Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Storytellers: Seanan McGuire

A little over two years ago, I discovered two books while looking for something that didn't have vampires. The books I found were "Rosemary and Rue" and "A Local Habitation." By the time I finished the first 20 pages of "Rosemary and Rue," I was looking for more books in the series. They are that good.

With the 'October Daye' series, Seanan McGuire takes a helping of Celtic mythology, places it in California, adds a dollop of noir and ends up with some fantastic urban fantasy. These books are intelligent, sophisticated, eminently entertaining and, well, there are no vampires.... (Yeah, I'm tired of them.) Of course, when I first picked up "Rosemary and Rue," I had no idea that all what I was in for. I had no idea what a wonderful world was waiting for me.

The books so far have taken me for a wonderful ride. Exciting and heartbreaking, mysterious and dark, there is something for everyone. Ms. McGuire has created a world that is ours, yet not ours. Her heroine, October "Toby" Daye, is strong, savvy and very smart. The stories are compelling and fresh. I can't wait for the next offering.

All of the 'October Daye' books are listed here. I'm not going to go into any detail on any of them because I am afraid that I might go too far in my descriptions and spoil the experience for others. What I will say is that if you are interested in Celtic mythology, or like Dashiell Hammett's stories, or love Urban Fantasy, you really need to read these books.

Ms. McGuire has started writing another series as well: Incryptid. So far, there's only one book out, but its very fun, and very different from the "October Daye" books. Verity Price is a cryptozoologist, ballroom dancer and, well, that was enough to grab my attention.

The 'Incryptid' books (well, book) have much more humor in them than the 'October Daye' books, but that's just fine. Ms. McGuire handles the humor as easily as she handles the noir. I look forward to the next installment in this series. I don't know Verity Price very well, yet, but I want to. And I want to get to know her world and the people in it.

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