Discount Armageddon: An InCryptid Novel (Incryptid Novels) [Mass Market Paperback]

Seanan McGuire (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 6, 2012 | Series: Incryptid Novels

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...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Smart, whimsical and bitingly funny, Verity Price is a kick-ass heroine that readers will love. Just when I thought she couldn't surprise me again, she would pull some new trick out of her hat - or, in the case of her throwing knives, out of her corset. I would send Verity and my Jane Jameson on a girl's night out, but I'm afraid of the damage bill they would rack up!"

(-Molly Harper, author of NICE GIRLS DON'T HAVE FANGS)

"Seanan McGuire's DISCOUNT ARMAGEDDON is an urban fantasy triple threat - smart and sexy and funny. The Aeslin mice alone are worth the price of the book, so consider a cast of truly ORIGINAL characters, a plot where weird never overwhelms logic, and some serious kickass world-building as a bonus."

(-Tanya Huff, author of THE WILD WAYS)

"Original, pacy, and hugely entertaining-Seanan McGuire knows how to tell a good story!"

(-Alma Alexander, author of WORLDWEAVERS: CYBERMAGE)

"Mixing mythology and monster lore (plus a good helping of snark), Discount Armageddon is fast-paced, funny and boasts a salty-sweet heroine who can cha-cha, foxtrot, and kick ass––or any combination thereof––while she sprints her way across the rooftops of Manhattan, policing and protecting the denizens of New York City's supernatural community."

(-Amber Benson, author of HOW TO BE DEATH)

About the Author

Seanan McGuire is a California-based author with a strong penchant for travel and can regularly be found just about anyplace capable of supporting human life (as well as a few places that probably aren’t). Early exposure to a vast number of books left her with a lifelong affection for the written word, and led, perhaps inevitably, to her writing books of her own, starting somewhere around the age of eleven. The October Daye novels are her first urban fantasy series, and the InCryptid novels are her second series, both published by DAW and bother of which have put her in the New York Times bestseller list. Seanan was the winner of the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer; Rosemary and Rue, the first novel in the October Daye series, was named one of the Top 20 Paranormal Fantasy Novels of the Past Decade; and her novel Feed, written under the name Mira Grant, was named as one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2010. She also won a Hugo for her podcast, and is the first person to be nominated for five Hugo Awards in a single year. You can visit her at www.seananmcguire.com.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: DAW; Original edition (March 6, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780756407131
• ISBN-13: 978-0756407131
• ASIN: 0756407133
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #148,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

167 of 178 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Early But Worth Waiting For February 24, 2012

By Last Knight

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I keep going back and forth on how to start this review, which you might notice is going up a couple of weeks in advance of the actual release date. I'm not a prereader in the normal sense of the term, haven't received an ARC and I'm certainly nobody from whom you'd expect to see a blurb on the cover; I'm just a guy whose wife knew he enjoyed Seanan McGuire's October Daye series, so she preordered the first Incryptid novel when it was announced. And Amazon, in blithe disregard of release dates, sent it on to our greedy hands well in advance. Which is great, except for the fact that the NYT Bestseller list focuses on week one for its ranking system - and here we are in week -2, receiving our books, generating all of these sales. It's astoundingly unfair to a novel that deserves accolades and praises, and it's a resounding shame.

And yet, at the same time, I can't help but enjoy a guilty frisson of pleasure because I got to read it first. It took me less than six hours to consume this tale of monster hunting, monster cataloging, ballroom dancing and assorted deeds of derring-do, not because I'm a freakishly fast reader (although my wife would be one of the first to point that finger - "J'accuse!") but because it was, quite frankly, that good. This should come as no surprise to other readers of her Toby Daye series - Ms. McGuire is a talented author, with equal skills in creating memorable characters, spinning witty dialogue, and laying out a gripping storyline that catches you quick and rockets you along the rails (and sometimes above them, below them, or to one side or the other as you do those crazy, hairpin Wild Maus turns) to the conclusion....

"Discount Armageddon," on this note, does not disappoint; our heroine, Verity Price, is a daughter of the infamous Price family, who broke from the genocidal Covenant generations past to make their own way in the secret world of the supernatural. Far from being monster hunters, the Prices are monster catalogers - cryptozoologists, bound to study and protect the hundreds of races of unrecognized creatures, the Cryptids, living in the nooks and crannies of the daylight world. Some of these beasts are dangerous animalistic predators, and for the good of anything edible around them (i.e., humans), they must be contained or destroyed. Many of them are sentient creatures who just want to live their lives in peace - to bake pastries, to accumulate gold, or to eat pigeons in the park. The Prices are the unsung champions of the Cryptid world, believed a myth by most, hunted by some; and yet, despite this fantastic world to which she belongs, this is not the life Verity chooses. She is, at heart, a ballroom dancer; she has even managed to win something of a reputation in her field, thanks to reality television, dogged persistence, and an insanely deprived sleep schedule as she rushes to fill her family and professional obligations, both. Now living in New York City, far from friends and family, she finds herself in the middle of a Cryptid crisis that could very well threaten all she's tried to build for herself; the Covenant has come to the city, and Cryptids are disappearing. Especially young, female Cryptids...

Old hands in the Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance genre will see the romance subplot coming from a mile away - from first meeting, perhaps, as I did. On the other hand, the betrayals and twists in the plot - and there are a couple - are both richly layered and cunningly laid, and are likely to catch the reader as much by surprise as they do the characters. This is an enjoyable beginning to what promises to be an enjoyable series, and is to be looked forward to by all fans.

Which leads us to another point, one only tangentially related to "Discount Armageddon," and that is this; people are bastard covered bastards with bastard filling. Because Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and other distributors have released the printed copies early, but not the e-books, the author - who has no control over the release date of any of her material - has been the recipient of vulgar abuses and threats. It shouldn't have to be stated in any sort of civilized society that threatening physical violence over an intangible offense, especially one that does no actual harm (like having to wait two weeks for a story - two weeks to a release date that has not altered). And because the author is a woman, of course, many of these threats and taunts take on demeaning and sexually aggressive tones. This is, quite literally, behavior that should have been curbed in kindergarten. It's behavior that, quite honestly, makes me ashamed of my gender, and ashamed to hear these people refer to themselves as fans. The story, and a plea from Ms. McGuire, can be found here - [...] - but it's no exaggeration to say that the people in question have nothing more than my complete and utter disdain and contempt.

TL;DR version of the above: people suck, this book does not. Read it. Enjoy it. Don't be a bastard to the writer, because it discourages her from producing more such fantastic stories. Read more ›

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Same great writer, but a little lighter February 24, 2012

By Rachel Steinberger

Format:Mass Market Paperback

If you're a fan of Rosemary and Rue and Seanan's other books, you won't find this one disappointing. I won't summarize the plot, because the previous professional reviews pretty much got it right on - wanna-be pro-dancer from cryptid-obsessed family alone in New York, making friends with the ghoulies and having an awkward-but-steamy relation with a "kill-the-monsters" fanatic. I won't tell you how it ends, because, well, that would be telling. It is slightly different in feel from Seanan's October Daye series ("Rosemary and Rue", etc.) - a little less serious, a bit steamier. However, her characters remain interesting and original and her writing is clear and enjoyable. Some humorous turns to the plot really made the book for me, and I hope she continues this series as well as her October Daye novels. Recommended for some light reading.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars falls short of expectations March 24, 2012

By R. Steffens

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love McGuire's other series, but this novel is neither all that funny nor all that compelling. I had high hopes based on the fascinating world she's created in her other books, but this one was just OK. Too much telling, not enough showing, and no real spark between the main characters. With their opposing viewpoints there could have been a good deal of conflict, a build-up to their relationship - instead, it just kind of happens without fanfare or tension. Good read if you want detailed descriptions of running around on rooftops, not so much if you are looking for satisfying worldbuilding and character interaction.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book, could be better... April 3, 2012

By Melissa Mason

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Verity Price, a cryptozoologist, hunts monsters that go bump in the night. Not every monster though, just the naughty ones that cause havoc in society. Verity comes from a long line of cryptozoologists which a few generations back broke from the Covenant, a group that believes all non-humans are evil and need to die.

The book started out strong and made me have high hopes that it would be excellent. Roughly halfway through I ran into a snag that I could not get over. The snag that I am speaking of is that one character was basically brainwashed into believing something their whole life. Yet that character changed their lifestyle / beliefs at the drop of a hat. I do not believe that could happen in most cases. I would have liked to see a progressive change throughout the book, not a I woke up and am a different person today type of change.

Another issue I have with the book is that it is full of monster names (ex: ahool, johrlac, etc) that the reader will get easily confused or not able to keep straight. I read the whole book and struggled somewhat only to find out there is a monster glossary in the back of the book. Why is this not in the front of the book?! I assume that most people are like me and do not read the back of the book first. I would have loved to reference the glossary while reading, but it is too late now.

The book is highly entertaining and worth reading, especially if you are into the kick butt females and paranormal characters. If you do decide to read this book, remember to look in the back if you get confused on what *insert monster name* is.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Explosive new series with a rockin' heroine! March 6, 2012

By Amanda TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Seanan McGuire fans rejoice. The wonder writer who introduced readers to the fantastic world of October Daye is back with a new series that offers another excellent heroine in a unique world that's full of action.

Discount Armageddon introduces readers to Verity Price, a daughter of the famous Price family that has dedicated generations to studying the many strange monsters, bogeymen, demon and other things that go bump in the night. From birth, Verity has been trained as a crytpozoologist, though she'd rather just dance. After getting fed up with her life in Oregon, Verity moves to Manhattan for a year to pursue a professional ballroom dancing career (as in, tango, ramba, salsa, etc.) while finding a way to balance her family duties. Not only does Verity uncover a local nest of dangerous monsters, but find herself being pursued by a monster-hunting member of the Covenant, which would rather kill all the incryptids than try to persevere them. And it doesn't help that he's incredibly attractive.

If you've read Seanan McGuire's October Daye novels, then you'll find that Discount Armageddon has many of McGuire's signature items: fun and quirky storytelling with kick-butt female characters and a unique and engaging world that pulls readers in and doesn't let them go. But fans should know: Verity's story is not nearly as dark as Toby's. In fact, Discount Armageddon offers a lighter approach with a little extra steaminess and a renewed sense of fun and excitement that's a breathe of fresh air to readers. And, I hate to say it, but as much as I love McGuire's October Daye novels, I think that the InCryptid series could overtake it as my favorite urban fantasy/paranormal romance series.... Actually, I'll even admit that Verity is already giving Toby a run for her money in the awesome heroine category. Verity could totally kick any bad guy's ass, even in a miniskirt and stilettos.

Though the concept feels a tiny bit awkward and convoluted, it's up to Verity to protect the incryptids of the world while learning to sashay across the dance floor. But it doesn't really help that she works at a local club for discerning gentlemen (read: strip club), that's crawling with incryptids. Verity, thankfully, doesn't work as a stripper, but the head of the establishment still requires somewhat skanky uniforms for servers -to the tune of short plaid skirts, mid-drift exposing T-shirts and way-too-high-heels. And, unfortunately, she ends up running around on rooftops late at night in this ridiculous outfit. Brimming with biting wit, quirky comments, wild occurrences and realistic issues, Verity is probably one of my favorite heroines in literature ever. I love her honest conflicts laced with quirky comments and high-paced action.

Oh, the action. Discount Armageddon is certainly never short on action. It seemed like at virtually every turn there was something new and exciting going on that kept the plot constantly moving forward. And it only helps that this is set in such a unique and compelling world that has a lot of potential to grow into something incredible. And where Toby Daye has started to become a little stale, Verity has swooped in with something truly refreshing and downright fun.

I truly cannot offer enough praise for this book. Read more ›