All of Seanan's books are fun, and I and my staff at The Portal Bookshop regularly get someone new hooked on the series

I received a copy of this book as part of the 2017 Hugo Awards voter's packet and therefore won't be reviewing it on NetGalley.

I read this series for the 2020 Hugo (Best Series) awards and felt it was the best of the series, although I enjoyed the earlier short stories more than the 'modern times' stories. The comments were delayed because of the open awards.

Thank you for providing this book as part of the 2020 Hugo Awards Voter’s Packet (finalist for Best Series).

Copy of book received as part of this year's Hugo packet, therefore will not be reviewing at this time.

received as part of the Hugo packet when the series was nominated for Best Series. I had never read the books and read every novel and every short story available in under a month. Wickedly funny banter, delightful characters, intriguing cryptozoology. They continue to be books I buy pretty much immediately.

Listen, I long ago joined the church of Seanan McGuire, when I read Rosemary and Rue for the first time with Felicia Day's Vaginal Fantasy book club. From that moment on, I was completely hooked. Seanan has never failed me. So when this series was nominated for a Hugo and I received the first eight books in the series as part of my Hugo voter packet, I was beyond pleased. This series gives me the same warm and fuzzy feelings that I get when reading Toby Daye books, but just ever so slightly lighter and I love the kind of monster-of-the-week feeling. One of my favourite parts about this series is that we get to follow different characters, which I honestly was skeptical about when I first got to a book not from Verity's point of view. But it really widens the possibilities of the series. The Aeslin mice are my favourite. As always, the balance of character building and world building is pretty close to perfection.

When we get to the later books in the series, I think she straddles the line perfectly of reviewing what has happened previously in the series (a kind of "previously on" but for books) while also moving on with the series. If I wasn't reading them all in a row, I'm sure I would appreciate that even more, as so often I feel like I have to completely re-read a series in order to remind myself of what's happened before I read the newest installment, which tends to mean that i put off that reading.

Overall, really pleased to have finally started this new-to-me series from McGuire and equally pleased to look forward to future books to come.

In the fourth novel in Seanan McGuire's InCryptid series, we join cryptozoologist Alex Price and his fiance Section 36 future leader Shelby Tanner in Queensland Australia. While dealing with new sentient species of cryptids, a deadly werewolf outbreak targeting Shelby's family with global risk, Alex deals very well with meeting his antagonistic but grudgingly respectful future in-laws. As usual, this novel is filled with suspects, mystery, and humor. I laughed and teared up and seriously lost a lot of sleep since I could not put this book down until I finished it. As with other books in the series, this novel included a wonderful and important message of inclusion which is more relevant than ever today. I am tempted to say "InCryptid lives matter"...

Not only was this a delightful page turner that really pulled me in, but now I want to visit Australia.

Oh my, my poor little heart is breaking and I cannot even say why without spoilers.

This was probably another four star offering until the concluding chapters, but those pulled it up to a five star review with (almost) no hesitation. There are very few books that so successfully pull on my heartstrings in the middle of a violently tense finale, and this really did it.

We're still with Alex here, which I really appreciate. I like the more scientific nerdy aspects of his personality as opposed to the ballroom dancing and defying gravity of Verity. The change of scene was unexpected, but perhaps not the best implemented I have seen. Australia as a country is terrifying and McGuire best portrayed it in one of the shorts under her alter ego Mira Grant. Because the focus here was very pin-pointed at werewolves, it meant that much of the native fauna and flora of the Australian wilds was over-looked, which was a pity.

Because yes, Australia has a werewolf problem. And if there's one thing a country where everything can and will kill you does not need, it's a virulent disease that turns anything larger than 70lb into a hungry, ravaging and contagious wolf. Due to strict immigration policies, Australia had managed to avoid any lycanthropy issues, but somehow one slipped through the net and now they have an epidemic on their hands. And of course, in steps Alex Price. Partly because he's dating a member of the family that are trying to deal with the issue and partly because that's his job.

This is a novel that takes the age old problem of, 'I'm taking you home to meet my folks' to a whole new level. As whilst the most pressing issue is definitely the whole not getting bitten and turned into a ravaging beast once a month thing, the secondary issue of dealing with an unhappy father is almost as important. A lot of this book is devoted to Alex trying - and failing - to impress the Tanner patriarch, whilst trying to unravel where their werewolf problem started and how to fix it. It's a very different vibe to the previous novels, but whilst I'd have probably preferred less of the whole protective father wielding a shotgun vibe it still worked. And let's be honest, it leads to some absolutely delightful confrontation scenes between Shelby and her father that I wouldn't have missed for the world.

One of the things that was missing was a wider view of the local cryptids - which kind of links to my earlier point about the fairly flat landscaping. In previous novels, you have been treated to a wide variety of cryptid interaction. Here it is far more limited, partly because the Australian cryptozoologists seem to have little if any interest in building links with the local community. There are some awesome scenes with a Wadjet doctor, but that's about it for variety in the novel. It's a pity, as whilst the exposition on werewolves was interesting - and bore faint similarity to the virus in Mira Grant's Feedback series - it could have done with something else to spice it up.

Regardless of that, this is my first five star rating for this series. Perhaps that might go down to four at some point, but right now my heart is still broken.

Read this now! It will give you a new appreciation of how lethal Australia is.

Well written and entertaining throughout, this is volume 4 of the ongoing Incryptid series. It's time for Alex to meet the parents of the girl he loves, in a land where everything will kill you. What could possibly go wrong?

Thank you for the chance to review prior to Hugo voting. It was very helpful to get the full series on NetGalley!

This is a book I am accessing via Netgalley for the Hugo nomination packet. Due to this, I will not be reviewing this book via Netgalley at this time.

I really enjoyed this plot and this new setting, I just wish Shelby had gotten to be the competent one for once. Her family is kinda the worst, and their worstness kept going in circles, which was a bit frustrating. I think I'll be glad to be returning to the Prices in America. Other than that, the werewolves in this book are a super interesting take on the mythos and it was fascinating to learn more about them and reevaluate preconceptions as the story went on.

Thank you so much for providing this book as part of the Hugo voting packet. When I have read this book my review will be posted to my blog, Goodreads and retail websites.

Seanan McGuire is a treasure! I love the Incryptid series - I prefer it to October Daye (which is not to say I dislike Toby). I voted for this series for best series Hugo and I will vote for it again in two years.

Pocket Apocalypse is the fourth inCryptid book and the second book to follow Alexander "Alex" Price. I reviewed the first book to follow Alex, Half-Off Ragnarok, yesterday HERE. As I mentioned in the last review, you could have started the inCryptid series with Half-Off Ragnarok without any problems - but I would not recommend starting the series with this book, as it is basically building upon HOR (McGuire plants enough context in this book to allow a new reader to try to start here, but it seems inadvisable).



However, if you enjoyed Half-Off Ragnarok, you should enjoy Pocket Apocalypse. Whereas the second inCryptid book (Midnight Blue-Light Special) with Verity delved deeper into the world built by the first book, this book moves the main characters wholly to a new part of the world: Australia. Oh and it deals with werewolves. Because things couldn't be dangerous enough for Alex Price. But the end result is yet again a fun book.





-------------------------------------------------Short Review----------------------------------------------------

Werewolves. To the mammal members of the Cryptozoologist Price Family, which regularly deals with creatures such as gorgons, basilisks, dragons, bogeymen, cuckoos, et al, there is nothing scarier. So when Alex Price is asked by his Australian Cryptozoologist girlfriend Shelby Tanner to come back to Australia to help her family with an outbreak of the Lyncanthropy-w virus, he's extremely tempted to say no. But after Shelby helped Alex survive a killer gorgon hybrid - Alex knows he has no choice but to help. Also he's kind of in love with Shelby. And so it's off to Australia, the deadliest continent known to man, to face one of the most deadly diseases known to cryptozoology.



But things may be even worse than it seems. Not only does Shelby's family immediately take a dislike to Alex, despite a greater knowledge of how to deal with the lyncanthropy virus, but the cryptozoology organization they belong to - the "36 Society" - doesn't seem to cooperate with other sentient cryptids. And while werewolves are supposed to be wholly irrational aggressive killers, the ones in Australia seem to be employing planning and tactics as they hunt.



And then Alex gets bitten by one of them......and it looks like he might not be coming home ever again....

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Again, this book bears all the standard hallmarks of an inCryptid novel at this point: Humorous quotes from family members and funny scene descriptions to start each chapter, first person narrative from a Price family member, and a quick and often action packed narrative. This is the first inCryptid book without any other Price Family (or at least adopted family) members being involved, but the story does not suffer from it at all.



Alex remains an excellent character, and after being ambivalent at first about Shelby in the last book, I think she works excellent here as a supporting protagonist. And to my great joy, this book involves to a greater extent my favorite inCryptid characters: the Mice. Obviously they're not active protagonists, but they're more involved here for reasons I shan't spoil, and I can't help but love them. The other new minor characters - the members of the Thirty Six Society are interesting twists on the Price Family/Covenant as well, whose ethos is sort of in between the two organizations/families.



Really my only complaint about this book is that due to the Werewolf problem taking priority over nearly everything else, we didn't get too much of a look at Australia's unique cryptid wildlife (we get some), which has been reference so amusingly in prior books/stories. Hopefully we'll be back at some point.



Again, if you liked the previous books, you'll enjoy this one, as it's excellent breezy urban fantasy.

Yay, more Alex & Shelby! This author makes Australia seem both deadly & intriguing.

Haven't decided yet which is my favorite of the siblings, but I'm leaning in Alex's direction.

I received this work as part of the 2018 Hugo Voter Packet. This is the expected mix of pop culture, magic realism, and humor which have characterized the earlier books in the series. I find that I prefer the author's October Daye series, which manages the snarky humor without being flippant. Recommended for fans of urban fantasy and pop culture.

With Australia on the verge of a lycanthropic outbreak, Alexander Price returns in this fourth Incryptid novel from Seanan McGuire. Shelby Tanner, another crytopzoologist and Alex's girlfriend, asks Alex to come home with her and help her family and her organization protect the continent from an outbreak they may not be equipped to control.

Despite the overwhelming aggression of Shelby's family towards Alex, Pocket Apocalypse is an entertaining and satisfying read. Seanan McGuire set a strong standard of expectation with the first two Verity Price novels, but has succeeded to raise the bar with her two Alex Price offerings. Pocket Apocalypse opens up a new continent, widens the cryptid world, and reminds us that the Aeslin Mice truly are one of the greatest creatures in fantasy fiction.
Score: 7/10

Seanan McGuire does an excellent job of bringing in new elements with each book to keep the InCryptid series fresh while still providing a mix of humor and tense, even terrifying, moments. This is all wrapped up in a clear assessment of people as sapient beings who do not go out of their way to spread murder and mayhem. Monsters, on the other hand, are those that do. For example, fanatical Covenant members who can’t be taught. They don’t show up in this book but the message of sapients is very strong.

I hadn’t realized Shelby’s distrust stretched further than cuckoos, but then, she proved very teachable in the previous book. The Thirty Sixers, however, are another story. Meaning they faced a werewolf invasion with no non-mammalian assistance and so no one immune to the virus. This is something Alex has to work around, but there are other parts of how the organization works he feels could strengthen his own family’s approaches. That’s good, because in some ways, Alex came across as an arrogant know-it-all, and sometimes that was deliberate. Whether he deserved to do so, you’ll have to decide for yourself.

The story is a nice blend of cryptozoology and people stuff. Turns out one of the many, though perhaps the most pressing, dangers on the Australian continent is Shelby’s not so welcoming family. Beyond her two sisters and parents, though, the cast includes Aeslin mice, Thirty Sixers of many generations and ethnic backgrounds, and a few extras thrown in, mostly by Alex. I absolutely loved Helen, but you’ll have to read the book to understand who she is and why I say that.

This book has excellent conflict escalation. Just when you think you’ve found the “big bad” situation, something new comes up to change things around. This is where Alex’s nature shines as he struggles between “have to deal with this crisis” usually violently and “I really want to learn all about it/you.” His assessments did get a little repetitive in one situation toward the end, but such a small hiccup didn’t tarnish my enjoyment one bit. More a distracting feeling of deja vu. I do wonder whether Australians will applaud or scorn the portrayal of their country. It could go either way.

There’s no question I’m hooked. I’m committed to this series, and finally get what my husband and son were going on about. I enjoyed the first book and the second, but Alex clicks with me as a narrator more than Verity did. Even without his personality, though, the stories are compelling. Along with the grand and harrowing adventure, there’s an underlying philosophy I can stand behind and a wry understanding of humanity that could be used as a manual for our improvement as a species. Especially with regards to the other creatures, sapient or not, we have and will encounter.

There isn’t much more I can say without spoiling, so I’ll leave you with a firm endorsement and a quote from Pocket Apocalypse that says volumes about humanity without revealing a thing:

…if there’s one thing people are good at, it’s projecting their own distorted desires onto the animal kingdom.