word, or how very weaponized they happen to be... While at the same time I do believe everyone can use a cousin Sarah as a member of the family - a telepathic mathematician cuckoo who can make people believe they see whatever they want them to, now that would be awesome!!! Oooo, did I mention - there are DRAGONS!!!!!! If this does not sell you on the book, I am not sure you deserve to read the joy that this author always manages to bring, so it is your loss!
I think that this is a book everyone could find something to enjoy in. So, I wold recommend it to everyone who loves the fantasy into our urban life with some snark added:) It is worth it!
"..."I invoke the Sacred Law of Food for Privacy! Feast, and leave me alone!"..."
I wish you all Happy Reading and much Joy!!!
A buddy read with the Wednesday UF group at BB&B!!! Aeslin Mice, rejoice!!!
I loved it!!! Yes, I know, I have been loving many books lately, but what can I say - I have been lucky to read good books as of late and I would never complain about that gift from the universe!!! This book was the best to fill in my need for quirky, monster filled, and cheeky!!! As opposed to the ones of dark, gritty and cruelly merciless I have been reading at the same time - thus I feel completely balanced emotionally.
"..."My family’s been in hiding for four generations now, since my great-great-grandparents told the Covenant they were done exterminating innocent cryptids without regard for their place in a viable ecosystem."..."
Was this a perfect book? No. It had a wonderful world-building and created a rich mythology for itself in a very light manner and short period of time, but the main character, a human cryptozoologist named Verity Price, could be a bit bratty and kind of annoying at times... However, as we have come to expect form Ms. McGuire, it is overshadowed by the imagination the author presents us with and the playful way she makes a potentially grim story brim with humor and innate optimism. I love the variety of creatures she gifts us with in this Cryptid community (over nine hundred races of cryptids containing a very diverse population of monsters, changelings, and something like Fae creatures, all non-human and mostly considered mythological) and it made me root for the Price Family with all my heart!
For Verity Price cryptozoology is a family trade. They are the descendants of two family branches who deserted the Covenant of St. George, an order of monster-hunters, who tend to exterminate everything they consider to be other than human. They retained all of their knowledge and skills as monster-hunters, but they chose to delve deeper into the character of the so called "monster" and learn and understand their place in this Earth's ecosystem. Thus, they only eliminate true threats to others, while protecting and helping the rest of the misunderstood non-human creatures. Thus, the Covenant is the Prices' sworn enemy!!!
"...“Always remember two things about the Covenant: shoot first, and then keep shooting for as long as your ammunition holds out. You can’t reason with fanatics. All you can do is match them in your own fanaticism.”..."
Verity lives in Manhattan and it is her territory to protect and research. She works as a waitress in a strip club owned by a Boogeyman, non of her co-workers are human, but her heart-desire is to dance! Yes, she is an aspiring Ballroom Dancer and she wants to strike it big in the viciously competitive world of Latin Dance. Yes, the girl who could shoot to kill, take a monster down with her mastery of Krav maga, and can jump from tops of buildings using her skills of Free Running, she dreams of leaving her current profession behind and making it as a dancer. Nothing wrong with that, but her constant efforts of reminding us how much dance is all she ever wanted got a bit too much at times and was a bit eye-roll inducing when, just in case we forgot, she would incorporate her dance skills with either fighting, killing or surviving life-threatening situations, all to show us how grate dance is! We know that already - let's move on!!! I still loved her though. How can you not love a person who has so much compassion, understanding, and willingness to do whatever possible to make the world a better place for all of its inhabitants!!! She and her family are truly wonderful!
"...“Aeslin mice: Sapient, rodentlike cryptids that present as nearly identical to noncryptid field mice. Aeslin mice crave religion and will attached themselves to "divine figures" selected virtually at random when a new colony is created. They possess perfect recall; each colony maintains a detailed oral history going back to its inception. Origin unknown.”..."
My favorite part of the whole book - the religious cult of mice and cousin Sarah!!! I want to say I want me some of those at home, but then I can't imagine doing very well with an unspecified multitude of rodents running around the house, no matter how cute they are, how much they rejoice at my every word, or how very weaponized they happen to be... While at the same time I do believe everyone can use a cousin Sarah as a member of the family - a telepathic mathematician cuckoo who can make people believe they see whatever they want them to, now that would be awesome!!! Oooo, did I mention - there are DRAGONS!!!!!! If this does not sell you on the book, I am not sure you deserve to read the joy that this author always manages to bring, so it is your loss!
I think that this is a book everyone could find something to enjoy in. So, I wold recommend it to everyone who loves the fantasy into our urban life with some snark added:) It is worth it!
"..."I invoke the Sacred Law of Food for Privacy! Feast, and leave me alone!"..."
I wish you all Happy Reading and much Joy!!!
December 9, 2016
Reading with the UF group at Buddies Books & Baubles
That moment when you find a new Urban Fantasy Series that you love!!!
With all the new Urban Fantasies that are seeming to pop up everywhere it is sometime hard to pick out the gems from the garbage. I’m so excited that I found something with so much potential that I have to *squee* in excitement.
In a world of urban fantasy that mostly focuses on shifters and vampires this one decides to move out of that box and into the world of Cryptids.
Cryptid, noun:
This includes but is not limited to Unicorns, basalisks, boogey men, manticores, talking mice, tooth fairies, the Easter bunny (do not joke about the Easter bunny), Dragon Princesses, boob fairy and about a bazillion others that I can’t mention here. But let’s just say there are a lot and they are so awesome.
Verity Price comes from a long line of cryptozoologists. Her childhood was not like ours, it included a lot of the games you would have played as a child but with very different rules.
But since her family is in hiding everything growing up served the purpose to teach her how to stay alive in the face of danger just in case she is ambushed by Cryprids or worse a member of the Covenant
Verity is actually on a journey to find herself. Currently she is in New York on her own her family has given her a year to decide if she wants to follow in the family business and be a cryptozoologist or follow her other dream of being a professional dancer. But since she is in the city she might as well join in on the local Cryptid scene and learn some stuff right.
This book was so much fun. Verity is full of sass and quippy attitude
We don’t get much family interaction yet but you can already tell that they are going to be a riot. Not only are there quotes at the beginning at each chapter that are hilarious but the glimpses we get of Verity’s sister Antimony (see above quote about childhood and being tied up) and her Grandmother who apparently loves to visit hell.
I can’t wait to meet Grandma…she sounds awesome.
Verity also has a cryptid cousin Sarah. They aren’t related by blood since Sarah is more like a Giant Wasp who looks like a human. Sarah is also a Mathematician and a telepath who can do some wacky things with your mind. But no worried she got her morals from Battlestar Galactica so I’m sure everyone around her will be fine.
And did I mention the forbidden romance…Well I will mention it now then. A man from the Enemy a.k.a. the Covenant is in the city and Verity seems to have sparked his interest or vice versa. Dominic De Luca grew up an orphan in the Covenant and he was not expecting anything like Verity when he came to town.
I liked that there is no instalove. It is all lusty and even though Verity knows she should maybe direct those lustful feelings anywhere than in Dominic’s direction he does have a great fighting form and who says a girl can’t take a walk on the wild side every once and awhile.
But there is also a plot involving a snake cult and singe women disappearing in the city. It was so much fun that I really didn’t want it to be over and then when it was I was ready to jump into the next book right away.
When I first looked at this series I was amazed by how many free short stories there were between books and at first I wasn’t interested in them at all but now after finishing this first book of the series I’m ready to go back and read all the prequel shorts with some of Verity’s family. I read Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series and while I came to love it around book 3-4 I think this one starts off stronger and I might like it even more. I can’t wait to see where all the monsters will take us next.
Did I say read this book….because I don’t think my review did it justice and I’m pretty sure you should just READ THIS BOOK.
That moment when you find a new Urban Fantasy Series that you love!!!
With all the new Urban Fantasies that are seeming to pop up everywhere it is sometime hard to pick out the gems from the garbage. I’m so excited that I found something with so much potential that I have to *squee* in excitement.
In a world of urban fantasy that mostly focuses on shifters and vampires this one decides to move out of that box and into the world of Cryptids.
Cryptid, noun:
1. Any creature whose existence has been suggested but not proven scientifically. Term officially coined by cryptozoologist John E. Wall in 1983.
2. That thing that’s getting ready to eat your head.
3. See also monster
This includes but is not limited to Unicorns, basalisks, boogey men, manticores, talking mice, tooth fairies, the Easter bunny (do not joke about the Easter bunny), Dragon Princesses, boob fairy and about a bazillion others that I can’t mention here. But let’s just say there are a lot and they are so awesome.
Verity Price comes from a long line of cryptozoologists. Her childhood was not like ours, it included a lot of the games you would have played as a child but with very different rules.
“What was the point of hide-and-seek if you weren’t allowed to dig pit traps or attack your opponents from behind?
“Growing up in my family meant ambushes on your birthday, crossbows for Christmas, and games of dodge ball where the balls were occasionally rigged to explode. It also meant learning how to work your way out of a wide variety of death traps. Failure to get loose on your own could lead to missing dinner, or worse, being forced to admit that you missed dinner because your baby sister had tied you to the couch.
Again.”
But since her family is in hiding everything growing up served the purpose to teach her how to stay alive in the face of danger just in case she is ambushed by Cryprids or worse a member of the Covenant
The Covenant: because sometimes you want your genocidal assholes to be organized.
Verity is actually on a journey to find herself. Currently she is in New York on her own her family has given her a year to decide if she wants to follow in the family business and be a cryptozoologist or follow her other dream of being a professional dancer. But since she is in the city she might as well join in on the local Cryptid scene and learn some stuff right.
This book was so much fun. Verity is full of sass and quippy attitude
We don’t get much family interaction yet but you can already tell that they are going to be a riot. Not only are there quotes at the beginning at each chapter that are hilarious but the glimpses we get of Verity’s sister Antimony (see above quote about childhood and being tied up) and her Grandmother who apparently loves to visit hell.
“I’d be more inclined to be lenient if you’d agree to dance for me.”
“I’d be less inclined to stick a high heel up your ass if you’d stop asking,” I answered cheerfully. “Answer’s ‘no,’ Dave. What would my grandmother say?”
Dave paused. “She out of Hell this week?” he asked warily. “Not until Solstice, but still. She wouldn’t understand.” He relaxed. “She’d understand that you needed to save your job.” “I think it’s a little more likely she’d understand that you can kill a bogeyman in a lot of different ways, and come riding in to avenge my honor.”
I can’t wait to meet Grandma…she sounds awesome.
Verity also has a cryptid cousin Sarah. They aren’t related by blood since Sarah is more like a Giant Wasp who looks like a human. Sarah is also a Mathematician and a telepath who can do some wacky things with your mind. But no worried she got her morals from Battlestar Galactica so I’m sure everyone around her will be fine.
And did I mention the forbidden romance…Well I will mention it now then. A man from the Enemy a.k.a. the Covenant is in the city and Verity seems to have sparked his interest or vice versa. Dominic De Luca grew up an orphan in the Covenant and he was not expecting anything like Verity when he came to town.
I’m starting to think that they may have been understating things.”
“Oh?” I asked, interested despite myself. “What did they say?
” “That you were all insane.”
“Ah.” I sat up again, grinning at him. “That’s pretty much true. We’re all crazy. But crazy has its benefits.”
“What benefits are those?” he asked warily.
“Crazy gets all the knives.”
I liked that there is no instalove. It is all lusty and even though Verity knows she should maybe direct those lustful feelings anywhere than in Dominic’s direction he does have a great fighting form and who says a girl can’t take a walk on the wild side every once and awhile.
But there is also a plot involving a snake cult and singe women disappearing in the city. It was so much fun that I really didn’t want it to be over and then when it was I was ready to jump into the next book right away.
When I first looked at this series I was amazed by how many free short stories there were between books and at first I wasn’t interested in them at all but now after finishing this first book of the series I’m ready to go back and read all the prequel shorts with some of Verity’s family. I read Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series and while I came to love it around book 3-4 I think this one starts off stronger and I might like it even more. I can’t wait to see where all the monsters will take us next.
Did I say read this book….because I don’t think my review did it justice and I’m pretty sure you should just READ THIS BOOK.
November 21, 2012
I've been carting this around for months thinking it would make good airplane reading; I was right. In general, urban fantasy is not my thing, nor is first person, but the first-person-smartass voice and the biological take on fantasy creatures won me over. It also helped that I had just visited New York City on book tour, so the setting amused me. (Every time I see Manhattan, I think, "Don't you people know that there's 3000 more miles of country to the west of you? Why are you all crowded up on this little tiny island, like penguins afraid to jump off the iceberg?" But native New Yorkers assure me they actually like it.)
A Buffy-like young woman both fights and protects supernatural creatures while working nights as a waitress and aspiring to excel in competitive ballroom dancing. Which makes her life rather full. I especially liked the inventive take on dragon princesses. I would read another in this series, if only to find out more about the Aeslin mice. I could use a cheering section like that, though I admit I wouldn't want to clean up after them.
Recommended.
Ta, L.
A Buffy-like young woman both fights and protects supernatural creatures while working nights as a waitress and aspiring to excel in competitive ballroom dancing. Which makes her life rather full. I especially liked the inventive take on dragon princesses. I would read another in this series, if only to find out more about the Aeslin mice. I could use a cheering section like that, though I admit I wouldn't want to clean up after them.
Recommended.
Ta, L.
May 26, 2016
Oh hell to the no!! Goodbye annoying book. Next stop - my DNF pile!
I can't continue reading this crap-fest about a total idiot girl who loves to dance and manages to tell us about dancing every other sentence. I would rather run naked through the Walmart hunting aisle wearing a deer mask than read one more page about dancing.
Yes, it's that bad.
I can't continue reading this crap-fest about a total idiot girl who loves to dance and manages to tell us about dancing every other sentence. I would rather run naked through the Walmart hunting aisle wearing a deer mask than read one more page about dancing.
Yes, it's that bad.
December 3, 2016
Unfortunately I’m feeling tired and a little under the weather, so this is going to be a very short review.
I loved the world-building. It had a Men in Black vibe with all the weird and interesting monsters and how not all of them were evil, which was FANTASTIC.
I loved the talking colony of Aeslin mice, who love rituals and celebrations. I would love a colony of my own who could hail me all day ;-D
The Price family is awesome, especially the grandmother who continues to travel to hell to look for her missing husband. I do hope she finds him.
I enjoyed the whole hate/lust thing between Verity and Dominic, the Covenant guy, and the fact that the Price family and the Covenant are basically enemies. It was great how they were forced to work together to try and find out why cryptids has been going missing. And I love how working with Verity made Dominic see that not all cryptids are evil and deserved to die.
My only problem was Verity, who for the most part was wonderful with how kickass she is at fighting, especially her love of free running which I’ve always found so fascinating, but her whole passion for ballroom dancing and how she continued to talk about it over and over, annoyed me immensely.
I love this author’s writing, her humor and captivating writing is SO excellent, and her October Daye series is an absolute favorite of mine. And although I didn’t like this book nearly as much as I love that series, I still enjoyed it very much. A definite must read for all UF fans who love wonderful and captivating world-building.
January 5, 2023
Well now. New year, new favorite urban fantasy series!
Meet Verity Price, one member of the (in-)famous Price family, cryptozoologists in America who protect cryptids ("monsters" that we know from fantasy novels and myths) from humans and vice versa.
Verity is no longer living with her family but is instead a cocktail waitress and wannabe professional ballroom dancer in Manhattan.
One day, The Covenant (a very powerful and old organisation based in Europe who wants to eradicate most cryptids) shows up. But that is not Verity's only problem. Girls have gone missing. Girls of all kinds of species. And there are rumours about a dragon sleeping underneath NYC.
As debut novels in urban fantasy series go, this was a strong start. Not only have I instantly taken to the Price family with the bookish father and hell-visiting granny, I also love the power system and how the different creatures are "integrated" in this world. It doesn't hurt that many are quirky without being caricatures. I also like it when the stakes are high no matter how early on someone has been trained to become a monster hunter or whatnot.
Equally, we get judgement and questionable morals early on. Not in a preachy way but definitely meant to make the reader think which side they consider more justified.
For me, personally, Verity was too girly. Think lots of pink shit, prancing ponies (no, not actual ponies) and being occupied with what guys look like. However, when Verity wasn't obsessed with dresses and glitter, she kicked ass and THAT I enjoyed quite a lot.
The novel's highlight were the Aeslin mice though. Hands down. Muhahahahahahahaha!
So yeah, I'm solidly hooked and can't wait to get my hands on the next short stories and novel(s).
Meet Verity Price, one member of the (in-)famous Price family, cryptozoologists in America who protect cryptids ("monsters" that we know from fantasy novels and myths) from humans and vice versa.
Verity is no longer living with her family but is instead a cocktail waitress and wannabe professional ballroom dancer in Manhattan.
One day, The Covenant (a very powerful and old organisation based in Europe who wants to eradicate most cryptids) shows up. But that is not Verity's only problem. Girls have gone missing. Girls of all kinds of species. And there are rumours about a dragon sleeping underneath NYC.
As debut novels in urban fantasy series go, this was a strong start. Not only have I instantly taken to the Price family with the bookish father and hell-visiting granny, I also love the power system and how the different creatures are "integrated" in this world. It doesn't hurt that many are quirky without being caricatures. I also like it when the stakes are high no matter how early on someone has been trained to become a monster hunter or whatnot.
Equally, we get judgement and questionable morals early on. Not in a preachy way but definitely meant to make the reader think which side they consider more justified.
For me, personally, Verity was too girly. Think lots of pink shit, prancing ponies (no, not actual ponies) and being occupied with what guys look like. However, when Verity wasn't obsessed with dresses and glitter, she kicked ass and THAT I enjoyed quite a lot.
The novel's highlight were the Aeslin mice though. Hands down. Muhahahahahahahaha!
So yeah, I'm solidly hooked and can't wait to get my hands on the next short stories and novel(s).
March 13, 2012
Read my review below or at Badass Book Reviews (only my 2nd review at the blog so come show your support...please!!)
Review below!
When you think of the bogyman, you don’t normally think of him running a strip club named Dave’s Fish & Strips. How about those delicious sweet pastries you eat from your local bakery, is it the result of a talented bakery chef or a cryptid known as a Madhura?
Verity Price doesn’t have to wonder about the bogyman or other monsters that we thought were only figments of our overactive imagination. She is a cryptozoologist. Cryptozoologists study monsters. You can’t call Verity a monster hunter because sometimes, she is saving the monster from the human. Verity is in the unique position of trying to create a symbiotic relationship between human and cryptid (aka monster). If the cryptid does become the monster of our nightmares, Verity has been trained from birth to handle anything (and I mean anything) that is thrown at her. Verity’s entire family has been trained in the preservation of the cryptids and the safety of the clueless humans.
However, not everyone feels the same way as the Price family. The Covenant of St. George (aka “The Covenant”) wants to exterminate all cryptids. They are the… shoot first, ask questions later…type of organization that the Price family wants to save the cryptids from. To do this, Verity and her family have been in hiding and fighting those few Covenant that find their way to their doorstep.
Enter Dominic, a Covenant agent that comes to Verity’s city with one goal…exterminate the cryptids. Raised in the Covenant, Dominic not only has been brainwashed by the Covenant regarding how dangerous the cryptids are, but he’s also been misled about Verity Price and the rest of the family.
My thoughts
This book was crazy fun. McGuire is a master at world building. By the time you are halfway through the book, you truly believe that there are Aeslin mice, Ahools, Bogeyman, Ghouls, Madhura and other cryptids. Each cryptids is explained in detail, and the reader learns why a Madhura would prefer to work in a bakery, or why a dragon princess has endless gold in their “nest”. The details could be overwhelming for someone not used to this type of world building but I loved it. I love feeling like you are part of the world rather than just reading about a different world.
I will never eat gingerbread again without thinking of this book!
Let’s talk about mice baby!
I’ve already mentioned the mice. But really, they need to be mentioned again. They live with Verity in her apartment and they had me laughing so much. They believe that Verity is a goddess and basically worship her. Not only do they worship her but they are constantly throwing festivals to celebrate everything (and again, I do mean everything). In other words, the mice like to party and they will use any excuse to do so. The interactions between Verity and the mice were by far my favorite (next in line- Verity and the Madhura).
If you go to McGuire’s website , you can see all the cryptids and a description of each!
This isn’t your everyday Scooby Do mystery!
The actual storyline revolves around 1) Why are cryptids turning up dead and 2) Dominic and Verity’s relationship. I was a bit scared when it looked like Dominic was going to be Verity’s love interest. He seemed like a major ass at the beginning of the book and seemed so eager to follow the Covenant regardless of what Verity showed him about the cryptids. Both Verity and Dominic where good with weapons, physically strong, quick on their feet but they both were majorly conflicted when it came to each other.
Dominic and Verity decide to work together to solve the cryptid disappearance. They have their own motives in the beginning but soon, the reader sees a new side to Dominic. McGuire keeps the reader guessing regarding Dominic’s true motives all the way to the end of the book and I loved that. I won’t give away my feelings about Dominic at the end, you’ll just have to read the book!
The mystery of the dying cryptids had some great twists. I was stumped and I loved who ended up being the bad guy (or girl) in the end.
Those dancing feet!
One aspect of this book that I loved was Verity’s internal conflict. She was raised to be a Cryptozoologist but that doesn’t mean it’s her first love. Verity’s true love- dancing. Verity wants to help the cryptids (some of them are her adopted family) and wants her families respect, but since she was a child, her real love has been ballroom dancing. An important part of this book was Verity’s internal struggle with handling her passion versus her duties.
Overall
So much fun in this book. While the world building can be overwhelming, it was necessary in my opinion. Once you get past all the new cryptids you have to learn, the life of a Cryptozoologist, and the functions of the Covenant and Price family, you are left for a wild, fun ride that not only made me laugh but had me anxiously looking for more.
Hurry Seanan, I want book 2!!!!
Some of my favorite lines from the book
“That isn’t an answer.” I planted my hands on my hips. “Was there a reason for shoving the gummy bears off the counter? Did they tell you they were suicidal? On second thought,” I raised a hand, palm out, “don’t answer that. If the candy is talking, I don’t want to know.”
“No matter how many times I put this on, I can’t get past the part where I look like a hooker.” “No, you don’t, honey.” said Carol. “hookers get better tips.”
“Ah” I sat up again, grinning at him. “That’s pretty much true. We’re all crazy. But crazy has its benefits.” “What benefits are those?” he asked warily. “Crazy gets all the knives.”
“Anyone who doesn’t believe that dance can be a form of combat should spend some time watching more well-endowed dancers trying to contain their cleavage with nothing more than adhesive and attitude.”
Review below!
When you think of the bogyman, you don’t normally think of him running a strip club named Dave’s Fish & Strips. How about those delicious sweet pastries you eat from your local bakery, is it the result of a talented bakery chef or a cryptid known as a Madhura?
Verity Price doesn’t have to wonder about the bogyman or other monsters that we thought were only figments of our overactive imagination. She is a cryptozoologist. Cryptozoologists study monsters. You can’t call Verity a monster hunter because sometimes, she is saving the monster from the human. Verity is in the unique position of trying to create a symbiotic relationship between human and cryptid (aka monster). If the cryptid does become the monster of our nightmares, Verity has been trained from birth to handle anything (and I mean anything) that is thrown at her. Verity’s entire family has been trained in the preservation of the cryptids and the safety of the clueless humans.
However, not everyone feels the same way as the Price family. The Covenant of St. George (aka “The Covenant”) wants to exterminate all cryptids. They are the… shoot first, ask questions later…type of organization that the Price family wants to save the cryptids from. To do this, Verity and her family have been in hiding and fighting those few Covenant that find their way to their doorstep.
Enter Dominic, a Covenant agent that comes to Verity’s city with one goal…exterminate the cryptids. Raised in the Covenant, Dominic not only has been brainwashed by the Covenant regarding how dangerous the cryptids are, but he’s also been misled about Verity Price and the rest of the family.
My thoughts
This book was crazy fun. McGuire is a master at world building. By the time you are halfway through the book, you truly believe that there are Aeslin mice, Ahools, Bogeyman, Ghouls, Madhura and other cryptids. Each cryptids is explained in detail, and the reader learns why a Madhura would prefer to work in a bakery, or why a dragon princess has endless gold in their “nest”. The details could be overwhelming for someone not used to this type of world building but I loved it. I love feeling like you are part of the world rather than just reading about a different world.
I will never eat gingerbread again without thinking of this book!
Let’s talk about mice baby!
I’ve already mentioned the mice. But really, they need to be mentioned again. They live with Verity in her apartment and they had me laughing so much. They believe that Verity is a goddess and basically worship her. Not only do they worship her but they are constantly throwing festivals to celebrate everything (and again, I do mean everything). In other words, the mice like to party and they will use any excuse to do so. The interactions between Verity and the mice were by far my favorite (next in line- Verity and the Madhura).
If you go to McGuire’s website , you can see all the cryptids and a description of each!
This isn’t your everyday Scooby Do mystery!
The actual storyline revolves around 1) Why are cryptids turning up dead and 2) Dominic and Verity’s relationship. I was a bit scared when it looked like Dominic was going to be Verity’s love interest. He seemed like a major ass at the beginning of the book and seemed so eager to follow the Covenant regardless of what Verity showed him about the cryptids. Both Verity and Dominic where good with weapons, physically strong, quick on their feet but they both were majorly conflicted when it came to each other.
Dominic and Verity decide to work together to solve the cryptid disappearance. They have their own motives in the beginning but soon, the reader sees a new side to Dominic. McGuire keeps the reader guessing regarding Dominic’s true motives all the way to the end of the book and I loved that. I won’t give away my feelings about Dominic at the end, you’ll just have to read the book!
The mystery of the dying cryptids had some great twists. I was stumped and I loved who ended up being the bad guy (or girl) in the end.
Those dancing feet!
One aspect of this book that I loved was Verity’s internal conflict. She was raised to be a Cryptozoologist but that doesn’t mean it’s her first love. Verity’s true love- dancing. Verity wants to help the cryptids (some of them are her adopted family) and wants her families respect, but since she was a child, her real love has been ballroom dancing. An important part of this book was Verity’s internal struggle with handling her passion versus her duties.
Overall
So much fun in this book. While the world building can be overwhelming, it was necessary in my opinion. Once you get past all the new cryptids you have to learn, the life of a Cryptozoologist, and the functions of the Covenant and Price family, you are left for a wild, fun ride that not only made me laugh but had me anxiously looking for more.
Hurry Seanan, I want book 2!!!!
Some of my favorite lines from the book
“That isn’t an answer.” I planted my hands on my hips. “Was there a reason for shoving the gummy bears off the counter? Did they tell you they were suicidal? On second thought,” I raised a hand, palm out, “don’t answer that. If the candy is talking, I don’t want to know.”
“No matter how many times I put this on, I can’t get past the part where I look like a hooker.” “No, you don’t, honey.” said Carol. “hookers get better tips.”
“Ah” I sat up again, grinning at him. “That’s pretty much true. We’re all crazy. But crazy has its benefits.” “What benefits are those?” he asked warily. “Crazy gets all the knives.”
“Anyone who doesn’t believe that dance can be a form of combat should spend some time watching more well-endowed dancers trying to contain their cleavage with nothing more than adhesive and attitude.”
September 5, 2019
I read this book to fill the Cryptozoologist square of my 2019 Halloween Bingo Card.
Hail! Cake and cheese for all sapient rodents!
I still love this silly little series and the Aeslin mice. Verity Price may not be the world’s sharpest detective and Domenic De Luca may not be the most desireable romantic partner for her, but the mice fix everything with their charming presence throughout the book.
My memory is obviously not what it used to be, because I had completely forgotten the book’s opening, in which the mice feature prominently. Somehow, I didn’t think they appeared until Verity’s adventures in the Big Apple. I also had forgotten the significance of cake and cheese even in this very first book. Once again, I thought that the emphasis on these two foodstuffs came in later books. They were probably overshadowed in my memory by the whole take-out chicken scene! Showing that it does pay to re-read your favourites.
I still enjoy this series, featuring a manic family of ardent cryptozoologists and their crazy adventures, featuring any mythical beastie that you can think of and some which the author must have made up (like the Aeslin mice). I love the snark, the cute, and the smart. Each book is a lovely little vacation from reality.
Earlier review:
Cute. Smart. Snarky. Exactly what is necessary for my Summer Festival of Fluff.
“Never tell anyone to be careful, never ask what that noise was, and for the love of God, never, ever say that you’ll be right back.”
Verity Price belongs to a family of cryptozoologists who have been studying monsters/cryptids for centuries, protecting humans from them and them from humans. Verity also has ambitions as a professional dancer and has moved to New York, both for dance opportunities and a little space from her rather overwhelming family.
Aeslin mice: Sapient, rodentlike cryptids that present as nearly identical to noncryptid field mice. Aeslin mice crave religion and will attached themselves to "divine figures" selected virtually at random when a new colony is created. They possess perfect recall; each colony maintains a detailed oral history going back to its inception. Origin unknown.
Verity has a group of Aeslin mice living in her NY apartment, worshipping her as their goddess. Hail! That said, her love life gets a little complicated:
When I finished the book last night, I immediately returned to the beginning and re-read all of the mouse passages! I absolutely adore the mice and wish I had my own colony to sing my praises daily and remember all of the important events of my life! In fact, it was tempting to try to quote ALL of the cute mouse bits and I’ve restrained myself. So if you read the book, there is unknown cuteness waiting for you. Honestly, I wish this kind of book had been available 30 years ago—my younger self would have eaten this up with a spoon. Even my jaded older self enjoys it a lot. The romance is rather predictable, but I do think that every man should have to face an army of mice the first time he stays over at a woman’s house!
Okay, so this will never again be mentioned in the same breath with Of Mice and Men (sorry John Steinbeck for this one instance), but I’m sure that was not what McGuire was aiming for. I suspect that this level of cute, smart, and snarky will be difficult to maintain, but I am willing to check out the next book simply to see what the mice are doing!
Hail! Cake and cheese for all sapient rodents!
I still love this silly little series and the Aeslin mice. Verity Price may not be the world’s sharpest detective and Domenic De Luca may not be the most desireable romantic partner for her, but the mice fix everything with their charming presence throughout the book.
My memory is obviously not what it used to be, because I had completely forgotten the book’s opening, in which the mice feature prominently. Somehow, I didn’t think they appeared until Verity’s adventures in the Big Apple. I also had forgotten the significance of cake and cheese even in this very first book. Once again, I thought that the emphasis on these two foodstuffs came in later books. They were probably overshadowed in my memory by the whole take-out chicken scene! Showing that it does pay to re-read your favourites.
I still enjoy this series, featuring a manic family of ardent cryptozoologists and their crazy adventures, featuring any mythical beastie that you can think of and some which the author must have made up (like the Aeslin mice). I love the snark, the cute, and the smart. Each book is a lovely little vacation from reality.
Earlier review:
Cute. Smart. Snarky. Exactly what is necessary for my Summer Festival of Fluff.
“Never tell anyone to be careful, never ask what that noise was, and for the love of God, never, ever say that you’ll be right back.”
Verity Price belongs to a family of cryptozoologists who have been studying monsters/cryptids for centuries, protecting humans from them and them from humans. Verity also has ambitions as a professional dancer and has moved to New York, both for dance opportunities and a little space from her rather overwhelming family.
Aeslin mice: Sapient, rodentlike cryptids that present as nearly identical to noncryptid field mice. Aeslin mice crave religion and will attached themselves to "divine figures" selected virtually at random when a new colony is created. They possess perfect recall; each colony maintains a detailed oral history going back to its inception. Origin unknown.
Verity has a group of Aeslin mice living in her NY apartment, worshipping her as their goddess. Hail! That said, her love life gets a little complicated:
I gasped, "Oh, God, the mice!"
"What--?" Dominic stared after me, bewildered, as I grabbed the sack, jumped to my feet, and ran to the bedroom door.
"Bedroom privileges have been revoked for the remainder of the evening!" I shouted, chucking the chicken bag into the middle of the hallway, where it was immediately besieged on all sides by tiny, furry bodies. "I invoke the Sacred Law of Food for Privacy! Feast, and leave me alone!"
When I finished the book last night, I immediately returned to the beginning and re-read all of the mouse passages! I absolutely adore the mice and wish I had my own colony to sing my praises daily and remember all of the important events of my life! In fact, it was tempting to try to quote ALL of the cute mouse bits and I’ve restrained myself. So if you read the book, there is unknown cuteness waiting for you. Honestly, I wish this kind of book had been available 30 years ago—my younger self would have eaten this up with a spoon. Even my jaded older self enjoys it a lot. The romance is rather predictable, but I do think that every man should have to face an army of mice the first time he stays over at a woman’s house!
Okay, so this will never again be mentioned in the same breath with Of Mice and Men (sorry John Steinbeck for this one instance), but I’m sure that was not what McGuire was aiming for. I suspect that this level of cute, smart, and snarky will be difficult to maintain, but I am willing to check out the next book simply to see what the mice are doing!
December 5, 2016
I'm sure you're probably stunned to find out that I *LOVED* a Seanan McGuire book. Oh, wait, no, nevermind. You probably expected that, since I 100% fanboyed over October Daye (#tybaltmeOW).
I read this little gem with my Wednesday UF ladies (and one or two of us gents) over at the Buddies Books and Baubles on Goodreads, and I'm so glad we picked this to be our next series read.
This series has weird. It has fun. It has dangerous. It has weird. It has exciting. It has sexy. It has weird. It has strip-club working, ball-room dancing, parkour-esque city adventuring cryptozoologists with cuckoo cousins and lesser gorgon co-workers. Did I mention that it has WEIRD?
Don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just leave off here and say -- do yourself a favor and grab something by Seanan McGuire. :)
I read this little gem with my Wednesday UF ladies (and one or two of us gents) over at the Buddies Books and Baubles on Goodreads, and I'm so glad we picked this to be our next series read.
This series has weird. It has fun. It has dangerous. It has weird. It has exciting. It has sexy. It has weird. It has strip-club working, ball-room dancing, parkour-esque city adventuring cryptozoologists with cuckoo cousins and lesser gorgon co-workers. Did I mention that it has WEIRD?
Don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just leave off here and say -- do yourself a favor and grab something by Seanan McGuire. :)
March 1, 2015
"Sure, you can take a heroic stand against the forces of darkness. Or you can not die. It's entirely up to you."Re-read 3/1/15
Hrmm, you know, I hardly ever change my initial book ratings when I re-read a book and don't like it as much the second time around (which happens kind of a lot, unfortunately). I usually just keep that initial rating up anyway cuz, hey, that's how I felt when I first read it, so why not, right?
But this time. . .I gotta say, this book really didn't hold up well for me on my second reading of it. It felt like 60% of this book consisted solely of poorly done info-dumping.
That's a lot of poorly done info-dumping.
I was bored. I skimmed a lot. I'm changing this from 4 stars to 3. My original review below shows my enthusiasm for this book back when I first read it. But after my re-read just now (which I had done to refresh my memory so I could read book 2), I kind of don't even really want to read book 2 anymore :(
-----------------------
Original review
An ass-kicking, ballroom dancing cryptozoologist who has a part-time job waiting tables at a strip bar? Oh yeah, this had potential to get really stupid, really fast. Fortunately, this story managed to entertain without ever venturing into over-the-top silly territory -- unless, that is, you think a religious colony of talking mice who cheer enthusiastically for things like your alarm clock waking you up in the morning IS SILLY, in which case you can just leave (but not before I smack you upside the head and yell at you that you are crazy, because said mice are fucking awesome. There, now get out.)
This book was fun and quirky with no shortage of hilarious one-liners. Each chapter began with odd quotes from family members and though it was such a small thing, I found myself really looking forward to each one (I like nice little touches like that). This book isn't what I'm used to in urban fantasy but I liked it and it’s going on the shelf right next to Hounded, which had a similar vibe and which I also enjoyed.
Verity is a pretty kickass MC, she’s straightforward and funny and I loved her passion for dancing (this last part really surprised me because I thought this was going to be some stupid nonsensical part of her character, but I actually ended up really liking it).
Then there’s the guy - of course there’s a guy! Dominic De Luca (I'm finding that name incredibly sexy by the way), is part of the Covenant of St. George, a group that has an uncomfortable history with Verity’s family line, and when the two meet I became completely hooked. I loved their interactions with each other and I'm quite interested to see where the next book takes these two.
The style of world building wasn't my favorite (I didn't particularly like the excessive info dumping asides that Verity does), but it wasn't a deal breaker for me. The cast of creatures was pretty extensive and I found it interesting for the most part. This is the first book I've tried by this author and I'm pretty happy with it. Will definitely be continuing on in this series (and maybe even try the October Daye series too.)
And seriously, the talking mice were fricken awesome.
January 4, 2018
Just makes 4 stars. It was pretty good although a little cheesy. I wasn’t convinced by the romance. Everybody who reads this loves the Aeslin mice and I did too. Hail! There are a wide variety of cryptids in this book which made it a bit different from other Urban fantasy series and there’s a great guide to North American cryptids at the end of the book. I still prefer the October Daye series by this author and also her work as Mira Grant.
April 30, 2020
I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed.
I've heard of this series a long time ago and I've kept it there as a must-read-when-I-want-something-very-good kind of book.
True, before this series, I finished the Temple series. And well, it's very hard to follow one of the best UF series of all time, right? It will take a long time for me to find a book that actually compares to that one.
Anyway, enough about me and my book crush.
This series. Yes, we're talking about this series. InCryptid.
It's a bit disappointing. I've read the author before and I loved the writing style, but this time it was only decent.
And the characters, well. I liked Verity, I did, but I expected a lot more from her.
The plot was interesting though, and full of potential, so let's wait and see what happens.
I've heard of this series a long time ago and I've kept it there as a must-read-when-I-want-something-very-good kind of book.
True, before this series, I finished the Temple series. And well, it's very hard to follow one of the best UF series of all time, right? It will take a long time for me to find a book that actually compares to that one.
Anyway, enough about me and my book crush.
This series. Yes, we're talking about this series. InCryptid.
It's a bit disappointing. I've read the author before and I loved the writing style, but this time it was only decent.
And the characters, well. I liked Verity, I did, but I expected a lot more from her.
The plot was interesting though, and full of potential, so let's wait and see what happens.
October 13, 2015
3-1/2 stars
This was super-cute and fun, with lots of great one liners. But at the same time, I found it a little slow paced.
Proper review to come if I can find the time.
March 3, 2022
Action heroine's guide to romance.
So a ballroom dancing cryptozoologist walks into a strip club...
Verity is trying to assert her independence far from home and continuing the family business studying cryptids in urban settings all while hoping to win it big on the ballroom dance circuit. This is a fun series, only my second book in the series but entertaining and action-packed. Romance is second place to hunting and being hunted. I actually liked #9 more than this, but I'll read through the rest of the books as I meander along this year. Fun, popcorn read with stabby-stabby and a side of romance.
So a ballroom dancing cryptozoologist walks into a strip club...
Verity is trying to assert her independence far from home and continuing the family business studying cryptids in urban settings all while hoping to win it big on the ballroom dance circuit. This is a fun series, only my second book in the series but entertaining and action-packed. Romance is second place to hunting and being hunted. I actually liked #9 more than this, but I'll read through the rest of the books as I meander along this year. Fun, popcorn read with stabby-stabby and a side of romance.
December 14, 2016
This was so cool!!! My favorite characters: Verity, Sarah, Istas and the mice :D
March 4, 2012
Contemporary fantasy is one of the fastest growing genres within speculative fiction today. Urban fantasy, in particular, has seen an increase in sheer numbers of authors and stories, to the point where some ideas have been recycled so much that various incarnations are either too similar to fully enjoy or have become stale.
Don't take this to mean I dislike urban fantasy; nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, if you look at a genre breakdown of my reading material, you would find that the majority falls within the urban fantasy genre. I am always looking for that next interesting or unique twist, but with the sheer amount of urban fantasy material out there, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find these twists. However, there are some authors who always manage to bring something new to the table. Seanan McGuire is one such author.
Already well-known for her Toby Daye novels as well as her Newsflesh trilogy (written as Mira Grant), Seanan McGuire is hitting the shelves on March 6, 2012 with a new urban fantasy series: the InCryptid novels. I wasn't sure what I was going to discover in Discount Armageddon when I began reading, but, as is often the case with McGuire's work, I found a novel unlike most anything else I've ever read.
Monsters, microminis, and… ballroom dancing?
While it might seem that someone reached into a hat and pulled out these three things, they are truly related. The common thread tying them all together is Verity Price, cryptozoologist and ballroom dancer.
Verity is quite the girl—and is now my most favorite of McGuire's protagonists. Looks, moves, brains, snarks—this girl has it all. Her sense of humor is dry, witty, and correlates very well to my own. I mean, hell, when your protagonist talks about the borderline impossibility of hiding a gun holster under a micromini within the first five pages of the book? I'm sold. The fact that she wants to focus on the arts as her career only cemented Verity as my favorite of McGuire's protagonists.
Despite having been trained since a very early age as a cryptozoologist to study and protect the monsters of the world, Verity would much rather dance a tango than tussle with monsters. While spending a year in Manhattan pursuing a career in ballroom dancing, Verity suddenly becomes aware of the disappearance of local cryptids. And of strange lizard-men appearing in the sewers. And of rumors of a dragon beneath the city. Subsequently, Verity is sucked back into the family business when she would rather just dance.
"Cryptid, noun: Any creature whose existence has not yet been proven by science. See also 'monster.'"
As previously stated, urban fantasy is one of the fastest-growing subgenres today. However, Discount Armageddon has a fantasy system that is completely different from any other urban fantasy that I've yet read. There is no magic. Let me say that again: There is no magic. The main character isn't a gunslinger wizard or a shapeshifter, and they don't battle demons or other practitioners of magic. Sure, there are fantastical creatures with fantastic abilities, but those don't count.
In fact, those creatures—cryptids—are a large part of what sets this novel apart from the rest of the urban fantasy genre. They're not something otherworldly; they're just part of the world, like humanity. And, like humanity, their traits vary. Rich, poor, conniving, caring, ditzy, skeptical—these cryptids are just like humanity in regard to emotions and mental states. With the added complication of generally being hunted and persecuted.
The sheer variety of cryptids within Discount Armageddon fill out the world McGuire is presenting, and do it well. It is one thing to have a history for the world and the main characters, but McGuire takes it one step further and builds a history for every single species of cryptic—and in some cases, individual cryptids. Some of those histories are just downright fun and entertaining. I'm speaking of Verity's resident clan of Aeslin mice at this point, which function as a sort of comic relief—and they do it oh-so-very-well. (As a side note, McGuire has included a few pages of information on various cryptids at the back of the book, so be sure to check it out.)
"Cryptozoologist, noun: Any person who thinks hunting for cryptids is a good idea. Sea also 'idiot.'"
While Verity Price's family are all cryptozoologists, they are by no means the only ones out there. Enter the Covenant of St. George, old enemies of the Price family. While Verity is out trying to find the disappearing cryptids, and continuing her dancing career not-so-much on the side, the Covenant dispatches their own operative, Dominic De Luca, to the area. Let's just say that the Covenant have conflicting opinions with the Price family regarding the treatment of cryptids—the take-no-quarter kind of opinion. Neither Verity or Dominic is prepared to deal with the other, and that leads to all sorts of fun places.
Where Verity is an open-minded sort, Dominic holds his opinions, and holds them close. Where Verity's primary form of transportation is free running (she hates taxis), Dominic will take any sort of transportation that doesn't involve him expending effort. Where Dominic wants to hunt and take all cryptids down, Verity wants to protect them. They are extremely different people—well, except for being pretty damn sexy. And good dancers.
In fact, the setup as different people from competing organizations might be ringing a familiar bell right about now. It's a very Romeo and Juliet/West Side Story sort of setup, but that's about the extent of it. Verity and Dominic don't fall in love at first sight and try to stick it to the man and elope. Not at all. Rather, their personalities continue to clash, even in the face of common objectives, and this makes for some very entertaining dialogue and scenes.
Hit me with your best plot
While the plot of Discount Armageddon may not be as complicated as that of McGuire's Newsflesh trilogy, I believe it to be one of the most streamlined she has ever written. By streamlined, I mean that it flows exceptionally well, with all of the unexpected twists and turns being surprising but not jarring. It's a very well-developed storyline that functions as a well-oiled machine. Not only that, but it leaves enough unresolved questions that I really, really want the next book. Now. I do believe this is the most excited I've ever been at the thought of a sequel to one of McGuire's books—and for me, that's saying something.
So, why should you read this book?
Because I told you to, dangit! All joking aside, this is one of the best books I've read in a long time, and not just for the fun factor. Discount Armageddon is an exceptionally well-written tale with a unique premise, fantastic character work, and a plot that just pulls you along until you finish. This is one for the urban fantasy enthusiasts out there—as well as for anyone who wants something different from most anything else on shelves today. Easily one of my favorite books of 2012, Discount Armageddon has re-solidified my opinion that I will buy ALL THE THINGS McGuire writes, ever.
Don't take this to mean I dislike urban fantasy; nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, if you look at a genre breakdown of my reading material, you would find that the majority falls within the urban fantasy genre. I am always looking for that next interesting or unique twist, but with the sheer amount of urban fantasy material out there, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find these twists. However, there are some authors who always manage to bring something new to the table. Seanan McGuire is one such author.
Already well-known for her Toby Daye novels as well as her Newsflesh trilogy (written as Mira Grant), Seanan McGuire is hitting the shelves on March 6, 2012 with a new urban fantasy series: the InCryptid novels. I wasn't sure what I was going to discover in Discount Armageddon when I began reading, but, as is often the case with McGuire's work, I found a novel unlike most anything else I've ever read.
Monsters, microminis, and… ballroom dancing?
While it might seem that someone reached into a hat and pulled out these three things, they are truly related. The common thread tying them all together is Verity Price, cryptozoologist and ballroom dancer.
Verity is quite the girl—and is now my most favorite of McGuire's protagonists. Looks, moves, brains, snarks—this girl has it all. Her sense of humor is dry, witty, and correlates very well to my own. I mean, hell, when your protagonist talks about the borderline impossibility of hiding a gun holster under a micromini within the first five pages of the book? I'm sold. The fact that she wants to focus on the arts as her career only cemented Verity as my favorite of McGuire's protagonists.
Despite having been trained since a very early age as a cryptozoologist to study and protect the monsters of the world, Verity would much rather dance a tango than tussle with monsters. While spending a year in Manhattan pursuing a career in ballroom dancing, Verity suddenly becomes aware of the disappearance of local cryptids. And of strange lizard-men appearing in the sewers. And of rumors of a dragon beneath the city. Subsequently, Verity is sucked back into the family business when she would rather just dance.
"Cryptid, noun: Any creature whose existence has not yet been proven by science. See also 'monster.'"
As previously stated, urban fantasy is one of the fastest-growing subgenres today. However, Discount Armageddon has a fantasy system that is completely different from any other urban fantasy that I've yet read. There is no magic. Let me say that again: There is no magic. The main character isn't a gunslinger wizard or a shapeshifter, and they don't battle demons or other practitioners of magic. Sure, there are fantastical creatures with fantastic abilities, but those don't count.
In fact, those creatures—cryptids—are a large part of what sets this novel apart from the rest of the urban fantasy genre. They're not something otherworldly; they're just part of the world, like humanity. And, like humanity, their traits vary. Rich, poor, conniving, caring, ditzy, skeptical—these cryptids are just like humanity in regard to emotions and mental states. With the added complication of generally being hunted and persecuted.
The sheer variety of cryptids within Discount Armageddon fill out the world McGuire is presenting, and do it well. It is one thing to have a history for the world and the main characters, but McGuire takes it one step further and builds a history for every single species of cryptic—and in some cases, individual cryptids. Some of those histories are just downright fun and entertaining. I'm speaking of Verity's resident clan of Aeslin mice at this point, which function as a sort of comic relief—and they do it oh-so-very-well. (As a side note, McGuire has included a few pages of information on various cryptids at the back of the book, so be sure to check it out.)
"Cryptozoologist, noun: Any person who thinks hunting for cryptids is a good idea. Sea also 'idiot.'"
While Verity Price's family are all cryptozoologists, they are by no means the only ones out there. Enter the Covenant of St. George, old enemies of the Price family. While Verity is out trying to find the disappearing cryptids, and continuing her dancing career not-so-much on the side, the Covenant dispatches their own operative, Dominic De Luca, to the area. Let's just say that the Covenant have conflicting opinions with the Price family regarding the treatment of cryptids—the take-no-quarter kind of opinion. Neither Verity or Dominic is prepared to deal with the other, and that leads to all sorts of fun places.
Where Verity is an open-minded sort, Dominic holds his opinions, and holds them close. Where Verity's primary form of transportation is free running (she hates taxis), Dominic will take any sort of transportation that doesn't involve him expending effort. Where Dominic wants to hunt and take all cryptids down, Verity wants to protect them. They are extremely different people—well, except for being pretty damn sexy. And good dancers.
In fact, the setup as different people from competing organizations might be ringing a familiar bell right about now. It's a very Romeo and Juliet/West Side Story sort of setup, but that's about the extent of it. Verity and Dominic don't fall in love at first sight and try to stick it to the man and elope. Not at all. Rather, their personalities continue to clash, even in the face of common objectives, and this makes for some very entertaining dialogue and scenes.
Hit me with your best plot
While the plot of Discount Armageddon may not be as complicated as that of McGuire's Newsflesh trilogy, I believe it to be one of the most streamlined she has ever written. By streamlined, I mean that it flows exceptionally well, with all of the unexpected twists and turns being surprising but not jarring. It's a very well-developed storyline that functions as a well-oiled machine. Not only that, but it leaves enough unresolved questions that I really, really want the next book. Now. I do believe this is the most excited I've ever been at the thought of a sequel to one of McGuire's books—and for me, that's saying something.
So, why should you read this book?
Because I told you to, dangit! All joking aside, this is one of the best books I've read in a long time, and not just for the fun factor. Discount Armageddon is an exceptionally well-written tale with a unique premise, fantastic character work, and a plot that just pulls you along until you finish. This is one for the urban fantasy enthusiasts out there—as well as for anyone who wants something different from most anything else on shelves today. Easily one of my favorite books of 2012, Discount Armageddon has re-solidified my opinion that I will buy ALL THE THINGS McGuire writes, ever.
Garrett received an ARC of Discount Armageddon courtesy of DAW Books.
October 21, 2017
I was a little embarassed because the cover makes this book look like it's about a stripper with guns. She's technically not a stripper, but a cocktail waitress at a strip club who dresses like a half-naked schoolgirl and is repeatedly groped by drunk men. Because that's totally different. The nearly constant background of sexual objectification in this book was disappointingly-juvenile rather than sexy. Imagine how surprised I was to discover that this was written by a woman!
I read half this book, with a little break to even get that far. The storyline felt oddly choppy - jumping from idea to idea without a lot of connecting material. The author also kept dropping monster names I had never heard of like Oread along with monsters she made up like Aeslin mice, with no immediate explanation. When Terry Pratchett makes up eye-watering words in Guards! Guards! it's hilarious, but this was just frustrating.
What actually made me stop reading this book was theromance sexual attraction the main woman character feels for the main male character. The guy is a completely unlikeable misguided jerk, but she keeps describing how great his body is. It's just painful.
More Like This
If you loved this book, try Monster Hunter International which I liked better despite the caveman-era sex-roles. If you like women falling for really lame guys with hot bodies, try Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye which flowed a little better. If you want very sexy monster stuff, read Night Shift. Those are all 3-star books you might like better than I did.
Better Alternatives
If you haven't read this book, or didn't like it, I recommend you read the following 4-5 star books instead:
* The Dresden Files is my favorite long series of Urban Fantasy, complete with hilarious awkward moments, thrilling battles, and a lead who isn't always one of the good guys, though he tries (start with #3 Grave Peril).
* For Paranormal Urban Action Romance, the first three Kate Daniels (starting with Magic Bites) are awesome.
* For Urban Fantasy with a sexy, gymnastic female lead, try Moon Called or the first Vampire Academy.
* High-brow/intellectual female-lead humorous Urban Fantasy without any sex is The Rook. The second book in that series, Stiletto, is one of my all time favorites. So dry, so funny!
All of those are much better than this book.
I read half this book, with a little break to even get that far. The storyline felt oddly choppy - jumping from idea to idea without a lot of connecting material. The author also kept dropping monster names I had never heard of like Oread along with monsters she made up like Aeslin mice, with no immediate explanation. When Terry Pratchett makes up eye-watering words in Guards! Guards! it's hilarious, but this was just frustrating.
What actually made me stop reading this book was the
More Like This
If you loved this book, try Monster Hunter International which I liked better despite the caveman-era sex-roles. If you like women falling for really lame guys with hot bodies, try Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye which flowed a little better. If you want very sexy monster stuff, read Night Shift. Those are all 3-star books you might like better than I did.
Better Alternatives
If you haven't read this book, or didn't like it, I recommend you read the following 4-5 star books instead:
* The Dresden Files is my favorite long series of Urban Fantasy, complete with hilarious awkward moments, thrilling battles, and a lead who isn't always one of the good guys, though he tries (start with #3 Grave Peril).
* For Paranormal Urban Action Romance, the first three Kate Daniels (starting with Magic Bites) are awesome.
* For Urban Fantasy with a sexy, gymnastic female lead, try Moon Called or the first Vampire Academy.
* High-brow/intellectual female-lead humorous Urban Fantasy without any sex is The Rook. The second book in that series, Stiletto, is one of my all time favorites. So dry, so funny!
All of those are much better than this book.
December 7, 2016
Buddy read with the awesome Wednesday UF group over at BB&B
It's again time to start a new UF series with my friends and because we all loved Toby Daye we decided to give Seanan McGuire other series a chance.
At first I had some doubts because the reader is thrown into the deep end with no explanation. It takes time to orient yourself in this new world. But once you get into it it's pretty awesome. I love the plethora of different sentient species that co-inhabit Earth in this world. And the non-sentient cryptids (the term for all those supernatural beings) are great as well. The main character Verity Price is likeable, except when she obsesses over dancing too much. Though I do feel for her - she doesn't really have much choice in her life. She inherited her job of being a cryptozoologist and isn't free to pursue her passion of ballroom dancing because of her family's history. You see once upon a time the Prices were part of the Covenant - a bunch of psychopathic monster hunters that think that they can decide what's natural and what isn't. So basically one day they can decide that bunnies are unnatural so they should be exterminated. On that account why haven't they tried to kill some of the dog breeds that are so unnatural that they can barely poop without help let alone reproduce? Hmm just another crater of a hole in their logic. I got distracted. Anyway, the Prices were Covenant once but eventually realised that they're not only killing innocents but also doing immense harm to the ecosystems by exterminating species that actually do something to keep nature in balance. You know which species fucks up nature the most? Yeah, humans. Maybe the Covenant should start killing us. It would bring more good to Mother Earth. But as most religious fanatics they only care about their own power and brainwashing gullible young people into doing their dirty work while masquerading as a holy duty. I went on a tangent again. I can't seem to keep my mind focused today. Sorry, people! Ah where was I? The Prices realised their mistake and being reasonable human beings decided to abandon the cause and try to preserve what they can from the cryptids. The Covenant didn't take that well and now few generations down the line the Prices need to hide and not acquire the attention of their former brethren. As a result poor Verity needs to hide in plain sight and assume a false identity when dancing and if she get's recognised she'll have to abandon her dreams and run away. So, yeah, I feel bad for her. But she still makes it and doesn't slack in her duties as a cryptozoologist. She's tough, knows how to kill and fight and is also a scientist of sorts. How cool is that?
As much as I liked Verity, the first place in my heart when it comes to this book is split between Verity's cuckoo cousin Sarah (a type of telepathic cryptid) and the Aeslin mice - a species of talking, extremely religious and adorable mice. You want more info, check these two reviews: Choko's review and Joanita's review. They do a superb job of actually reviewing this instead of just rambling about random things that have some connection to the book.
The series and the world have a lot of potential and since I know that McGuire's world and characters get better with time I'm looking forward to the next book. Which I should be starting today but lately I suck at keeping to a schedule.
It's again time to start a new UF series with my friends and because we all loved Toby Daye we decided to give Seanan McGuire other series a chance.
At first I had some doubts because the reader is thrown into the deep end with no explanation. It takes time to orient yourself in this new world. But once you get into it it's pretty awesome. I love the plethora of different sentient species that co-inhabit Earth in this world. And the non-sentient cryptids (the term for all those supernatural beings) are great as well. The main character Verity Price is likeable, except when she obsesses over dancing too much. Though I do feel for her - she doesn't really have much choice in her life. She inherited her job of being a cryptozoologist and isn't free to pursue her passion of ballroom dancing because of her family's history. You see once upon a time the Prices were part of the Covenant - a bunch of psychopathic monster hunters that think that they can decide what's natural and what isn't. So basically one day they can decide that bunnies are unnatural so they should be exterminated. On that account why haven't they tried to kill some of the dog breeds that are so unnatural that they can barely poop without help let alone reproduce? Hmm just another crater of a hole in their logic. I got distracted. Anyway, the Prices were Covenant once but eventually realised that they're not only killing innocents but also doing immense harm to the ecosystems by exterminating species that actually do something to keep nature in balance. You know which species fucks up nature the most? Yeah, humans. Maybe the Covenant should start killing us. It would bring more good to Mother Earth. But as most religious fanatics they only care about their own power and brainwashing gullible young people into doing their dirty work while masquerading as a holy duty. I went on a tangent again. I can't seem to keep my mind focused today. Sorry, people! Ah where was I? The Prices realised their mistake and being reasonable human beings decided to abandon the cause and try to preserve what they can from the cryptids. The Covenant didn't take that well and now few generations down the line the Prices need to hide and not acquire the attention of their former brethren. As a result poor Verity needs to hide in plain sight and assume a false identity when dancing and if she get's recognised she'll have to abandon her dreams and run away. So, yeah, I feel bad for her. But she still makes it and doesn't slack in her duties as a cryptozoologist. She's tough, knows how to kill and fight and is also a scientist of sorts. How cool is that?
As much as I liked Verity, the first place in my heart when it comes to this book is split between Verity's cuckoo cousin Sarah (a type of telepathic cryptid) and the Aeslin mice - a species of talking, extremely religious and adorable mice. You want more info, check these two reviews: Choko's review and Joanita's review. They do a superb job of actually reviewing this instead of just rambling about random things that have some connection to the book.
The series and the world have a lot of potential and since I know that McGuire's world and characters get better with time I'm looking forward to the next book. Which I should be starting today but lately I suck at keeping to a schedule.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2017
Verity Price comes from a long line of cryptozoologists and has spent her entire life learning about the numerous types of cryptids (supernatural creatures) who live hidden amongst us. Her family used to belong to the Covenant of St. George but once they realised that not all cryptids are monsters and that they deserve the chance to live peacefully amongst us they parted ways with the organisation and set out on their own. Now the Price family focus on helping the cryptids stay hidden and making sure they aren't a threat to humans. Verity is more than capable of dealing with any troublemakers but she also has a lot of cryptid friends and allies. Unfortunately the Covenant would prefer to see all the cryptids exterminated and since the Prices decided to break ties with the organisation they've been considered enemies.
Verity would much rather pursue a dance career than spend her days dealing with monsters and she is spending a year in Manhattan to see if she can make it as a ballroom dancer. Unfortunately for her she runs into a member of the Covenant while doing her usual rounds checking up on the local cryptid population. Now she must try to convince Dominic that the Price family aren't really traitors and that not all cryptids deserve to be killed just for existing. If she can't persuade him in time then he could bring down the entire Covenant on her head and she'll be in a whole heap of trouble along with her friends.
I had so much fun reading Discount Armageddon, Seanan Mcguire has created a world full of weird and wonderful supernatural creatures from a colony of talking, highly religious mice (who reminded me of a cross between the clockwork mice from Bagpuss and the singing cockroaches from Joe's Apartment!), to telepaths, gorgons, ghouls and dragon princess with many more in between. Verity has an incredible amount of knowledge when it comes to the hidden supernatural creatures that most of us think only exist in myths and legends and she's very good at making sure they aren't a danger to the human population and helping them exist peacefully alongside us. She didn't choose the life she has but she takes her responsibilities seriously even when she's trying to make time to follow her own dreams too.
When cryptids start being attacked Verity is worried for her friend's safety and her first instinct is to blame the Dominic and the Covenant. When he assures her that he isn't behind the murders they agree to work together to figure out what is really going on in the city. I have to admit it took me a long time to warm up to Dominic, has his own reasons for working with Verity and I wasn't at all sure he could be trusted. His attitude is terrible in the beginning but he has been trained for most of his life that all cryptids are evil and can't be trusted so he gets a real shake up when Verity starts introducing him to some of the less frightening and more friendly ones she considers her friends. I'm still not 100% sold on him or the romance that has started to develop between him and Verity but I love the world enough that it didn't cause me a major issue and I'm hoping I'll like him more as we get to know him better. This is a series that I'm excited to continue and I'm looking forward to seeing what new creatures Seanan McGuire will throw at us next, I'm pretty sure she's not done surprising us yet.
______________________
Buddy read with the MacHalo Crew starts 18th of September
Verity would much rather pursue a dance career than spend her days dealing with monsters and she is spending a year in Manhattan to see if she can make it as a ballroom dancer. Unfortunately for her she runs into a member of the Covenant while doing her usual rounds checking up on the local cryptid population. Now she must try to convince Dominic that the Price family aren't really traitors and that not all cryptids deserve to be killed just for existing. If she can't persuade him in time then he could bring down the entire Covenant on her head and she'll be in a whole heap of trouble along with her friends.
I had so much fun reading Discount Armageddon, Seanan Mcguire has created a world full of weird and wonderful supernatural creatures from a colony of talking, highly religious mice (who reminded me of a cross between the clockwork mice from Bagpuss and the singing cockroaches from Joe's Apartment!), to telepaths, gorgons, ghouls and dragon princess with many more in between. Verity has an incredible amount of knowledge when it comes to the hidden supernatural creatures that most of us think only exist in myths and legends and she's very good at making sure they aren't a danger to the human population and helping them exist peacefully alongside us. She didn't choose the life she has but she takes her responsibilities seriously even when she's trying to make time to follow her own dreams too.
When cryptids start being attacked Verity is worried for her friend's safety and her first instinct is to blame the Dominic and the Covenant. When he assures her that he isn't behind the murders they agree to work together to figure out what is really going on in the city. I have to admit it took me a long time to warm up to Dominic, has his own reasons for working with Verity and I wasn't at all sure he could be trusted. His attitude is terrible in the beginning but he has been trained for most of his life that all cryptids are evil and can't be trusted so he gets a real shake up when Verity starts introducing him to some of the less frightening and more friendly ones she considers her friends. I'm still not 100% sold on him or the romance that has started to develop between him and Verity but I love the world enough that it didn't cause me a major issue and I'm hoping I'll like him more as we get to know him better. This is a series that I'm excited to continue and I'm looking forward to seeing what new creatures Seanan McGuire will throw at us next, I'm pretty sure she's not done surprising us yet.
______________________
Buddy read with the MacHalo Crew starts 18th of September
January 9, 2019
Cryptid, noun:Update:
1. Any creature whose existence has been suggested but not proven scientifically.
2. That thing that's getting ready to eat your head.
3. See also "monster."
I just saw this picture and it totally reminded me of Aeslin mice.
3.5 stars
Believe me when I say that this book was goddamn hard for me to rate. There were things I loved, but also the things I nearly hated.
Verity Price is a cryptozoologist (or something like that, since it's very likely I misspelled it) raised by the people who study things you might call monsters. Besides taking care of cryptids of New York, she likes to dance and she works as waitress in the strip club. But after Dominic, member of Covenant (which is basically a group of bad people who want to kill all the cryptids and Verity's family) appears, cryptids start disappearing and it's up to Verity to find out what's going on and how to stop it.
It's strange that I have such mixed feelings about this book since I adore McGuire's other series, October Daye. Writing style was mostly okay (I'm basically used to it from her other works), but I was kind of annoyed by the whole explanations in the brackets thing. Let me explain. Throughout the book, instead of incomporating the explanations of various terms and background info into the text, McGuire used to put them into brackets like separate parts. It wasn't terribly inconveniet, but it kind of distracted me from the story.
One thing I wasn't fan of was the romance between Verity and Dominic. First of all, the whole "sworn enemies into lovers" plot was already used in so many books I'm not really a fan of it anymore. The second thing that kind of bugged me was the progression of the romance. It wasn't really instalove, but it went from "I want to kill you" to "you are okay" to "SEX" quite fast. And after that, they, of course, realized what a mistake they made. It was quite cliche and I feel like McGuire could have done it better.
I wasn't really impressed by Verity's obsession with dance - the moment when she was fighting for her life and took time to set up ipod and change music to fit the songs to the fight was REALLY lame and made me roll my eyes - but other than that, I liked her. Eventually I also liked Dominic, but I didn't really love either of them. To be honest, the only character that I really adore right now is Sarah - I love that "girl". And Aeslin Mice, of course. Those creatures are goddamn adorable.
By now, it probably sounds like I hated this book, but that's not true. I like the entire premise of Verity being on the side of monsters instead of fighting them, i liked the world building and I liked the overall plot. There was just quite a lot of small things that bugged me.
Anyway, I will continue with this series for sure, because knowing McGuire, it will get better and I want to see where this story goes.
August 19, 2014
Humm....not a bad read. I struggle to find an Urban fantasy that I really like. There are a few I enjoy greatly and more that I just can't seem to get into.
This one sort of faded in and out for me I mean a story about a tough, "bad-ass", butt kicking female protagonist who's also fired up about ballroom dancing can at times be a little, esoteric.
Our heroine, Verity Price is a sort of "crypto-zoologist environmentalist" who tries to figure out the place "unusual" creatures hold in the ecology of an area. She'll even get upset and tell a creature...say a werewolf, to leave town on pain of her killing it, you know after it's killed a few people.
The internal logic of this book breaks down constantly. Therefore the storytelling and "cutesy" humor has to cover the gaps. I mean at times Verity calls herself a "monster-hunter" but more often than not she sounds like she's a member of "PETM" (People for the Ethical Treatment of Monsters). As noted she sort of waits around to see if the "monster" in question is killing people. After they've killed a few people she then (as noted) might beat them up, threaten them and tell them to go elsewhere.
See the people who'll get killed where they go are someone else's problem.
Still there's a fun story here with lots of twists, some action and a few laughs. Of course there's the obligatory romance but it's not one that overwhelms the book. So as I said, pretty good.
Enjoy.
This one sort of faded in and out for me I mean a story about a tough, "bad-ass", butt kicking female protagonist who's also fired up about ballroom dancing can at times be a little, esoteric.
Our heroine, Verity Price is a sort of "crypto-zoologist environmentalist" who tries to figure out the place "unusual" creatures hold in the ecology of an area. She'll even get upset and tell a creature...say a werewolf, to leave town on pain of her killing it, you know after it's killed a few people.
The internal logic of this book breaks down constantly. Therefore the storytelling and "cutesy" humor has to cover the gaps. I mean at times Verity calls herself a "monster-hunter" but more often than not she sounds like she's a member of "PETM" (People for the Ethical Treatment of Monsters). As noted she sort of waits around to see if the "monster" in question is killing people. After they've killed a few people she then (as noted) might beat them up, threaten them and tell them to go elsewhere.
See the people who'll get killed where they go are someone else's problem.
Still there's a fun story here with lots of twists, some action and a few laughs. Of course there's the obligatory romance but it's not one that overwhelms the book. So as I said, pretty good.
Enjoy.
July 8, 2020
A really fun urban fantasy. It's showing its age a bit, both in terms of the changes I've seen in Seanan's writing over the years and the extreme attempts at being sexy to presumably het dudes, but still clever and fun.
CONTENT WARNING:
Perhaps it's because I crammed this into my brain in very short order, but I'm having a hard time thinking of concrete pros and cons. This is fluff. Monsters, T&A, enemies-to-lovers, the whole bit. Nothing stands out as a decidedly *bad* element--it is what it is and it does it well.
No, okay, I do have one!!
I loved the different kinds of monsters and that they're not necessarily bad just because they're not human.
I did not love the focus on dancing. That seemed really out of place for this story.
So, there you go. If you want a perfectly solid example of what UF was a decade ago, pick this up!
CONTENT WARNING:
Perhaps it's because I crammed this into my brain in very short order, but I'm having a hard time thinking of concrete pros and cons. This is fluff. Monsters, T&A, enemies-to-lovers, the whole bit. Nothing stands out as a decidedly *bad* element--it is what it is and it does it well.
No, okay, I do have one!!
I loved the different kinds of monsters and that they're not necessarily bad just because they're not human.
I did not love the focus on dancing. That seemed really out of place for this story.
So, there you go. If you want a perfectly solid example of what UF was a decade ago, pick this up!
January 4, 2016
If you don't take this book too seriously (why would you? It doesn't take itself seriously), you will enjoy it.
Most of Discount Armageddon is a lot of fun. Different species and their customs, mystery of who is taking all those cryptid women, funny quotes from various members of Verity's family before each chapter (even funnier if you'd read about those people before), the fact that there is nothing instant in Verity and Dominic's first meeting (unless you count let's kill each other one of those), and the Aeslin mice (of course) are only some of the great things that this book has to offer.
Also, there are so many potential short stories hinted by either the mice, Verity or a member of her family that I can't wait to read. Well, except the one with Thomas, Alice and a dragon princess. I don't think I would enjoy that one.
If I haven't read the short InCryptid stories, Discount Armageddon wouldn't be as fun.
I have a lot of love for this series thanks to those short stories set in the past of the main character's family. However, unlike them, Verity Price isn't as capable as I would expect. Most of her fame - infamy really if you want to be precise - in the city comes from the fact that the cryptids know about the Healys/Prices.
I am going to give Verity Price a pass because of all those great things I've already mentioned earlier and hope she grows into a more capable character later.
There is one thing that rarely (read: almost never) works for me. I hate foreshadowing and this book uses this device a lot.
Most of Discount Armageddon is a lot of fun. Different species and their customs, mystery of who is taking all those cryptid women, funny quotes from various members of Verity's family before each chapter (even funnier if you'd read about those people before), the fact that there is nothing instant in Verity and Dominic's first meeting (unless you count let's kill each other one of those), and the Aeslin mice (of course) are only some of the great things that this book has to offer.
Also, there are so many potential short stories hinted by either the mice, Verity or a member of her family that I can't wait to read. Well, except the one with Thomas, Alice and a dragon princess. I don't think I would enjoy that one.
If I haven't read the short InCryptid stories, Discount Armageddon wouldn't be as fun.
I have a lot of love for this series thanks to those short stories set in the past of the main character's family. However, unlike them, Verity Price isn't as capable as I would expect. Most of her fame - infamy really if you want to be precise - in the city comes from the fact that the cryptids know about the Healys/Prices.
I am going to give Verity Price a pass because of all those great things I've already mentioned earlier and hope she grows into a more capable character later.
There is one thing that rarely (read: almost never) works for me. I hate foreshadowing and this book uses this device a lot.
February 19, 2018
No matter how many times I stray from the path, I am constantly reminded why urban fantasy is my jam. The good kind of urban fantasy that is. Like this one. It was so good! Guys, I think I'm in love. Imagine the world where every day you get to be celebrated by the religious mice population, your grandma is a neveraging hell-hopper and your cousin is a telepath.
I'm down for that party. Maybe dragon princesses would let me hang out in their nest with all that gold and I can get me one of those pet basilisks so I can finally get rid of my annoying neighbor upstairs. Ooh, maybe I can ask a bogeyman for a favor and scare my ex one of these nights.
I'm not crazy, my mother got me tested.
Over and out
I'm down for that party. Maybe dragon princesses would let me hang out in their nest with all that gold and I can get me one of those pet basilisks so I can finally get rid of my annoying neighbor upstairs. Ooh, maybe I can ask a bogeyman for a favor and scare my ex one of these nights.
I'm not crazy, my mother got me tested.
Over and out
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