Rosemary and Rue (Seanan McGuire)

[chomiji]

October (Toby) Daye is a half-fae, half-human, and in a whole lot of trouble from start to finish in this tale of fairy folk of the scary, impressive type living in modern-day San Francisco. The story opens in a flashback as Toby takes on an investigation that ends disastrously. For the rest of the book, more than a dozen years later, she's a semi-stranger in a partially strange land, a tragic figure with a massive stack of chips on her shoulder who insists on following her assigned quest through all sorts of perilous encounters.

McGuire is good at characterization and at portraying the atmosphere of the city (mostly by night, as that's more comfortable for the vast majority of the fae). It turns out that the increasing population density of human beings has resulted in a great many fae-human offspring, and I enjoyed the descriptions of these, as well as the portrayals of the important fae who have made their homes in the city. On the other hand, the plotting gets a little predictable: I often found myself thinking "Oh Toby - not again!" as our heroine once more allows her pride and hurt to come before seeking or accepting help from people who might be able to ... make the book a lot shorter, basically. Toby also ends up with what's basically a geas - right and proper for such a story - that manages to make itself known unpleasantly at a number of overly convenient times to prevent Toby from, again, seeking help from the more powerful.

Toby's almost-love interest did not impress me, especially after the other, more vividly portrayed characters. Although the magical insistence of powerful fae that people be properly dressed for court was funny the first time (especially when Toby's clothes don't change back again afterwards), the second time exasperated me as a moment of random costume porn with more than a dash of "she cleans up nicely, doesn't she?" Finally, although nods are given to fae-like beings from other cultures (there's a powerful kitsune at the most friendly court, for example), these are mostly Celtic fairies of the type illustrated by Brian Froud. I don't recall that any attention is given to the affect of these interlopers from Europe on any of the area's own native magics.

This was entertaining enough that I intend to read the rest of the series, but I really hope Toby develops a bit more sense, and that the subject of the power of the land itself is examined.

Comments

[umadoshi]

I didn't find the second book to be stronger than this one, but from the third on I bonded much more with the series. (Although I still vastly prefer InCryptid, of her two McGuire series.) I'm quite fond of Toby herself, but that doesn't keep me from exclaiming "Toby! NO! USE YOUR BRAIN!" repeatedly during the course of each book. She does get at least somewhat more sensible, though, as she starts to recover a little from the trauma of having her life torn apart.

*g* I have this link right to hand because it's in a post I keep not finishing: Seanan's comment on this Batman gifset is "It's not that Toby is a bad detective. SHE'S BATMAN."

(I'm not usually one for Batman anything, but that gifset amuses me greatly in its own right.)

[chomiji]

Yes, I know she's messed up from what happened to her! (Hell, I have a man and a daughter in my life myself - I can see how traumatic that would be.) But it's amazing how consistently her reaction goes against letting anyone else help. I'm guessing it's meant to be admirable that she's insisting on going it alone. I also guess that the intended audience was not middle-aged people who have already accepted their own limitations long ago... .

LOL the Tumblr post! I have followed her - Lord knows why, as I haven't really looked at my Tumblr for months and months.

[umadoshi]

I always read it as her being incapable of believing she can rely on anyone, and therefore not letting herself do it. (And stubborn as a mule, of course. ^^) I think she can never assume that she's anyone's top priority, even if she might be able to convince herself that their intentions towards her are good. :/

Seanan's Tumblr is good fun, and a pretty incongruous mix of stuff. (I have resigned myself to the fact that following my favorite author means intermittent exposure to surprise!spider pictures. >.>)

[chomiji]

Well, though (as I said on the LJ version of this), if she's really determined to honor her dead, insisting on doing it all herself when she keeps messing up this way is not exactly constructive ... .

I find myself comparing her to P.C. Hodgell's protagonist in the Chronicles of the Kencyrath. Jame gets into difficulties for similar reasons, but her disasters tend to be both more entertaining and more world-shaking. Toby has a few moments of self-deprecating snark, but nothing compared with Jame's normal mode of existence.