#87 A Local Habitation by Seannan McGuire
At the beginning of A Local Habitation, Slyvester asks Toby to travel to the nearby County of Tamed Lighting to check on his niece. 
He hasn't heard from the Countess January Torquill in quite a while and is concerned that something is wrong. So Toby travels to the nearby Duchy (located in Freemont, CA) and is surprised by what she finds. The Countess (who simply goes by Jan O'Leary) has been trying to contact her uncle for ages with no response. The reason? Several people have been murdered, and their bodies have been left untouched by the usually vigilant night-haunts. Something's rotten in Tamed Lighting, and it's up to Toby to find out just what it is.
I was first introduced to the October Daye series when I picked up Rosemary and Rue over a year ago. I enjoyed the book, but couldn't quite understand why so many people were absolutely in love with this series. After reading A Local Habitation, I'm beginning to understand why. I think what I enjoyed the most about A Local Habitation was the interesting cast of characters, and faerie worldbuilding. Toby remains a likable protagonist, competent and tough (although not without blind spots. There are twists in this book that I'm shocked she didn't see coming). Returning characters include Tybalt, the king of cats, who reminds me quite a bit of Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There's obviously some sexual tension going on between the two of them, even if Toby doesn't see it yet.
One interesting thing A Local Habitation does is mix the very old world of faerie with new technology. Tamed Lighting is not just a duchy, but a company called ALH Computing with a mission to help faerie with their technological needs. This mixture of old and new is best expressed in the character of April, a dryad who has fled her destroyed forest and taken up home in ALH's servers. April ended up being my favorite character in this book, as her connection with technology has made it very difficult for her to appear human, and her struggle to learn human traits was interesting to watch. The murder mystery storyline was plenty fund to read, even thought it was at times a little predictable. The novel was also quite well paced. I know I pretty much flew through the last hundred and fifty pages or so.
A Local Habitation is a satisfying urban fantasy filled with likable characters. The book itself is pretty stand alone, and can easily read without having read Rosemary and Rue first, if you so chose. With A Local Habitation I'm beginning to understand why so many people love this series, and I'm looking forward to continuing it.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: 377 pages
Source: paperbackswap
Other books I've read by this author: Rosemary and Rue
Next I will be reviewing Poison Tree by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes and Entwined by Heather Dixon
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish and goodreads
He hasn't heard from the Countess January Torquill in quite a while and is concerned that something is wrong. So Toby travels to the nearby Duchy (located in Freemont, CA) and is surprised by what she finds. The Countess (who simply goes by Jan O'Leary) has been trying to contact her uncle for ages with no response. The reason? Several people have been murdered, and their bodies have been left untouched by the usually vigilant night-haunts. Something's rotten in Tamed Lighting, and it's up to Toby to find out just what it is.
I was first introduced to the October Daye series when I picked up Rosemary and Rue over a year ago. I enjoyed the book, but couldn't quite understand why so many people were absolutely in love with this series. After reading A Local Habitation, I'm beginning to understand why. I think what I enjoyed the most about A Local Habitation was the interesting cast of characters, and faerie worldbuilding. Toby remains a likable protagonist, competent and tough (although not without blind spots. There are twists in this book that I'm shocked she didn't see coming). Returning characters include Tybalt, the king of cats, who reminds me quite a bit of Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There's obviously some sexual tension going on between the two of them, even if Toby doesn't see it yet.
One interesting thing A Local Habitation does is mix the very old world of faerie with new technology. Tamed Lighting is not just a duchy, but a company called ALH Computing with a mission to help faerie with their technological needs. This mixture of old and new is best expressed in the character of April, a dryad who has fled her destroyed forest and taken up home in ALH's servers. April ended up being my favorite character in this book, as her connection with technology has made it very difficult for her to appear human, and her struggle to learn human traits was interesting to watch. The murder mystery storyline was plenty fund to read, even thought it was at times a little predictable. The novel was also quite well paced. I know I pretty much flew through the last hundred and fifty pages or so.
A Local Habitation is a satisfying urban fantasy filled with likable characters. The book itself is pretty stand alone, and can easily read without having read Rosemary and Rue first, if you so chose. With A Local Habitation I'm beginning to understand why so many people love this series, and I'm looking forward to continuing it.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: 377 pages
Source: paperbackswap
Other books I've read by this author: Rosemary and Rue
Next I will be reviewing Poison Tree by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes and Entwined by Heather Dixon
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish and goodreads