A Local Habitation by Seanan Mcguire

A Local Habitation is the second October Daye book from Seanan Mcguire. For a review of the first book, Rosemary and Rue, click here.

In a sentence: A Local Habitation builds on the successful points of Rosemary and Rue, while still introducing us to new characters and concepts to the world of Faery.

Setting: I really enjoyed this particular chapter in Toby Daye's life. We got to see how she would work with a sort of "locked room" mystery. I was pleased to see that these books will move around a little bit, rather than just remain within the city of San Francisco. The setting was small, since the majority of the story took place in a single building (granted, a building that kept changing like Hogwarts on crack). I could see myself in the building with the characters, which is probably more important than it sounds. When you've got a story that takes place in a single building, it needs to be real enough that you understand where you're at and what's going on at all times. Mcguire did this very well. Looking back, I want to say that I felt like she was a little light on the description of the building itself, but the fact that it was an office building sort of leads you to that sterile, white room kind of place anyway. My own mind filled in the blanks, which is how a good author writes a setting, so I was satisfied.

Character: Toby is really a fun character. I'm also glad to see that Quentin gets some more screen time. It was good that Mcguire didn't drop him after foreshadowing him as an important character from the first book. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed in the characters of Alex and Terrie, but I think that falls under plot a little more clearly than character. Tybalt is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. He's an interesting combination of street smarts and naiveté in that he's very good at being the King of Cats and at understanding how things work in the more dangerous parts of the city, but doesn't spend enough time with the common man to really get a grip on what daily life is like for someone that isn't nobility.

Plot: I'm torn on this book's plot, and I guess I'm just going to say that the mystery was better than the first book, but in other ways it didn't work as well. With the locked room mystery, it gets progressively easier to figure out the "whodunnit" simply because people keep on dying, increasing the odds of making a correct guess. In my first read through the book, I was disappointed because I thought I had figured out the mystery at about the 1/3 mark. In reality, I had only figured out half the mystery, but managed to get the whole thing by about the 2/3 mark. This still leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth, since I wasn't really sure who had committed the crime in the first book until nearer the big reveal. This could have simply been me reading more for enjoyment in the first book, though, since in theory it presented less characters, and therefore, an easier mystery.

Now, before you get the feeling that I didn't like this book, I want to point out that there were lots of things that I really LOVED about this book. I thought that we got some really good looks at Toby getting kicked while she was down a few times, and really got to see the woman under the mask of toughness and confidence, which was a great add-in to the story, and I also really liked the development of Quentin. I'm looking for to hearing and seeing more of Toby's relationship with her mom, and I'm assuming at some point the dam is going to burst as far as romance is concerned, and we'll see a full-blown love interest of some sort, and all the pain and difficulty associated with that.

Overall, A Local Habitation (8.75/10) is a fine sequel. In many ways, it builds on what was already there, and there are really no major drawbacks to the book. It's nice to see an author that's consistent, as so many seem to have that second book slump, where it just doesn't measure up to their first brilliant idea. I am definitely looking forward to An Artificial Light, coming in September.

Rosemary and Rue by Seanan Mcguire

Rosemary and Rue is the first published work of author Seanan Mcguire (who, incidentally, seems like a very cool person. Interview coming soon!). It's urban fantasy starring October Daye, a changeling fae with limited powers who works...worked as a P.I. in San Francisco...until she got turned into a fish for 14 years. Yep, very catchy beginning. In the hope of giving some sort of order to my reviews, I'm going to try and separate all future reviews into Character, Setting and Plot.

Character- I really like Toby Daye. She's a funny, sort of bungling, magical creature that loves her cats, has a troubled past, a very interesting present, and an even more interesting future. I think she's the best character in the books, which is a very good thing because she's the narrator. The thing I like most about her is that she's not Superwoman, not by a long shot. It's nothing original to have a weak (magic-wise) main character, but after reading lots of epic fantasy (local boy makes good, becomes magical demi-god) and urban fantasy (local super-wizard get the crap beat out of him, saves the day anyway), it's sort of nice to not have Gandalf in the driver's seat. Don't get me wrong, Harry Dresden is awesome, but sometimes I wish he wasn't more powerful than a locomotive, able to decimate ranks of the undead with a single, "fuego!" It's sort of nice to see a character that gets a headache every time she pulls the, "these aren't the droids you're looking for" card.

The other characters in the story seem to have been given characterization appropriate to importance. Those we don't see much get just enough to keep them memorable, while those with a larger part to play get a little more of that magic paint that brings characters to life. That sits just fine with me, and I like my stories that way. Other good characters from the series include Tybalt and of course Toby's cats. Oh, and a walking rosebush.

Setting- I liked having a book in San Francisco. Mcguire's description of the town seems to show that she's got a soft spot for the city by the bay...well, at least Toby does. Again, I like the way she does setting. The description is there, and very well done, but I don't get to hear what every leaf on every tree looks like. Sometimes I feel that books take it too far, but this is just fine. In my own writing (yes, I do that sometimes) I don't do enough setting, so clearly I'm on the spartan side of the setting fence. The realms of faery are very well done, and I like the idea of different famous landmarks being duchies and whatnot. All in all, a cool idea, and pretty well executed.

Plot- Though parts of the story, as with a lot of urban fantasy P.I. books, read like a checklist (checkered past? Check. Main character gets the crap beat out of them but saves the day? Check), I really liked the story of this book. You really get all the emotions that come with someone whose life was in ruins and is just trying to make a second go of it. I connected with this book in a lot of ways, and that rooting interest in the characters, especially Toby, made the whole story greater than the sum of its parts. The mystery of whodunnit wasn't the most complex thing I've ever seen, but it was enough to make you feel things for the characters involved, and that's what a story is really about.

Rosemary and Rue ( 8.75/10) stacks up very well against all of the urban fantasy I've read in the last couple of years. The characters, setting and plot all come together to make you feel something, and thus it becometh a page turner. If you're a fan of the genre, you're going to want to add this to you list of things to read this year. The second book, A Local Habitation just came out about a month and a half ago, and from what I've read it looks to be adding to everything the first book established. Also, if you're a fan of zombie fiction, she's got a new trilogy coming out, the first of which is called Feed. I'm looking forward to that one for sure. In short, go and read them, you'll probably like 'em.

Changes by Jim Butcher (guest review by Darren Dayton)

    So, this being my first review, I wish to introduce myself. I am Darren, Bryce's younger brother, and we tend to have the same tastes in reading, so I was a natural extension of the reviews on his site.

    Today, we will be talking about Changes, the latest book in the Dresden Files series by author Jim Butcher, and a book (and series) I highly recommend. He has not been mentioned on the site thus far, but it was not due to lack of interest or appreciation, but rather time constraints. His latest (and one of his best in my opinion) books starts out like every other one of his books: an important, yet hilarious beginning scene that introduces well the main conflict of the story, and lends to the entertainment aspect of literature quite well. I am impressed, because this time the beginning was even more of a home-run than previous books, and I wasn't sure that was possible. It is, however, twelve books into the series, so I suggest starting with book one, Storm Front.

    On to the actual review, then, eh?

    The characters as always are completely alive, and to rate the immersion: I sometimes forget I'm reading a book. This book is no different than any of the others in the series... well, not quite. The title, Changes, is quite appropriate, in that we see some changes in characters, and things going in ways we never thought (or hoped, or dreaded) they could go.

    As to the quality of the work, I literally just read it in about 8 hours straight, in one sitting. I have not stopped for food, water, various toiletries; heck, I started reading it while I was at work this morning, and only stopped for the ten minutes it took me to get home. Mr. Butcher puts on an excellent performance, so to speak, and it is masterfully entertaining, while also being involved and absorbing on a level I, as an avid Fantasy fan since close after birth, have seen.

    The characters and plot left me emotionally invested enough that I have not only read 12 books about them, but I literally feel joy and sadness with them, live and die; without any spoilers I tell you that as I sit here writing this, I am still in an emotional stupor over the events at the end of the book, and that just doesn't happen to me folks.

    Quick non-spoiler plot summary:
        Harry, main character and resident wizard in Chicago, has just learned from an old girlfriend that the Red Court of vampires has taken a little girl, and intends to... well, they don't know what yet, but it obviously can't be good. I mean, vampires, right? Someone is destabilizing the power of the White Council of wizards, and Harry also has to try to find out what's going on there before full-on war breaks out anew between the Court and the Council (but that's nothing new, really. Read the last few books.) Anyway, things go wrong in a spectacular fashion, as is usual, and it's up to Harry to stop them from either destroying the world or killing millions of people.

    If that seems generic to you, it's because the plot is so involved I cannot say a single word different without giving things away. Suffice to say, like Robert Jordan, Jim Butcher weaves plot upon plot, twist upon twist, until no reader can say for sure what the outcome will be until the end of the book.

    Overall rating: 10/10.

    Fantastic work, Mr. Butcher, and while I had qualms with almost everything that happened (plot, character changes, building/car demolitions) know that you got a 10 out of 10 because all that points to just how good the writing is, and just how much of a vested interest I had in this book, and the series in general. I hope you continue to keep 'em coming, 'cause I will read them until they nail shut my coffin. Thank you for the wonderful time I had reading this, and I hope all the readers of this review will go out and get started by reading Storm Front, because this series is well worth it.

Great review Darren. I simply want to add that Changes is a very apt title for this particular book. Almost everything that we know about the Dresden Files gets turned on its head, and things are definitely headed in a new direction. I'm confident, though, that future volumes will still be excellent. This is, so far, my MUST BUY book of 2010.