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"Just when Sarah Zellaby, adopted Price cousin and telepathic ambush predator, thought that things couldn't get worse, she's had to go and prove herself wrong. After being kidnapped and manipulated by her birth family, she has undergone a transformation called an instar, reaching back to her Apocritic origins to metamorphize. While externally the same, she is internally much more powerful, and much more difficult to control.Even by herself. After years of denial, the fact that she will always be a cuckoo has become impossible to deny.Now stranded in another dimension with a handful of allies who seem to have no idea who she is - including her cousin Annie and her maybe-boyfriend Artie, both of whom have forgotten their relationship - and a bunch of cuckoos with good reason to want her dead, Sarah must figure out not only how to contend with her situation, but with the new realities of her future. What is she now? Who is she now? Is that person someone she can live with? And when all is said and done, will she be able to get the people she loves, whether or not they've forgotten her, safely home?"--Publisher.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member krau0098
Series Info/Source: This is the 10th book in the InCryptid series. I got an eGalley of this from Edelweiss to review.
Story (3/5): This was an odd story and mainly follows Sarah and crew as they struggle to get back to their own dimension. It was interesting and unique but also a bit out there. It
Characters (3/5): The characters that were at the end of the last book were all here. There are a bunch of random characters thrown in that traveled to this dimension with the University and other characters that live in this dimension. All of those new characters mainly seemed to be filler...and are pretty forgettable. We don’t get to see a lot of deep interactions between Sarah and her friends/family because none of them remember her. Additionally, Antimony is in the story a lot and I just don’t like her character.
Setting (4/5): This is set in a different world/dimension. It was a unique setting but seemed odd considering the rest of the series. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either.
Writing Style (3/5): This is decently written but I had some issues with McGuire’s writing this time around. There is an absolute ton of recapping here and a lot of the story is wwaaaayyy over explained. This is one of those books where you can literally skip pages of material and not miss much. Sarah spends sooo much time in her own head worrying and rehashing stuff. I normally love this series because it is fun and action-packed. This book felt long and drawn out and the pace was slow.
My Summary (3/5): Overall this was disappointing for me. I read this series because it is fun and action-packed and has some great humor in it. I also love the cryptids. This story didn’t fit well with the rest of the series and was full of way too much over-explaining and rehashing. In addition to that we don’t get any of the fun characters interactions because the other characters literally do not know who Sarah is. I loved the last Sarah book but this one was kind of a dud. I didn’t even want to read the short story at the end, I just wanted to be done with this and move on.
Story (3/5): This was an odd story and mainly follows Sarah and crew as they struggle to get back to their own dimension. It was interesting and unique but also a bit out there. It
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didn’t really fit with the rest of the series well. I enjoyed it and thought it was intriguing but it also wasn’t at all what I had been expecting and hoping for.Characters (3/5): The characters that were at the end of the last book were all here. There are a bunch of random characters thrown in that traveled to this dimension with the University and other characters that live in this dimension. All of those new characters mainly seemed to be filler...and are pretty forgettable. We don’t get to see a lot of deep interactions between Sarah and her friends/family because none of them remember her. Additionally, Antimony is in the story a lot and I just don’t like her character.
Setting (4/5): This is set in a different world/dimension. It was a unique setting but seemed odd considering the rest of the series. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either.
Writing Style (3/5): This is decently written but I had some issues with McGuire’s writing this time around. There is an absolute ton of recapping here and a lot of the story is wwaaaayyy over explained. This is one of those books where you can literally skip pages of material and not miss much. Sarah spends sooo much time in her own head worrying and rehashing stuff. I normally love this series because it is fun and action-packed. This book felt long and drawn out and the pace was slow.
My Summary (3/5): Overall this was disappointing for me. I read this series because it is fun and action-packed and has some great humor in it. I also love the cryptids. This story didn’t fit well with the rest of the series and was full of way too much over-explaining and rehashing. In addition to that we don’t get any of the fun characters interactions because the other characters literally do not know who Sarah is. I loved the last Sarah book but this one was kind of a dud. I didn’t even want to read the short story at the end, I just wanted to be done with this and move on.
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LibraryThing member readinggeek451
Picking up where Imaginary Numbers left off, with Sarah, Antimony, Artie, James, and their cuckoo ally Mark stranded in another universe with a college campus, a few random students, and an unknown number of other cuckoos. Now they need to find a way to get themselves and everyone else back--except
A fun entry in the series, but probably not the best place to start.
Includes a slight but enjoyable bonus novella about several of the younger cousins searching Comic-Con for a deadly siren.
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for the cuckoos, if possible. This won't be easy. Especially since Sarah deleted her cousins' memories of her to make room for the equation that got them there.A fun entry in the series, but probably not the best place to start.
Includes a slight but enjoyable bonus novella about several of the younger cousins searching Comic-Con for a deadly siren.
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LibraryThing member tardis
Calculated Risks by Seanan McGuire. At the end of the previous book (Imaginary Numbers), Sarah and company had saved the world but were stuck in another dimension. This book picks up right where the other one left off and takes us on a ride with giant spiders, even more giant praying mantises,
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math, cuckoos (the Cryptid kind, not the birds), and more. It was awesome. Bonus novella at the end where Annie, Artie, Sarah, and Verity go to Emerald City Comicon to track down a murderous siren. Show Less
LibraryThing member bgknighton
Sarah Zellaby, adopted Price, survived her instar and the equation that tried to kill her when they made the transition to another universe. They came over with a slice of the college and some innocent bystanders. The dominant society is insecticide derived and just as eager to see them on their
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way. But the worst part is where she inadvertently erased herself from their memories. Show Less
LibraryThing member hcnewton
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
"I have so many knives," said Annie. "I am the Costco of having knives. You really want to provoke me right now, cuckoo-boy?"
"I am not a good place to store your knives," he said. "I don't know how many times I need to tell you this, but
WHAT'S CALCULATED RISKS ABOUT?
So, the cliffhanger ending of Imaginary Numbers led to Sarah Zellaby transporting herself, her adopted cousins Artie, Annie, James, and a fellow cuckoo, Mark, to an alternate universe. Part of that transporting resulted in Sarah being deleted from their memories.
Which is a pretty inconvenient thing to do. Sarah has to spend a lot of time convincing the Prices (and friends) to not kill her. And then she has to earn their trust. Just so they can all survive long enough to allow her to attempt to return them to their home dimension.
Of course, they have to learn how magic works in this reality, find ways to survive the indigenous flora and fauna, and try to keep the humans that were dragged along with them alive, without breaking their minds by realizing where they are.
THE MICE!
You can't talk about an InCryptid novel without talking about the Aeslin Mice. As usual, they were a delight. But better than that, their presence is important for the plot. But not important enough—they almost vanish for most of the book, but what they do at the beginning of the novel allows everything else to happen (and is frequently invoked), so it's hard to complain. But I'd have like to see them a bit more.
NATURE VS. NURTURE
One of the givens of this world is that the Johrlac (aka cuckoo) are nasty, territorial, apex predators that must be killed. With the exception of Sarah and Angela Baker. And now, Mark. Something about their circumstances has allowed them to not fall into the mind-controlling sociopath mold that every other one has been fit into.
So...why? What's made them different? It can't be something inherent in them, as we're told time after time after time, the various members of this species are so similar that they're practically interchangeable. So is it something in their environment? Or are they just individuals like humans, gorgons, or dragons? And as such, shouldn't the Prices abandon their stab first-ask questions later approach to these? Sarah starts to ask questions like this in this novel, and I'm hoping it's revisited soon.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT CALCULATED RISKS?
I hate it when people tell me not to be afraid. They never do that when something awesome is aout to happen. No one says "dont' be afraid" and hands you an ice cream cone, or a kitten, or tickets to Comic-Con.
This was a fun adventure—making up for whatever reservations I had about Imaginary Numbers—and together they serve as a good follow-up to the Annie-trilogy that preceded it.
The last chapter was a perfect way to end it, a great mix of magic, hope, and heart. My heart didn't grow three sizes or anything, but it was certainly warmed.
I have no idea where this series is headed, and I don't care, I'm eager to find out. There's nothing like this in Urban Fantasy, McGuire tells different stories with this series, the kind that show what the genre is capable of when it breaks outside the typical mold (nothing against that mold, I love it).
---
"I have so many knives," said Annie. "I am the Costco of having knives. You really want to provoke me right now, cuckoo-boy?"
"I am not a good place to store your knives," he said. "I don't know how many times I need to tell you this, but
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sticking knives in living people just because they say something you don't like is the reason no one likes you or the rest of your fucked-up family."WHAT'S CALCULATED RISKS ABOUT?
So, the cliffhanger ending of Imaginary Numbers led to Sarah Zellaby transporting herself, her adopted cousins Artie, Annie, James, and a fellow cuckoo, Mark, to an alternate universe. Part of that transporting resulted in Sarah being deleted from their memories.
Which is a pretty inconvenient thing to do. Sarah has to spend a lot of time convincing the Prices (and friends) to not kill her. And then she has to earn their trust. Just so they can all survive long enough to allow her to attempt to return them to their home dimension.
Of course, they have to learn how magic works in this reality, find ways to survive the indigenous flora and fauna, and try to keep the humans that were dragged along with them alive, without breaking their minds by realizing where they are.
THE MICE!
You can't talk about an InCryptid novel without talking about the Aeslin Mice. As usual, they were a delight. But better than that, their presence is important for the plot. But not important enough—they almost vanish for most of the book, but what they do at the beginning of the novel allows everything else to happen (and is frequently invoked), so it's hard to complain. But I'd have like to see them a bit more.
NATURE VS. NURTURE
One of the givens of this world is that the Johrlac (aka cuckoo) are nasty, territorial, apex predators that must be killed. With the exception of Sarah and Angela Baker. And now, Mark. Something about their circumstances has allowed them to not fall into the mind-controlling sociopath mold that every other one has been fit into.
So...why? What's made them different? It can't be something inherent in them, as we're told time after time after time, the various members of this species are so similar that they're practically interchangeable. So is it something in their environment? Or are they just individuals like humans, gorgons, or dragons? And as such, shouldn't the Prices abandon their stab first-ask questions later approach to these? Sarah starts to ask questions like this in this novel, and I'm hoping it's revisited soon.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT CALCULATED RISKS?
I hate it when people tell me not to be afraid. They never do that when something awesome is aout to happen. No one says "dont' be afraid" and hands you an ice cream cone, or a kitten, or tickets to Comic-Con.
This was a fun adventure—making up for whatever reservations I had about Imaginary Numbers—and together they serve as a good follow-up to the Annie-trilogy that preceded it.
The last chapter was a perfect way to end it, a great mix of magic, hope, and heart. My heart didn't grow three sizes or anything, but it was certainly warmed.
I have no idea where this series is headed, and I don't care, I'm eager to find out. There's nothing like this in Urban Fantasy, McGuire tells different stories with this series, the kind that show what the genre is capable of when it breaks outside the typical mold (nothing against that mold, I love it).
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LibraryThing member lavaturtle
I really enjoyed this story, getting to know Sarah better and having some more cuckoo-related plot. The situation and setting made for an interesting set of complications. I love the ever-developing Incryptid ethos of "no one is too weird or dangerous to be a person or worth trying to save".
LibraryThing member murderbydeath
I knew, after finishing the last book, Imaginary Numbers, that I probably wouldn't rate this one highly in my personal ranking of InCryptid books, and I wasn't wrong. Math, multiple dimensions, alien planets - none of these are guaranteed to make me giddy with anticipation, but Sarah has always
They almost didn't. So. much. explication. The first half of the book was crushed under the weight of repetition about what a cuckoo is, what it means to be a cuckoo, the inherent amorality of cuckoos. What little survived was further smothered by Sarah's guilt and constant mea culpas. Which were contradictory, by the way, as on one page she's explaining that the equation at the end of the first book was sentient enough to fight against its own destruction, and malevolent enough to exact its revenge on her by – SPOILER ALERT! – excising Antimony's and Arnie's memories of just her, and on the next page she's saying she did it, that she chose to do it so they wouldn't miss her when she was dead. Either way, the constant self-flagellation was way over-played.
Like most of the InCryptid books, once you get past the half-way mark, things start to get interesting. Just by sheer virtue of the fact that there was less wailing and more action, more progress being made in the plot. But the introduction of Greg really livened things up, and the speed of plot progression made even an other-dimension, alien planet sound interesting to me. Sarah's angst over the capacity problem irked me, because she was back to the whole woe-is-me schtick when the solution to the problem was painfully obvious - but at least it lasted only a few pages before the lightbulb clicked on, and then it was all action as the end was neigh. And it turned out the end was much neigh'er than I'd thought - a short story at the end of the book had the actual story ending much sooner than I expected, making it feel like an abrupt, albeit happy, ending.
I still enjoy the series and I've learned to just put up with the first half of each book to get 'to the good stuff', so I'll likely pick up the next one. Or maybe, after having braved alien planets, I'll go back and read Antimony's story, carnival settings and all. Maybe.
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been one of my favorite characters, so I counted on my investment in the characters to see me through.They almost didn't. So. much. explication. The first half of the book was crushed under the weight of repetition about what a cuckoo is, what it means to be a cuckoo, the inherent amorality of cuckoos. What little survived was further smothered by Sarah's guilt and constant mea culpas. Which were contradictory, by the way, as on one page she's explaining that the equation at the end of the first book was sentient enough to fight against its own destruction, and malevolent enough to exact its revenge on her by – SPOILER ALERT! – excising Antimony's and Arnie's memories of just her, and on the next page she's saying she did it, that she chose to do it so they wouldn't miss her when she was dead. Either way, the constant self-flagellation was way over-played.
Like most of the InCryptid books, once you get past the half-way mark, things start to get interesting. Just by sheer virtue of the fact that there was less wailing and more action, more progress being made in the plot. But the introduction of Greg really livened things up, and the speed of plot progression made even an other-dimension, alien planet sound interesting to me. Sarah's angst over the capacity problem irked me, because she was back to the whole woe-is-me schtick when the solution to the problem was painfully obvious - but at least it lasted only a few pages before the lightbulb clicked on, and then it was all action as the end was neigh. And it turned out the end was much neigh'er than I'd thought - a short story at the end of the book had the actual story ending much sooner than I expected, making it feel like an abrupt, albeit happy, ending.
I still enjoy the series and I've learned to just put up with the first half of each book to get 'to the good stuff', so I'll likely pick up the next one. Or maybe, after having braved alien planets, I'll go back and read Antimony's story, carnival settings and all. Maybe.
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LibraryThing member jennybeast
I've been waiting with bated breath for the chance to read this book, and it did not disappoint -- story picks up where Imaginary Numbers left off (with a handy recap to remind us where we are) and wanders off to several unexpected places. I don't want to spoiler anything, but I am very excited
Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.
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about the Cuckoo children and looking forward to shenanigans with Greg in the future. Also, in good news for devoted readers, it didn't feel in any way like the last book in the series. I suppose McGuire might decide to flesh things out with novellas, but I really hope we continue to explore the Prices' wild and wonderful adventures. There should be a third Zellaby book, right? If the pattern continues? And there are several other crucial loose ends...Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.
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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
Fantastic. Some of the choices made in the previous book come back to bite Sarah and her kin (sometimes literally). Slightly convenient ending - a lot closer to happy ever after than it looked like it was going to be - but it works.
LibraryThing member Glennis.LeBlanc
This is a direct sequel to Imaginary Numbers and is not the best book to jump into the series with. Due to Sarah having to erase herself from everyone one with her to use that part of their brain to make the math work on the jump to the other universe there is quite a bit of backstory given about
There is a novella after the end of this that has Sarah, Artie, and Antimony that is set way before this book that shows just how close the three of them were and how much Sarah lost when she had to remove herself from their memories. What I like about the novella is that is set at a Comic Con and after a year of no conventions I was really nostalgic for them.
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Netgalley
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how the characters backstory. Now she has to figure out how to get herself, her cousins that don’t remember her, and several other cuckoos including children that had nothing to do with her kidnapping and get them back without a working copy of the math that got them there and not melt everyone’s brain doing it. They find a few surprises along the way about the dimension they are currently in along with having to fight off the zombie cuckoos that got Sarah in this mess before they were brainwiped during the travel. There is a novella after the end of this that has Sarah, Artie, and Antimony that is set way before this book that shows just how close the three of them were and how much Sarah lost when she had to remove herself from their memories. What I like about the novella is that is set at a Comic Con and after a year of no conventions I was really nostalgic for them.
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Netgalley
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Awards
Endeavour Award (Finalist — 2021)
Original publication date
2021
Local notes
InCryptid, 10
DDC/MDS
| Fic SF McGuire |