For most people, the story of their lives is just that: the accumulation of time, encounters, and actions into a cohesive whole. But for an unfortunate few, that day-to-day existence is affected - perhaps infected is a better word - by memetic incursion: where fairy tale narratives become reality, often with disastrous results.
That's where the ATI Management Bureau steps in, an organization tasked with protecting the world from fairy tales, even while most of their agents are struggling to keep their own fantastic archetypes from taking over their lives. When you're dealing with storybook narratives in the real world, it doesn't matter if you're Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or the Wicked Queen: no one gets a happily ever after.
Review:
I've seen a lot of fairy tale reimaginings and, again, Seanan McGuire manages to create a world that blends with the real world and feels new and original.
The main character, Henry, is ok, but what won me over was Sloan. I love Sloan so much. And the team dynamics are absolutely a gem. This is one of those books that, despite obviously having a "main character", the main cast as a whole is more fun to go along with than necessarily following just one person. Henry has the most POVs, I think, but all the main cast have their chance to shine with their own individual POVs.
The main storyline is twisty and each chapter feels like a "monster of the week" type of story. I love how this ends with a satisfying end to our "overall main plot", but it's obvious that the Story™️ didn't really end.
The book gives us a lot of answers to the protagonist's questions, but it leaves us with even more questions to be (probably) answered in the next book.
The setting is super immersive, and the worldbuilding is marvelous. I love the idea of an agency actively working to keep fairy tales from bursting into the "real world".
And, of course, the diversity of the characters and the smoothness with which the author weaves them into the narrative without making a big deal of it is, as always with this author, a breath of fresh air.
Recommendations:
For anyone who has read and liked her Wayward Children series, you'll definitely love this too.
For people who like fairy tale reimaginings, this book (and series) will probably interest you.
If you like police/investigative stories and feel like trying to go out of the realm of the "normal", this might be a fun read for you.
indexing a periodical and a book right now, will start coding later. ;;
i've been busy since the first week of september– juggling school, my small business, and personal stuff T^T mentally and physically tired, but it's alright! i'm happy that i'm still a functioning human working so hard in life lol <3
i absolutely love seanan mcguire‘s work. i already read the wayward children series, velveteen and the indexing series. she writes amazing transgender characters and amazing characters in general. what other books of hers would you recommend, while i wait for nadya‘s story?
