Night and Silence

October Daye, Book 12

By: Seanan McGuire

Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal

Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's Summary

Now the twelfth installment of the Hugo-nominated, New York Times best-selling Toby Daye urban fantasy series!  

Things are not okay.  

In the aftermath of Amandine's latest betrayal, October "Toby" Daye's fragile self-made family is on the verge of coming apart at the seams. Jazz can't sleep, Sylvester doesn't want to see her, and worst of all, Tybalt has withdrawn from her entirely, retreating into the Court of Cats as he tries to recover from his abduction. Toby is floundering, unable to help the people she loves most heal. She needs a distraction. She needs a quest.  

What she doesn't need is the abduction of her estranged human daughter, Gillian. What she doesn't need is to be accused of kidnapping her own child by her ex-boyfriend and his new wife, who seems to be harboring secrets of her own. There's no question of whether she'll take the case. The only question is whether she's emotionally prepared to survive it.  

Signs of Faerie's involvement is everywhere, and it's going to take all Toby's nerve and all her allies to get her through this web of old secrets, older hatreds, and new deceits. If she can't find Gillian before time runs out, her own child will pay the price.   

Two questions remain: Who in Faerie remembered Gillian existed? And what do they stand to gain?   

No matter how this ends, Toby's life will never be the same.

©2018 Seanan McGuire (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

Powerful Story, Powerful Performance

October Daye’s story continues in the book 12 and makes us re-examine many things that have come before. Seanan again makes us thinks of relationships of all types as the characters clash and give support. For anyone new to the series and thinking of jumping in with the latest, I advise you start with book 1. This book requires an investment of the story so far.

Mary Robinette Kowel’s performance on this book is strong (with the possible exception of Marcia, and that may have been a directors choice). This is not simply a reading, but voice acting and the emotional climax of the book is as engaging as an audio drama.

The only disappointment is that the short story promised on the cover art (presumably taken from the hardcover) is not included.

Maybe I missed it...

Loved the novel, and maybe I missed it but the recording didn't seem to include the short story shown on the cover.

Still love , but

A good book, but the time has come to stop working to catch new readers up in this series. Too much redundancy. Takes away from the story flow.

Knowe is back!

This installment of the Toby Daye series is just as excellent as expected, bringing several stories back around full circle and fulfilling some clever, subtle foreshadowing from before book 6.

But the specific bit that excites me about the audio version in particular is that the narrator, the estimable Mary Robinette Kowal, has returned to the original pronunciation of the word "knowe" to sound like "now" instead of "no" - it was a small, irritating speed bump for my brain, hearing the latter for the last several books. I'm so very glad Ms. Kowal was receptive to fan feedback about the accidental change and returned to the original pronunciation.

Have listened to all 12. She phoned this one in.

Not bad, but I have listened to all 12. She phoned this one in. Hope next one is better.

Stellar narration of a gripping story

The October Daye books remain some of my go to paranormal detective novels because of the overarching plot and because of Mary Robinette Kowal’s excellent acting. Well worth checking out as a series, this installment does not disappoint.

October daye is still fighting..

i have loved Toby from day one..this book builds on the series perfectly. seanan played the long game with this series, building each character and situation from book to book. not a boring moment

Feminist grade: A+

Amazing as always. I have to say, although this is the 12th book in the series, it does not feel stale. It remains as intriguing as it was when I read book 1 many years ago.
Amazing development of characters. Love Toby even more!!! :)

I love this series, but this one was my favorite!

If you’re an Urban Fantasy fan and want to live in the world of Faerie (whose creatures are so different from each other in both magical ability and appearance) this is an absolutely fantastic series. Start at book 1, Rosemary and Rue.
This book gives us a look into the Marks family, Cliff, Miranda and best of all Gillian. When Gillian is kidnapped again, a furious Miranda and Cliff pound on Toby’s door in the middle of the day (which is the middle of the night for the Fae) and accuse Toby of taking her. Offended, but willing to do anything for Gillian, Toby agrees to find her. Tybalt, still traumatised by his capture by Amandine, is having trouble looking at Toby due to her resemblance to her mother, and Toby is now devastated by both Tybalt and Gillian. But she is a hero and her own pain will not stop her from finding lost children, especially when the lost child is her own daughter. Blood will be spilled, old enemies resurface and one character turns out to be someone other than what she seems.
As usual, Mary Robinette Kowal was fantastic, but she shined for me even more in this book.
This book is 100% worth the credit!
Happy listening!

October Grows Up

There is something like maturity in October these days. She's not quite as impulsive as usual and certainly not as dedicated to self-indulgent guilt over things she couldn't have prevented. I like this October better and I enjoyed her story more too. This installment delves into her relationships with her daughter and her family. There is the requisite adventures and surprise reveals. It's a good story and an even better performance of the book. This is one you can feel good for sacrificing the audible credit.