I have to admit that this review will be a completely
biased affair. I have repeatedly said this is one of my
favorite urban fantasy series ever, and everyone to whom
I've recommended it heartily agrees with
me. Seanan McGuire could probably have filled ONCE BROKEN
FAITH with Toby and Tybalt making breakfast, and it would
enchant me. If you aren't caught up with the series, beware
of unintentional spoilers and character references. I
recommend you start at the beginning with Rosemary and Rue
and realize you have the chance to read these fabulous
books with that first-time joy that those of us who already
have been there can never repeat.
While it isn't a making breakfast scene, McGuire starts
ONCE BROKEN FAITH with a splendidly domestic slumber party
for the teens including Quentin and Chelsea.
Things never stay quiet for long with Toby though, and she
is soon embroiled in a convocation to determine if the cure
for elf-shot discovered in book 9 in the Kingdom of
Silences can be distributed to those who aren't elf-shot as
punishment for a crime. King of the Mists Queen Windermere
will host the event, and the High King and Queen will
oversee the procedure. We meet lots of new Western lands
leaders, and the Luidaeg is there with Karen (she's the one
who can walk in dreams). It doesn't take long for the first
body to show up.
As the only changeling present, Toby is under suspicion and
has to try to catch the killer before the whole convocation
is disrupted. No one is allowed to leave, so the killer is
of even more danger to her and those she loves. The story
is filled with action, humor, suspense, magic and
treachery: So essentially, same as it ever was. The Luidaeg
plays an interesting role and foreshadows Toby's importance
in something big to come. While we meet some new
characters, we also renew relationships with some older
ones like Sylvester.
Overall, it didn't take me long enough to read and went far
too quickly, even with a bonus novella about Arden
Windermere in which we meet Karen's sister. Fans of
McGuire's series will rejoice and then whine that it will
be another year of waiting for the next installment.
New York Times-bestselling October Daye series •
Hugo Award-winning author Seanan McGuire • "Top of my
urban-paranormal series list!" —Felicia DayIncludes a brand-new map and original bonus novella!
Politics have never been October “Toby” Daye’s strong suit.
When she traveled to the Kingdom of Silences to prevent them
from going to war with her home, the Kingdom of the Mists,
she wasn’t expecting to return with a cure for elf-shot and
a whole new set of political headaches.
Now the events she unwittingly set in motion could change
the balance of modern Faerie forever, and she has been
ordered to appear before a historic convocation of monarchs,
hosted by Queen Windermere in the Mists and overseen by the
High King and Queen themselves.
Naturally, things have barely gotten underway when the first
dead body shows up. As the only changeling in attendance,
Toby is already the target of suspicion and hostility. Now
she needs to find a killer before they can strike again—and
with the doors locked to keep the guilty from escaping, no
one is safe.
As danger draws ever closer to her allies and the people she
loves best, Toby will have to race against time to prevent
the total political destabilization of the West Coast and to
get the convocation back on track…and if she fails, the cure
for elf-shot may be buried forever, along with the victims
she was too slow to save.
Because there are worse fates than sleeping for a hundred years.