McGuire, Seanan: Discount Armageddon
Discount Armageddon (2012)
Written by: Seanan McGuire
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 352 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Book One (InCryptid)
Why I Read It: Seanan McGuire has become one of my must-read authors, so when I learned she was starting a new urban fantasy series, I was completely on board. I even had the opportunity to score a free copy from the author, but you'll be proud of me: I stuck to my resolution of accepting no freebies or ARCs from authors or publishers. It was a hard decision, but yet not: I knew I wanted to buy the book, and by buying the book, I'm supporting the author to write MORE books, and that's a good thing. At any rate, I really wasn't sure what to except from this new series, so I went in with few expectations, the primary one hoping I'd be in for a good yarn. I wasn't disappointed.
The premise: ganked from BN.com: 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....
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yay, but just a few, and in the vaguest sense. The kind of spoilers that, while reading, you can see coming a mile away. That being said, if you want to stay totally and completely surprised, just skip to "My Rating" and you'll be just fine. Everyone else, onward!
With the exception of a rather "meh" prologue, I had a great time with this book. And the prologue, I should note, struck me as so "meh" because the first chapter was so damn awesome. The first chapter did what the prologue didn't: established voice, tone, and pace of the story. I get that the prologue was there to show us Verity's early love of dance, to reference the mice, and more important, kind of draw back the lens and show the family, but really, once I started reading the story, that prologue was unimportant and forgotten.
Now I need to make a few things clear: this isn't a perfect book. It's a book that requires a major suspension of disbelief, because once you achieve that, you don't bat an eyelash at anything. Not Verity's preferred method of travel (rooftops), not the strange marriage between ballroom dance and fighting, nor really, much of anything else. Because let's face it: once you embrace the Aeslin mice, you can embrace anything. And seriously? I want a colony of my own. I was far, far, far too entertained by these critters, and I've got to give McGuire some credit. In her October Daye books, she's made me want a rose goblin. Now I want a colony of Aeslin mice. Can you imagine living in a house with BOTH? Oh, the entertainment.
One other thing I've noticed other readers struggling with: the predictable romance. Of course Verity and Dominic are going to fall into bed together. It would've been more shocking if they hadn't, but that being said, 1) this isn't a paranormal romance where the primary focus of the story is hooking up girl with guy and 2) because of that, the romance is a side-issue, especially in that as long as Dominic didn't betray Verity by slaughtering the Aeslin mice, I was cool. The romance is not offensive nor is it hot and heavy, and that's fine. I'm invested in the world-building, family, and everything as a whole. So if you're coming to this book looking for a hot romance, you may need to look elsewhere. If you're coming to this book looking for a helluva lot of fun, you've come to the right place.
Which brings me to my own thoughts: what a different book! I don't mean different in the vast realm of all urban fantasies ever written, but different for the author. Let's face it: in her October Daye series, the prologue alone puts her heroine in a dark, violent place where nothing is sacred. And writing as Mira Grant? Well, if you've read those books, you know that the Newsflesh series makes the October Daye series look like children's books.
The point of bringing this up is how delightful this book really is by comparison. But also, it worries me: I know McGuire isn't afraid of killing her babies and tormenting the reader, and while the tone of the series, thus far, doesn't indicate McGuire's going to go that direction, I wouldn't put it past her. Which means there's always going to be an interesting tension between my expectations and what's happening on the page. I expect McGuire to do worse than she does (at least, that's how it happened in this book), and that's not a bad thing.
But honestly, if this book is any indication, the series is going to far lighter than McGuire's previous publications, and it's also going to be just plain fun. I highlighted all kinds of moments that made me giggle (and let's just say the Aeslin mice were responsible for a LOT of them). Let's run through a few of my highlights, shall we?
Page 24:
Cryptids like to live where humans don't, but they also like to be close enough to steal cable.
Page 135:
"Telepathic ethics say you should never read a sentient creature's mind without permission, provocation, or legitimate reason to fear for your life."
"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."
Page 160:
Dominic's expression darkened. "We could have been killed down there. Do you still want to insist that we befriend the monsters?"
"Not all of them. Just the ones smart enough to be on Facebook."
And just to give you an idea of why the Aeslin mice are so entertaining, page 167:
Cries of exultation greeted my key turning in the lock. I opened the front door to find the entire Aeslin congregation gathered on and around the tiny table where I kept the mail. Several of them were waving tiny banners made of tissue paper that had been meticulously painted with drops of blue, black, and red ink.
"Hail!" shouted the head priest, waving his banner with extra enthusiasm.
"HAIL!" agreed the congregation.
"Hail," I said tiredly, and shut the door. "What's the occasion?"
"Today is the Holy Feast of I Swear, Daddy, I'll Kiss the Next Man That Walks Through That Door," said the priest, sparking a second, more solemn declaration of the "Hail" from the rest of the mice.
"Cool."
Trust me, the mice are AWESOME. Because you KNOW where this scene is going, thanks to that tidbit, and the results are quite funny.
I could go on and on with quotes that I highlighted from the book, but I'll let you discover and enjoy them for yourself, okay?
Really, I don't have a lot to say. The entirety of the book just worked for me. I loved the creativity behind all the cryptids and their personalities. And while the ballroom dancing thing was definitely an odd fit for me, I didn't mind the comparison to dance while Verity fought. Some people found that annoying, but it worked for me. So long as Verity doesn't keep doing it every time she fights in every book. The rooftop travels worked for me, until I started thinking about it too hard, and visualizing Verity hopping, skipping, and jumping around the rooftops in New York City started to hurt my brain a bit. And then I smacked myself: if I can accept Batman, Batgirl, Batwoman and Nightwing flying all over Gotham City, I can accept this.
And the relationship between Verity and Dominic was kind of fun. I liked that they came from two totally different angles, and I like the tension there, the threat that something may happen where Dominic has to betray her and her family. But let's not forget the other tension too: that by interacting with Verity and really getting to know the cryptid community, he might become another defector from the Covenant, and that could cumulate into some serious plot developments.
The quotes at the start of each chapter were great, as they really gave me a sense of Verity's family history without Verity herself being one of those annoying people who's constantly prefacing her words with, "My grandma said…" or whatever. I also liked the distinct personalities of Verity's immediate family, and I hope we get to meet them.
The Incryptid world is full of possibilities and stories just waiting to be told. And I can't wait to read them.
Also, an aside: be sure to read the "Price Family Field Guide to the Cryptids of North America." Not only does it give the reader a clearer picture of all the various creatures met in the pages of the book (and more), but it's also funny. Example, on page 345:
Basilisks are not native to North America, but were imported as game animals. By idiots.
My Rating: Couldn't Put It Down
This is just a wonderfully fun book to read, and rather utterly different that McGuire's other work, namely her October Daye series and NewsFlesh series, with one exception: as always, the world-building is utterly full and vivid. But where the InCryptid series deviates so far is the humor, and this book had me giggling and entertained the entire time I read it. There's a lot of crazy ingredients to the story, and some might mix well better than others, depending on the reader, but if you're looking for a fun, creative story, look no further. Sure, Discount Armageddon requires a certain amount of suspension of disbelief, but as long as you're not looking for another October Daye series, you should be in good shape. There's so much to enjoy here, so much bursting from the pages. I'm quite looking forward to the rest of the series simply because it's so much fun.
Cover Commentary: Pink! Lots of pink! It's definitely an eye-catching cover, and the coloring makes it a little on the girly side, which is okay, though I don't recall Verity wearing a pink uniform in the book. I also keep getting distracted by the house she's posing on, because while we don't see much of that particular roof, what we do see seems out of place with the cityscape behind her. But that's nitpicking. For an urban fantasy cover, this is a bit different than the norm and screams for a fun time.
Next up: The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey