So, I'm officially a Toby Daye fan, as of the previous two entries in the series. I have managed not to read any spoilers about what's still to come, but I must warn you that there will be plenty of spoilers for all the volumes up to One Salt Sea below.
ASHES OF HONOR
by Seanan McGuire
Published: DAW, 2012
ebook: 368 pages
Series: October Daye #6
My rating: 7/10
Opening line: The night sky over San Franciscowas a patchwork mixture of starry black and cloudy gray, all of it washed out by the ambient light drifting up from the city below.
It's been almost a year since October "Toby" Daye averted a war, gave up a county, and suffered personal losses that have left her wishing for a good day's sleep. She's tried to focus on her responsibilities—training Quentin, upholding her position as Sylvester's knight, and paying the bills—but she can't help feeling like her world is crumbling around her, and her increasingly reckless behavior is beginning to worry even her staunchest supporters.
To make matters worse, Toby's just been asked to find another missing child…only this time it's the changeling daughter of her fellow knight, Etienne, who didn't even know he was a father until the girl went missing. Her name is Chelsea. She's a teleporter, like her father. She's also the kind of changeling the old stories warn about, the ones with all the strength and none of the control. She's opening doors that were never meant to be opened, releasing dangers that were sealed away centuries before—and there's a good chance she could destroy Faerie if she isn't stopped.
Now Toby must find Chelsea before time runs out, racing against an unknown deadline and through unknown worlds as she and her allies try to avert disaster. But danger is also stirring in the Court of Cats, and Tybalt may need Toby's help with the biggest challenge he's ever faced.
Toby thought the last year was bad. She has no idea.
Oh look, Toby is searching for a kidnapped child again. Must be Tuesday...
It's been about a year since the heartbreaking events of One Salt Sea and Toby isn't coping too well. Which means, she still drinks copious amounts of coffee, avoids Tybalt, and just goes through the motions of teaching her squire Quentin squiry stuff. She and her roomies did move to a bigger house, courtesy of Sylvester himself, and of course it's a new case that rips her out of her depressed state with sheer brute force.
It turns out Etienne has fathered a changeling - unbeknownst to him up until now - who has now gone missing. This changeling, unfortunately for her and Faerie in general, is one of the rare speciments that are very powerful but lack control. Where most changelings have a weakened version of their fae parent's powers, Chelsea seems to have inherited the super-powered version of Etienne's teleportation skill and she is hopping to and fro completely out of control. Hopping to places that should be closed off because Oberon himself sealed them ages ago. So Toby isn't only searching for a lost (and probably kidnapped) teenage girl scared out of her mind, but also needs to save the world. Again.
I found this entry to be a pretty standard Toby Daye story as far as plot and pacing goes. As usual, she starts out by visiting Auntie Luidaeg for some magical mumbo jumbo that will help her find a place to start looking for Chelsea, but she is joined by Quentin and Tybalt, who make the whole affair way more interesting. Toby's new-ish powers are quite useful here, especially the rapid healing from almost any wound. Even if you've read the series up until here, this one offers a few particularly gory injuries.
Without spoilers, there is obviously a dark plot to be uncovered, in addition to one missing teenager with crazy strong powers, but while that part was nice, it didn't really add anything to the depth of the series. Much more interesting to me was where the characters are going, how they develop and grow, and especially how Toby and Tybalt behave toward each other. I've made no secret of my hope that these two will end up together, and this volume finally takes steps in that direction.
That said, I didn't find the execution all that great, even if there are a few lines here and there that put my heart in a vice and squeezed ever so gently. I suspect that someone less infatuated with Tybalt than me won't find those so endearing, but hey.
I read somewhere (an afterword? an interview?) that Seanan McGuire builds little arcs in the series that will deliver a big bang every five volumes or so, and it clearly shows that this book was one of the "starter" novels. Meaning, it doesn't really reveal any big truths about Faerie or Toby or the rest of the cast. I do suspect we'll get to learn who Quentin's parents are soon, because that mystery has been dragged along for a while now and I am very curious!
But Ashes of Honor delivers mostly what you expect from a book in this series, which is an action-packed, fae-filled detective story with lots of magic, some cool new creatures, and tons of old friends. It wasn't a favorite, but I quite liked it.
MY RATING: 7/10 - Very good
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