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.

This is another in the series of light fun fantasy adventures. In this book Alex Price visits Australia when his girlfriend's family needs help dealing with werewolves. There is more tension than usual in this volume since Shelby's family considers Shelby the heir to their society of monster hunters and don't want her to stay in America. Also, there is at least one traitor, a secret werewolf.

My thanks once again for the generosity of the publisher in making all eligible novels and short stories available for consideration to Hugo voters. I'm very grateful to have been able to experience this series and I definitely understand why it has been nominated for the Best Series award. Best of luck to Seanan McGuire in this and the other categories she is nominated in!

In theory, I really should have loved this book. I love this series and love world-building. I just had so many issues with this book it was hard to sit back and enjoy the admittedly spectacular world-building. First, apologies to Alex, I just find him a bit dull compared to his more flamboyant sisters. Second, Shelby's family. I mean, WTF, Shelby's family?!?

So Alex's girlfriend, Shelby, is from a family who are Thirty-Sixers, the Australian version of the Price-Healy clan... only not. They are focused on conservation of the island continent's unique cryptid flora and fauna, and less so on peaceful cohabitation with the non-human sentient cryptids. But her family asks her to come home to help with a werewolf problem, and Alex, having actually dealt with werewolves, tags along.

And that's where everything falls apart. Because every word out of any Tanner mouth was about how much they didn't need Alex's help, how much they hated him, and how easily they could make his body disappear. Which, for a group of people who are supposedly professional crytidzoologists and are dealing with something they have zero experience is, is pretty damn stupid. Also, as a reader, it got really old really quickly.

But! the world building was everything I had hoped for. And the werewolf plot actually was interesting once it stopped being taken over by the Tanner family not-so-subtly threatening Alex. There was also a pretty cool swamp monster friendly and Aeslin mice, so that's cool.

I love this series and appreciate the chance to revisit before the Hugo voting - I've been buying the earlier books slowly. I like this one for the biology and biogeography - the plot is a bit frustrating, but the thoughts about cryptids on an isolated continent make up for it.

I absolutely adored this book, which was both a bit of a delightful surprise and the first step in laying a foundation of affection for everything that comes after this!

Catching up on the InCryptid series, I fell behind and now I’m binging on the books to finally catch up. Book 4 has Alex going to Australia to help Shelby’s family with a werewolf breakout. Of course no one is happy to see Alex since he is a descendant of a former Covenant member and Australia actually managed to kick them out. The Thirty Six is a group of people dedicated to protecting the native cryptid monsters but the group doesn’t think to ever speak to the sentient ones. Most of this book deals with people butting heads on everything from does Alex have a cure for werewolf bites and why he shouldn’t be dating Shelby. The Aeslin mice get a bigger role in this book and that is just joyous. Book 5 will swing back to Verity as the main POV.