Discount Armageddon

InCryptid, Book 1

By: Seanan McGuire

Narrated by: Emily Bauer

Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

Ghoulies. Ghosties. Long-legged beasties. Things that go bump in the night....

The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity - and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manhattan while she pursues her career in professional ballroom dance. Sounds pretty simple, right? It would be, if it weren't for the talking mice, the telepathic mathematicians, the asbestos supermodels, and the trained monster-hunter sent by the Price family's old enemies, the Covenant of St. George.

When a Price girl meets a Covenant boy, high stakes, high heels, and a lot of collateral damage are almost guaranteed. To complicate matters further, local cryptids are disappearing, strange lizard-men are appearing in the sewers, and someone's spreading rumors about a dragon sleeping underneath the city....

©2012 Seanan McGuire (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Monster hunting and ballroom dancing...who knew?

While this story is interesting and enjoyable, I feel an obligation to share that "there be mice" lots and lots of mice. Since I am one of those who has a rodent phobia, discovering that the heroine shares her living space with a colony of mice was off putting to say the least. I almost stopped listening. Thankfully I came back to the story and pushed through. In all honesty, the mice were more the mickey type than the horror story, attack the human type.

I enjoy this genre of books. Being an avid reader all my life, I have transferred this same enthusiasm to listening. I have been through many series and am constantly looking for new. What I liked the best about this book is the more human qualities the supernaturals are given. It is a different approach than all the "kill the bad" that many authors take. The snark wasn't bad either.

This wasn't the best series I've experienced but is was enjoyable and I think well worth the credit. Good start. Now I'm interested in seeing where this goes.

I love this book!

Where does Discount Armageddon rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I've enjoyed all of Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant's other books but this is rapidly shaping up to be my favourite!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tie between Sarah Zellaby and Verity Price ( although I'd be really interested in her grenade toting grandmother as well).

What does Emily Bauer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

For a lot of Characters the young bright and perky thing wouldn't work but for Verity it's perfect!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I had to tear myself away from it.

Any additional comments?

The cover and the short synopsis made me a little wary of this book but it's gone way past my expectations, it's just ridiculously fun!

Basically I'm at the point where Seanan McGuire is an anxiously awaited autobuy ( on the same level as Patricia Briggs or Ilona Andrews).

For those who like to listen to the truly odd

I would say this book is for those listeners who like the truly odd. It wasn't what I expected, nor what I would have been able to guess the book would be about. It was refreshing. It was unexpected. It was hilarious (one of the things I like most about a book). And, it even had a little romance thrown in. The main character kicks butt and rocks! Yay!

Buffy the Ballroom Dancer takes Manhattan, sort of

A fun and escapist new take on urban fantasy with some great plot twists. I keep wanting to say "bouncy," perhaps because the pert blond heroine bounces over the roofs of the city as she free-runs from place to place. The free-running and a back story that includes a stint on a reality TV show are a few of the elements that make this book feel very timely--the action is happening now, in 20teens America.

As for the urban fantasy--the talking mice and the cuckoo are just the best of the delightful new fantasy creatures in the Cryptid world. Also excellent is the casting of Emily Bauer to read this book. Her voice makes Verity Price come alive, completely and perfectly.

The universe, plot fun and pacing, and narrator are why I give this book 4 stars.

Discount Armageddon includes lots of talk of ecology and evolution; no mention so far in the series of any gods or religions beyond those of snake cults and the talking mice. Saint Patrick is mentioned, though only in association with the bad guys. So, magic, and monsters, but no mysticism... except that of the sacred vow of the bad guys... I hope there's not going to be a "science=good/religion=evil" theme as this series continues... boring. (And semantic).

Less gritty than Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series (which, set in the future, is more dystopian), Discount Armageddon's love story also lacks (as of book one) the emotional depth of Andrews' series. Rather obvious hookups occur between physically attractive characters because...um....they're hot? And hot people just automatically have amazing chemistry and deep connections...? More depth, please. I like escapism, but my disbelief can only be suspended so far.

Great title, except that the book didn't actually involve any Armageddon. I guess "Discount Secret History/Urban Fantasy" just doesn't have the same ring... and "InCryptid"... I have to wonder if McGuire made up this entire series just so she could use that pun.

I also could have done without the sexual themes and nudity. The heroine works as a cocktail waitress in a strip club and is frequently described--in great detail--in skimpy, sexy outfits (reminded me of Sucker Punch). She makes all the moves on the Obvious Love Interest, and the kissing scenes are also described in detail. But then as the intimacy rises, McGuire fades the scene to black. I don't get it--gratuitous descriptions of scantily clad women, yet barely-there sex scenes? (Much less detailed than in the Kate Daniels series). I don't think there's a decent plot reason to have to heroine work at the club to begin with, and it doesn't empower any of the female characters--all the club adds to the book is another clever name and lots of female nudity. But, even if there are plot reasons for the strip club I missed... why all the focus on describing the wardrobe? What's the point? To teach women that we have the power to kick butt and take names, as long as we're also scantily clad and ready to have sex at any second with any available hottie?

Well, I knew from the genre that there would be sex in this book--I just wish it was as easy to fast-forward an audiobook over the parts I want to skip as it is to skim in a regular book!

I'll continue reading the series as long as it continues to offer light, escapist action. I give it 4 stars because it was a great listen with a good variety of tense and less tense scenes, and for the aforementioned plot twists and creative creatures.

Pronunciation!!!

Once again I wish the producers were paying better attention to the narrator's pronunciation. People with waaan complexions instead of wahn. Saying "antimony" as if it rhymes with "alimony" throughout. Both of those examples multiple times plus quite a few others. Also the Italian main character with a vaguely British accent. I could over look that- I can't do an Italian accent either. And it was at least consistent. The narrator was a good reader, I always felt she understood what she was saying and she portrayed the main female character with just the right amount of sass. But someone ought to be catching the glaring mispronunciations before the audiobooks are published.

Painful Narration

The narration was so childish it was painful! It was even worse when she switched voices for other characters. I couldn't even make it through the first chapter.

More like Insipid

What disappointed you about Discount Armageddon?

The author tries to weaving a variety of interesting skills into the main character... ballroom dancing, parkour, zoology, hand to hand combat... but to me as a reader I question if the author actually know much about any of these topics even in the "stage-fighting" logic of tv shows, movies, and books

For one thing the main character keeps bragging about how lethal she is because of how many hidden weapons she has on her in addition to her gun (making them sound like earring and other accessories)... then is beaten MULTIPLE times while at the same time failing to use most of her weapons - even worse runs out of bullets for her gun. She has the tactical mind of a hamster and is routinely unable to deal with any opponent that does not doesn't step forward, announced a challenge, and attack head-on in a 1-on-1 style duel.

When cornered and incredibly outnumbered by several bigger and stronger opponents and you worried about survival... why would anyone try hand to hand combat instead of using their gun until they are almost utterly defeated?

What do you think your next listen will be?

School of Good and Evil

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Narrator did a decent enough job with the dialogue she was given.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Annoyance

Another winner by Seanan McGuire!

What made the experience of listening to Discount Armageddon the most enjoyable?

The writing. Seanan is a terrific story teller. Once I started listening, I used any excuse I could find to continue listening.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I really liked Verity. She's strong, a bit vulnerable, and funny. But I also liked Dominic because he started with very definite views about the cryptids but wasn't so stubborn that he could admit that what he knew about cryptids could be skewed.

Have you listened to any of Emily Bauer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've never heard her read before.

Any additional comments?

This was a fun story and eagerly awaiting the release date of book 2.

Seanan McGuire is awesome

I absolutely love the October Daye series and rank her books as auto buys. This one was great also. Not as much depth as the faerie novels, but good fun. Looking forward to listening to the next one.

A lot of fun!

What made the experience of listening to Discount Armageddon the most enjoyable?

It was a lighter experience than McGuire's other works and I really found myself getting into the adventure of it all.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I might've gotten a little misty-eyed when Candy met William. Maybe. Don't judge.

Any additional comments?

I quite like Emily Bauer's voice, but can someone please teach her how to pronounce Antimony and gorgon before the next one comes out? Please?