Since they didn't get in the blog name thought I should kick off this here blog with a post about Faeries. Specfically, the Fae found in Seanan McGuire's October Daye novels.
Some of my favorite history is bound up in the Tuatha De Danann - The Children of Danu. Whether reading texts of the ancient Celts, or the modern day faerie romance, they are always sure to delight the drab manor on the hill. While another day, dear readers, we can rundown the path into the realms of importance of the Fae in world history, or culture, today we should speak with the characters conjured from the Summerlands by Ms. McGuire in her first book in the series.
Rosemary & Rue is a great first book of a series: taking us through the sometime legubious process of the Exposition of a series, all the while keeping some semblance of action. In fact, this book is fast-paced and adventure packed, and provides the basics of the world in which October Daye, the protagonist lives.
A Kight of the Kingdom of Mists, Toby, ne October, is a halfling crime solver in the very real world of San Francisco. After being turned into a koi for 14 years and 2 days, we start on our quest with Toby checking out shoppers at the local Safeway, hiding from the world of Fae she knew.
All that changes after Evening Winterrose Dutchess is killed in a manner most foul, and charges October to find her killer via a curse on her answering machine.
From narrowly escaping death while untangling the thorns of this sticky bleeding rose of a murder, October finally solves the mystery as she lies dying on the floor.
A crime proceedural with a metaphysical bent is almost a guarantee of the Red Haired Witch missing bedtime to see what happens next -- Rosemary & Rue was like that both on the first read and this one, many moons and page turns later.
I love how this realm of faerie stays just on the fringes of San Francisco's famous hills, woven into a complex tapestry of man made and faery realm tethered through knoews thoughout the world.
Another idea in Seanan's book is the Cait Saidhe, the cat faeries. I love her King Tybalt, and his mercurial temperment and how well she makes him act like, well, a cat. Having three cats, I've got some semblance of an idea of how they operate. I'm looking forward to exploring the complex relationship between Tybalt and Toby Daye throughout the series (do you like that I'm foreshadowing as IF I haven't already read the second and third books multiple times. Ha!).
The Fae are always reliable both in tall tale and current pulp, to be full of intrigue and politics. I think it comes of living forever....I mean, what would you do to fill your eternal days but play with intruiges and fight your courtly battles, rather than just lay down and fade from boredom. In Rosemary & Rue, we are left thinking about the Queen of so and so doesn't want x, but Duchess of such and such wants y, and how do we get out of being stuck in the middle, raging against the ridig structure of honor, debt favors and blood.
An interesting footnote to that is the world created in these novels, are that the Fae can lie. It's a fairly common rule in modern faery writing that the Fae cannot lie; they can certainly use very little actual truth and mislead left and right, but hte outright lie has been left behind. Not so in this world. Fae can lie easily, which makes for a better mystery novel, but im not sure I want to like a faery like that (or a fairy for that matter but I don't need to be going and telling on my personal life).
Love the spine of balancing between two worlds without feeling a part of either is woven into the tapestry of Toby's connundrum.
Go and buy the book, people!
Rosemary & Rue
Seanan McGuire
DAW Books, Sept 2009
ISBN 978-0-7564-0571-7
Next to publish in the series: Late Eclipses (March 1, 2011)
Well, I'm off to dance in the sacred circle, chanting the chant and all that good stuff. Blog later!
Fairy Kisses,
Red Haired Witch
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