One Salt Sea (October Daye, Book 5) Seanan McGuire

 

One Salt Sea was everything I had hoped it would be, and more. And then... less. But that's because things happened that I didn't want to happen, but I totally understand why the author took things in that direction. So, no points off for the "and less" part.

I think that I know where things are eventually going to go. I think that several books from now we'll find out that Quentin is King Sollys' son, I also think that eventually Toby will end up as Queen of the Cats, or consort to the King, or whatever title she will have once she and Tybalt are together. And we all know that someday the Queen is going to have to be deposed. But... those are my theories for future books. For this one....

I think this may have been my favorite book of the series. The plot, the interactions between the characters, the new things we learn about several of the characters, the directions I can see the series going (not just what I wrote above, but a lot of things I can't say or they would be spoilerish).

Here's the blurb:

Now that she's a member of the landed nobility, October "Toby" Daye is dealing with a whole new host of challenges—not the least of which is figuring out the limits of her newly-enhanced abilities. Still, it feels like she's finally getting a handle on her life. She has a boyfriend, a roommate, and even a squire. Things couldn't possibly get better...

...but they can get a whole lot worse. Someone has kidnapped the sons of Duchess Dianda Lorden of Saltmist, and to prevent a war, the Luidaeg is calling in all Toby's debts. Toby will need to be smarter, sharper, and quite possibly damper than ever before if she wants to come out of this in one piece—and the fight is getting more personal than she could have dreamed.

One Salt Sea is the fifth book in the October Daye series, a modern urban fantasy set in both the San Francisco Bay Area and the Faerie Kingdom of the Mists which overlays Northern California. It will be released in North America by DAW Books on September 6th, 2011.

And from the back cover:

October "Toby" Daye is finally doing all right. She's settling into her new role as the Countess of Goldengreen; she's actually dating again; she's even agreed to take on Quentin as her official squire. Life is looking up all around—and that inevitably means it's time for things to take a turn for the worse.

Someone has kidnapped the sons of Duchess Dianda Lorden, regent of the Undersea Duchy of Saltmist. To prevent a war between land and sea, Toby must not only find the missing boys, but also prove that the Queen of the Mists was not behind their abduction. She'll need all her tricks and the help of all her allies if she wants to make it through this in one piece.

Toby's search will take her from the streets of San Francisco to the lands beneath the waves, and her deadline is firm: she must find the boys in three days' time, or all of the Mists will pay the price. But someone is determined to stop her—and whoever it is isn't playing by Oberon's Laws...

As the battle grows more and more personal, one thing is chillingly clear. When Faerie goes to war, not everyone will walk away.

As for the writing elements:

• The plot was a stroke of genius. At first I thought it was predictable, but the farther we got into it, the more impressed I was.
• Pacing was perfect
• Prose and dialogue were several levels above and beyond what you'd expect from a skilled author. Seriously well done.
• Character development was superb. No new characters, but the ones we already know are developed further.
• World-building in this series is detailed and interesting and logical, and One Salt Sea continues that tradition.

I really am going to have to think of a category that shows the best of the best. Maybe I'll start a list for "The Best of the Year". If I do, this one will be near the top.

• Book Rating: One Salt Sea: 10 of 10
• Series Rating: 10 of 10

It looks like we'll have to wait a year between books from this point forward.  It was nice to get two books a year for the first of the series, I hate to see that coming to an end.  We do know what the next two books will be titled, I'll be watching for blurbs and excerpts.







1. Rosemary and Rue
2. A Local Habitation
3. An Artificial Night
4. Late Eclipses
5. One Salt Sea (September 6, 2011)
6. Ashes of Honor (Sept 2012)
7. The Chimes at Midnight (Sept 2013)
 
.
 

Late Eclipses (October Daye, Book 4) Seanan McGuire

 

Late Eclipses is the fourth October Daye book, and this series just gets better and better. I loved the first book, didn't care so much for the second book, the third book blew me away, and the fourth book is even better than the third.

Here's the blurb:

With Blind Michael and his Hunt safely behind her, October "Toby" Daye is doing her best to settle back into a normal routine—or as normal of a routine as she can manage, with her personal Fetch now paying half the rent. Still, things seem to be mostly under control...until the events of a single night send everything reeling. Now, with the Queen of the Mists watching her back and the Lady of the Tea Gardens deathly ill, Toby has no choice but to get involved, no matter how much she wants to avoid it.

The trials ahead will be some of the worst faced by Toby and her strange band of allies, and not even Tybalt will be able to escape totally unscathed. What's worse, the Luidaeg is unavailable to help them. This time, they're on their own. And people keep making Toby wear dresses, which is just adding insult to dangerous injury...

Late Eclipses answers a lot of questions, which in turn creates even more questions. We begin to learn a little more about what happened before Toby was born, and some of what happened while she was a fish. It's going to be very hard to talk much about the book without giving spoilers, so I'm not going to be able to discuss what I liked and what I loved as much as I'd like. There are some very tough issues in this book though, we've seen in the past that Seanan McGuire isn't afraid to kill off important characters... as much as I wish it were otherwise.

Tybalt has hinted at something Toby must discover about herself, and we begin to understand what Tybalt has been getting at. He's right. It's big. And I believe we only know a portion of it, which means it's likely to just get bigger.

As for the writing elements:

• The plot this time is a continuation of previous story arcs and is very well done with a few twists thrown in to keep it interesting. The story arcs aren't finished, but it was a good place to stop the action. There are still lots of unanswered questions, but no cliffhanger. 
• The pacing was hectic and frantic with just a few slowdowns. It worked.
• Prose and dialogue are once again beautifully done. Faerie comes to life in all it's glory and disgust. We are shown the beautiful and the ugly, the happy and the sad.... with enough humor thrown in for some laugh out loud moments.
• Character development continues to be exceptionally well done for many of the characters.
• World-building is beautiful, detailed, and amazing. This world ties in with our world over and over again, making it believable and bringing it to life in sometimes spooky ways.

I can easily give Late Eclipses a 10 of 10, and I'll be keeping the series at a 10 of 10 as well.

• Book Rating: Late Eclipses: 10 of 10
• Series Rating: 10 of 10

The next book in the series, One Salt Sea, is due out in September, so we've only got to wait six months to see what happens next, and hopefully get some more answers.






1. Rosemary and Rue
2. A Local Habitation
3. An Artificial Night
4. Late Eclipses
5. One Salt Sea (September 6, 2011)

 

An Artificial Night (October Daye Book 3) by Seanan McGuire

The first book in this series, Rosemary and Rue, received a 9 of 10 from me. The second book, A Local Habitation, received a 7 of 10. Seanan McGuire has hit a home run with An Artificial Night, as it's easily a 10 of 10.

An Artificial Night is one of those books that you won't be able to put down once you make it past about a third of the way through, so plan accordingly. And there are some serious series arcs that are set up in this book that make me want the next book now. Next week at the latest. Unfortunately, Late Eclipses won't be released until March 1st.

That doesn't mean there is a cliff hanger, because this book gets all neatly wrapped up with a pretty bow. When the book ends, you are ready for it to end. But there are a couple of subtle hints throughout the story that are setting us up for some major future unveilings, I think. Sorry to be obtuse, but I don't want to give spoilers. There is an excerpt for Late Eclipses at the end, and we see a dream sequence that pretty much verifies the hints and bits of foreshadowing from An Artificial Night.

One thing I think I can ponder about without giving a spoiler... who arranged for May? Once May arrives Toby points out that "... They’re incredibly rare, and most people don’t get one. I  certainly never requested the honor."  So... who requested it? There has to be a lot more to that story than meets the eye.

Here's the blurb:

Changeling knight in the court of the Duke of Shadowed Hills, October “Toby” Daye has survived numerous challenges that would destroy fae and mortal alike.

Now Toby must take on a nightmarish new assignment. Someone is stealing both fae and mortal children — and all signs point to Blind Michael. When the young son of Toby’s closest friends is snatched from their Northern California home and his sister falls into a coma-like state, the situation becomes way too personal. Toby has no choice but to track the villains down, even when there are only three magical roads by which to reach Blind Michael’s realm — home of the legendary Wild Hunt — and no road may be taken more than once. If she cannot escape with all the children before the candle that guides and protects her burns away, Toby herself will fall prey to the Wild Hunt and Blind Michael’s inescapable power.

And it doesn’t bode well for the success of her mission that her own personal Fetch, May Daye - the harbinger of Toby’s own death — has suddenly turned up on her doorstep….

As for writing elements: The plot was excellent. Better than excellent, it was... stupendously ingenious. It drew from several old mythologies, lots of faerie tales, and even those nonsensical nursery rhymes from childhood. Equal parts horror and fascination, it ties in perfectly with people we've met in earlier books, making the world of Toby McGuire come alive, anchoring it into our reality to make it seem even more fantastically real.

The pacing in the book matched the events. By that, I mean that Toby had to have been beyond exhausted by about halfway through the book, and as a reader, I felt a bit the same way. And there were times that -- when it really would have been an excellent place to end the book, and there was still lots more to go -- that I really didn't want to go on. I think Toby felt the same way. I mean, really, at almost halfway through the book it would have made a very good ending, but the story wasn't finished yet. Whether we wanted it to be or not, didn't make it so.  So while part of me feels the need to point out that the pacing had issues, that's really not true: The pacing matched the story. It isn't always an easy story, and the pacing matches. I think.

The prose is beautifully done. The world of Faerie is brought alive with words in a way that occasionally makes me stop and read through a paragraph again, just for the sheer beauty of it.

The dialogue is also skillfully done, with equal measures of serious and smart-ass thrown in for good measure.

Character development is well done, and world-building is, well, it's one of the best described worlds after three books that I believe I've encountered. It's up there with Meredith Gentry's world, or Kate Daniel's world. The level of detail given to the world building, details that have a bit of a basis in our reality, just enough to make you think... maybe... that kind of detail is missing in many better known Urban Fantasy series out there.

The book rating for An Artificial Night  is easily a 10 of 10. Series rating was an 8 of 10 after the last book, and I'm taking it all the way to a 10 of 10 after An Artificial Night. The book was really that good.

• Book Rating: An Artificial Night : 10 of 10
• Series Rating: 10 of 10

1. Rosemary and Rue
2. A Local Habitation
3. An Artificial Night
4. Late Eclipses
5. The Brightest Fell
6. Ashes of Honor
7. One Salt Sea
8. The Winter Long

.