What do you think?
Rate this book
InCryptid #10
Calculated Risks
The tenth book in the fast-paced InCryptid urban fantasy series returns to the mishaps of the Price family, eccentric cryptozoologists who safeguard the world of magical creatures living in secret among humans.
Just when Sarah Zellaby, adopted Price cousin and telepathic ambush predator, thought that things couldn't get worse, she's had to go and prove herself wrong. After being kidnapped and manipulated by her birth family, she has undergone a transformation called an instar, reaching back to her Apocritic origins to metamorphize. While externally the same, she is internally much more powerful, and much more difficult to control.
Even by herself. After years of denial, the fact that she will always be a cuckoo has become impossible to deny.
Now stranded in another dimension with a handful of allies who seem to have no idea who she is--including her cousin Annie and her maybe-boyfriend Artie, both of whom have forgotten their relationship--and a bunch of cuckoos with good reason to want her dead, Sarah must figure out not only how to contend with her situation, but with the new realities of her future. What is she now? Who is she now? Is that person someone she can live with?
And when all is said and done, will she be able to get the people she loves, whether or not they've forgotten her, safely home?
Just when Sarah Zellaby, adopted Price cousin and telepathic ambush predator, thought that things couldn't get worse, she's had to go and prove herself wrong. After being kidnapped and manipulated by her birth family, she has undergone a transformation called an instar, reaching back to her Apocritic origins to metamorphize. While externally the same, she is internally much more powerful, and much more difficult to control.
Even by herself. After years of denial, the fact that she will always be a cuckoo has become impossible to deny.
Now stranded in another dimension with a handful of allies who seem to have no idea who she is--including her cousin Annie and her maybe-boyfriend Artie, both of whom have forgotten their relationship--and a bunch of cuckoos with good reason to want her dead, Sarah must figure out not only how to contend with her situation, but with the new realities of her future. What is she now? Who is she now? Is that person someone she can live with?
And when all is said and done, will she be able to get the people she loves, whether or not they've forgotten her, safely home?
443 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 23, 2021
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. :(
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 339 reviews
February 25, 2021
Well, on the plus side, I think I've nailed what hasn't been working for me in the later books of the series - oh, and Greg, who wouldn't love Greg?
Good stuff first; this is still a wonderfully inventive, nerdy series, one where scientists (cryptozoologists count!) save the day by nerding out more often than not, a series littered with cultural references and delightfully weird new cultural references of it's own.
But (and this might be the portion of the review only worth reading if you don't mind a bit of expository ranting)...
Calculated Risks did build on a mounting feeling that, despite this being one of my all-time favourite series, it might not be heading in the direction of more of what I loved about it. Verity and Alex both brought different things to their arcs, but the fundamentals were solid; world of fantastic and wonderous new people in all their cryptid glory - shenanigans of various sorts ensue. Antimony was never my favourite character to begin with, but when I wasn't enjoying Sarah's books as much either, I realised what was actually going on. The direction has changed, and not in a minor way. Antimony's arc is human conflict with cryptid flavour. Sarah's arc has headed in the same direction.
To start, almost the first half of the book is recap, followed by interpersonal conflict due to the events at the end of the last book . A lot of that conflict is resolved by the characters explaining to each other things the readers already know.
Next, they leave a bunch of mostly regular non-cryptids alone, facing a danger that people with deadly flying mounts are too nervous to even be in sight of. There's maybe a murmur of slightly feeling like they shouldn't before it's hand-waved off. The whole point - for me, at least - is that the Price family protects those who cannot protect themselves, and some of the people they leave behind are children.
Then there's how Artie's storyline goes, which, I genuinely cannot get into because then you'll really see what a rant is.
All in all, it's a mark of the strength of this series as a whole that this was still almost compulsively readable despite the issues I was having with it. There's plenty of reviewers who had nothing but good things to say, too - I'm not afraid to own that this is one of those times where this is mostly a personal review, rather than a judgement call about the objective quality of the book. But if you were in it for the same things I was - it might be time to do a Verity/Alex reread.
Good stuff first; this is still a wonderfully inventive, nerdy series, one where scientists (cryptozoologists count!) save the day by nerding out more often than not, a series littered with cultural references and delightfully weird new cultural references of it's own.
But (and this might be the portion of the review only worth reading if you don't mind a bit of expository ranting)...
Calculated Risks did build on a mounting feeling that, despite this being one of my all-time favourite series, it might not be heading in the direction of more of what I loved about it. Verity and Alex both brought different things to their arcs, but the fundamentals were solid; world of fantastic and wonderous new people in all their cryptid glory - shenanigans of various sorts ensue. Antimony was never my favourite character to begin with, but when I wasn't enjoying Sarah's books as much either, I realised what was actually going on. The direction has changed, and not in a minor way. Antimony's arc is human conflict with cryptid flavour. Sarah's arc has headed in the same direction.
To start, almost the first half of the book is recap, followed by interpersonal conflict due to the events at the end of the last book . A lot of that conflict is resolved by the characters explaining to each other things the readers already know.
Next, they leave a bunch of mostly regular non-cryptids alone, facing a danger that people with deadly flying mounts are too nervous to even be in sight of. There's maybe a murmur of slightly feeling like they shouldn't before it's hand-waved off. The whole point - for me, at least - is that the Price family protects those who cannot protect themselves, and some of the people they leave behind are children.
Then there's how Artie's storyline goes, which, I genuinely cannot get into because then you'll really see what a rant is.
All in all, it's a mark of the strength of this series as a whole that this was still almost compulsively readable despite the issues I was having with it. There's plenty of reviewers who had nothing but good things to say, too - I'm not afraid to own that this is one of those times where this is mostly a personal review, rather than a judgement call about the objective quality of the book. But if you were in it for the same things I was - it might be time to do a Verity/Alex reread.
September 10, 2021
Sale Alert: Kindle daily deal 10Sep21 $1.99
This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
3.5 hearts
Calculated Risks is the tenth book in the Incryptid series that follows a family of cryptozoologists (study of mythical, not so mythical creatures) on their adventures as they try to avoid the Covenant, a group of people bent on killing the cyrtid population, and help the Cryptid communities in the United States. This series, you do need to read in order to really get what is going on, and every few books it switches to a new member of the Price family. Calculated Risks is Sarah’s second book.
Sarah is a Cuckoo, a form of cryptid that is normally a little evil and killy, and tends to hijack the minds of the people in their vicinity. However, she was raised by a good Cuckoo and has all kinds of rules for herself so she doesn’t go all evil. So, when she transports her boyfriend and part of a college campus to a different dimension, erasing herself accidentally from the minds of everyone who knew her, she can’t just insert herself back into their minds. That would be bad not to mention incredibly rude.
I struggled with this story in the series a little bit because no one remembers Sarah, except for the mice and so the way Antimony and Artie treat her is difficult since they don’t remember her. The way Sarah thinks of herself sometimes, the hate she has for what she is and her longing to just be human, was hard to take. Plus, Artie was a big jerk for a really long time in the book and since they’ve been in love forever it was really hard to read since I just wanted Artie to remember Sarah. I think I got distracted by waiting for everyone to remember Sarah, so I didn’t focus in on the story.
The dimension they are in is pretty cool though. There are huge millipede looking things that float in the sky, large preying mantises and huge spiders. Some of the things are dangerous and others have been tamed, so to speak, and are even ridden by the indigenous people, who we also meet. That actually was the most interesting part of the book, meeting the people who lived on this planet.
Sarah has a big task to do if she is going to do the Math that is going to get everyone home again and it is dangerous; she might not survive. But it is worth the risk to get back to her family.
I still had a good time in this book but it definitely wasn’t as strong for me as the others of the series. The dialogue with Antimony was still great, she is funny no matter what but Sarah’s banter with Artie and her family was missing since they didn’t remember her. Still Greg, the Spider, is a great addition to the cast of characters and I enjoyed the story a lot more when he entered the picture. InCryptid is a solid UF series full of crazy creatures, magic and now dimension hopping. It is really imaginative and different if you are looking to expand your UF reading.
This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
3.5 hearts
Calculated Risks is the tenth book in the Incryptid series that follows a family of cryptozoologists (study of mythical, not so mythical creatures) on their adventures as they try to avoid the Covenant, a group of people bent on killing the cyrtid population, and help the Cryptid communities in the United States. This series, you do need to read in order to really get what is going on, and every few books it switches to a new member of the Price family. Calculated Risks is Sarah’s second book.
Sarah is a Cuckoo, a form of cryptid that is normally a little evil and killy, and tends to hijack the minds of the people in their vicinity. However, she was raised by a good Cuckoo and has all kinds of rules for herself so she doesn’t go all evil. So, when she transports her boyfriend and part of a college campus to a different dimension, erasing herself accidentally from the minds of everyone who knew her, she can’t just insert herself back into their minds. That would be bad not to mention incredibly rude.
“That’s what’s weird?” he asked. “You’re like a kitten raised by gorillas. You don’t know how to be a monkey. You don’t know how to be a cat. Your biological mother set up a situation that was supposed to end with you functionally brain-dead and being bred to a stranger who doesn’t want to be here, and you’re worried that calling someone your own age ‘niece’ would have somehow been past the horizon of weird. I don’t understand you at all.”
I struggled with this story in the series a little bit because no one remembers Sarah, except for the mice and so the way Antimony and Artie treat her is difficult since they don’t remember her. The way Sarah thinks of herself sometimes, the hate she has for what she is and her longing to just be human, was hard to take. Plus, Artie was a big jerk for a really long time in the book and since they’ve been in love forever it was really hard to read since I just wanted Artie to remember Sarah. I think I got distracted by waiting for everyone to remember Sarah, so I didn’t focus in on the story.
“I have so many knives,” said Annie. “I am the Costco of having knives. You really want to provoke me right now, cuckoo-boy?”
“I am not a good place to store your knives,” he said. “I don’t know how many times I need to tell you this, but sticking knives in living people just because they say something you don’t like is the reason no one likes you or the rest of your fucked-up family.”
The dimension they are in is pretty cool though. There are huge millipede looking things that float in the sky, large preying mantises and huge spiders. Some of the things are dangerous and others have been tamed, so to speak, and are even ridden by the indigenous people, who we also meet. That actually was the most interesting part of the book, meeting the people who lived on this planet.
Sarah has a big task to do if she is going to do the Math that is going to get everyone home again and it is dangerous; she might not survive. But it is worth the risk to get back to her family.
I still had a good time in this book but it definitely wasn’t as strong for me as the others of the series. The dialogue with Antimony was still great, she is funny no matter what but Sarah’s banter with Artie and her family was missing since they didn’t remember her. Still Greg, the Spider, is a great addition to the cast of characters and I enjoyed the story a lot more when he entered the picture. InCryptid is a solid UF series full of crazy creatures, magic and now dimension hopping. It is really imaginative and different if you are looking to expand your UF reading.
July 29, 2023
Re-Read 7/29/23:
Spider spider spider spider spider spider spider. I love my spider.
And yes, I love this not-a-zombie-apocalypse-world world. I'm having as much fun this time as I had the previous time, which validates my decision to re-read the series in a really big way. :)
Original Review:
I'm a bit funny when it comes to publication quirks. I will willy-nilly make adjustments in my head to combine certain titles and split up others and call it a day no matter what the official publishers might say.
So in this case, I'm ignoring the whole book #9, #10 publication orders and calling this ONE SINGLE BOOK. No cliffhanger, just a complete story.
So what does this mean for the enjoyment of both, either? Nada. I love the whole thing. Period.
In fact, I've been chortling with glee with a bunch of spoilerish scenes that are totally related to enormous muppets that would have made John Carter of Barsoom scream.
Plus, I had to calm myself down with all the multiverse huge consciousness-eating sentient math stuff or I would have blown my SF-loving mind.
And this is supposedly a UF. It has all the earmarks, the so cute relationship stuff that is neither overblown nor overdone. I mean, how awesome is it that we have so much puppy-love between two species that are naturally immune to each other's 'love me forever' charms, whether it is powerful incubus pheromones or Cuckoo telepathy? And let me be honest here. I bawled.
Seanan is rather goddess-like. Anyone else trying to pull this off probably would have fallen face-first in bugmud, but not her. All these elements are not only perfect together, but we also have to deal with the aftermath of being erased from people's memories, zombified telepaths, and enormous flying mantises with Barsoomian warriors riding them. You know, details. And a local NY college.
I'm LOVING this series now. I can't believe it, but it has gotten even better than October Daye for me. :)
Spider spider spider spider spider spider spider. I love my spider.
And yes, I love this not-a-zombie-apocalypse-world world. I'm having as much fun this time as I had the previous time, which validates my decision to re-read the series in a really big way. :)
Original Review:
I'm a bit funny when it comes to publication quirks. I will willy-nilly make adjustments in my head to combine certain titles and split up others and call it a day no matter what the official publishers might say.
So in this case, I'm ignoring the whole book #9, #10 publication orders and calling this ONE SINGLE BOOK. No cliffhanger, just a complete story.
So what does this mean for the enjoyment of both, either? Nada. I love the whole thing. Period.
In fact, I've been chortling with glee with a bunch of spoilerish scenes that are totally related to enormous muppets that would have made John Carter of Barsoom scream.
Plus, I had to calm myself down with all the multiverse huge consciousness-eating sentient math stuff or I would have blown my SF-loving mind.
And this is supposedly a UF. It has all the earmarks, the so cute relationship stuff that is neither overblown nor overdone. I mean, how awesome is it that we have so much puppy-love between two species that are naturally immune to each other's 'love me forever' charms, whether it is powerful incubus pheromones or Cuckoo telepathy? And let me be honest here. I bawled.
Seanan is rather goddess-like. Anyone else trying to pull this off probably would have fallen face-first in bugmud, but not her. All these elements are not only perfect together, but we also have to deal with the aftermath of being erased from people's memories, zombified telepaths, and enormous flying mantises with Barsoomian warriors riding them. You know, details. And a local NY college.
I'm LOVING this series now. I can't believe it, but it has gotten even better than October Daye for me. :)
March 3, 2021
Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I love pretty much everything Seanan McGuire writes. Seriously, she's one of my favorite authors and she's highly prolific at releasing content. She writes at least one installment in each of her three main series (Incryptid, October Date, Wayward Children) every year, along with short stories and novellas every month, comic books, and usually at least one other novel a year. So there's the caveat - I'm a fanboy, so you'll probably see me raving over the books even when they have flaws. :)
This one picks up like half an hour after the last one ended, give or take. And boy is this one a doozy - they've ended up in an unexpected place and in a very unexpected situation. Yikes, the situation is bad. Annie, Artie, James, Sarah, and Mark have to navigate the new territory while also navigating each other, which adds some fun to the mix. But as someone who has high levels of empathy, it was also hard to read because I kept feeling so bad for Sarah! Trying not to spoil anything here.
So basically, this book involves all the usual fun of Incryptid - witty banter, great characters, weird situations... but for the first time we've got zombies (okay, sorry Annie, "husks"), giant bugs (sorry if you're afraid of spiders... Calculated Risks might exacerbate that greatly), and multiple-mooned-orange-colored skies.
Basically, it was a lot of fun, with a minor annoyance of the repetitive discussions on good and bad cuckoos.
This series is HIGHLY recommended - but please start at the beginning.
I love pretty much everything Seanan McGuire writes. Seriously, she's one of my favorite authors and she's highly prolific at releasing content. She writes at least one installment in each of her three main series (Incryptid, October Date, Wayward Children) every year, along with short stories and novellas every month, comic books, and usually at least one other novel a year. So there's the caveat - I'm a fanboy, so you'll probably see me raving over the books even when they have flaws. :)
This one picks up like half an hour after the last one ended, give or take. And boy is this one a doozy - they've ended up in an unexpected place and in a very unexpected situation. Yikes, the situation is bad. Annie, Artie, James, Sarah, and Mark have to navigate the new territory while also navigating each other, which adds some fun to the mix. But as someone who has high levels of empathy, it was also hard to read because I kept feeling so bad for Sarah! Trying not to spoil anything here.
So basically, this book involves all the usual fun of Incryptid - witty banter, great characters, weird situations... but for the first time we've got zombies (okay, sorry Annie, "husks"), giant bugs (sorry if you're afraid of spiders... Calculated Risks might exacerbate that greatly), and multiple-mooned-orange-colored skies.
Basically, it was a lot of fun, with a minor annoyance of the repetitive discussions on good and bad cuckoos.
This series is HIGHLY recommended - but please start at the beginning.
July 31, 2023
This is the second book from Sarah's POV. Sarah, is the insectoid cousin of the Price "children".
Sarah just defeated that equation that could/would have ended our reality. However, in doing so, she transported herself, Annie, Artie, James and Mark as well as an entire campus to another dimension. Ooops. *lol*
She also wiped her family's memory wherever she was in them. Double-ooops.
Not to worry though. What else are the Aeslin Mice for if not to come and save the day?! ;)
However, them believing that Sarah belongs to the family isn't the only hurdle as there are giant insects and alien species living in this parallel dimension and the group needs to find a way home. Preferrably before Sarah develops a new power she cannot control this time because she is a queen now and her powers are ... a bit temperamentful.
Much like with the previous novel, I didn't connect too much with the POV. I like Sarah, don't get me wrong, but not as the main star. Sorry. Add to that the fact that the whole mathematical approach doesn't work for me.
Yeah, the parallel dimension was kinda cool and will definitely be important for what is to come, aka finding grandpa Thomas, but it took too long and was generally repetitive when it came to people not trusting Sarah due to the mind-manipulation and memory loss and feeling the need to discuss this in detail. Too brainy. I guess I prefer the hands-on approach.
Nevertheless it was really nice seeing another world and the creatures living there. The exploration part, as small as it was, was actually enjoyable.
There were also some really nice because hilarious moments. Sure, they were usually thanks to the Aeslin Mice and hilarious comments from other family members, but it still counts. Moreover, Sarah and Artie are cute together.
So yeah, I'm kinda relieved we'll switch POV again now. Especially since I know whose POV we'll get next (I have high expectations for Alice).
Sarah just defeated that equation that could/would have ended our reality. However, in doing so, she transported herself, Annie, Artie, James and Mark as well as an entire campus to another dimension. Ooops. *lol*
She also wiped her family's memory wherever she was in them. Double-ooops.
Not to worry though. What else are the Aeslin Mice for if not to come and save the day?! ;)
However, them believing that Sarah belongs to the family isn't the only hurdle as there are giant insects and alien species living in this parallel dimension and the group needs to find a way home. Preferrably before Sarah develops a new power she cannot control this time because she is a queen now and her powers are ... a bit temperamentful.
Much like with the previous novel, I didn't connect too much with the POV. I like Sarah, don't get me wrong, but not as the main star. Sorry. Add to that the fact that the whole mathematical approach doesn't work for me.
Yeah, the parallel dimension was kinda cool and will definitely be important for what is to come, aka finding grandpa Thomas, but it took too long and was generally repetitive when it came to people not trusting Sarah due to the mind-manipulation and memory loss and feeling the need to discuss this in detail. Too brainy. I guess I prefer the hands-on approach.
Nevertheless it was really nice seeing another world and the creatures living there. The exploration part, as small as it was, was actually enjoyable.
There were also some really nice because hilarious moments. Sure, they were usually thanks to the Aeslin Mice and hilarious comments from other family members, but it still counts. Moreover, Sarah and Artie are cute together.
So yeah, I'm kinda relieved we'll switch POV again now. Especially since I know whose POV we'll get next (I have high expectations for Alice).
March 1, 2021
One of the things that I appreciate about Seanan McGuire is her obvious interest in science. In this book, the main character, Sarah, is an imaginary species known as a cuckoo or Jorhlac. Evolved into a humanoid form from a large, parasitic wasp species, it makes perfect sense that her developmental stages would be known as instars, like other arthropods, and that a queen would be the leader in colonizing a new hive location, just like bees and ants. I had to dredge way back in my memory of invertebrate zoology courses taken in my dim, dark past, but these details nudged me into remembering those lessons. (I remember noticing these same kinds of details in Into the Drowning Deep, under her Mira Grant aegis.)
This is the strangest book in the Incryptid series, as it actually is set in another dimension, not on Earth at all. As a result, it will probably never be my favourite in the series. Sarah isn't my preferred main character either. And I should warn you that if you suffer from arachnophobia, this may not be a novel for you.
I'm still glad that I've added this book to my permanent collection. At this point, one year into the covid-19 pandemic, I know without a doubt that I've become a cranky reader, easily annoyed and difficult to engage. One day, in a healthy future, I hope to re-read this novel and feel more enthusiasm.
Cross posted at my blog:
https://wanda-thenextfifty.blogspot.c...
This is the strangest book in the Incryptid series, as it actually is set in another dimension, not on Earth at all. As a result, it will probably never be my favourite in the series. Sarah isn't my preferred main character either. And I should warn you that if you suffer from arachnophobia, this may not be a novel for you.
I'm still glad that I've added this book to my permanent collection. At this point, one year into the covid-19 pandemic, I know without a doubt that I've become a cranky reader, easily annoyed and difficult to engage. One day, in a healthy future, I hope to re-read this novel and feel more enthusiasm.
Cross posted at my blog:
https://wanda-thenextfifty.blogspot.c...
March 5, 2021
This tenth novel in the InCryptid series is the second half of the story, picking up with the cliff-hanger that concluded volume nine, Imaginary Numbers. Sarah and her friends are stranded in an alien dimension of giant spiders and other interesting denizens, along with an army of cuckoo zombies and a hunk of an Iowa university. Once again, the only hope of salvation lies with precise mathematics. The dialog is snappy and clever (as McGuire always is), and the resolution nicely plotted and presented. I thought the story in the alien world drug on just a bit too long, and the ending was rather abrupt; I would have enjoyed a bit of a look of what happened when they returned, but I suppose I can wait another year... (I believe it would be necessary to have read at least the preceding volume in the series to get anything out of this one.) There's a second story included in the volume, as has become her custom. It's set at a comics convention, and has Sarah, Artie, and the two Price sisters looking for cryptids 'mongst the cos-players, before the events of the first book. I really enjoyed it more than the main attraction.
March 2, 2021
actual rating: 2.5
This might be the first Seanan McGuire book I've ever given less than 3 stars to and I think I've read every full and novella length book she's written [I still can't comprehend the hundreds and hundreds of short stories she's written lol]. There was just not enough going on here to keep my attention. Sarah and Antimony have never really been my favorites, despite me having much more in common with them than with Verity I just find Verity's stories much more interesting, so that's already a mark against it going on but I felt like absolutely nothing happened the entire book.
I think it's about 140,000 words long and literally the entire time is just spent wandering around the alternate universe they got sent to at the end of the last book before they finally get home in I think the second to last chapter. If they were actually doing something interesting in the other world it would be one thing but it was really just a lot of 'oh no they don't remember me angst angst angst' with the same point repeated over and over again until I was more annoyed than sympathetic.
Hopefully the next book has something more interesting going since there was actually something really interesting revealed about the Price- Healy family tree in this book, but this was a definite low point in the series.
This might be the first Seanan McGuire book I've ever given less than 3 stars to and I think I've read every full and novella length book she's written [I still can't comprehend the hundreds and hundreds of short stories she's written lol]. There was just not enough going on here to keep my attention. Sarah and Antimony have never really been my favorites, despite me having much more in common with them than with Verity I just find Verity's stories much more interesting, so that's already a mark against it going on but I felt like absolutely nothing happened the entire book.
I think it's about 140,000 words long and literally the entire time is just spent wandering around the alternate universe they got sent to at the end of the last book before they finally get home in I think the second to last chapter. If they were actually doing something interesting in the other world it would be one thing but it was really just a lot of 'oh no they don't remember me angst angst angst' with the same point repeated over and over again until I was more annoyed than sympathetic.
Hopefully the next book has something more interesting going since there was actually something really interesting revealed about the Price- Healy family tree in this book, but this was a definite low point in the series.
January 11, 2022
Somedays you look at your bookshelf and realize you forgot to record a book you read. Yay? I know I started and finished this book in 2022, but not certain when. Because this is the second book in the Sarah Zellaby series (and 10th in the InCryptid series). And I finished Sarah's first book on January 1 2022. I know I probably started this immediately after Imaginary Numbers, so Jan 1; and I have an update for Grounded on Jan 6 indicating I had read a tiny bit more of it, so I probably finished this book on the 6th.
Being the tenth book in a fantasy series, and the second one with this specific point of view character in the lead role, makes this review hard to write. I did an info dump in the prior book review. Basically everything I can think of to write would be spoilery.
Fun book. Enjoyable. Can't wait to read grandma's book.
Rating: 4.6
January 10 2022
Being the tenth book in a fantasy series, and the second one with this specific point of view character in the lead role, makes this review hard to write. I did an info dump in the prior book review. Basically everything I can think of to write would be spoilery.
Fun book. Enjoyable. Can't wait to read grandma's book.
Rating: 4.6
January 10 2022
March 29, 2021
I was so excited to get back to Sarah’s story after the cliffhanger ending of Imaginary Numbers. Emily Bauer narrates the series except for Pocket Apocalypse, which features Alexander Price’s point of view. Emily does a fantastic job of giving voice to these characters and setting the tone. Listening is pure joy.
Sarah Zellaby, adopted cousin of the Price family and resident Cuckoo, was kidnapped by her birth family, and underwent a transformation called an instar, all so the cuckoo’s could travel to another dimension. Sarah did her best to stop them, but was transported to the new dimension along with Annie, Archie, and others. Only none of them know who she is. Can Sarah get them to trust her and get them back home?
I am not a fan of math, but can appreciate the awe of it and the calculations Sarah performs. While it was exciting to see some Price family and friends with her, it was so hard realizing what happened, particularly with Artie. He was mean to her and Sarah struggles with the emotional loss. I spent time worrying on how McGuire was going to fix this. Can she fix this? She had better fix this. *stomps foot*
Eep! Only McGuire could make me warm and fuzzy about a spider. That’s all I am saying. We learn so much about Sarah and her species. It was intense with giant bugs and ah, err, zombies? Well, sort of. You’ll see. We meet the indigenous people of this dimension, which proved very interesting.
We learn more about Grandma Alice. McGuire loves to tease us with tidbits. While groups of books focus on one of character, I highly recommend you listen/read this series in the order of their release. This story contains major spoilers and history. It has it all danger, romance, intense battle scenes and more.
This story is brilliant, well the entire series is brilliant. I adore the Aeslin Mice; keepers of the records of the Price family. I loved what McGuire did with This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
Sarah Zellaby, adopted cousin of the Price family and resident Cuckoo, was kidnapped by her birth family, and underwent a transformation called an instar, all so the cuckoo’s could travel to another dimension. Sarah did her best to stop them, but was transported to the new dimension along with Annie, Archie, and others. Only none of them know who she is. Can Sarah get them to trust her and get them back home?
I am not a fan of math, but can appreciate the awe of it and the calculations Sarah performs. While it was exciting to see some Price family and friends with her, it was so hard realizing what happened, particularly with Artie. He was mean to her and Sarah struggles with the emotional loss. I spent time worrying on how McGuire was going to fix this. Can she fix this? She had better fix this. *stomps foot*
Eep! Only McGuire could make me warm and fuzzy about a spider. That’s all I am saying. We learn so much about Sarah and her species. It was intense with giant bugs and ah, err, zombies? Well, sort of. You’ll see. We meet the indigenous people of this dimension, which proved very interesting.
We learn more about Grandma Alice. McGuire loves to tease us with tidbits. While groups of books focus on one of character, I highly recommend you listen/read this series in the order of their release. This story contains major spoilers and history. It has it all danger, romance, intense battle scenes and more.
This story is brilliant, well the entire series is brilliant. I adore the Aeslin Mice; keepers of the records of the Price family. I loved what McGuire did with This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
December 22, 2020
ARC provided by Netgalley/ Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review
It's no secret that I'm a huge Seanan McGuire fan. I've pretty much read her entire back catalogue at this point (including everything she's written as Mira Grant). The InCryptid series took longer for me to warm up to than the October Daye series, which grabbed me from the get-go, but I have to admit that it's kind of overtaken Toby in my esteem by a gnat's whisker.
The concept is brilliant: a family of monster-hunters turned Crytozoological conservationists tries to preserve the balance between the supernatural and the mundane, whilst avoiding the attentions of their arch enemies, the Covenant of St George. What this means is that there is no set main characters
for the entire series - at some point everyone gets a book or two. Personally, I love the structure of this series. You get to see characters from their own perspective and multiple other perspectives in later books. It also makes each little character arc self contained so while it's more rewarding to read the series in order, you could conceivably read a couple of Verity's books, or a couple of Antimony's without having to go through the entire series to get there.
Imaginary Numbers - the first InCryptid story featuring Sarah Zellaby, a human form telepathic 'cuckoo' or wasp like creature - ended on a gut wrenching cliff hanger. Calculated Risks picks up exactly where that book left off and is largely concerned with solving the huge problem now facing Sarah, Artie, Antimony, Mark and James. I don't want to give spoilers but I was genuinely feeling choked up at a couple of points and there was a heart stopping moment towards the end. Also, look out for Greg - 'You dropped something' Heh, classic.
I'm already invested in the Price- Healy family as a whole so of course I loved this book. I love this huge sprawling family which is made of blood ties and friend ties, psychic ties and non-human ties. It is the ultimate found family series and everyone gets their own adventures. Also shout out to Rose Marshall who has been dead since 1952 but is still a favourite aunt (check out the Ghost Road books if you haven't already). This was exactly what I wanted in a new instalment in this series. I hope more episodes are forthcoming. I'm not nearly done yet.
It's no secret that I'm a huge Seanan McGuire fan. I've pretty much read her entire back catalogue at this point (including everything she's written as Mira Grant). The InCryptid series took longer for me to warm up to than the October Daye series, which grabbed me from the get-go, but I have to admit that it's kind of overtaken Toby in my esteem by a gnat's whisker.
The concept is brilliant: a family of monster-hunters turned Crytozoological conservationists tries to preserve the balance between the supernatural and the mundane, whilst avoiding the attentions of their arch enemies, the Covenant of St George. What this means is that there is no set main characters
for the entire series - at some point everyone gets a book or two. Personally, I love the structure of this series. You get to see characters from their own perspective and multiple other perspectives in later books. It also makes each little character arc self contained so while it's more rewarding to read the series in order, you could conceivably read a couple of Verity's books, or a couple of Antimony's without having to go through the entire series to get there.
Imaginary Numbers - the first InCryptid story featuring Sarah Zellaby, a human form telepathic 'cuckoo' or wasp like creature - ended on a gut wrenching cliff hanger. Calculated Risks picks up exactly where that book left off and is largely concerned with solving the huge problem now facing Sarah, Artie, Antimony, Mark and James. I don't want to give spoilers but I was genuinely feeling choked up at a couple of points and there was a heart stopping moment towards the end. Also, look out for Greg - 'You dropped something' Heh, classic.
I'm already invested in the Price- Healy family as a whole so of course I loved this book. I love this huge sprawling family which is made of blood ties and friend ties, psychic ties and non-human ties. It is the ultimate found family series and everyone gets their own adventures. Also shout out to Rose Marshall who has been dead since 1952 but is still a favourite aunt (check out the Ghost Road books if you haven't already). This was exactly what I wanted in a new instalment in this series. I hope more episodes are forthcoming. I'm not nearly done yet.
July 10, 2020
Can't wait! I don't usually go for cliffhangers, but the last book ended on the perfect note. Sara's story is one of the best from this series.
February 27, 2021
Disappointing, really. It still had a lot of what I like about the Incryptid series - McGuire has always had good prose, and if there's anything I'm weak for in fiction it's wacky biology, but there were several things that really sunk it for me.
Usually I consider McGuire pretty good at the sleight of hand that keeps the reader from noticing the author's contrivances to keep the plot moving. In this book, that sleight of hand failed badly, and failed in ways that ultimately led to me trying to decide whether I should dislike the characters or the author for the choices made.
Usually I consider McGuire pretty good at the sleight of hand that keeps the reader from noticing the author's contrivances to keep the plot moving. In this book, that sleight of hand failed badly, and failed in ways that ultimately led to me trying to decide whether I should dislike the characters or the author for the choices made.
January 2, 2021
Of the entire incryptid series this was my least favorite. There were long stretches of talk where nothing was happening but the characters having a conversation. Also Sarah's constant whining about wanting a bra drove me nuts. I have never met a woman who couldnt wait to get that thing off. My favorite part about the book was Greg.
February 23, 2021
2.5 stars
In this series, the books are always hit or miss, and this one missed the mark. Imaginary Numbers was interesting, and this picks up right where it left off. Everyone was thrown into a new dimension. To keep everyone alive, Sarah had to destroy memories of those around her. Now Antimony and Artie don't know who Sarah is, and they think she's the enemy.
Much of the book felt aimless. Ultimately the goal was to get everyone back to their dimension safely. Before they could work on that issue, Sarah had to work on gaining everyone's trust. It was boring. Obviously I knew Sarah was trustworthy and knew all about their relationships, so rehashing all of it didn't interest me. It took up a good part of the book.
The world they were in was weird. It was cool that it had more magic. The large, flying bugs grossed me out. I couldn't think about it too much because bugs will literally give me nightmares. They did learn some useful info there. It seems like everything in this series is slowly leading up to Alice being able to find Thomas. The way this ended I can't tell who will be the next main character.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this in exchange for an honest review!
In this series, the books are always hit or miss, and this one missed the mark. Imaginary Numbers was interesting, and this picks up right where it left off. Everyone was thrown into a new dimension. To keep everyone alive, Sarah had to destroy memories of those around her. Now Antimony and Artie don't know who Sarah is, and they think she's the enemy.
Much of the book felt aimless. Ultimately the goal was to get everyone back to their dimension safely. Before they could work on that issue, Sarah had to work on gaining everyone's trust. It was boring. Obviously I knew Sarah was trustworthy and knew all about their relationships, so rehashing all of it didn't interest me. It took up a good part of the book.
The world they were in was weird. It was cool that it had more magic. The large, flying bugs grossed me out. I couldn't think about it too much because bugs will literally give me nightmares. They did learn some useful info there. It seems like everything in this series is slowly leading up to Alice being able to find Thomas. The way this ended I can't tell who will be the next main character.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this in exchange for an honest review!
March 29, 2021
Why do I keep holding out hope for this series? Probably cause the first few books were excellent, and there are cool elements even in the later ones, they're just overshadowed by a lot of nonsense. At this point it feels so contrived. The weird preachiness, the moral hypocrisy, the author's exacerbating obsession with trying to seem woke. The lost-memory plot is tailor-made to add unnecessary angst and drama. The whole book was fairly grim and didn't go much of anywhere.
Don't even get me started on what happened to Artie, that was not the solution it was made out to be. There is no way you could rebuild a person's mind base on outside observations.
Don't even get me started on what happened to Artie, that was not the solution it was made out to be. There is no way you could rebuild a person's mind base on outside observations.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2024
3.5 stars
May 11, 2021
I don't think this was quite as good as some of the other entries in the series. It definitely feels like it's the second half of Sarah's story rather than being more of a self-contained book. It took me longer than usual to read it. I think my main struggle was this stressful plot where Annie and Artie don't remember Sarah and are debating on whether or not she's trustworthy. It also just generally seemed to take longer to really get going.
I did like this setting of the new dimension! It's certainly not something we've seen before, and I'm excited to see how this could play into future installments. This place is populated by giant insects, and I'm impressed that Seanan McGuire made me actually like a giant spider (Greg, you are wonderful).
I continue to like Sarah and how she's obsessed with math. The equations she deals with are almost sentient which is an intriguing idea. Again, I did get irritated with Annie and Artie not trusting her, though it is understandably a tough situation to be in. Sarah is dealing with feeling very alone and figuring out her abilities. She doesn't want to invade minds without consent, unlike the rest of her species. I liked learning more tidbits about the Price family - these seem like they could be important!
We also have a short short about hunting a siren at a convention. I really liked this setting and getting to see multiple Price family members together. It is a lot of Annie being irritated with Verity, and it does end somewhat abruptly. I did enjoy it overall though!
Even though this wasn't my favorite installment, I'll be eagerly awaiting the next book.
I did like this setting of the new dimension! It's certainly not something we've seen before, and I'm excited to see how this could play into future installments. This place is populated by giant insects, and I'm impressed that Seanan McGuire made me actually like a giant spider (Greg, you are wonderful).
I continue to like Sarah and how she's obsessed with math. The equations she deals with are almost sentient which is an intriguing idea. Again, I did get irritated with Annie and Artie not trusting her, though it is understandably a tough situation to be in. Sarah is dealing with feeling very alone and figuring out her abilities. She doesn't want to invade minds without consent, unlike the rest of her species. I liked learning more tidbits about the Price family - these seem like they could be important!
We also have a short short about hunting a siren at a convention. I really liked this setting and getting to see multiple Price family members together. It is a lot of Annie being irritated with Verity, and it does end somewhat abruptly. I did enjoy it overall though!
Even though this wasn't my favorite installment, I'll be eagerly awaiting the next book.
February 11, 2021
This is the tenth book in the InCryptid series. Calculated Risks by Seanan McGuire starts directly after the events in Imaginary Numbers, thankfully! Because OMG, what a cliffhanger!
In an attempt to not destroy Earth while using a living math equation, Sarah transported herself, Antimony, James, Artie, and Mark, their only ally among the Johrlac, along with a chunk of university and students to another planet. A big enough problem since she doesn't know how to get them all back home. Even worse, her family doesn't remember who she is.
Sarah thought that using the equation would kill her so she made it erase her from all of their memories. Especially heartbreaking since she still loves Artie and now she's a hated Johrlac, to be distrusted, even feared.
Since Calculated Risks is closely tied to Imaginary Numbers, it's not a good entry point into the series. But for longtime readers, it should be incredibly satisfying to learn more about the Johrlac and their powers. And, of course, get more time with Sarah who's been an intriguing secondary character in several previous books.
Since the group is on another planet, we get the science fiction trope of how to survive on an alien planet, especially one with giant jumping spiders. Apparently, having a university bookstore to get supplies from is super helpful. Lots of Price-Healy survival skills on display.
While there's plenty of action because aliens! Zombies! Giant jumping spiders! There's also a lot of internal dialogue and a fair amount of exposition. All of it written with Seanan's usual wit and ability to capture emotions. One of her greatest gifts as a writer is creating characters that readers are emotionally invested in.
There's a bonus novella about Annie's first hunt as the lead. She, Sarah, Artie, and Verity hunt a killer siren at a con.
In an attempt to not destroy Earth while using a living math equation, Sarah transported herself, Antimony, James, Artie, and Mark, their only ally among the Johrlac, along with a chunk of university and students to another planet. A big enough problem since she doesn't know how to get them all back home. Even worse, her family doesn't remember who she is.
Sarah thought that using the equation would kill her so she made it erase her from all of their memories. Especially heartbreaking since she still loves Artie and now she's a hated Johrlac, to be distrusted, even feared.
Since Calculated Risks is closely tied to Imaginary Numbers, it's not a good entry point into the series. But for longtime readers, it should be incredibly satisfying to learn more about the Johrlac and their powers. And, of course, get more time with Sarah who's been an intriguing secondary character in several previous books.
Since the group is on another planet, we get the science fiction trope of how to survive on an alien planet, especially one with giant jumping spiders. Apparently, having a university bookstore to get supplies from is super helpful. Lots of Price-Healy survival skills on display.
While there's plenty of action because aliens! Zombies! Giant jumping spiders! There's also a lot of internal dialogue and a fair amount of exposition. All of it written with Seanan's usual wit and ability to capture emotions. One of her greatest gifts as a writer is creating characters that readers are emotionally invested in.
There's a bonus novella about Annie's first hunt as the lead. She, Sarah, Artie, and Verity hunt a killer siren at a con.
February 25, 2021
I really like this series, the mice being favorites of mine, but this book was tough for me to get through. Not sure why, I like what Sarah is going through, but maybe it was being in a different dimension and no one knew Sarah, she had to prove to them she was family, the mice being the tipping point when they started to recite their stories. The other world was odd and despite finding allies to help them, you also were sure about them. I was glad when Sarah came through at the end with the math and how she fixed the most important person in her life. It will be interesting going forward to see what happens to all those they brought home with them.
May 6, 2021
Won't go into it too much, I love McGuire's books but this was shockingly preachy in situations that made the preaching out of place in the story and full of story convenience. Very disappointing in a usually good author.
February 22, 2021
I received a copy of Calculated Risks in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Calculated Risks is the tenth and most recent novel in Seanan McGuire's InCryptid series. Sarah's story continues here, in an otherworldly experience that only a Cuckoo could make a reality. This novel makes me so grateful for getting caught up on the series, for it really has been such a blast.
Sarah Zellaby is a Cuckoo by birth, and a Price by adoption. When she was forced to choose between the two, she forged her own path forward. One that she hoped would save her family, and the world.
Unfortunately, her choice got her trapped in another dimension. Yes, literally. And she's not alone. This is actually a good thing in this case, as she wouldn't stand very good odds at finding her way home otherwise.
The problem is, the family that is with her doesn't remember her. Their memories of her have been wiped from their minds, and that's going to make trusting her, a Cukoo so much more difficult.
“My name is Sarah Zellaby. I'm an adopted member of the Price family, a mathematician, a cryptozoologist, and a Priestess of the Aeslin mice. I am not human.”
Wow. Calculated Risks is arguably the most intense read of the entire series, with Sarah feeling on the out more often than not. She's learning about herself, her heritage, and her adopted family, all in one go. Oh right, and the other dimension they've accidentally traveled to.
This book answers just about every question I had about Cuckoos – and about a million that I never would have thought to ask. For that reason alone, it's an absolutely fascinating read, and one I would recommend to any fans of this series.
It's also pretty different from the rest of the InCryptid series so far, which I sort of expected. Being that it's set in another dimension and all. But it's not just that, even the characters are different than I expected, something that will make sense as one reads the book.
“Being a telepath in a non-telepathic society is a great way to learn how much you don't like people or ever want to be around them if you have any choice in the matter, FYI. I don't recommend it.”
There were a couple of new characters introduced in this plot arc that I really grew to appreciate. I hope that we'll see more of them, even if Sarah isn't the leading perspective for the next novel (I have no idea yet, so only time will tell!).
Honestly, Sarah's plot arc did go so much farther than I expected, both in the literal sense, and in a more figurative sense. I feel like her story has really come full circle, and been completed in a way that many of the others haven't been. Not that I would complain if we got another book or two revolving around her.
“Sorcery is just physics gone feral. We're psionic. It's not the same thing.”
Was Calculated Risks worth the read? A hundred times yes. But there is a downside, at least for me. I just spent the last week and a half binging (and loving) this series. So...what do I do now? I feel like there's something missing now. At least I have all of the short stories to read, that'll help.
Singing The Comic-Con Blues
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Singing The Comic-Con Blues is included at the end of Calculated Risks, the most recent InCryptid novel by Seanan McGuire. As you might guess from the title, this is a fun and light story, especially in comparison to everything that Sarah just went through.
This short features (as you can probably guess) Annie, Sarah, and Artie, and is set nine years before the events that take place in another dimension. It makes an excellent contrast, and really gets us back into the fun and quirky parts of the Price life. It also makes me want to go and read the rest of the short stories, in hopes of getting more moments like these.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Calculated Risks is the tenth and most recent novel in Seanan McGuire's InCryptid series. Sarah's story continues here, in an otherworldly experience that only a Cuckoo could make a reality. This novel makes me so grateful for getting caught up on the series, for it really has been such a blast.
Sarah Zellaby is a Cuckoo by birth, and a Price by adoption. When she was forced to choose between the two, she forged her own path forward. One that she hoped would save her family, and the world.
Unfortunately, her choice got her trapped in another dimension. Yes, literally. And she's not alone. This is actually a good thing in this case, as she wouldn't stand very good odds at finding her way home otherwise.
The problem is, the family that is with her doesn't remember her. Their memories of her have been wiped from their minds, and that's going to make trusting her, a Cukoo so much more difficult.
“My name is Sarah Zellaby. I'm an adopted member of the Price family, a mathematician, a cryptozoologist, and a Priestess of the Aeslin mice. I am not human.”
Wow. Calculated Risks is arguably the most intense read of the entire series, with Sarah feeling on the out more often than not. She's learning about herself, her heritage, and her adopted family, all in one go. Oh right, and the other dimension they've accidentally traveled to.
This book answers just about every question I had about Cuckoos – and about a million that I never would have thought to ask. For that reason alone, it's an absolutely fascinating read, and one I would recommend to any fans of this series.
It's also pretty different from the rest of the InCryptid series so far, which I sort of expected. Being that it's set in another dimension and all. But it's not just that, even the characters are different than I expected, something that will make sense as one reads the book.
“Being a telepath in a non-telepathic society is a great way to learn how much you don't like people or ever want to be around them if you have any choice in the matter, FYI. I don't recommend it.”
There were a couple of new characters introduced in this plot arc that I really grew to appreciate. I hope that we'll see more of them, even if Sarah isn't the leading perspective for the next novel (I have no idea yet, so only time will tell!).
Honestly, Sarah's plot arc did go so much farther than I expected, both in the literal sense, and in a more figurative sense. I feel like her story has really come full circle, and been completed in a way that many of the others haven't been. Not that I would complain if we got another book or two revolving around her.
“Sorcery is just physics gone feral. We're psionic. It's not the same thing.”
Was Calculated Risks worth the read? A hundred times yes. But there is a downside, at least for me. I just spent the last week and a half binging (and loving) this series. So...what do I do now? I feel like there's something missing now. At least I have all of the short stories to read, that'll help.
Singing The Comic-Con Blues
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Singing The Comic-Con Blues is included at the end of Calculated Risks, the most recent InCryptid novel by Seanan McGuire. As you might guess from the title, this is a fun and light story, especially in comparison to everything that Sarah just went through.
This short features (as you can probably guess) Annie, Sarah, and Artie, and is set nine years before the events that take place in another dimension. It makes an excellent contrast, and really gets us back into the fun and quirky parts of the Price life. It also makes me want to go and read the rest of the short stories, in hopes of getting more moments like these.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
October 12, 2021
4ish stars This was a good book and a fun novella at the end. The novella is a comic convention, loved all the nerdiness. After the ending of the last book I was glad I had waited to read it. However I didn't love where this one ended either. I wanted a little more after of the story of what happens after.
Humans like things to make sense. It's a failing of the species and part of why they're so bad at overall risk assessment. And I, lucky me, may not be human, but I was raised by humans, and that means a lot of their thought patterns encoded themselves into me. I want the world to be as logical and rational as a well-honed equation. It's never going to give in to my desires, but that doesn't make them go away.
This one is told completely from Sarah's POV which was alright but getting some other perspectives would have been fun also. I did love how much Annie there was in the book though! Due to what happened at the end of the last book, a lot of this one is on the heartbreaking side to read. While understandable, it isn't fun to see these painful character interactions.
I loved all the learning about the Cuckoos and how they work. We learnt so much more in this one and I think I understand them and their love of math more now. I also thought the setting was neat, being in another dimension and all that. Greg is fantastic, a giant emotional support spider is definitely a new thing.
The family you choose matters more than the one you are born into and that is always so obvious when it comes to Sarah's books. While it wasn't my favourite place to be I did enjoy being in her head and I am glad she had such a unique story to be told. Cannot wait to get Alice's story.
Humans like things to make sense. It's a failing of the species and part of why they're so bad at overall risk assessment. And I, lucky me, may not be human, but I was raised by humans, and that means a lot of their thought patterns encoded themselves into me. I want the world to be as logical and rational as a well-honed equation. It's never going to give in to my desires, but that doesn't make them go away.
This one is told completely from Sarah's POV which was alright but getting some other perspectives would have been fun also. I did love how much Annie there was in the book though! Due to what happened at the end of the last book, a lot of this one is on the heartbreaking side to read. While understandable, it isn't fun to see these painful character interactions.
I loved all the learning about the Cuckoos and how they work. We learnt so much more in this one and I think I understand them and their love of math more now. I also thought the setting was neat, being in another dimension and all that. Greg is fantastic, a giant emotional support spider is definitely a new thing.
The family you choose matters more than the one you are born into and that is always so obvious when it comes to Sarah's books. While it wasn't my favourite place to be I did enjoy being in her head and I am glad she had such a unique story to be told. Cannot wait to get Alice's story.
January 19, 2021
Electronic ARC provided by NetGalley.
"Calculated Risks" is the second InCryptid novel featuring Sarah Zellaby as the narrator, and it picks up directly after the rather terrifying cliffhanger in "Imaginary Numbers." The story follows Sarah, Artie, Antimony, James, and Mark as they figure out what has happened to them and what to do next. Since this is a Sarah book there is a lot of talk about math. There is also a lot of discussion of consent, since Sarah is a member of a telepathic species who find it almost too easy to interfere with the minds of those around them. In this case, the interference has led to Sarah unintentionally erasing herself from the minds of Annie and Artie, two of her favorite people in the universe. Now she's stuck in another dimension with family members who no longer trust her, and feral cuckoos who could be hiding anywhere.
While the InCryptid series started off feeling sort of close to reality (Verity's first outing was in New York, so, a bit familiar at least. Even with the dragons.), the series has now reached time travel, other dimensions with alien life, and super powered telepaths. The great thing about a Seanan McGuire series is that she plans her series so carefully and paces them so well that you barely even notice how far over the edge you've gone until you look back at the very beginning of the story.
I loved Sarah as a narrator. She's having a tough time in this book, for a number of reasons, and it's great seeing her forced to actually confront her limits and figure out where she draws the lines on her powers. Her relationship with Artie is particularly heart wrenching here, though I do trust Seanan to not put her characters through emotional hell without payoff. It'll be interesting to see where Sarah goes after this, and how she deals with her new powers back in Portland. I've heard that in the next book we're finally getting Alice's perspective, and I seriously can't wait to see what kind of insanity she gets up to.
(Just as a side note, one of the before chapter quotes said something about how "the difference between sacrifice and slaughter is consent", and that is so true and something that I feel like so many people do not get.)
"Calculated Risks" is the second InCryptid novel featuring Sarah Zellaby as the narrator, and it picks up directly after the rather terrifying cliffhanger in "Imaginary Numbers." The story follows Sarah, Artie, Antimony, James, and Mark as they figure out what has happened to them and what to do next. Since this is a Sarah book there is a lot of talk about math. There is also a lot of discussion of consent, since Sarah is a member of a telepathic species who find it almost too easy to interfere with the minds of those around them. In this case, the interference has led to Sarah unintentionally erasing herself from the minds of Annie and Artie, two of her favorite people in the universe. Now she's stuck in another dimension with family members who no longer trust her, and feral cuckoos who could be hiding anywhere.
While the InCryptid series started off feeling sort of close to reality (Verity's first outing was in New York, so, a bit familiar at least. Even with the dragons.), the series has now reached time travel, other dimensions with alien life, and super powered telepaths. The great thing about a Seanan McGuire series is that she plans her series so carefully and paces them so well that you barely even notice how far over the edge you've gone until you look back at the very beginning of the story.
I loved Sarah as a narrator. She's having a tough time in this book, for a number of reasons, and it's great seeing her forced to actually confront her limits and figure out where she draws the lines on her powers. Her relationship with Artie is particularly heart wrenching here, though I do trust Seanan to not put her characters through emotional hell without payoff. It'll be interesting to see where Sarah goes after this, and how she deals with her new powers back in Portland. I've heard that in the next book we're finally getting Alice's perspective, and I seriously can't wait to see what kind of insanity she gets up to.
(Just as a side note, one of the before chapter quotes said something about how "the difference between sacrifice and slaughter is consent", and that is so true and something that I feel like so many people do not get.)
March 20, 2021
"My family is my family. Biology be damned."
I guess I just need to accept that I'm a sucker for the found-family trope. It's just accurate for me and it gets me the way I get it. There, you have my disclaimer.
We pick this book up one one HELL of a cliffhanger. (Lucky me, I waited to read them together!) Sarah was/is in danger. Hasn't this poor chick been through enough? That's what this book kept making me ask. It was really difficult to watch Sarah navigate this CRAZY new situation.
We're so far in the series at this point, I really don't want to spoil the plot. I will say that if you've made it this far, don't miss this one. It's whack-a-doodle in a great way and who doesn't love watching Sarah and Antimony respectively badass their way through danger? HAIL!
I guess I just need to accept that I'm a sucker for the found-family trope. It's just accurate for me and it gets me the way I get it. There, you have my disclaimer.
We pick this book up one one HELL of a cliffhanger. (Lucky me, I waited to read them together!) Sarah was/is in danger. Hasn't this poor chick been through enough? That's what this book kept making me ask. It was really difficult to watch Sarah navigate this CRAZY new situation.
We're so far in the series at this point, I really don't want to spoil the plot. I will say that if you've made it this far, don't miss this one. It's whack-a-doodle in a great way and who doesn't love watching Sarah and Antimony respectively badass their way through danger? HAIL!
April 2, 2021
Such a satisfying and weird book. It’s been a year since we were left hanging so it took me a bit to catch up but Sarah’s story is fabulous. I really want to see how this world continues to grow - I love all of them. I also really love Seanan’s approach to math that as a nerd I completely love.
After the whirlwind of the first book, this was a good conclusion and left enough threads for future exploration. CanNOT WAIT!
After the whirlwind of the first book, this was a good conclusion and left enough threads for future exploration. CanNOT WAIT!
April 10, 2022
{3.5 rounded up} I think that Sarah, the main protagonist is one of the more easily relatable and empathetic character that can be {even if I were immune to her influence}. This book for the most part, was a sheer delight and joy to follow and gave me heavy sense of Deja Vu for the Stepford Cuckoos sisters from the Marvel comics. The writing was flowing and easily absorbing, even after a long pause from the previous book in the series. Hopefully we will see more of her and her new emotional support animal.
May 11, 2021
It was a struggle to read this, I was a bit bored and skimmed a lot.
Spoilers:
Maybe it was the losing memories part of it that made it bla, and then Artie’s memory having to be patched up at the end, that was kind of a bum ending.
Spoilers:
Maybe it was the losing memories part of it that made it bla, and then Artie’s memory having to be patched up at the end, that was kind of a bum ending.
August 5, 2021
From the very beginning, the history of the Price family has included other planes of existence. We have always known that Cuckoos came to our earth through a tear in reality. And at last we follow our favorite psychic ambush predator Sarah to visit another one of these worlds.
Is it any surprise that other members of the family made it there first?
I love everything about the alternate society, from their preying mantis ponies to their obsession with the incubus. The empty cuckoos were a nicely horrifying enemy to fill the transported college campus, reminding me very much of some of the fantastic Mira Grant novels with zombies lurching around corners. Beyond that, we get so much story in this book, and answers to some questions we've been asking for a while.
The added novella bringing us back to an earlier carefree comic book convention was a nice reminder that those stories are always there as well, despite the arc toward tragedy in this particular novel.
Is it any surprise that other members of the family made it there first?
I love everything about the alternate society, from their preying mantis ponies to their obsession with the incubus. The empty cuckoos were a nicely horrifying enemy to fill the transported college campus, reminding me very much of some of the fantastic Mira Grant novels with zombies lurching around corners. Beyond that, we get so much story in this book, and answers to some questions we've been asking for a while.
The added novella bringing us back to an earlier carefree comic book convention was a nice reminder that those stories are always there as well, despite the arc toward tragedy in this particular novel.
November 3, 2023
Mini blurb: Telepatic predator and amateur mathematician (a.k.a. Johrlac) Sarah Zellaby saved the planet from her own kind...only to find herself stranded in another dimension with some family members and a recent ally, none of which remembers her anymore. Which poses a problem, since they're inclined to regard her as their natural enemy. Now Sarah has to rebuild a series of relationships that took her the better part of her life to develop in the first place - not to mention, work with her mistrusting companions to dodge this dimensions' threats long enough to make it home...assuming they can find a way back and avoid dying in the process.
***
Rated 4.5 really.
Who doesn't love a stranded-in-another-dimension plot where everyone except the protagonist has amnesia? (Well, selective amnesia, but still). And that's just the icing on the cake. Calculated Risks is larger than life the way a horror B movie is, and yet another evidence of McGuire's flair for taking a bunch of tropes and giving them crazy, entertaining twists without losing sight of the human factor (which more often than not translates into "the characters' pain"...but I digress 😂).
Sarah's moral dilemmas are even more poignant and heartbreaking this time, and bringing everybody home could be the last thing she'll be able to do, so basically, Calculated Risks is a high-octane Imaginary Numbers, only with reluctant/suspicious/hostile allies who used to be her family and (recent) friends - oh, and a dimension of giant bugs with a few other surprises to boot. It's a rich story, and an absurd one too but in the best way, and Sarah does get to shine, but there's also a bunch of over-the-top drama with a certain character that doesn't even make complete sense (especially in light of a glaring inconsistency), and a number of, well, not exactly plot holes...more like, abandoned/ultimately overlooked characters (even the MICE!!!). Also, I'm suspending judgement about the ending for now...I'm not sure if it's a deus-ex-machina, and it does partly negate Sarah's moral journey (though out of necessity), but I think I like it? A lot hinges on how McGuire intends to proceed from here, and in order to know that, I'm afraid I'll have to wait (the next two books are about Alice and her quest to find Thomas, so I don't think this particular problem will be properly addressed).
As usual with the latest books in the series, there's an attached novella, in this case one taking place during Antimony's first solo mission (ha! she wished) with Sarah and Artie in tow. Nerdy and cute. The series' chronology is a mess, but the actual year here should be 2011...
Note: As a rule, I review every book that I rate 3.5 stars and above in full, unless it's a novella or an anthology. But this series has been around for years now, and it doesn't sound like McGuire's going to stop writing it anytime soon, so I decided to only write mini reviews for its installments, or it would be too hard for me to catch up. I'll write mini reviews for the new ones as well, out of consistency.
***
Rated 4.5 really.
Who doesn't love a stranded-in-another-dimension plot where everyone except the protagonist has amnesia? (Well, selective amnesia, but still). And that's just the icing on the cake. Calculated Risks is larger than life the way a horror B movie is, and yet another evidence of McGuire's flair for taking a bunch of tropes and giving them crazy, entertaining twists without losing sight of the human factor (which more often than not translates into "the characters' pain"...but I digress 😂).
Sarah's moral dilemmas are even more poignant and heartbreaking this time, and bringing everybody home could be the last thing she'll be able to do, so basically, Calculated Risks is a high-octane Imaginary Numbers, only with reluctant/suspicious/hostile allies who used to be her family and (recent) friends - oh, and a dimension of giant bugs with a few other surprises to boot. It's a rich story, and an absurd one too but in the best way, and Sarah does get to shine, but there's also a bunch of over-the-top drama with a certain character that doesn't even make complete sense (especially in light of a glaring inconsistency), and a number of, well, not exactly plot holes...more like, abandoned/ultimately overlooked characters (even the MICE!!!). Also, I'm suspending judgement about the ending for now...I'm not sure if it's a deus-ex-machina, and it does partly negate Sarah's moral journey (though out of necessity), but I think I like it? A lot hinges on how McGuire intends to proceed from here, and in order to know that, I'm afraid I'll have to wait (the next two books are about Alice and her quest to find Thomas, so I don't think this particular problem will be properly addressed).
As usual with the latest books in the series, there's an attached novella, in this case one taking place during Antimony's first solo mission (ha! she wished) with Sarah and Artie in tow. Nerdy and cute. The series' chronology is a mess, but the actual year here should be 2011...
Note: As a rule, I review every book that I rate 3.5 stars and above in full, unless it's a novella or an anthology. But this series has been around for years now, and it doesn't sound like McGuire's going to stop writing it anytime soon, so I decided to only write mini reviews for its installments, or it would be too hard for me to catch up. I'll write mini reviews for the new ones as well, out of consistency.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 339 reviews