Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

This is a Buddy Read for The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire starting November 5, 2023.


Happy Reading!

Shorts to read after The Brightest Fell

--Of Things Unknown-- Available on print editions of The Brightest Fell
--In Deepest Consequences--
--Write in Water--
--Live in Brass--
--These Antique Fables--
--Jealous in Honor--
--Quick in Quarrel--

These shorts are available from Seanan's Patreon: https://seananmcguire.com/tobyshorts.php
I think for as little as $1/month (She charges per short story posted, but only posts shorts once a month I think)

A new Tybalt Short dropped today on McGuire's Patreon! Excited!!

Started my re-read…

Moms, amirite?… who needs them?…

And who needs an evil Stepmother, with a mother like Amandine…

Through Chapter 6…

@Emily: first time I feel like I might have latched onto something I never have before… (view spoiler)[ Toby tells the Luideag that Amandine has tasked her with finding her sister, and their interaction implies August might not be the only sister Toby has lost out there, waiting to be found… (hide spoiler)]

Around the 50% mark: @Emily: (view spoiler)[Toby visits Acacia, and she says "Amandine spoke to you?... The second child of Amandine's line still lives?"...

Secondary confirmation that a first (3rd) child exists... I wonder what month of the year it's (she's?) named?... (hide spoiler)]

Going to be late to this one--going slow on current eye-read and have another book in front of this.

Okay! I'm ready to jump into this! Really looking forward to seeing how the title ties in here. Who is the Brightest? Whee!

The timeline guide I'm following recommends these two shorts after this book:

Of Things Unknown (happens immediately after the events in the book)
These Antique Fables (January POV short, set in early 1900s)

Through Chapter 2--(view spoiler)[Oh, of course the "Brightest Fell" would be from a quote referring to Lucifer. Along with the rose-spatter images headlining the chapters, it makes me think of Eira first, and maybe Amandine second. Perhaps Simon, victim of both, third. No, I didn't read the blurb on the book, I enjoy going in blind!

This is also the first book I've noticed with both a map and a "series-so-far"! The map says "Kingdom OF the Mists" though--it should say IN the Mists, so maybe it's an old map and I just haven't noticed it in the other books.

The "story-so-far" makes an interesting emphasis on the hierarchy of the fae--and then jumps right into Toby's bachelorette party, where all said hierarchies are just hanging out and having fun together--from Bridget, fully human, through Marcia and Stacy who (supposedly) only have a few drops of very mixed blood, mixed-fae like Dean, straight up to pureblood royalty like Arden & Dianda. And all there for a changeling's party, organized by a Fetch--and that note on Fetches only ever appearing for Very Important People... well, the last book did say there was a prophecy about Toby (about Amandine's get?). Someone's gotta give that over at some point.

Loved the Karaoke scene. If I ever get to plan a bachelorette (or bachelor) party, there will definitely be karaoke involved! The Luideag singing Poor Unfortunate Souls--man, I would LOVE to see that!

Toby coming home to find Tybalt & Raj asleep on the couch was so sweet. And then Tybalt setting Toby in his lap on top of Raj's head made me laugh out loud.

Ah, okay, so we're dealing with Amandine. I found it interesting how three Firstborn were named in the "story so far" but Amandine was only called "the Liar" and not referred to by name... much as the Luideag was only called by title... Makes me REALLY curious--what did she lie about, to get that moniker? Or is it just that she is so good at lying to herself?

Oh, and Dianda looking starstruck at the Luideag during karaoke! How have they not met yet? Reminds me of the scene when... mmm... forgot the name... but one of April's employee/subjects, the one who does flash cleanings, met Luideag for the first time inn the last book... (hide spoiler)]

I love Dianda... it comes up in a later book (Unkindest Tide), if it hasn't already, that Dianda is the "hippie" sea Fae leader... pretty much everyone else is alot more bloodthirsty than her, somehow... :D

miracle of miracles I have started quite early haha

until chapter 11 (view spoiler)[the bachelorette party without a date in mind was funny and made me hopeful for a wedding soon

Amandine appearing at Tobys door, insulting her and kidnapping Tybalt and Jazz was just awful. Now I really dislike her. Whenever she is in page she just insults Toby and appears both terrifying (since even the sea witch admitted she probably would lose to her on land) and quite distracted.

yay, more of Simon. Its also very interesting to see the different sides of him and how Toby can't figure him out

And the new addition to the quest, Poppy, is lovely, can't wait to see more of her (hide spoiler)]

Timelord Iain wrote: "I love Dianda... it comes up in a later book (Unkindest Tide), if it hasn't already, that Dianda is the "hippie" sea Fae leader... pretty much everyone else is alot more bloodthirsty than her, some..."

I think that came up in some of the Lorden shorts, at least--when she's dating Patrick, she mentions how everyone else is more bloodthirsty than her...

Paula wrote: "miracle of miracles I have started quite early haha..."

Yay Paula! We're reading together! I have to catch up to you though.

Nirkatze (view spoiler)[ i like that interpretation of the quote, I hadn't thought of that. Me too, I love going blind with these books

yes, Toby is a Very Important People, what with disposing of monarchs and killing Firstborn and all, and with that property she will be even more

Luideag at that party was incredible

Everything Tyblat does I approve haha

I agree about being curious and wanting to know about Amandine the Liar. Maybe a bit of both things you said but more on the lying to others part, just like she lied to Toby about everything

Do you mean when Elliot (I think) asked the Luideag if she was his first and was awestruck? (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze, yeah! Though you'll catch me in no time

Paula wrote: "Everything Tyblat does I approve..."

Hah! Yes, this! I also approve!

And yes, that was Elliot!! I'm horrible with names, even when eye-reading.

Good point about (view spoiler)[Amandine lying to Toby about everything--though a lot was lies of omission too... she just never told her about Faerie... (hide spoiler)]

Going to have to work on that catching up...

Amandine's a bitch... no redeeming qualities, in my opinion... spoiled youngest child, that didn't handle the end of Faerie As It Once Was, very well...

This book showcases that... and nothing that's happened in future books has revised my opinion...

It's her actions here and later on that have had me holding my tongue since the first book...

Chapter 3--seeing everything you just mentioned coming to light here, Iain... (view spoiler)[Amandine's complete... disconnection... from reality... she's like the textbook definition of a narcissist... the world only revolves around her... She has a lot in common with Eira, in that manner... and in her prejudices... makes me wonder how the Luideag came out so grounded, in comparison--even before she was cursed, she cared about others...

I do find it amusing that Amandine doesn't realize Toby's stubbornness most reflects her own...

I also find it interesting that Amandine took both Tybalt and Jazz--like she sees May as part of Toby... either one of them would have been enough, but she came prepared to take two... though I guess if you have two, you can kill one to send a message and still have a backup to hold over them... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 4 (view spoiler)[The fact that Toby's magic can't fight against her mother's--her First's--seems like a very natural progression. Especially after Toby being shown pretty much indestructible in the last two stories. How to level up the challenge? Put her back at square one, where her magic can't help her. Especially with the emphasis in the first chapter, on how she's been giving up more and more of her humanity to survive... this time, maybe her humanity, and human P.I. skills, that will save her...

Looking forward to seeing Simon! That's got to be where things are going next! Yay!

And if anyone is like "Why is Nirkatze excited about Simon?" then those people obviously haven't read the Lorden shorts yet. And should go do so. (hide spoiler)]

Through Chapter 5--(view spoiler)[I find myself feeling a little sympathetic for Luna & Sylvester here, regarding Toby... just as with the last time, a few books ago, she could have offered to change Raysel's blood-balance once she knew she had the power... it either didn't occur to her or she buried that thought because of her understandable distaste for her after Connor's death.

And now... coming up with ideas of how to help Raysel... but only when she needs something from Sylvester. Definitely stinks of the same thing. I mean, I can't blame Toby for not exactly prioritizing how to help Raysel as something her problem-solving mind should be working on... but I can also see how Sylvester & Luna could hold that against her. They really should have asked. Sylvester's comment on Toby acting like her mother was not completely unfounded... but Toby, unlike her mother, is offering it regardless. She just needed to remember to say that.

And Simon! *Bounce!* (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze wrote: "Through Chapter 5--..."

(view spoiler)[like you said above... Amandine is a Narcissist, living in her own world... Toby's just busy, running around putting out fires...

There's so many things she could be doing / thinking about, she just never finds the time, between crises...

I definitely like the way things play out with Simon, and Rayselline, in future books (for the most part... I definitely had an oh, shit!, moment when reading the 1st newest book this year, for unconsidered consequences that felt horrible))...

I have a feeling you see where things are going with Simon, from what you've hinted about in the short stories that I haven't read...

This is definitely the beginning of Simon's redemption/forgiveness arc... that's been a long time coming... Simon is as much a victim of Amy's narcissism as Toby is... (hide spoiler)]

You haven't read the shorts???? But of course, they don't have audio. Still, they're a really good insight...

It's the lack of audio, and Seanan's release pace... I've been paying for Patreon for years, and failing to read 99% of the output...

Through Chapter 10--mother of the year, indeed... (view spoiler)[Wow, but Amandine really is written to piss off everyone, isn't she? She has a lot in common with Eira... not actually sure who is worse right now. Eira is cruel, but knows it, and doesn't care... Amandine is cruel but continually reshapes the narrative to make her the hero in her own story, and everyone else wronging her, though she's the one doing the wronging... poor Simon, falling in love with someone like her... Sylvester really dodged the bullet... but not far, having run into Luna. Yeesh.

The Pixies!!!!! I was kind of wondering, as they approached the forest outside Amandine's tower, if we wouldn't run into them! Seriously, go read the Lorden Shorts, people! So nice to see Lilac again, and such a fun device, being shrunk down to size!

Lots of interesting Lore information in these past few chapters too--about how Deeper Realms of Faerie, and how Oberon walked away with the keys... some hints at someone setting August down the Babylon Road... and maybe the Luideag? Did August bargain with her? And that's why she can't help?

Some more nice tidbits on September and January too... I wonder what killed September, and when we'll get that story? (hide spoiler)]

Paula wrote: "miracle of miracles I have started quite early haha

until chapter 11 ..."

Made it up through Chapter 11! I can see we had a lot of same thoughts! Though the Poppy thought I didn't have until...

Chapter 12! (view spoiler)[Kind of interested/excited to see how Poppy's future turns out now that she's been, what, turned into a new kind of Fae? Not quite a First, but a Fae without a First? And I find it interesting that Toby says "She'll be alone"--but she's kind of exactly what Toby thought she was... the only one of her kind. And Toby has never stopped that from finding her true family... Toby even once had a different family, and circumstances took her away from them... there's no reason Poppy can't still see her Pixie family, even if living among them as them isn't quite possible anymore... I'd like to see Toby adopt Poppy into their little band of misfits.

Okay--this is interesting. "Amandine's line is responsible for the loss of our King and Queens."--So... somehow Amy's line is responsible for Oberon, Titania, and Maeve leaving Faerie. I mean, it's got to be Them this refers to. Else why singular "King"? Which also kind of makes Toby's Kingbreaker/Queenmaker reputation kind of... a family thing. And the note on Amy's mother's actions... and Amy's refusal to be used as Faerie needed... though it doesn't all fit together well. Wouldn't it be amusing if Amy's mother was actually human, for how she looks down on changelings as lesser...

So, I'm a bit bummed that Poppy just got left there on the couch. We'd better come back to that by the end of the book. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 13--(view spoiler)[I like how the parallel between Simon & Toby's situation is being underlined.

I just reread the end of the Lorden Short And Thrice Again to see the terms under which Simon traded his service... but that was before August disappeared--he traded his service to Eira for his friend Patrick's freedom... and there was no date set on it--just "willing service, as long as it is never turned against my wife or child."--when asked what of Sylvester, he said "My brother is a hero and can fend for himself." I'm not sure if Simon ever made a bargain specifically to find August...

Also--brining up that changeling who could punch holes in the world... makes me wonder how many strands are going to end up crossing in this book. Will we see the Duchess Riordan again, and that poor lost policeman, then crossing with April & her remaining mother? We're already revisiting the past in one thread... (hide spoiler)]

Okay, the title is clicking now. Chapter 14--(view spoiler)[Simon the Brightest. A prize, for Evening, the best man Patrick knew, friend of pixies... self-effacing self-named dilettante, but worth more for his ambivalence towards power. Falling, fallen, for the best of intentions, paving his road to hell.

I went digging back in The Winter Long to try and find the specifics of Simon's deal with Evening... I don't think we've gotten the exact wording, like his first deal... which was more or less just to be her willing spy and errand boy... here's what I found:

I got the strength to do whatever needed doing, and all I had to give up was my autonomy, my integrity, and the love of my brother, which I had never done a thing in my life to earn.--so, like, he signed over all of his will, to be her puppet in anything she desired, and he got training in blood magic in return? Seems like it wasn't what he was expecting though: I thought I would beg a boon of someone more powerful than I, and be asked to give my life⁠—or at least my fealty⁠—in exchange for what I received. Instead, I found myself indentured against future rewards. I did whatever I was asked to do. I was a willing slave, and every morning I went to sleep with the faces of my wife and daughter in my heart, reminding me of what I did this for.

I don't think Evening ever actually delivered on her bargain--but I really want to know what the specific text of the agreement was.

I do like that we're getting more hints about this prophecy of Amy's line though. (hide spoiler)]

until chapter 21 (view spoiler)[I was sad Poppy was hurt that way, and now she is now a pixie but isn't normal either. I hope she is okay and Toby helps her

Its curious that the Luideag called Jazz's species Raven-Mays and not Raven-maid and I am not sure If its a mistake or not.

Tobys meeting of August was really awful. What a way to start a relationship. And that fight with Toby beating August and Simon saying to at least not break her was just funny and I was cheering her on. August definetly resembles Amandine on her violent use of magic first and ask questions second and her ordering things and wating to be obeyed

Simon is a very intriguing character and I love how Toby is seeing more of the man he was before he was corrupted and wants to help him. And apparently sylvester didn't gave him that helping hand so that's why he was bitter (hide spoiler)]

Iain, yeah, Amandine is just awful and you have said "later on", so it's going to be fun hating her even more

Nirkatze (view spoiler)[ completely agree, Amandine is just as awful as Eira and Luideag deserves an award for being the normal one in the family

I haven't read any Lorden shorts and I am exited to see more of Simon, he seems a very complex character

Toby has so many crisis to take care of that no wonder she didn't remember Rayseline

I love all the hate directed ar Amandine. I think she is worse than Eira since like you mentioned she is playing the victim and thinks herself innocent. Poor Simon indeed

yes, I also want Toby to adopt Poppy to her family. The more misfits the better

oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that juicy line of Amandines line being responsible of the loss of the monarchs. I think it was Amandined mother and that's why Simon later says Amandine can't be blamed for her mothers sins. Tobys reputation being g a family thing would be hilarious. I would very much enjoy if Amy's mother was a human

the name of the book and how it ties to Simon is brilliant. I also want to know more of his bargain (hide spoiler)]

@Paula--totally read the Lorden shorts! It's a series of shorts, mostly from Patrick's POV, but with some Simon and Dianda thrown in, set in the mid 1800s in San Francisco.

Heaps of Pearl
Shore to Shore
Write in Water
Live in Brass
The Ambitious Ocean
And Thrice Again
Shine in Pearl (no GR page)

I think most are from her patreon--I lost track of where everything is from after I compiled them into one big epub for myself...

Unrelated, but I kind of want to give Luideag a hug... kind of makes me annoyed at Liz, from a different short...

Nirkatze, I think Heaps of Pearl was on her website. Luideag deserves the best

finished! (view spoiler)[ Augusts actitude made me mad, she definetly resembles Amandine. She seees changelings as lesser, pixies as vermin and she orders everyone like she is owed everything. I was glad Luideag put her in place and told her a changeling and her father love brought her home and to acknowledge her fathers sacrifice. And going to Tobys home to demand she search her father and making threats...I hope she grows because she really needs it

Amandine. I was really angry at what she did to Jazz and Tybalt, they are traumatised because of her. And how Toby almost had to kill her in order to rescue them. This book cemented my hatred of her, she is completely awful (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 15 (view spoiler)[So, Toby not letting slip that Quentin is a Prince--I mean, that's not information she should be letting slip anyway, or that is hers to reveal, but I kind of feel like the most damage Simon would do would be to tell Eira, and she already knows.

Oh hey, back in Annwn! Police Dude! Police Dude! I hope they get him back... If they bring in Riordan but not Police Dude, I will be sad. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 16--(view spoiler)[Yay! Police Dude!! I hope they don't just save him and drop him--that he gets a recurring bit, or at least a check-in, like I also hope for Poppy. I feel like I can trust McGuire on this though--good on details! See, like:

Went back to Ashes of Honor and tracked down that trace: Chapter 22--I opened the door a little wider and peered into the hall. I didn’t see anyone. That didn’t necessarily mean anything; not with Riordan using Folletti for bodyguards. I breathed in, searching the air for signs of other fae. All I found was the smell of blood, and the unmistakable traces of Dóchas Sidhe. I already knew I was there. That meant that, for the moment, I was alone.

But anyway--I'm really curious if Officer Thornton's stay in Annwn has done more than just traumatize him. He's been in a land steeped in magic, that isn't meant for mortals. Could it have changed him somehow? And that also makes me think--what of those mortals stolen away by Fae in history, like Sylvester & Simon's mother, to bear Fae children then changed by hope chests... did any of them end up in the Deeper Realms, and become more than Mortal? Could that be traced to Amy's mother? (hide spoiler)]

Slowly poking along after you, Paula...

Paula wrote: "finished! ..."

(view spoiler)[August isn't as bad as she seems... she's like book 1 Quentin... she just needs some time around Amandine again, and a chance to get to know Toby & others, and she mellows a bit (like Quentin did)... she's a solid side character, in a book or 2, to show up occasionally... (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze wrote: "Chapter 15..."

POLICE DUDE... lol... (view spoiler)[Police Dude is one of the characters me and Emily talked about back in books 1-3 in our super secret spoilers... don't go back and look, still not safe, I don't think... we were maintly speculating if he was maybe an unnamed cop in the first 2 books, since he grows curious about October because of those events...

There's the cops that interrogate her after she escapes the pond in book 1, and the cop that gives her a ticket in book 2...

There's just so many characters that appeared, right from the beginning of the series, in roundabout ways... (hide spoiler)]

re: POLICE DUDE!--I'm definitely really appreciating McGuire's attention to detail and ability to seed things early. ^^ Would love to take a look at her notebooks someday... Makes looking forward to a reread more fun...

Chapter 17--(view spoiler)[So, in the list of regrets and things that Toby totally isn't actually responsible for but oh if she was perfect maybe she would have pursued even though she's spent most of the past few years either trying not to die or almost dying or recovering from almost dying, I'm surprised she didn't include "get help for Rayseline" like she was bonked on the nose with earlier. Whew.

Also makes me think of the distinction the books make, of something not being someone's fault, but still being someone's responsibility.

I love the hominess of the food-ordering scene. And Simon's delight at the food--he seems rather innocent in a lot of ways, as he is coming back to himself being imprisoned by Eira's will... just as his magic shows... Though I was rather pissed at him in the last chapter for suggesting they leave Officer Thornton behind. Dick move. I'd like to think Simon is a better person than that... but the "ends justify the means" attitude and Eira's influence must linger... I mean, in the shorts, I don't think he really thought of the pixies as people until Patrick introduced him... like, he has basic Fae prejudices, but unlike the snobs, he's willing to drop them when someone points it out to him. But he needs that pointing out... Part of me kind of wants to make a comparison chart between him & Sylvester on morals--like Sylvester lying to Toby, while Simon would have told her the truth... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 18--(view spoiler)[With following August's trail back into Human, and finding (probably) August's spell work on Madden... have to ask the question--is August maybe hiding from her mother? This isn't as straightforward as a lost hero in need of waking or saving. August came home and decided not to check in... or did she? Maybe she checked in, decided she had enough of Amy's crap, and left... and Toby is being sent to drag her home because Amy is too lazy to do it herself--and it would be beneath her dignity.

Also interesting seeing Toby now trying to unravel magic of the only other Dochas Sidhe. Would be interesting to see her learn how to do all this someday... Who did August learn from? Amy? Simon? Self-taught?

Dove into Chimes at Midnight to find the scene in question:
The dark-haired woman with the red kerchief was behind the counter, handing a book to a woman in a white peasant blouse. Her hair was an odd shade of silvery-red, like red gold. Neither of them seemed to realize there was anyone else in the store. The hide-and-seek was holding.

The redhead turned to leave. I stepped out of the way, letting her open the door for me. I might be hidden by Quentin’s illusion, but that was no reason to push my luck by making the woman in the kerchief⁠—Jude, that was her name⁠—deal with a door that was opening on its own.

As the redhead stepped out of the store, I stepped in.

And that's it. It doesn't mention holding the door longer than necessary--but the silvery-red-haired woman is in there, buying a book...

Rather convenient that she's right there in the old Arden hide-out. How did she find it when Arden was so well hidden? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 19 (view spoiler)[Hah! It's so cool to see Dochas Sidhe duking it out--Toby's own tricks being used against her again. Really hope August eventually calms down and teaches Toby some tricks someday....

Also--well, I guess they'll have to bring August to Oberon then... to bring her to Amandine... unless August's definition of home doesn't include her mother... which is possible. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 20--(view spoiler)[Simon's words have interesting thoughts: “The merlins were more human by far than you are now, and they brought a thousand towers down,” said Simon. “There’s no such thing as being too human, and anyone who ever told you that was lying, because they were afraid.”

“Of what?”

He leaned closer, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, “Of what you could do if you remembered that your heritage has more than one source. If you can’t see it, feel for it. Right here, right now, we share blood, and this binding was cast on your behalf. Find it. Make it your own.”

So... what benefits and magic does Humanity own, that is not born of Fae? Besides that of iron and technology and the urgency of time. Very curious... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 21--LOL (view spoiler)[Have to love Madden!

Simon: "Thank you for your hospitality.
Madden: “If you hurt her, I’ll rip your throat out with my teeth, and nobody will punish me, because the Queen in the Mists loves me more than she loves almost anyone else in the world.”

Oh, that's just great. Gotta love a puppers who knows its place in the world--both as most loyal and beloved best friend and as protector to his Queen and those his Queen sees as hers.

And to top that up with Quentin's phone messages--all the way up to "I'm eating the last of your ice cream because you suck." Yup, some of my favorite lines in this chapter. (hide spoiler)]

@Paula-re: Chapter 21--good point about Jazz... (view spoiler)[I was noticing the change in terminology as well but couldn't put my finger on why it looked weird... the internet all seems to say "raven-maid" and "raven-men" or just "ravens" and not seeing anything about "raven-mays"--but I could see "raven-mays" being the gender-neutral whole-flock/species term--which seems to be how it's used. "Raven-maid" specifically referring to Jazz is also used in the book.

As for August--I honestly wasn't overly surprised... she's been cooped up in deep faerie alone for... almost a hundred years now? Not sure exactly when she went missing, but it was around the same time as King Gilad, wasn't it? Maybe a little before? I would not be expecting her to act rationally for a while yet. So, crazy lonely in deep-magic, but also very out-of-time... Much like Officer Thornton, and he was only gone a little over a year... I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, for at least one more book... when she stops having fight-or-flight reflex and gets to know people. I'm actually rather glad she's a fighter. Means she and Toby have that in common.

Patrick has mentioned before (both in previous books and in the Lorden shorts) that he doesn't have a high opinion of Sylvester largely because of how he has treated Simon... but we never really quite get to see what he means by that. I got the impression that Sylvester looked down on Simon for not being a proper Daione Sidhe--not being ambitious, or applying himself to self-betterment outside of... how did Simon put it? Aspirations to wear the best vest to every party? Sylvester might have loved his brother (as evidenced by his comment in the rough part of the knowe--built by "the man I loved most"--but he doesn't have much of a good opinion of him... dismisses him as a fop and not really worth his time if he wasn't family... he never recognized his worth for who he was.

And yeah, when Simon needed him, he wasn't there... he turned to a lot of people looking for August--Sylvester, Luideag, probably Patrick and the pixies and the current ruler too--and was left with only Eira to turn to... (hide spoiler)]

On that thought--(view spoiler)[it was nice to get confirmation as to just how bonkers it was for Eira to put a multi-mixed Queen on the throne... that it was her idea of a joke... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 23--OMG (view spoiler)[Yes! August in the trunk! Yes, Simon, we DID have to put her in the trunk. Why? Because it probably made Toby's day, and she's had a bad day. Probably made Quentin's too. Definitely made mine!

And as sad as it is that August doesn't recognize Simon--does he realize that he is the one she is calling on as her savior? Not her mother, who is much more terrifying? Simon is the one she sees as home... it is a compliment as much as a tragedy. And... does she know that she's not fully Daoine Sidhe? Actually, I wonder if Amy didn't already pull her blood towards her own already, with August being her heir...

Well, Toby seems to think August knows, anyway.

Just went combing back through the book to double check the wording--Amandine told Toby to "bring August back to me, just as she always should have been." Didn't say about bringing her "home"--though I guess if August couldn't recognize Amandine she could claim foul.

And there it is--there is no Daoine Sidhe in August. She never even had a choice on the matter... Simon was little more than a sperm donor...

And I guess that's a way to get around finding Oberon this book. What's the title of the next one? And what random San Francisco person could he be hiding as? Night and Silence Well, it's possible. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 24--(view spoiler)[Again, gotta love the Luideag. Even when forced to be cruel, she is kind--she didn't have to give Simon and August the moments together before the spell settled on him.

If Simon's bird is bigger, does that mean that what encompasses "home" for him is bigger too? More friends, more family? August really only had her parents, if what we've seen so far is right--Amy never really let her out to play... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 25 (view spoiler)[Why can't we put August back in the trunk? I rather like Quentin's plan--just hit her with the bat a few more times, roll her up in more duct-tape, and deliver her to Amy in a box.

Heh, August is acting a lot like the teenage snob she was when she left on her quest... but I guess 100+ years of isolation isn't conducive to gaining maturity... (hide spoiler)]

Finished! (view spoiler)[Seeing some unintended consequences there. Simon can use the candle to make his way to Eira and bring her back... gotta happen eventually.

August is still acting like an entitled teenager--no sense of patience, wanting things now--but at least she was trying to ask politely. Baby steps. She's got a lot of learning to do.

Tempted to take a peek at the next book. Is it an Oberon hunt? A Simon hunt? More family shenanigans? Eira's return? The long awaited attempt to bring back January--I mean, the following short is an April short, so that could be trying to bring back the uploaded... though I think that's going to be Killing Frost... maybe both. Well, most of the folk reading my suppositions already know the answer anyway. (hide spoiler)]

Reading Of Things Unknown--

Summary for anyone who isn't planning on reading it--(view spoiler)[Takes place soon around the end of the book--the book started on Oct 9th, and took a few days, and the short starts on Oct 30.

Li Qin has been researching rituals in the Library of the Stars. She found enough information that she feels like it's time to contact Toby and try to coax the uploaded folks back into their bodies.

April is conflicted--they were told that January was not revivable, having been killed by both axe and not uploaded to the server. She isn't sure how she feels about this--being able to revive the others, but not being able to bring her mother back. April & her other mother have a heart-to-heart, and decide to move forward. However, April soon finds evidence that January was uploaded... just not to the server. She still exists--on a backup drive. Which brings a new dilemma--January's body was burned. What can they bring her back to?

So April calls the Night Haunts and strikes a bargain: If they weave January a body--her own body--using the blood she found from an old blood drive etc--then she will allow the ritual to go forward, and will bring identity back into the now-empty vessels, meaning that one day, when they stop their dancing, the Night Haunts will have their feast back. If not, she'll block the ritual, and starve them.

Needless to say, they agree, October comes, the ritual goes forward, and everyone wakes up. One interesting side effect--January's eyesight has been restored. (hide spoiler)]

Thoughts--well, first off, this totally breaks the short-story rule. Skipping this story skips major events--not just background information. (view spoiler)[I also I wasn't expecting this to be done in a short story, though I suppose for something where the main conflict is a straightforward how instead of something trying to actively kill Toby, it makes sense.

I'd definitely like to see the tech aspects move forward more, just as Walter continues to move the science aspects of magic forward. (hide spoiler)]

Reading These Antique Fables

Summary: (view spoiler)[January Torquill POV story that bounces back and forth between 1916--the fall of Silences, and 1965 in Jan's life.

In 1916 Silences is at war--and since January's father is a Twylth Teg, they'd been living in Silences. September had gone back to Europe to seek help, while January and her father remained behind to try and sneak the staff to safety one at a time. When war makes it to their home, Malcom blows dust into his daughter's eyes, binding her to a branch of yarrow, and sends her to the safety of her uncle Sylvester. He dies along with the remaining staff. January wakes up in a room in Shadowed Hills, and her sight has been damaged.

Mid 1920s. January is assigned Elliot as her companion (since she told Sylvester that a woman wouldn't be... hem... very proper, since she's in to women), and she agrees to be Sylvester's heir. Though she hates socializing and would rather study engineering. September still has not returned home--she finds the memories of her husband too terrible to face, even for her daughter.

Mid 1940s. Simon comes to Shadowed Hills for the first time in a long time--but it is to deliver news of his sister's death. She was playing fairy bride in Europe, acting as a nurse and helping humans in the War. She was killed by a bomb. She had never come home to see her daughter. January rejects Simon's attempts at building a connection as well. He was never there for her either.

Mid 1960s. This timeline is interwoven with the previous ones, until it comes up to this date. January is about to celebrate her 100th birthday and gain her majority. She meets Li Qin while at the Library of Stars. More of a bumbling "hello" and then secretive glances across tops of books than an actual meeting though.

They run into each other again at January's birthday party. Li Qin was hired to play the event as a musician, but wound up playing alone in a garden--playing the Anthem of the Silences. January is drawn there (probably by Li Qin twisting luck)--they flirt, and then more than flirt, and January feels like maybe everything is going to be all right after all. (hide spoiler)]

Don't have a lot of thoughts about this one--it's a pretty straightforward back-story + meet-cute, and the only really new information is the bit about (view spoiler)[September's death (hide spoiler)] which has been danced around a bit lately.

Nirkatze wrote: "Reading Of Things Unknown-- ..."

This DEFINITELY breaks the short story rule... and is something I've had in the back on my mind all along, when talking about the short stories...

Luckily, this is one of the ones I read, back when I still did ebooks more, or the audio was delayed too long...

At the same time, (view spoiler)[January barely makes a blip on the radar of the next half dozen books... the first one she really matter in, is this year's book(s), #17 especially... (hide spoiler)]

Speaking of future books, I'm gonna do some 1 word focus descriptions of the next couple books:

(view spoiler)[
12: Gillian
13: Selkie/Roane
14: Simon
15: Wedding (view spoiler)[in Toronto (hide spoiler)]
16: Stacy
17/18: Sequel (hide spoiler)]

Heh, I've been thinking I need to do that for the ones we've read so far, considering all the searching I've been doing...

Nirkatze, (view spoiler)[ yeah, I was also curious about how Humanity has benefits and magic.

nice theory. I hadn't thought of the raven-mays being a neutral name

yeah, it makes sense that August is so out of touch and very panicked but it's still a bit annoying. But I can see her becoming an ally of Toby if she calms down, and maybe have a good sister relationship someday

I agree with you thoughts on Simon and Sylvester relationship and I hope we get to see more of them together

yayy, August in the trunk was one of my favorite scenes too

Good point about Simon being Aungusts savious and her home

yeah, Simon and a candle is not a good combination (hide spoiler)]

Something happens in the newest set of books, that's going to have interesting ramifications, going forward... moreso than usual (Every book changes some sort of paradigm, at this point, it seems...)

@Emily: or, to be clear what I was talking about, in the future, when this vague statement is safe to spoiler (so, after book 17)... (view spoiler)[I'm talking about the double memories some characters gain, in Titania's reshaped Faerie / California "illusion"... August & Toby have shared childhood memories now, and true familial love... I think some other interesting memories were generated, too, but I can't think of any right now... (hide spoiler)]

Paula wrote: "Nirkatze, yeah, I was also curious about how Humanity has benefits and magic.

nice theory. I hadn't thought of the raven-mays being a neutral name

yeah, it makes sense that August is so out of ..."

Yeah, totally get that about August--(view spoiler)[And with such a hideous mother, how ironic is it that in the legal & blood family she's reconnecting with, that it's the one who turned her into a fish that is the least unpalatable?

I'm totally filing August away as "sheltered and spoiled teenager who needs to grow up" and hoping that Simon's ability to adapt to his surroundings--and general open-minded-ness--wore off on her to some extent... (hide spoiler)]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Around the 50% mark: @Emily: (view spoiler)[Toby visits Acacia, and she says "Amandine spoke to you?... The second child of Amandine's line still lives?"...

Secondary confirmation that a first (3rd) child exists... (hide spoiler)]"

Hmmmm this is interesting... (view spoiler)[ I think I read that as "other" child and not "second"... But you could be right here!
Also I thought the month naming was a Torquil thing, not from Amandine. Is this theoretical child Simon's as well you think? (hide spoiler)]

Tonari no Emily wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Around the 50% mark: @Emily: ..."

I'm on the fence... (view spoiler)[I feel like Simon would have shared... where Amy wouldn't... (hide spoiler)]