Half-Off Ragnarok
InCryptid, Book #3
By Seanan McGuire
ISBN #9780756408114
Author’s Website: http://www.seananmcguire.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Caro
Synopsis:
When Alex Price agreed to go to Ohio to oversee a basilisk breeding program and assist in the recovery of his psychic cousin, he didn’t expect people to start dropping dead. But bodies are cropping up at the zoo where he works, and his girlfriend—Shelby Tanner, an Australian zoologist with a fondness for big cats—is starting to get suspicious.
Worse yet, the bodies have all been turned partially to stone…
The third book in the InCryptid series takes us to a new location and a new member of the family, as Alex tries to balance life, work, and the strong desire not to become a piece of garden statuary. Old friends and new are on the scene, and danger lurks around every corner.
Of course, so do the talking mice. (Goodreads)
Review:
Author Seanan McGuire did it again. First, she charms her readers with fairies, then with princesses, and now with reptiles. And, let me tell you something: I’m not very fond of slithering creatures. But the InCryptid novels are a totally different world of its own. I now know and like the author’s writing style, so I had my expectations, but once I had gotten to the end, I realized that I had definitely enjoyed reading this book more than I had thought. I will miss the mice.
The story’s, cryptozoologist, Alex Price, instantly became one of my favorite characters. He’s a family guy with a love for science. Hail the God of Scales and Silence, as the Aeslin mice would say. He is very much focused on following the family business, such as searching for the local cryptid and maintaining the Field Guide and keeping it updated. But, this does not mean that he doesn’t give himself time for romance. Which brings us to his Australian zookeeper girlfriend, Shelby. The keyword here is, Australia. She has seen it all that has to be seen with the island’s cryptid population and non-cryptid. Lets just say, she is the girl you want around if you ever come across a lindworm; it’ll be like wrestling an alligator
Another character that I just loved was Alex’s cousin, Sarah, a cuckoo who is recovering from the effects of events in Midnight Blue-Light Special. She loves numbers, and ketchup with her oatmeal. It’s inconvenient that most of the time she doesn’t remember the people she lives with, but she will remain calm under any circumstance. I wish the author would give her her own book. A cryptid clan that I really liked was the Aeslin mice. They live in the Price’s house and will follow their orders if they receive enough cheese and cake. Who wouldn’t want obedient mice helping you with your homework or any other work?
The story has a good pace and is easy and interesting to follow, even if you haven’t read the two previous books and short stories. The reader is caught in this urban-fantasy, mystery which has a good way of keeping one from solving the deaths before the characters find the murderer. At the last moment I forgot that I should have been keeping tabs on certain characters, like the good detective I have become 😉 I recommend this book whether or not it’s your kind of genre. There are so many other details I would like to mention here. but it would be spoiling the story. Half-Off Ragnarok It’s refreshing, fun, sarcastic, mystery that will keep you taking a second look at your local zoo’s cobras. If you need a clear image of what some of the cryptid look like, the author has illustrations and her own field guide here.
