Thursday, March 14, 2019

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: That Ain't Witchcraft (InCryptid) by Seanan McGuire



That Ain't Witchcraft is the eighth novel in Seanan McGuire's "InCryptid" series, and the conclusion of this third* arc of the novels, the trilogy featuring Antimony Price that began with Magic For Nothing (Review Here) and was followed up by Tricks For Free (Review Here).  I've been a big fan of all of the InCryptid stories - from the short stories following earlier generations available for free on McGuire's blog (recommended), to the earlier books following Verity and Alex Price, but Antimony has been by far my favorite novel character - with Magic for Nothing being my favorite novel so far in the series.  So yeah, the capper on Antimony's first trilogy had a lot to live up to. 

*well, arguably fourth, but I'm counting Chaos Choreography (Book 5) with Books 1-2*

And for the most part, That Ain't Witchcraft lives up to that high standard.  The books before Antimony took over featured heroes who were fully formed characters, knowing for the most part what they want to do with their lives, who their friends were, etc (which is not to say there wasn't plenty of drama or romance in those books!).  But Antimony has been the first heroine this series whose development wasn't complete at its inception, and That Ain't Witchcraft continues and finishes (for now) her growth as her story comes to a conclusion.  And it's a really strong conclusion, so that even though my favorite InCryptid characters are still absent (no Aeslin Mice alas), it's definitely another strong installment and this series remains one of the ones I recommend quite highly.

(Quick Series Summary for those who somehow have missed out: InCryptid tells the story of a world where cryptids - animals/creatures/sentient-beings that can't be explained by science and are often though of as myths, like gorgons, chupacabra, etc. - are real, but have to live in hiding lest humans, such as the murderous Covenant of St. George, become aware of them and try to kill them for existing.  The series follows the Price Family, a family with former ties to the Covenant, as they attempt to help the Cryptid Communities while staying off the radar - and it's a lot of fun)


------------------------------------------------Plot Summary-----------------------------------------------------
Antimony "Annie" Price is still on the run: still unable to return to or even contact her family for fear of leading the Covenant right to them.  Her magic is gone and she has a debt to the Crossroads hanging over her head - a debt they could call in at any time, to make her do practically anything.  And yet, things aren't as bad as they seem, with Annie now surrounded by friends - her old Derby pals Fern (a Sylph) and Cylia (a Jink) - and her boyfriend Sam Taylor (a Fūri).  Their travel from Florida has now taken them to a rented house in the small town of Gravesend, Maine, where they figure they can spend some time to breathe and figure out their next move.

Too bad the world doesn't feel like giving them that time.

For not long after they arrive, Annie and her friends find themselves interrupted by a home intruder - and not just any home intruder, but a sorcerer named James Smith who is bent on destroying the Crossroads once and for all.  Naturally, the Crossroads isn't a fan of that, and calls in Annie's debt: asking Annie to befriend James....and to then murder him.  To make matters worse, who else should come to town but Leo Cunningham, the heir to the Covenant who has tracked her down at last for his own agenda.

If Annie can find a way to help James, she might be able to end her exile and return to her family.  But both the Crossroads - with Annie's own magical power under its control - and Leo will stop at nothing to get Annie to comply with their demands - and her friends may wind up paying the ultimate price.....
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If you're interested in this book, you already know what you can expect from the InCryptid series for the most part - witty banter in its dialogue, fun heroes and heroines who are easy to root for, with interesting creatures/beings around to help spice things up as our heroes try to deal with the crazy situations they are thrown into until a final confrontation at the end.  And I'm not gonna lie, we do indeed get that formula here to a certain extent (which is fine, I like that formula).

But what we also get is a set of characters who have been together now for 3 books and have really grown and matured, in ways that hasn't really happened previously in the series where we were dealing with older more developed heroes.  Antimony has been my favorite of the series' book heroes since her first book, but its her growth here that is truly tremendous - she's still an oft-reckless and sometimes impulsive heroine, but she's no longer unaware of how her actions affect herself and those around her, and thinks of herself more of a planner than anything else (which isn't quite true, but hey, she's still allowed some self-delusions).  There's a scene here of Annie and Sam's relationship running into a situation where in other stories, the two would find themselves driven apart by her reactions to the situation, but this more mature Annie recognizes this possibility immediately and avoids it, and it's just a really well done example of her growth that is seen throughout this book in its entirety.

Annie's supporting cast remains excellent, from her love interest Sam who is both fun and believable in his anxieties, to her other cryptid friends Fern and Cylia, to brand new character James - the first allied sorcerer Annie has ever met, and one without much more experience than Annie.  This is a book where magic really comes to the forefront even more than before (and hey, the last book featured a cabal of magic users!) and James is an excellent addition to the cast to show that.  And the antagonists remain oft-terrifying, and pretty damn interesting in the Crossroads and Leo (with a bonus appearance from a character last seen in Sparrow Hill Road in the mix as well).  The dialogue and plot are excellently done for the most part, so that even without really many new additional elements, it's still really damn good overall.

The book isn't perfect mind you, and probably is still below Magic For Nothing in terms of my rankings of the series.  How one of our two antagonists is dealt with seems kind of way too easy, which bothered me a bit.  And the series continues to attempt to do a full recap of what's going on at the beginning of each book, which makes sense if it's the first book of a new arc, but not really as the 3rd book of an arc within an 8 book series and is a bit annoying at this point.  But these are minor quibbles.

I should add that this book also contains a novelette/novella (i think it's novelette length) featuring Alex and Shelby with another adventure.  It's a solid fun story (hilariously, it contains yet another recap of the series' arc for some reason) but isn't really essential, but I was happy to have it included (and it contains a fun reunion with another character which connects it properly with the main story).

So yeah, I'm going to miss Antimony as we move on from her in the series (next book features Sarah as the heroine apparently) and hope we get back to her eventually. 
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