The opening book to Kelley Armstrong's new Cainsville series was pretty darn spectacular for an opening. There were intriguing characters, a nice mystery, and some twists on "powers." I very much enjoyed "Omens," so much so that I was up until 2 AM reading last night and spent most of my morning reading as well.
"Omens" really ramps up toward the end, though it is by no means slow getting where it's going. There are intriguing mysteries set up that will carry through the series, some introduced right at the end, which was a surprise.
I will happily follow Olivia, Gabriel, and the rest of Cainsville into the events Olivia has apparently launched herself into.
I'm pretty sure this book is why I was so disappointed reading Crimson Death by Laurel K. Hamilton. You get a really good feel for Ireland in this book. Not to mention the story is really good.
A snake, a snake Snaaake! A snaaaake Oooh, it's a snake
Sorry, couldn't help myself. Had that stuck in my head as the beginning of this review since I started reading this afternoon. Half-Off Ragnarok is filled to bursting with snake cryptids, most of them sapient. It was actually a lot more fun that I had originally thought upon starting my read.
I enjoyed getting to know Alex and the Bakers. Alex isn't nearly as outgoing as Verity, but he definitely knows how to handle himself, so that was good. I find it a little odd that he's as bad a liar as he's made out to be, but we don't really see that, only hear about it from other characters. Angela Baker's probably my favorite of the extended family aside from Sarah and I'm immeasurably glad she's looking after Sarah. I mean, having adopted Sarah in the first place, I would assume that'd be the case, but still... I like her and I'm glad she's around.
Of the other new characters introduced, I definitely loved Chandi right off. Yeah, she's entitled and all, but I like spunky little girls who take no shit and give plenty of it back. I liked Dee from the beginning. Not much to say about her character though, she's there and likeable enough. Shelby though... I really did not like Shelby for the first third of the book. I wrote my initial notes about her right before she was revealed to be a fellow cryptozoologist... she just rubbed me the wrong way with how she treated Alex and her views on relationships. Sorry, but the view of "Any woman in the world will tell you that one date cancelled is too many" is both barf-inducing and patently untrue. Shelby did grow on me some over the course of the book. I like that she's so delighted by cryptids and takes Alex's lead in situations where he clearly knows more than she does. And that's not a sexist thing. It's smart to follow the lead of people who you know, know more than you do.
The story itself was a semi-interesting who-done-it. I always like seeing cultures that don't exactly match up with our own and Half-Off Ragnarok had that in spades. At least three differing cultures (assuming you count the "fringe" gorgons as different than the main ones) on display here, not including the Price/Baker family dynamic. The who-done-it villain, though I won't say who it is, was basically an incel/boomer cross, which, ya know, was fun, I guess. The motivations on them were... yeah, just a lot of anger at everyone and everything and definitely came from the most hinged of minds. Most definitely.
But anyway, Half-Off Ragnarok was surprisingly hard to put down. I'm not sure why I found that surprising, but I do. Seanan McGuire's work has an almost Netflix-like quality to it, in that you just want to keep going and going as long as there are words on a page. It's really no different here and there are less divisions in the narrative than the first two Incryptid books had, so that almost adds to that feeling. I did finish Half-Off Ragnarok in less than a week so... yeah. Pretty dang good.
Favorite Lines
"I'll never understand the human idea that children are invariably more valuable than adults," said Dee. "If you have twenty adults and twenty children, and half of them are going to die, you can't save just the kids. They'd starve to death."
"The world could end, and anything morphologically feline would find a way to take a nap." - Alex Price
"The natural world has a place for everything. It's just that some of those things make me think that Nature isn't very fond of people." - Martin Baker
"Tweed is a lifestyle choice," - Alex Price
"Rules only matter if everyone understands them, agrees to them, and can be trusted not to break them. Bearing those irrefutable facts in mind, rules never matter at all." - Thomas Price
"a sulking sister, rewarded for her efforts, will proceed to push her sulking to ever-greater heights, until an entire platoon of pigeons could perch on her out-thrust lower lip." - Alex Price
"Being smart isn't good enough. You need to be educated, and you need to be open-minded, and you need to remember that what you don't know can most definitely hurt you." - Martin Baker
And A Video If You Didn't Understand My Opening Lines
So, Redoubt was interesting. I honestly thought Mags might end up having a somewhat normal year, for once. Boy was I wrong. Should have known. Halfway through, we’re suddenly thrown from Mags’ rather comfy “normal” life straight into fever dreams and a survival story. Wasn’t exactly badly done, but definitely an abrupt change.
It is also the Year of Weddings! Opening with Lydia and Prince Sedric’s wedding, which sounded like quite the spectacle, actual small wedding aside. Followed several weeks? (It is a little hard to tell time in these books.) later by Lena and Bear getting hitched. That was even more interesting and I really wish a) we actually knew exactly how old these kids are and b) we got every bit of Bear’s father’s crazy-pants rant. I’m assuming the “kids” are at least 16, probably, but I’m definitely not sure as it’s never stated anywhere. Aaaand I have a perverse fascination with listening to unhinged people rant and then get their comeuppance… makes for fun (if often enraging) reading.
Kirball was yet another fun bit of reading. A lot going on during Kirball and a tad confusing at times to follow, but still definitely my favorite fictional sport. I would never play it, but it sounds fun to watch. They need commentators.
Now we jump to the second half of the book where Mags spends a good chunk of time in fever dreams. Flashback-y fever dreams that honestly had me wanting to just stop reading because we’ve been over and over and over Mags’ past in Cole Pieter’s mine. Four books later essentially being back there was kind of annoying. Here’s hoping Mags is well over that part of his past now.
I actually enjoyed the survival bit with Mags trekking through what turned out to be Karse. It was a lot more fun than the survival bit in The Silver Gryphon. Maybe that’s because it was just Mags with no other crazy threats involved. I dunno.
And then we meet Reaylis and Franse. I loooove Reaylis. He’s a pretty perfect example of a talking cat and we know I love talking cats. Franse is… well he’s there. He’s alright as a character, but not anything super special. Their bit of the story was also enjoyable. I like Suncats as a concept.
The last part of the story reveals a bit more about the society Mags’ parents came from. It sounds to me like an Eastern-based society, just based on a couple of the names. Other than that, still a mystery to the reader, and Mags. Guess we’ll find out in Bastion.
So yeah, Redoubt ended up being much more action-packed than I was expecting. Was definitely not expecting a look into Karse. And, uh, yeah. Looking forward to Bastion.
Favorite Quotes
:Cats do what cats will do, and neither man nor god can do anything about it.: - Reaylis
The cat paused. :What
always happens when religion goes to the bad?: the cat replied, and
resumed his grooming. :Power. The love of power overcomes the love of
the gods. Priests stop listening for the voice in their hearts and
souls—which is very, very hard to hear even at the best of times—and
start to listen only to what they wish to hear or to the voice of their
own selfish desires. Priests begin to believe that they, and not the
gods, are the real authorities. Priests confine broad truths into narrow
doctrines, because more rules mean that they have more power. Priests
mistake their own prejudice for conscience and mistake what they
personally fear for what should universally be feared. Priests look
inward to their own small souls and try to impress that smallness on the
world, when they should be looking at the greatness of the universe and
trying to impress that upon their souls. Priests forget they owe
everything to their gods and begin to think the world owes everything to
them . . . : the cat stopped, and shook his head. :Power is a poison.
Priests should know better than to indulge in it. But once they do, you
stop having those who wish to serve becoming priests, and you start
seeing those who wish to be served becoming priests, and the rot sets
in. It started to happen long ago here as humans reckon time.:
:Gods do not sweep in and fix things. You are not children to be saved. You must save yourselves.: - Reaylis
That was the choice: to
lie down and be abused, or stand up and refuse to be abused and throw
the abusers out. Lying down and taking it never worked anyway; you might
suffer and die if you fought, but you were going to suffer and die
regardless, and at least the suffering and dying part would be shorter
if you fought.
:So you see.: The cat
nodded. :It’s not punishment for allowing this to happen. It’s the
consequence of allowing this to happen. It’s the consequence of
cowardice, of apathy, of giving up. The two things are very different.: - Mags and Reaylis
I loved Midnight Blue-Light Special so much, I'm not even sure I have the words to articulate it. There were distinct Buffy, Season 7 vibes mixed with Seanan McGuire's unique brand of mythology and just the right amount of anxiety running throughout. I love pretty much all of McGuire's characters, although Sarah and Istas really stood out this time around. Partially because Sarah got to carry the story for a bit and Istas... Istas is the next best thing to a talking cat, which is saying something because I love me a talking cat.
So first, I really like my brain's version of how Kitty turned he uncle's strip-joint into Freakshow. I just loved that idea and would definitely visit myself if given the chance. Also, Kitty kind of amuses me. Her dress-sense is just the best contrast with her attitude. Chef's kiss. I also really love how she decided to turn Freakshow into a safe-house. Definitely a contrast her her uncle.
I also quite liked Verity turning her own safe-house into a safe-house for more than just herself, Sarah, Mike, and the mice. It was honestly that, that gave me the Buffy, Season 7 vibes. Just random cryptids showing up for safety's sake. Not actually, though, because it was ultimately only Sunil and Rochak, but still. I enjoyed Uncle Mike. Nice to know that the Gucciard family is still around and kicking. They're introduced in the short stories that are largely available on Seanan McGuire's website and I highly recommend reading those if you're enjoying this series.
Sarah's chapters in Midnight Blue-Light Special were interesting. I'm glad we got a good look at how she thinks in order for her fate at the end to really pack more of a punch. Like, I enjoyed Sarah in Discount Armageddon, but she's largely seen as an aloof nerd by Verity. Getting to see how she thinks and experiences the world did more to fully realize her than anything we got in the last book. And I know you're probably going "well duh, cuz that's what being a main POV character does" but I'm also having a bit of trouble actually saying what I mean about Sarah. She's definitely more than an aloof nerd and actually a lot more insecure than I think Verity gives her credit for.
As fun a running around with the Price family is, I do actually kind of want to see some of this stuff from a Covenant perspective. I feel like The Covenant isn't as fleshed out as it could be, or maybe even should be. Just going off of Margaret Healy's reaction to Verity... they're really fucked up. Like, really fucked up and I'd weirdly like to see just how that level of fucked-up-ed-ness comes into being. But maybe not. I don't know. The InCryptid universe is just so different than your run of the mill fantasy universe and just seeing how the denizens of it outside The Covenant function make me question how The Covenant actually functions. Maybe I just have questions. I dunno. Religious zealots of all kinds make me angry so... I just don't know.
Speaking of The Covenant, Dominic has a bit of a crisis here. However, it's supremely uninteresting to me. I had zero doubts about Dominic's ultimate loyalty. Just... bleh. Probably the only thing about Midnight Blue-Light Special I didn't enjoy. Dominic was kind of amusing in the last book, but here... just nah. He's boring and one-note.
Midnight Blue-Light Special was definitely an enjoyable read. I'm so very glad it lived up to an expanded on everything Discount Armageddon started. I didn't really have any doubts about that, but... ya know, sequels and all that. Also, on a slightly separate note: I like how the narrative is divided into smaller chunks. Makes it a bit of an easier toilet-read, if I'm being completely honest. But yeah. Loved Midnight Blue-Light Special. Istas is the best.
Favorite Quotes
"If wishes were horses, we'd have a way easier time feeding the chupacabras." - Verity Price
Not a quote, I just like the term: "Pantheistic Cryptid Mouse Dream House"
"There have been rumors which indicate that a sewer kraken may be making its home dowtown. I would enjoy the opportunity to battle something with that many limbs." - Istas
"I was unaware the telepathic girl possessed a temper. This is pleasing. Temperamental people are more likely to participate in carnage.
"Sweetie, what have we talked about?" asked Ryan.
Now it was Istas' turn to sigh. "Humans are discomforted by excessive discussion of their squishy interiors."
"Which means...?"
"No referencing carnage more than once in a single conversation."
"As the dominant human in the room, that rule is hereby suspended until we get my niece back," announced Uncle Mike.
"Vengeance carnage is often satisfying, but it takes longer to perform properly than the kind which does not require a death to begin." - Istas
"If we encounter heretics while on the search for our brave Priestess, we will smite them down wuth the Fury of a Thousand Angry Rolling Pins!" squeaked the mouse.
On first read, I didn't like this one. Didn't like it at all.
On second read, I figured out why:
This book is all over the place, no least of which because the characters are dealing with losing a family member. Also, there are just too many characters to keep adequate track of. Adia, Sarah, Zachary, Jay, Dominique, Christine, Heather, Kaleo, Kristopher, Nikolas, Kendra, etc... Just so many. So many differing viewpoints that the actual story gets rather lost.
The resolution... it's too quick. Too quick and too utterly easy. Everything just seems to collapse around two moments and then it's sort of explained what actually happened in the epilogue. I didn't feel connected to anyone in that room aside from Sarah and Jay and that's because of the previous and future books. There was no emotional resonance with any of the other characters. No real sense of relief. Too easy and too quick.
All that said, seeing the dissolution of the "Vida perfection" was nice. But that's all it was. We didn't really spend enough time with any Vidas besides Sarah and maybe, maybe Zachary but I wasn't at all invested in him so it ended up not mattering so much. Granted, there also aren't any other Vidas besides Dominique and Adia to try to connect to and I just don't to either of them.
It would have been nice to get maybe two books instead of this one or a longer book. Really deal with what was going on with the characters and Dominique's past, which is barely alluded to and barely explained and yet is really the lynch-pin to how the book ends up.
I did a very short review on my first read that basically consisted of “it was good” and “I look forward to the next one,” which is still true. I had a lot of fun rereading Discount Armageddon. The book itself is currently serving as my mousepad while I’m on vacation.
I find Verity an interesting protagonist. She’s got a sort of Buffy mentality to monster — sorry, Cryptid — fighting and having some sort of life on the side. I like her no-nonsense approach and her curiosity. It also helps that she’s an athletic person to begin with. There are just too many “hey, I’m the protagonist but I don’t actually do much in the way of exercise but I look fantastic and have great fighting stamina” protagonists out there. Verity is not one of them.
I found Dominic’s progression from monster killer to more tolerant dude really quick. I believe Verity seconds that a few times in the book by looking at him askance. He’s an alright character, but he is honestly quite blank.
I love all the Cryptids. I find it really interesting that a lot of them are therianthropes rather than just critters. The pseudoscience that McGuire puts into them is pretty well thought out, if wacky. But hey, Cryptids are pretty wacky to begin with so… much hand-waving. I definitely enjoyed the change from the bog-standard vamps and witches.
Discount Armageddon was quite fun. Loved the mix of humor and action. Loved the characters. Loved the Cryptids. Just a lot of fun overall.
Favorite Quotes
"There's no such thing as a normal life. Some lives are just more interesting than others, and we shouldn't judge people for being boring." - Evelyn Baker
"We all make mistakes. Luckily for us, there are very few mistakes that can't be solved with a suitable application of either lipstick or hand grenades." - Frances Brown
"When all else fails, put on a fresh coat of lip gloss and pretend you have no idea what that horrible thing that just went running down Main Street was. A surprisingly large number of people will believe you." - Frances Brown
"If you interfere in any manner with our continued survival, I will play skipping games with your intestines while wearing your lungs as a hat." - Istas
