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InCryptid #3.7
Bad Dream Girl
Growing up as the youngest of three is never easy. Doing it when your brother is a genius and your sister is a world-class ballroom dancer is even harder. Doing it as the latest in a long line of cryptozoologists, monster-hunters, and fugitives? Borderline impossible. Maybe that's why Antimony Price needs to blow off steam every once in a while. Her extracurricular activity of choice? Roller derby.
Under the name "Final Girl," Antimony Price skates for the Slasher Chicks, a flat-track roller derby team and part of the larger Silver Screams derby league, skating out of Portland, Oregon. She never expected work to follow her onto the track, but now derby girls are collapsing, and someone could be seriously hurt if the cause isn't uncovered in time. But no pressure.
With the help of her cousins Elsie and Artie Harrington, and her friends on the track, can Antimony prove that she chose the right derby name, and really make it to the end of the bout? Because this Final Girl is in one hell of a lot of danger...
"Bad Dream Girl" was originally published in the Apex anthology Glitter and Mayhem, released in August of 2013. Copies are available from a bookstore near you.
Under the name "Final Girl," Antimony Price skates for the Slasher Chicks, a flat-track roller derby team and part of the larger Silver Screams derby league, skating out of Portland, Oregon. She never expected work to follow her onto the track, but now derby girls are collapsing, and someone could be seriously hurt if the cause isn't uncovered in time. But no pressure.
With the help of her cousins Elsie and Artie Harrington, and her friends on the track, can Antimony prove that she chose the right derby name, and really make it to the end of the bout? Because this Final Girl is in one hell of a lot of danger...
"Bad Dream Girl" was originally published in the Apex anthology Glitter and Mayhem, released in August of 2013. Copies are available from a bookstore near you.
54 pages, Unknown Binding
First published August 1, 2013
3 people are currently reading
230 people want to read
About the author
Seanan McGuire
508 books17.1k followersHi! I'm Seanan McGuire, author of the Toby Daye series (Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses), as well as a lot of other things. I'm also Mira Grant (www.miragrant.com), author of Feed and Deadline.
Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).
I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(
Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).
I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 23, 2021
Meet the family
I will begin by explaining what I'm reviewing here. Seanan McGuire has written a lot of short stories in The Incryptid Series. You can find a couple dozen of the older ones listed on the Incryptid Short Stories page on her web site. (Note, she has also published many stories through her Patreon site. They are not listed on the the Incryptid Short Stories page on her website, although many of them are listed in her bibliography.)
The stories are divided into groups, which can be divided into two supergoups: those that occur before Half-Off Ragnarok, and those that occur after. The first supergroup mostly concerns the early backstory of the Healy/Price family in the USA. The post-Half-Off Ragnarok stories are about the present-day (more or less -- 21st century) Prices and cryptids. It is this second group that I'm reviewing here. BE WARNED: spoilers for Half-Off Ragnarok follow.
These are the stories in question:
Verity Price and Dominic De Luca:
The Ghosts of Bourbon Street, free download from McGuire's web site
Snake in the Glass, free download from McGuire's web site
Swamp Bromeliad, free download from McGuire's web site
Waking Up In Vegas, free download from McGuire's web site
Antimony Price:
Blocked, free download from McGuire's web site
Bad Dream Girl, in the Anthology Glitter & Mayhem
Jammed, in the Anthology Games Creatures Play
Survival Horror, in the Anthology Press Start to Play
Sarah Zellaby and Arthur Harrington
IM, free download from McGuire's web site
Istas and Ryan
Red as Snow, in Anthology Hex in the City
Black as Blood, free download from McGuire's web site
White as a Raven's Wing, free download from McGuire's web site
Eliza
Balance, in Anthology Urban Enemies
The Verity and Dominic stories all take place after Half-Off Ragnarok and reflect the state of things as they were left at the end of that book. Half-Off Ragnarok had two main consequences for the future of the Incryptid world: Dominic De Luca is now irrevocably committed to Verity and severed from the Covenant. In fact, the Covenant believes he is dead, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Sarah, who damaged herself modifying the memories of the participants in Half-Off Ragnarok. So, there are the promised spoilers: Verity and Dominic are now a couple (this will come as a surprise to precisely no one), and Sarah has hurt herself badly.
Verity and Dominic are driving from New York to Portland in a rented U-Haul truck so that Dominic can be introduced to Verity's family. They are driving because Verity has a colony of Aeslin mice to transport -- not easily accomplished by air. Also, Verity is taking the scenic route, to introduce Dominic to various folks. The first story in this series, The Ghosts of Bourbon Street, is a crossover, in that it also belongs to McGuire's Ghost Road series -- you meet Rose Marshall, the main character of those books. Some other old friends show up: the Carmichael hotel in Chicago, and the Swamp Bromeliad in Buckley Township, Michigan. This series of stories ends as intended, with Verity introducing Dominic to her family in Portland.
Most of the Antimony stories have no obvious relation to the events of Half-Off Ragnarok. One may suppose they occur before that. If you have read the first three Incryptid novels you have sort-of been introduced to Antimony, because she features heavily in Verity's recollections of growing up, as the annoying little sister who excelled in such Price family staple skills as extreme survival, setting traps, and demolition. Now, introduced to Antimony in person, we see that she has complementary memories of Verity and Alex as the older siblings who her parents (in Antimony's view) always seemed to value more than her. Antimony becomes a roller-derby skater in these stories. A word about the anthologies: I read only one non-McGuire story. Several reviewers of Glitter & Mayhem, mentioned the story about the dancing princesses, so I read that one, too. It was OK. Jammed appeared in Games Creatures Play, which appears to be out of print. I couldn't easily get a copy, so I listened to the audiobook version. Survival Horror is in the Anthology Press Start to Play -- I read none of the other stories. The Antimony stories were a fun intro to Antimony, whom I now look forward to encountering in the novels. They also introduce her cousin Elsinor Harrington, whose father is an incubus, making Elsie a succubus.
That brings us to Antimony's other cousin, Elsie's brother Arthur (Artie). We have actually heard quite a bit about Artie in the novels because he and Sarah are hopelessly in love, and Verity also tends to phone Artie when she needs geek skills. IM is really all about whether Sarah is going to recover.
Istas is a kind of fun character. We met her in the Verity Price novels, where she works as a cocktail waitress at the place where Verity works, and fights at Verity's side. She's a sort of werewolf/werebear (as is her main squeeze Ryan). But what's fun about her is her very direct, uncomplicated way of thinking and speaking.
The final story, Balance, is about a cuckoo who, as far as I know, appears nowhere else in the Incryptid world. I didn't enjoy this story as much as the rest.
In summary, these stories are a good way to meet the Price/Harrington families. I give them four stars, except for Balance, which rates only three.
I will begin by explaining what I'm reviewing here. Seanan McGuire has written a lot of short stories in The Incryptid Series. You can find a couple dozen of the older ones listed on the Incryptid Short Stories page on her web site. (Note, she has also published many stories through her Patreon site. They are not listed on the the Incryptid Short Stories page on her website, although many of them are listed in her bibliography.)
The stories are divided into groups, which can be divided into two supergoups: those that occur before Half-Off Ragnarok, and those that occur after. The first supergroup mostly concerns the early backstory of the Healy/Price family in the USA. The post-Half-Off Ragnarok stories are about the present-day (more or less -- 21st century) Prices and cryptids. It is this second group that I'm reviewing here. BE WARNED: spoilers for Half-Off Ragnarok follow.
These are the stories in question:
Verity Price and Dominic De Luca:
The Ghosts of Bourbon Street, free download from McGuire's web site
Snake in the Glass, free download from McGuire's web site
Swamp Bromeliad, free download from McGuire's web site
Waking Up In Vegas, free download from McGuire's web site
Antimony Price:
Blocked, free download from McGuire's web site
Bad Dream Girl, in the Anthology Glitter & Mayhem
Jammed, in the Anthology Games Creatures Play
Survival Horror, in the Anthology Press Start to Play
Sarah Zellaby and Arthur Harrington
IM, free download from McGuire's web site
Istas and Ryan
Red as Snow, in Anthology Hex in the City
Black as Blood, free download from McGuire's web site
White as a Raven's Wing, free download from McGuire's web site
Eliza
Balance, in Anthology Urban Enemies
The Verity and Dominic stories all take place after Half-Off Ragnarok and reflect the state of things as they were left at the end of that book. Half-Off Ragnarok had two main consequences for the future of the Incryptid world: Dominic De Luca is now irrevocably committed to Verity and severed from the Covenant. In fact, the Covenant believes he is dead, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Sarah, who damaged herself modifying the memories of the participants in Half-Off Ragnarok. So, there are the promised spoilers: Verity and Dominic are now a couple (this will come as a surprise to precisely no one), and Sarah has hurt herself badly.
Verity and Dominic are driving from New York to Portland in a rented U-Haul truck so that Dominic can be introduced to Verity's family. They are driving because Verity has a colony of Aeslin mice to transport -- not easily accomplished by air. Also, Verity is taking the scenic route, to introduce Dominic to various folks. The first story in this series, The Ghosts of Bourbon Street, is a crossover, in that it also belongs to McGuire's Ghost Road series -- you meet Rose Marshall, the main character of those books. Some other old friends show up: the Carmichael hotel in Chicago, and the Swamp Bromeliad in Buckley Township, Michigan. This series of stories ends as intended, with Verity introducing Dominic to her family in Portland.
Most of the Antimony stories have no obvious relation to the events of Half-Off Ragnarok. One may suppose they occur before that. If you have read the first three Incryptid novels you have sort-of been introduced to Antimony, because she features heavily in Verity's recollections of growing up, as the annoying little sister who excelled in such Price family staple skills as extreme survival, setting traps, and demolition. Now, introduced to Antimony in person, we see that she has complementary memories of Verity and Alex as the older siblings who her parents (in Antimony's view) always seemed to value more than her. Antimony becomes a roller-derby skater in these stories. A word about the anthologies: I read only one non-McGuire story. Several reviewers of Glitter & Mayhem, mentioned the story about the dancing princesses, so I read that one, too. It was OK. Jammed appeared in Games Creatures Play, which appears to be out of print. I couldn't easily get a copy, so I listened to the audiobook version. Survival Horror is in the Anthology Press Start to Play -- I read none of the other stories. The Antimony stories were a fun intro to Antimony, whom I now look forward to encountering in the novels. They also introduce her cousin Elsinor Harrington, whose father is an incubus, making Elsie a succubus.
That brings us to Antimony's other cousin, Elsie's brother Arthur (Artie). We have actually heard quite a bit about Artie in the novels because he and Sarah are hopelessly in love, and Verity also tends to phone Artie when she needs geek skills. IM is really all about whether Sarah is going to recover.
Istas is a kind of fun character. We met her in the Verity Price novels, where she works as a cocktail waitress at the place where Verity works, and fights at Verity's side. She's a sort of werewolf/werebear (as is her main squeeze Ryan). But what's fun about her is her very direct, uncomplicated way of thinking and speaking.
The final story, Balance, is about a cuckoo who, as far as I know, appears nowhere else in the Incryptid world. I didn't enjoy this story as much as the rest.
In summary, these stories are a good way to meet the Price/Harrington families. I give them four stars, except for Balance, which rates only three.
March 8, 2022
4.5 stars
Annie deals with a mara, Adrienne, who is a threat to her fellow derby girls. Fun story of Annie and her roller derby friends. (And this isn't the last we see of Adrienne, either. Antimony Price: better at making friends than she'll have you believe, but also really gifted at making enemies LOL)
Annie deals with a mara, Adrienne, who is a threat to her fellow derby girls. Fun story of Annie and her roller derby friends. (And this isn't the last we see of Adrienne, either. Antimony Price: better at making friends than she'll have you believe, but also really gifted at making enemies LOL)
November 1, 2025
The second short to feature Antimony Price. I wish I'd read these after book 1 or 2, both for a better intro to Antimony than Verity's memories, and also since this book especially gives more background on characters who later show up in Antimony's books: Fern and Cylia, but also one cameo antagonist. When I hit Antimony's books, I felt like I was missing some of the background--I couldn't remember who her friends were, and the flashbacks & explanations weren't cutting it. Well, I found what I was missing, and it is here.
As a short by itself, this was a lot of fun. Good introduction to Annie's hobby and friends, and a cool look at roller derby in general as well. there's also a little bit of action and a very satisfying wrap-up.
As a short by itself, this was a lot of fun. Good introduction to Annie's hobby and friends, and a cool look at roller derby in general as well. there's also a little bit of action and a very satisfying wrap-up.
December 26, 2025
Cons: Part of an anthology, thus going out to a wider audience than those already familiar with the Incryptid series and/or roller derby, necessitating quite a lot of explanation of both for a short story.
Follows Antimony, who is my least favourite Price child by virtue of the chip on her shoulder so huge it's hard to believe she manages to make it round said roller derby track.
Pros: Looks like a great anthology, with lots of names I recognise and like, so may have introduced me to a good collection I haven't already read.
Once past all the explanations, one of the really good Incryptid shorts.
Has a hefty dose of Aeslin mice, HAIL!
All in all, definitely one I'm happy to include in my full Incryptid re-read.
Follows Antimony, who is my least favourite Price child by virtue of the chip on her shoulder so huge it's hard to believe she manages to make it round said roller derby track.
Pros: Looks like a great anthology, with lots of names I recognise and like, so may have introduced me to a good collection I haven't already read.
Once past all the explanations, one of the really good Incryptid shorts.
Has a hefty dose of Aeslin mice, HAIL!
All in all, definitely one I'm happy to include in my full Incryptid re-read.
April 7, 2023
Cryptids and roller derby - two great things that work great together! It's nice seeing Antimony come into her own, as well.
June 5, 2024
too much time explaining roller derby (and this is coming from a former roller derby girl), but it's nice to see more Annie. I'm not yet at her novels and I'm looking forward to them.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews