Patricia Briggs: Mercy Thompson Series

My reading is all over the place at the moment. Although it has been prolific throughout the month of April and May so far. I've been reading backlist books and found many new favorites among them. The Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series stands out. I read all the books and novellas with the exception of Night Broken, Book #8. At this point, I'm thinking of leaving that book in my TBR until the next installment is ready to be published.

Briggs' world building is the first thing that jumped out at me. Briggs concentrates and places a heavy emphasis on the wolf pack hierarchy, -- from dominant to submissive -- the biological aspects of being a wolf, as well as the strict rules they must follow. In Briggs' world a wolf's life is not pretty for anyone, not even the wolf pack's Alpha. It is not easy to choose this lifestyle. Unfortunately, the females are royally screwed since the rules the wolves follow were established during prior centuries when a female's worth was next to nil. So, even in modern times single females don't rank within a pack, if mated they take their rank from their mates (i.e., even if a female is alpha by nature, if her mate is submissive the female goes to the bottom of the pack with her mate). To top it all off females are not able to bear children. Their main contribution is limited to fighting and mating. Hurrah for them.

So, it is no wonder that when coyote shifter Mercy Thompson, our Protagonist (with a capital P), comes under the local Alpha's protection and into contact with his wolf pack, everyone resents the heck out of her, particularly the females. A few factors must be taken into consideration: coyotes and wolves do not get along and Briggs captures nature's enmity between these two similar but distinctive species in her world-building. Mercy stands apart, or outside the pack because she is a coyote shifter. However, many conflicts arise from the fact that Mercy is also an independent female who later comes to hold a higher rank than even the males in the pack. Another factor in all of this comes from Mercy's ability to bear a wolf's child. This is key in the series, although from a different perspective.

Mercy's character did not blow me away after reading Moon Called, #1. It took me a little while to shift my viewpoint of her, and it wasn't until late in Blood Bound that I began thinking of Mercy as a coyote instead of a female wolf. When I understood her penchant for causing trouble, playing dangerous games, and came to terms with that aspect of her personality, I enjoyed her characterization much more. The thing about Mercy is that even when she is not looking for trouble, trouble finds her. She is independent of mind but knows how to play games with the dominant/submissive wolves. Mercy grew up within a wolf pack so she understands the rules even as she fears getting too caught up in them.

At the beginning of the series, Mercy is portrayed as vulnerable because of her size and limited power. But what I found as I read along is that Mercy is vulnerable because she cares too much for others, and sometimes not enough for herself. She just wants to lead a normal life, be a mechanic, and love her man. Unfortunately, that's not to be as everything goes into high gear within and without the shifters' world. The worlds of humans, fae, vampires, witches, and shifters are colliding and Mercy along with Adam's pack find themselves in danger from all sides. As the series moves along, Mercy gains power as she gains knowledge about herself as a coyote. Her adventures become dangerous and she, her friends, and Adam's pack are all affected by her actions, mistakes, and triumphs.

Of all the books in the series, Blood Bound, #2 and Iron Kissed, #3 have the most complex plotting of the series thus far, highlighting the worlds of fae, vampires, and wolves alike. The focus on Bone Crossed, #4 is more singular in nature. It is also missing contributions by recurring secondary characters and although the story is solid overall, in the end it falls on the anti-climactic side. Silver Borne, #5 is truly exciting and somewhat angsty, but unfortunately Sam's secondary storyarc lacks all the good, emotional bits pertaining to his romance. This became specially frustrating later after reading the origins novella Silver in Briggs' anthology Shifting Shadows. River Marked, #6 became my favorite for its inclusion of Coyote, Mercy's Native American roots, and Native American folklore -- and let's not forget all the romantic shenanigans. And, Frost Burned, #7 is a solid installment with some exciting action and mysteries. It's worth mentioning that in this book Briggs includes Adam's point of view a couple of times, from the third person perspective. I liked that. Kyle, Warren's human mate was fantastic throughout the second section of the book, which brings me to the fact that Frost Burned shifts directions a few times along the way, unexpectedly so at the end.

Personally I find that contributions by the secondary characters in this series, not just Adam and Sam, are stand outs and invaluable to this series. I have a crush on Mercy's bloody vampire friend Stefan. Bran is a character whose background I would love to see explored in depth, and Zee, Warren and Ben are at the top of my love list.

My one frustration throughout the series is the pack's continued mistreatment of Mercy. Even with all the factors that make Mercy an outsider, there is such a thing as bonding while sharing hardship. Mercy has battled enemies with this wolf pack and has saved them collectively, as well as individually more than enough times to be treated with respect. The continued distrust, jealousy, and bitchiness that goes on should have abated by this point. It is my most fervent opinion that they all need to get over it already.

The romance between Mercy and Adam? I love the way it has progressed thus far. Love them together. And PS: The characters, but most importantly the events in this series fit perfectly with the Alpha & Omega series. Up to date (almost) So. . . another UF series bites the TBR dust.

Overview: October (Toby) Daye Urban Fantasy Series by Seanan McGuire

I was in the mood for urban fantasy and just... pleasure reading. I decided to begin by hitting a few of the urban fantasy books sitting in my TBR and read a few, including the first two books from Patricia Briggs' Alpha & Omega series, but most notably, I inhaled the entire October (Toby) Daye urban fantasy series by Seanan McGuire. Yes, all seven books!

So what did I think of the series?

The first three books of the series, Rosemary and Rue #1 (B-), A Local Habitation #2 (C-), and An Artificial Night #3 (C+/B-) were not real winners for me. So you may wonder why I continued reading the series. Well, I fell in love with McGuire's world-building, particularly the fantasy side of things. Her Faerie world is fascinating with its changelings, multiple fae races, nobles and Courts, and of course the Court of Cats. I particularly like McGuire's take on how they all interrelate with each other, the history details, and all the political ins and outs that develop throughout the series.

I also fell in love with the detailed and clear magical elements in this series. McGuire's takes her time developing this aspect of her world. Magic works and is used differently depending on the fae's race, mixture of pureblood race, and for changelings -- the half-human, half-fae -- it all depends the fae parent's blood. Power and magic really comes down to blood. Humans don't necessarily play a big role in this series, however, the fae have no choice but to make use of their physical world and I like how magic is used in this symbiotic relationship. San Francisco is a fantastic setting. My fascination with the world-building kept me reading Rosemary and Rue and beyond because frankly, I was not necessarily taken with other aspects of this series until I reached the fourth book.

Initially, one of my problems was Toby, the narrator and main character, who is not impressive in the first book as the "hero." Toby is a changeling with little magical power of her own, but earned her place as knight errant to Sylvester Torquill, Duke of Shadowed Hills, making Toby special/unique among the changelings and purebloods. Her story begins when Toby is turned into a fish, a Koi to be exact, while in Sylvester's service. Toby spends fourteen years swimming in a pond until she breaks the spell and realizes that her whole life as she knew it is lost, including her human live-in boyfriend and daughter Gillian. This loss plunges Toby into a depressive spiral until a friend binds and compels Toby to find a murderer or die trying. Toby's life slowly gets back on track as she picks up the threads of her life as a P.I. and begins the process of bonding with people who eventually become her closest allies.

The highest praise I can give Toby's character is that although she is half-human, McGuire imbues her with a humanity and vulnerability that is sorely missing from many of the characters encountered in this series, including changelings. She has a big heart and because she is a "hero," bravery. However, Toby's bravery is often the foolish kind -- she is universally known for taking stupid, uncalled-for risks. There are other aspects of her personality that tend to annoy. For example, Toby tends to blame herself for events that are not her fault. She's a guilt-ridden hero. Me thinks she's a bit self-deluded in that respect, but then she has a huge hero-complex which makes her both self-sacrificing and self-centered in my opinion.

See, initially, Toby doesn't think much of herself and believes she's a waste of space. Later on confidence comes with power and gained affection, but too often she is willing to let herself go if necessary because there always seems to be a small part of her that feels she doesn't deserve to live -- that she is not good enough or doesn't deserve better. Talk about poor self-esteem! If you understand that about her, it goes a long way toward understanding Toby's choices -- including her choice in men. This drove me a bit insane during the first three books as did her lack of insight, follow through and investigative skills. Toby also tends to be oblivious to important comments or clues, and other times she chooses to be oblivious to the obvious. But okay... Toby was a fish for fourteen years, her emotional state was severely compromised for a while, and she has huge mommy issues (and I'm talking about Toby's mother here, not her daughter. That's another kettle of fish altogether).

In this respect, Toby is no different from other urban fantasy "heroines" who throw themselves in the fray over and over again and are willing to sacrifice themselves to save the world because they believe they are the only ones equipped to do so. Initially where she differs is in the fact that she has little power throws herself heart and soul into the battles anyway. Later on in the series she falls in line with other urban fantasy heroines. What doesn't change is the fact that Toby wants to be a 'hero' and believes her own press (she contradicts herself about this though), or the fact that she's not a great investigator, in fact most of the time she stumbles along until things fall into place, has problems following through and "listening to others." Toby's usually too busy looking for the next bit of trouble to really take the time to listen and analyze information. She doesn't pay attention. Thank goodness for her allies.

And that's the thing, the secondary characters in this series kick some serious ass! I'm not talking physically now... I mean whatever flaws I found when focusing on Toby were placed aside when McGuire began building those excellent relationships between her protagonist and the key secondary characters. It is a slow development, but every single one of these characters and relationships are worth the page time. What would Toby do without Quentin, Tybalt, or her fascinating frenemy the Luidaeg. There are so many more!

Toby? Toby grew on me. By the time I read Late Eclipses #4 (B) I was hooked and thrilled to finally see significant revelations about Toby come to light, and by One Salt Sea #5 (B+) I was laughing my ass off as Toby hopped on a mermaid's lap, riding a wheelchair down a San Francisco hill to save her life -- an absurd and memorable scene, and a very good read! And yes, Ashes of Honor #6 ( A-) was an absolute winner for me just as it was for many other readers. There is an obvious reason behind that, but also in this book Toby finally takes the time to look inwards, gains some insight into herself and admits some hard truths. Self-awareness never hurt anyone, and Toby needed a good dose of that! Chimes at Midnight,#7 (B-) wasn't a great read for me, but it made me think hard about this series. Am I still hooked? Hmm..., I will read the next book to see where McGuire takes it.

Additional Thoughts after reading Chimes at Midnight: McGuire's Toby is a changeling of mixed blood -- half-human, half-fae. In her world, changelings are forced to make the choice to become one or the other. Socially, they are also at the bottom of the ladder and are often disregarded by the upper classes -- the pureblood fae. The issue of blood, the mixtures of blood, and/or choosing who you are because of your blood becomes a central theme in McGuire's series. In many instances, choosing to be both means having little power. Choosing to change your blood to become a pureblood means more power and becoming human means next to none. In thinking about this central theme in a contemporary context (something I tend to do when I read fantasy and sci-fi), the whole idea became utterly disturbing.