geekyLiving Vicariously (Through Books) has posted a review of Discount Armageddon, and says, "I honestly really think Seanan McGuire (/Mira Grant) is my current favorite author. I thought that before this book, but this book did not change that thought at all." Also, "This world has a lot going for it, I think. There’s a lot of potential investigation, multiple built in antagonists of various types, and Verity is good at what she does and comfortable with herself. I am definitely on board for the second book." Yay!
From My Wandering Mind has posted a review of Discount Armageddon, and says, "It is, in fact, awesome. Well, awesome if what you are looking for is urban fantasy about a professional ballroom dancer and cryptozoologist, who also has to work as a cocktail waitress to pay the bills. It is hilarious and fun and action-packed and McGuire has put a HUGE amount of effort into creating extremely detailed and, dare I say, realistic descriptions of all sorts of mythological creatures, now just trying to live amongst humans peacefully." Yes. That is my idea of awesome.
Urban Fantasy Investigations has posted a review of Discount Armageddon, and says, "There was a great amount of action throughout the book. The cast of characters was vast and imaginative. The plot was fun and I had a great time reading the book from start to finish." Five stars! HAIL THE REVIEW!
Book Yurt has posted a review of Discount Armageddon, and says, "With machetes, ballroom dancing, parkour, romance, and oodles and oodles of snark, Discount Armageddon is a smorgasbord of fun. It's six parts Buffy, one part Princess Bride, with a generous sprinkle of Strictly Ballroom on top—or that's the closest I can come to describing it, anyway. I chortled, snickered, and at times laughed out loud while reading Discount Armageddon—not to mention I'm a huge parkour and martial arts fangirl, so the action was exactly my cup of tea—and I finished this book with a huge, rather silly grin on my face. It's been a long, long time since I've enjoyed a new UF series this much." Best. Description. Ever.
Sigrid Ellis wrote a lovely, and very sweet summation of why she enjoyed Discount Armageddon. No good pull quotes, but very much worth reading.
Oh, and you know how sometimes people go "What's the big idea?" Well, thanks to John Scalzi, I was able to explain exactly what the big idea was. Take a look.
That's all for now. I will now resume staring dully at my inbox. Whee!
March 13 2012, 19:34:08 UTC 5 years ago
That does indeed explain a lot, and also makes me feel old. Of course, lots of things make me feel old these days.
Urban Fantasy isn't my usual fare (I'm mainly here for the zombies) but as a long-time Coast to Coast AM listener the cryptozoology angle sucked me in. I finished Discount Armageddon last night(1) and I greatly enjoyed it. The pacing was excellent. There was a very good start on building the world and establishing an historical basis for it. Verity is neither too competent for her age and background, nor too incompetent to have believably survived. Besides, I have a weakness for girls with guns(2). Finally, humor is good. Being able to laugh in a life and death situation is even better.
The only sour note for me was Dominic's rather abrupt conversion. Going from fanatical purist to that open-minded in such a short time just didn't ring true. If he was that willing to question the tenets of the Covenant I would have expected someone to notice before sending him off on a solo assignment. If he was just playing along for his own purposes, in the hopes of getting laid or something more sinister, or if his initial fanaticism was mostly an act, then I would find it more realistic.
(1) I miss the obligation-free days of my teen and early 20s(3), when I could reasonably expect to read at least one book a day and often two or even three.
(2) When we first started dating, I taught my wife how to shoot, and eventually took her to the gun show to pick out a handgun that was right for her.
(3) Then again, the internet wasn't around(3) back then, and it cuts into my reading time as well.
(4) Not as we know it today(5), at least.
(5) Help! I'm stuck in an infinite footnote loop.(5)
March 13 2012, 20:05:45 UTC 5 years ago