Monday 11 January 2016

Review: Discount Armageddon - Seanan McGuire

The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity – and humanity from them.

Meet 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 to pursue her dream career in professional ballroom dance. That is, until talking mice, telepathic mathematicians, and a tangle with the Price family’s old enemies, the Covenant of St. George, get in her way . . .

Incryptid Series:
14 Jonathan Healy & Frances Brown Short Stories (Read for free on Seanan McGuire's website)
3 Alice Healy & Thomas Price Short Stories (Read for free on Seanan McGuire's website)
Discount Armageddon
Midnight Blue-Light Special
4 Antimony Price Short Stories (Read some for free on Seanan McGuire's website)
3 Istas and Ryan Short Stories (Read most for free on Seanan McGuire's website)
Half-Off Ragnarok
1 Sarah Zellaby and Arthur Harrington Short Story (Read for free on Seanan McGuire's website)
5 Verity Price & Dominic De Luca Stories (Read for free on Seanan McGuire's website)
Pocket Apocalypse
Chaos Choreography
1 Elsie Harrington Short Story (Short Story in the Shadowed Souls anthology)
Magic for Nothing
1 Aeslin Mice Short Story (Purchase though Seanan McGuire's Patreon Page)
Tricks for Free
That Ain't Witchcraft

Ghost Roads Series:
(Stories are set in the Incryptid World)
Sparrow Hill Road
Train Yard Blues (Short Story in the Coins of Chaos anthology)
The Ghosts of Bourbon Street (Crossover Short Story with Verity from the Incryptid series free on Seanan McGuire's website)
Last Call at the Last Chance (Short Story available via Seanan McGuire's Patreon Page)
The Girl in the Green Silk Gown

Visit Seanan McGuire's website for more information

Review:
Verity Price comes from a long line of cryptozoologists and has spent her entire life learning about the numerous types of cryptids (supernatural creatures) who live hidden amongst us. Her family used to belong to the Covenant of St. George but once they realised that not all cryptids are monsters and that they deserve the chance to live peacefully amongst us they parted ways with the organisation and set out on their own. Now the Price family focus on helping the cryptids stay hidden and making sure they aren't a threat to humans. Verity is more than capable of dealing with any troublemakers but she also has a lot of cryptid friends and allies. Unfortunately the Covenant would prefer to see all the cryptids exterminated and since the Prices decided to break ties with the organisation they've been considered enemies.

Verity would much rather pursue a dance career than spend her days dealing with monsters and she is spending a year in Manhattan to see if she can make it as a ballroom dancer. Unfortunately for her she runs into a member of the Covenant while doing her usual rounds checking up on the local cryptid population. Now she must try to convince Dominic that the Price family aren't really traitors and that not all cryptids deserve to be killed just for existing. If she can't persuade him in time then he could bring down the entire Covenant on her head and she'll be in a whole heap of trouble along with her friends.

I had so much fun reading Discount Armageddon, Seanan Mcguire has created a world full of weird and wonderful supernatural creatures from a colony of talking, highly religious mice (who reminded me of a cross between the clockwork mice from Bagpuss and the singing cockroaches from Joe's Apartment!), to telepaths, gorgons, ghouls and dragon princess with many more in between. Verity has an incredible amount of knowledge when it comes to the hidden supernatural creatures that most of us think only exist in myths and legends and she's very good at making sure they aren't a danger to the human population and helping them exist peacefully alongside us. She didn't choose the life she has but she takes her responsibilities seriously even when she's trying to make time to follow her own dreams too.

When cryptids start being attacked Verity is worried for her friend's safety and her first instinct is to blame the Dominic and the Covenant. When he assures her that he isn't behind the murders they agree to work together to figure out what is really going on in the city. I have to admit it took me a long time to warm up to Dominic, has his own reasons for working with Verity and I wasn't at all sure he could be trusted. His attitude is terrible in the beginning but he has been trained for most of his life that all cryptids are evil and can't be trusted so he gets a real shake up when Verity starts introducing him to some of the less frightening and more friendly ones she considers her friends. I'm still not 100% sold on him or the romance that has started to develop between him and Verity but I love the world enough that it didn't cause me a major issue and I'm hoping I'll like him more as we get to know him better. This is a series that I'm excited to continue and I'm looking forward to seeing what new creatures Seanan McGuire will throw at us next, I'm pretty sure she's not done surprising us yet.

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

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