Discount Armageddon

A quick and fun ride...

This book, the first of a new series by Seanan McGuire, is quite different in tone from her previous works, because there's a solid thread of humor running through it and giving it a lightness that her other books don't have. And for me it's been a welcome, and relaxing, change of pace....

The heroine, Verity Price, is a sort of paladin for "cryptids", in other words monstrous or mythical creatures that live alongside humans in the modern world: the reader can find more... mundane bogeymen, gorgons or dragons alongside less known creatures, all with their habits and quirks that integrate in a fun way with some very human traits. The level of world-building that the author shows here, and the seemingly effortless show more way she handles these creations are a testimony to her talent.

McGuire tackles the "required" romantic entanglement in the same way: Verity's love interest, Dominic, works for the opposition (i.e. a secret cult bent on destroying cryptids) but this, instead of leading toward the overused star-crossed-lovers path, gives her a wonderful opportunity to impress a different spin to this thread. What I most appreciate about the relationship is that neither Verity nor Dominic becomes so smitten with each other that they forget their primary duties, or change their attitude: it's a very mature, very intelligent approach that gives the love story a fresher outlook.

There's one item I would like to mention, something that painted a delighted smile on my face: at some point, one of the characters mentions Babylon5 – I love this show in a major way, and this mention by McGuire showed that she must be a fan too. My already high appreciation of her went higher...

And last but not least: Aeslin mice! Enough said... :-) show less

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

I often try to read something written by the guests of honor at BayCon before I go. Sometimes that merely ends up in adding to the to-be-read pile (which already had a different Seanan McGuire), but this time I managed to read the first InCryptid novel. Discount Armageddon is a wonderful urban fantasy with a sarcastic, funny, and self-aware female lead, Verity Price, and a determined—if misguided—male lead, Dominic De Luca.

Dominic has been raised to believe all cryptids are evil beings out to exterminate the human race. He has some rather good reasons for this historically, but the secret organization that raised him, the Covenant, refuses to believe times change and not all cryptids are show more the same. This causes a good bit of tension between them because the Price family believes sapient cryptids are, well, people with all the complexity that entails. They also understand about acting within one’s nature and will give the cryptids they find harming humans a chance to mend their ways. It’s all about balance.

Between the family history revealed throughout the novel and the clear sexual/emotional tension flaring up whenever those two are near, it’s not surprising there’s a bit of a love story tangled up into what is a wild adventure.

Add in an adopted cousin telepath who really would prefer she wasn’t able to hear their thoughts, a boogeyman boss who goes with the money, a snobbish dragon princess, and a great many other cryptids of various types, most who would prefer to be left alone to make their way in the world, and you have a fun read.

I enjoyed the way Verity acts the cryptozoologist as she’s been trained, making note of new discoveries as she attempts to save her city from Dominic’s upbringing only to learn there’s a bigger threat that requires they work together. It’s a scientific approach that allows for the explanation of all these creatures while offering a delightful mix of science and mythology.

This is not a particularly deep novel, and if you think too hard some aspects of the plot become a little too pat, but it is definitely entertaining while exposing a morality I can appreciate.

Oh, and on top of all this, she’s trying to be a professional ballroom dancer. It’s great for the stamina and muscles she needs when fighting for her life, but the same cannot be said for the effect her family’s calling has on her dance. Verity uses her dance skills from keeping the beat to sheer athleticism to survive. However, her preferred career is unlikely to get off the ground when she spends all the time off work chasing down monsters both to protect and capture them, a purpose that intrudes on her competitions a bit more than through bruises and wounds.

Discount Armageddon fills the niche where urban fantasy took the sass of chicklit, the creatures of fantasy, and the non-stop action of men’s adventure then tosses in a little Romeo and Juliet romance. More than that, it does all those elements well then raises the bar with a scientific approach and grand imagination that both draws on myth and tosses in innovation with an even hand. show less

Think of Supernatural. Not current Supernatural, with angels and apocalypses and stuff, early Supernatural. Monsters of the week. Saving people, hunting things, the family business. Well, this is like that but better. Verity Price does everything the Winchester boys do backwards and in high heels, and does it while supporting herself as a waitress instead of stealing credit cards. She comes from a family of humanitarian monster hunters (they kick ass, but don’t kill unless they have to, and also offer support and advocacy to the supernatural community), and she loves the family business, but dreams of being a ballroom dancer. As the book opens, she’s spending a year living in New York, hoping to prove that dance is a feasible career show more for a Price girl. But then she meets an attractive and infuriating man who works for an organisation aiming to wipe all cryptids and the whole Price family off the face of the earth. And they start to hear rumours about a dragon … show less

DISCOUNT ARMAGEDDON begins a new urban fantasy series. In this first episode, Verity Price is trying to make a career for herself as a professional ballroom dancer in New York City while protecting the cryptids there. When Dominic De Luca from the Covenant of St. George comes to town, her cover as one of the Price girls from a family who left the Covenant generations earlier because they didn't think it was necessary to kill all cryptids is in danger of being blown. It doesn't help that cryptids are disappearing and there is rumor that there is a dragon sleeping under the city is growing. Verity needs to rescue the cryptids, find the dragon, and keep her family from being outed to the Covenant.

Verity is one kick-ass character who is as show more comfortable with weapons and martial arts as she is with the complexities of professional dance. She is smart-mouthed and witty. She is also very knowledgeable about the varieties of cryptids living in the City and treats the sentient ones the same way she would treat any other person.

I loved the variety of characters in this story. The world McGuire creates is a fascinating one. I am especially fond of the Aeslin Mice who look at any event as an opportunity to celebrate. I liked Verity's developing relationship with Dominic who needs an attitude adjustment and who gets it in this story.

This was a fun beginning to a series. I am eager to read more of the adventures. show less

I've joined this party a little late. I didn't know about Seanan McGuire until I read the serious and pain-filled "Rosemary and Rue"a few months ago.

"Discount Armageddon" is almost the mirror image of "Rosemary and Rue". It's fast, light and witty in a superficial denying-the-danger kind of way. It reaches for sassy, willfully unconventional and effortlessly lethal and makes it most of the time.

It has a great opening line:

"I really don't think you should put your hand inside the manticore, dear. You don't know where its been."
It's sprinkled with clever descriptions that made me smile. Here are a couple of examples:

Verity Price on her unconventional childhood

"Other kids got chores and teddy bears; we got gun safety classes and heavy show more weaponry. Normal’s what you make it."

Verity on first encountering the straight-laced but soon to be undone Covenant new-crusader-in-town who has snared her on a rooftop:

"Straightening, he puffed out his chest and said, “I am armored with righteousness.” 'Does righteousness protect you from small-caliber bullets?'"

I loved the premise of a family leaving the God-Wants-Us-To-Kill-The-Monsters cult and becoming cryptozoologists working with the Cryptids/monsters to create a stable ecosystem - how on message is that. The plot was clever without being too demanding. The originality and variety of cryptids encountered were fun. The mice were cute. The ballroom dancing was... exotic.

At times, I thought the pace lagged a little. The sex was eye-rolling but I'm almost sure that was intentional.

In the end, much depended on whether you liked Verity Price and cared what happened to her. I decided that I did and that I want to know more - in small doses - so I'm signing on for the next book in the series. show less

This is the first book from Seanan McGuire that I have not liked, not one little bit. I've loved works by both McGuire and Grant, but this has not lived up to the standards set by her other works. The only telltale McGuire trait is the worldbuilding being rich with beasties and monsters, with excellent details given, but after that... everything falls flat.

To begin, we are given a cast straight out of some of the worst parts of Urban Fantasy. Verity Price, who has nothing positive to say about much of anything, and Dominic De Luca, the trope-laden Catholic Italian swarthy love interest who is a stereotype from top to bottom. Things we hear about way too much: Verity's loathing of her job, Verity's desire to embrace her passion despite show more being a member of a hunted group of rogue cryptid hunters (putting herself and her family at risk to follow her dreams), how much she doesn't like her more-aggressive sister Antimony, and her weird family business when it doesn't relate to the plot. These characters are all paper thin and none of them get fleshed out beyond their barebones archetypes, and very few of them are even likable. The only one vaguely likable with a hint of an inner life is Sarah, and she feels like she's there because a telepath was needed for plotpoints.

The rest of the book is something straight out of a Buffy The Vampire Slayer script bible. If you are a long-time fan of the genre, you have read this book already. You have watched this show already. This brings nothing new to the table, and what it does bring to the table is stale bread and a glass of water. I am so deeply disappointed because it's candyfloss fluff, but it's not even good candyfloss. It's empty air where a much better book should have been. I know this, because I know Seanan can absolutely do better than this and right now I'm confused as to why she didn't.

Either way: 1/5, would probably .5 if I could give it, and that's only because it does have well thought out magical world and history... but if I wanted to read a book only to enjoy intricate worldbuilding, I would have picked up a Sanderson novel. show less

Did I say quick, fluffy and fun? Urban fantasy is an acquired taste, and within it, as in any genre, you find plenty of mundane stories with just the trappings, and I have found many popular series that are just that imho, and then occasionally you find the smart, clever stories that really make use of the trappings. This is one of the latter. I had already had very good experiences with McGuire's [Toby Daye] urban fantasy series, which has deep roots in Celtic and some Asian mythology and uses them to excellent effect. This is the first in a new series, a completely different world-building system which uses all the tropes of urban fantasy (supernatural creatures coexisting with humans, human guardians, hot guy who's on the enemy side) show more and completely morphs it into something original and fun. I have no idea, however, what the title has to do with the story. And there is one other picky issue that bothers me, but it's a human one, not a supernatural one. Message me after you read the book and I'll share it with you. But the cryptids are absolutely awesome! show less