One Salt Sea: An October Daye Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Seanan McGuire (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 6, 2011 | Series: October Daye (Book 5)

October "Toby" Daye is settling into her new role as Countess of Goldengreen. She's actually dating again, and she's taken on Quentin as her squire. So, of course, it's time for things to take a turn for the worse.

Someone has kidnapped the sons of the regent of the Undersea Duchy of Saltmist. To prevent a war between land and sea, Toby must find the missing boys and prove the Queen of the Mists was not behind their abduction. Toby's search will take her from the streets of San Francisco to the lands beneath the waves, and her deadline is firm: she must find the boys in three days' time, or all of the Mists will pay the price. But someone is determined to stop her-and whoever it is isn't playing by Oberon's Laws...

Editorial Reviews

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 (September 6, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756406838
• ISBN-13: 978-0756406837
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Seanan McGuire is a native Californian, which has resulted in her being exceedingly laid-back about venomous wildlife, and terrified of weather. When not writing urban fantasy (as herself) and modern horror (as Mira Grant), she likes to watch way too many horror movies, wander around in swamps, record albums of original music, and harass her cats.

Seanan is a member of the Book View Cafe, where her short fiction is regularly published for free, and the author of the "Velveteen vs." series of superhero shorts. Her cats, Lilly and Alice, are plotting world domination even as we speak, but are easily distracted by feathers on sticks, so mankind is probably safe. For now.

Seanan's favorite things include the X-Men, folklore, and the Black Death. No, seriously. She writes all biographies in the third person, because it's just easier that way.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#40 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Science Fiction

#40 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#42 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#46 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

#71 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#40 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Science Fiction

#40 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#42 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#46 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

#71 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best One Yet September 6, 2011

By Kelly (Fantasy Literature) TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

It's been a month since the defeat of Oleander de Merelands, since the Duke's mad daughter Rayseline went on the lam, and since October Daye was brought back from the brink of death and restored to the power level she should have had all along.

This is a lot to deal with, and now there's a new problem in Faerie. The two sons of a mermaid Duchess have been kidnapped. Unless they can be found, the sea fae will declare war upon those of the land, with disastrous casualties for both sides. If anyone can find the boys before it's too late, it's Toby, though it'll mean facing her fear of the water. In a reversal of the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid," Toby goes to the sea witch (a.k.a. the Luideag) for a spell that will enable her to survive underwater. She investigates both land and sea in her search for the boys... and then the case takes a turn for the very, very personal.

In One Salt Sea, Seanan McGuire deepens her exploration of most of the major characters. In one of the book's most haunting scenes, she shows us just how broken Rayseline really is, making me pity her as much as I hated her. Another character, whom I'd found boring, won a bittersweet sort of admiration from me here. We learn more about Toby's Fetch, May: why she attached herself to Toby in the first place, and why she's still in existence. We see Toby's human ex and daughter again. We get tantalizing moments of Tybalt goodness. And Toby herself is compelling as always -- maybe even more so than usual, since this case strikes so close to home -- and as an added bonus, she's on the ball this time and there aren't any moments of wondering why she's missing the obvious.

One Salt Sea is the best October Daye book to date; everything that's great about the series comes together in one book. The plot is strong, the characterization is terrific, the tragedies hurt, a few things that were confusing are explained here, and McGuire's usual beautiful writing and dark humor are present and accounted for. This has become one of my favorite urban fantasy series, and I can't wait to find out what happens next.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Installment Yet September 7, 2011

By Garrett Jones

Format:Mass Market Paperback

The fifth book in New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire's October Daye series, One Salt Sea picks up one month after the events of book four, Late Eclipses. A changeling (part fae, part human) knight turned Countess, October "Toby" Daye's life is finally beginning to take on some semblance of "normal"--she's becoming more comfortable with her role as nobility, actually dating again, and her life is starting to look up. That is, until war is threatened when someone kidnaps the children of the Duchess of the undersea courts of Saltmist. Toby only has three days to find the kids, clear her Queen's name, and stave off a war, a feat made even more difficult by the fact that someone is determined stop her--someone who isn't afraid to break the rules. And the stakes are much higher than usual--as the back cover blurb states, "When Faerie goes to war, not everyone will walk away."

In previous novels, the storyline has seemed rushed, like McGuire simply couldn't take the time needed to fully express the story. However, in book four, McGuire seemed to find a good pacing for the narrative, and I'm happy to say that she settles into that pacing in One Salt Sea. The suspense of working on a deadline is there, but the plot and story do not seem rushed. It's a relatively steady pace which works phenomenally well for Toby's story, and I am very pleased with the results, as One Salt Sea quickly became my favorite of Toby's (mis)adventures.

The worldbuilding in One Salt Sea is more expansive than in most of the previous novels, largely due to the new realm Toby encounters--the Saltmist, home of the undersea Fae. McGuire's research shines through again, and she brings a feeling of correctness to this world that is so different from anything we've seen in Toby's story thus far.

One of the things that struck me the most about One Salt Sea, as opposed to the rest of the novels, was the degree to which I connected with the secondary characters. While the secondary characters have been developed in previous books, I hadn't felt as much of a connection with them as I did in One Salt Sea. This is partly due to becoming more and more familiar with the characters, but can also be attributed to the writing style and content of the novel. As such, there was one character in particular whom I began to warm up to I hadn't really cared for before.

Apart from the secondary character developments, we get a number of more introspective moments from the protagonist herself. These moments serve to develop some absolutely delicious internal conflicts as well as external character tensions. I am personally looking forward to where they will go, and how they will affect Toby in the future.

All in all, I believe this is the best Toby novel to date.

[...]

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This series gets better an better September 6, 2011

By GypsyReader

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This series got off to a bit of an awkward start for me. The first book had problems but also promise. I'm so glad I stuck with it though. So much happens in this book, wow. A bit of an emotional rollercoaster. I'm not one for long reviews but I loved LOVED getting to know Luidwaeg better and loved seeing Toby's character grow and mature more. Finally we get some closure on her relationship with her daughter Gillian and there's definitely some romance. Over all, great book and a wonderful read.

Can't wait for the next one... and it's a year away!