Ashes of Honor

An October Daye Novel, Book 6

By: Seanan McGuire

Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal

Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

It’s been almost a year since October "Toby" Daye averted a war, gave up a county, and suffered personal losses that have left her wishing for a good day’s sleep. She’s tried to focus on her responsibilities - training Quentin, upholding her position as Sylvester’s knight, and paying the bills - but she can’t help feeling like her world is crumbling around her, and her increasingly reckless behavior is beginning to worry even her staunchest supporters.

To make matters worse, Toby’s just been asked to find another missing child…only this time it’s the changeling daughter of her fellow knight, Etienne, who didn’t even know he was a father until the girl went missing. Her name is Chelsea. She’s a teleporter, like her father. She’s also the kind of changeling the old stories warn about, the ones with all the strength and none of the control. She’s opening doors that were never meant to be opened, releasing dangers that were sealed away centuries before - and there’s a good chance she could destroy Faerie if she isn’t stopped.

Now Toby must find Chelsea before time runs out, racing against an unknown deadline and through unknown worlds as she and her allies try to avert disaster. But danger is also stirring in the Court of Cats, and Tybalt may need Toby’s help with the biggest challenge he’s ever faced.

Toby thought the last year was bad. She has no idea...

©2012 Seanan McGuire (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Toby’s unusual heritage and her uneasy relationships with her mother’s family will remind readers of Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series, and Thompson fans will appreciate Toby’s tough and self-reliant character…a must for fans of genre-bending blends of crime and fantasy." ( Booklist)

WOW!

Where does Ashes of Honor rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book is by far one of the best audiobooks and part of the best series in this genre. I love the development of the story world, characters, and plot lines. Seanan is a talented story teller and writer...that truly is an understatement.

Best of the Series So Far

What I love about this series is the same thing that makes it difficult to write a review - the writer never leaves the characters in the same place they started. The story is fast-paced and well-plotted, the characters are never one-dimensional and the villain's motive is both believable and hard to predict. Love it. And the "Labyrinth" shout-out made me smile.

Mary Robinette Kowal's performance was outstanding, as always. Her character voices are always spot-on and her pacing is perfect for the book.

Highly enjoyable story

I really enjoy the characters of this story and their adventures. Love the narrator. A wonderful read that leaves you satisfied and wanting to know what comes next.

Sightseeing in the Deep End of Faerie

What I really like in October Daye series is that the heroine has to learn things and it takes time. The aspect is present in the other series also but in this it is actually a bit more that just mentioning "I've learned this and that".

The story is not as strong as in the last book where the author made a brave move and ended few storylines that she had been carrying along since the beginning of the series.

Ashes of Honor starts with this feeling of being sore and builds up from there. I cannot really put my finger to it but the book lacks some of the previous one's magic but the creepiness of Ah-noon makes up a plenty.

Mispronounced Name Mars Otherwise Excellent Story

This is one of my favorite urban fantasy series. It’s twisty, funny, exciting and creative. Highly recommended!

Mary Robinette Kowal is a great narrator. She reads different voices and accents well, and gives the dialogue the right emotions.

My only concern is LiQin Zhou. She is Chinese, and Kowal pronounces her name Lee Kin. The correct pronunciation is Lee Chin. Given that the many Irish names and words are pronounced properly (based on online guides), it’s jarring that such an obvious mistake was allowed in this case.

always a pleasure

The October Daye series is always a pleasure to sink into. A good story, characters to love - or love to hate, and an outstanding narrator who must in another life have been a changeling in fairie.

Good as usual...

Good as always for this team...but I am hoping the next book tops them all. I'm feeling as if Ms McGuire is getting a bit tired of the series. It seems to be lacking in the first books wit and humor as if she's struggling to come up with different story lines for her heroine and heroes.
I did see another book that appears to be in the same series, October Daye, called 'Nacht Mayhr'... I hope to see it here in Audible soon.

Excellent urban fantasy

Like all of Ms. McGuire's books, excellent the whole way through. Start at the beginning, become attached, gain valuable background information to show *why* this is so harrowing, and sometimes so very funny.

Totally not my cup of tea

Story - This book did not hold my interest. I finally had to turn the speed up to 2X to get through it. The only thing I enjoyed was the last 15 minutes, because I liked the way the loose ends tied up and the story ended. It might be a good book to some, but the plot was just silly in my opinion. If you like Jane Yellowrock, Sookie Stackhouse, Fever, The Hollows or Night Huntress, you might like this book. I tried out all those series and was totally bored. I am fine with magic and supernatural characters, but the plot needs to grab my attention. This one didn't.

Narrator - She did a good-enough job, but the performance was nothing special (plus it's kinda hard to tell on 2X speed!!).

Overall - Skip this book.

My least favorite so far, but good filler.

This book should have come with a game board for shot glasses that invite you to take a drink every time Toby rakes her fingers through her hair. She's never done it quite this much in any of the other books, but I swear she was mentioning it every other chapter.

I didn't love this book as much as I've enjoyed the previous five. I think it relied too heavily on previously used plots, and while I appreciate the appearances of a few people, it read like an episode of television that uses flashbacks around a kitchen table to fill up the half hour to make it through the mid-season slump.

I'm still not 100% buying this love story between Toby and Tybalt. Like, I want to? but something about it feels very superficial and expected to me. They feel more like they would make fierce, ride-or-die friends - Maybe even somewhere in the realm of queerplatonic.. or even just a one-night-stand that didn't go that way but bonded very deeply.

I like the development of April a lot. I don't love feeling like January having a wife was an after thought, but I can't remember if it was brought up in A Local Habitation.

Etienne and Toby feel like Michel and Lorelai Gilmore sometimes and I mean that with all of the love in my heart

Will continue the series because I need more sea witch.