Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Brilliance Audio (2014), Edition: MP3 Una
Description
For most people, the story of their lives is just that: the accumulation of time, encounters, and actions into a cohesive whole. But for an unfortunate few, that day-to-day existence is affected by memetic incursion: where fairy tale narratives become reality, often with disastrous results. That's where the ATI Management Bureau steps in, an organization tasked with protecting the world from fairy tales, even while most of their agents are struggling to keep their own fantastic archetypes from taking over their lives. In the real world, no one gets a happily ever after.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Jaylia3
Where “once upon a time” doesn’t lead to “happily ever after”
Fairy tales are real! And that’s not a good thing. Do we really want whole towns falling asleep for 100 years because a Sleeping Beauty’s story has gone active? In this book fairy tales are like a constantly mutating force
Most of the members of the team we follow have had their own lives almost derailed by fairy tales--there’s a Snow White (who’s haunted by the smell of apples and pursued by determined woodland creatures), a cobbler elf (who’s constantly trying to make, fix or organize things), an evil stepsister (who has to suppress her natural urge to kill other team members) and a Pied Piper (who’s new on the job and is having a hard time adjusting to her changed reality.)
The book has an urban fantasy tone that’s light on romance, somewhat dark, often funny, and very imaginative. Seanan McGuire knows a lot about fairy tales, myths, and nursery rhymes, which she uses to great effect. As a bibliophile I can’t resist a good “stories are real!” motif (another example being Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series.) Indexing began its life as a Kindle Serial, with chapters released every few weeks, but I listened to the audio version, narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal, who is fantastic at giving each character a distinctive voice--a great boon since I was “reading” while driving.
Fairy tales are real! And that’s not a good thing. Do we really want whole towns falling asleep for 100 years because a Sleeping Beauty’s story has gone active? In this book fairy tales are like a constantly mutating force
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of nature that’s trying to manifest in our “real” world, so of course there's a secret government agency, the ATI Management Bureau, whose agents spend their time running between potential story disasters in the struggle to keep us all safe. Most of the members of the team we follow have had their own lives almost derailed by fairy tales--there’s a Snow White (who’s haunted by the smell of apples and pursued by determined woodland creatures), a cobbler elf (who’s constantly trying to make, fix or organize things), an evil stepsister (who has to suppress her natural urge to kill other team members) and a Pied Piper (who’s new on the job and is having a hard time adjusting to her changed reality.)
The book has an urban fantasy tone that’s light on romance, somewhat dark, often funny, and very imaginative. Seanan McGuire knows a lot about fairy tales, myths, and nursery rhymes, which she uses to great effect. As a bibliophile I can’t resist a good “stories are real!” motif (another example being Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series.) Indexing began its life as a Kindle Serial, with chapters released every few weeks, but I listened to the audio version, narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal, who is fantastic at giving each character a distinctive voice--a great boon since I was “reading” while driving.
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LibraryThing member SpaceandSorcery
A new book by Seanan McGuire (or Mira Grant, depending on the genre) is always something I look forward to since I discovered this prolific and imaginative author, and this one was no exception. It was originally published as a serial on Kindle, then released as a single book - much better from my
The original concept is intriguing: what we know as fairy tales are just different aspects of reality that keep trying to intrude in our primary world, more often than not wreaking some kind of havoc, and a secret government agency works to keep the balance. What's interesting is that most of these agents are fairy tale material themselves, somewhat "frozen" before their narrative can develop its dangerous potential.
As I've come to expect from McGuire's books, the story (or rather, stories) develops on the fine line between drama and humor - the latter often tinged with dark overtones. Unfortunately the serialized aspect of this work seems to prevent a deeper insight into what makes the main characters tick, and they look a little less defined than what I've come to expect after enjoying her October Daye or Incryptid series.
The book is however a quick and entertaining read, and the character of Sloane - the archetype for the Wicked Stepsister - became soon my favorite, since I can't resist a nasty-tempered, often foul-mouthed kickass heroine. My only regret is that McGuire has declared there will be no further issues - at least for now - in this series, and this is a pity because I know that her world-building gets better over time and "practice", and here I've seen a huge potential that needs to be tapped and explored more fully.
Hopefully the future will bring some better news...
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point of view, because I don't take well to waiting between installments. The original concept is intriguing: what we know as fairy tales are just different aspects of reality that keep trying to intrude in our primary world, more often than not wreaking some kind of havoc, and a secret government agency works to keep the balance. What's interesting is that most of these agents are fairy tale material themselves, somewhat "frozen" before their narrative can develop its dangerous potential.
As I've come to expect from McGuire's books, the story (or rather, stories) develops on the fine line between drama and humor - the latter often tinged with dark overtones. Unfortunately the serialized aspect of this work seems to prevent a deeper insight into what makes the main characters tick, and they look a little less defined than what I've come to expect after enjoying her October Daye or Incryptid series.
The book is however a quick and entertaining read, and the character of Sloane - the archetype for the Wicked Stepsister - became soon my favorite, since I can't resist a nasty-tempered, often foul-mouthed kickass heroine. My only regret is that McGuire has declared there will be no further issues - at least for now - in this series, and this is a pity because I know that her world-building gets better over time and "practice", and here I've seen a huge potential that needs to be tapped and explored more fully.
Hopefully the future will bring some better news...
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LibraryThing member SunnySD
Fairy tales want to become reality, and they're willing to bend the world to make their dreams come true. For Agent Henrietta Marchen and her team, making sure the Frog Princes, Billy Goats Gruff, and Sleeping Beauties of the world never activate is more than a mission, it's a life's work.
Didn't know if I'd like the serial format, and it was occasionally torture waiting two weeks for the next installment, but definitely worth it. Here's hoping McGuire lets Henry & company run rampant through some more of Grimm's best work.
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Unfortunately, the story's about to change...Didn't know if I'd like the serial format, and it was occasionally torture waiting two weeks for the next installment, but definitely worth it. Here's hoping McGuire lets Henry & company run rampant through some more of Grimm's best work.
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LibraryThing member rivkat
Yay, another McGuire book I like! This one is about the secret agency that protects us from fairy tales (the narrative) from encroaching on reality. The main protagonist is a Snow White struggling to keep from her destiny (snow, glass, apples) who works with an Evil Stepsister, a brownie/shoemaker
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type, a Pied Piper, and an ordinary human. But the fairy tale incursions are increasing in frequency and ferocity, and it’s not clear how long they can all survive … I liked the setup a lot and hope they’ll return in future books. Show Less
LibraryThing member thehistorychic
Listened for Review (Brilliance)
Overall Rating: 3.50
Story Rating: 3.25
Character Rating: 3.75
Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)
First Thought when Finished: I'm really in love with the story of Indexing by Seanan McGuire but each new section had some repetition that was hard to get
Read It File It: Indexing was a very cool set of stories that really had some interesting fairy tale tweaks (think Snow White, Evil Step Sister, and the Pied Piper all being agents). Harri and the gang were fab at their jobs and their cases were very unique (and twisty). My favorite character had to be Sloan because she was just so ballsy and direct. The only thing that was a distraction was the recapping of character traits in each new section (this was originally a serial).
Audio Thoughts:
Narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal/Running Time 12 hrs 5 min
Mary really did a great job with all the voices in this fairy tale cast. The only voice I had problem with was Andy but even that grew on me. I really liked her pacing too. Overall I recommend her as a narrator.
Final Thought: I would read more with these characters if they caught another great case!
Explaining my Rating: The story was amazing but the repetition made me groan out loud sometimes. I heard 6 times how white Harri's face was, how Sloan dressed, how Jeff liked to clean, how Andy had a husband, and how the building they worked in looked like any other office building. I am sure when this was being released in serial form, it wasn't as noticeable due to the time between releases. However, listening to it in one fell swoop made it distracting. So here is what you should know: the story (original part) is a strong 4 or 4.25. It really was different, engaging, and fun!
Overall Rating: 3.50
Story Rating: 3.25
Character Rating: 3.75
Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)
First Thought when Finished: I'm really in love with the story of Indexing by Seanan McGuire but each new section had some repetition that was hard to get
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over.Read It File It: Indexing was a very cool set of stories that really had some interesting fairy tale tweaks (think Snow White, Evil Step Sister, and the Pied Piper all being agents). Harri and the gang were fab at their jobs and their cases were very unique (and twisty). My favorite character had to be Sloan because she was just so ballsy and direct. The only thing that was a distraction was the recapping of character traits in each new section (this was originally a serial).
Audio Thoughts:
Narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal/Running Time 12 hrs 5 min
Mary really did a great job with all the voices in this fairy tale cast. The only voice I had problem with was Andy but even that grew on me. I really liked her pacing too. Overall I recommend her as a narrator.
Final Thought: I would read more with these characters if they caught another great case!
Explaining my Rating: The story was amazing but the repetition made me groan out loud sometimes. I heard 6 times how white Harri's face was, how Sloan dressed, how Jeff liked to clean, how Andy had a husband, and how the building they worked in looked like any other office building. I am sure when this was being released in serial form, it wasn't as noticeable due to the time between releases. However, listening to it in one fell swoop made it distracting. So here is what you should know: the story (original part) is a strong 4 or 4.25. It really was different, engaging, and fun!
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LibraryThing member Glennis.LeBlanc
This was a online only serial story done by Amazon. I have now decided that waiting two weeks for each section of the story to come to me drove me nuts. I stepped away from reading this until the entire book was done. This is a urban fantasy with lots of fairy tales in it. A group of people are
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fighting to stop other people from becoming living fairy tales, because no one wants to sleep for 100 years and certainly you don't want most of a town to fall asleep with them and starve to death. The active agents are mostly people that had their "fairy tale" fate subverted or changed. The setting was interesting and the story enjoyable. I would like to see more in this setting at some point but the nice thing is there was a firm ending to the story. No cliffhanger ending to tease the reader. Not sure if this will come out in paper or not but the current price is more than reasonable. Show Less
LibraryThing member krau0098
I have pretty much loved everything I have read by Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant. This book was no exception to that. This is such an incredibly creative idea and I really enjoyed it.
I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was really well done. The narrator does all of the voices really well
Basically the concept behind this book are that fairy tales are real and they are trying to take over our reality. These fairy tales driven by The Narrative create chaos and pain wherever they appear.
Enter Henry and crew, Henry (short for Henrietta)is a leader in an ATI field team. The ATI tries to get to these fairy tale incursions and stop them before than can hurt people. However lately things have been getting out of hand and there are way more incursions than normal. On top of all this Henry is an inactive Snow White, and things are pushing her in a way that just might drive her fairy tale to active status...this is something Henry really wants to avoid, she really doesn't want to end up in a glass coffin.
I loved this book, the premise is awesome and interesting. There are tons of creative fairy tale retellings woven throughout the story. It is fast paced and a very engaging read. Most of the chapters start with a new fairy tale incursion and we hear a bit from the person being affected, then we go back to hearing from Henry and her teammates.
Henry (and all of the side characters) all have a very interesting issue to deal with. The Narrative wants them to do something that will ruin their lives, but they have to resist. Some of the characters, like Henry, have been able to sidestep their fairy tale and live reasonably normal lives. Still everyday Henry struggles with the love of bluebirds, an urge to eat poison apples, and the fear that she will someday cave in to her fairy tale and end up comatose in a glass coffin somewhere.
The way the characters have to constantly struggle to avoid their Fairy Tales is fascinating. They try to make the best of the urges that drive them. For example the almost-wicked stepsister is excellent at sniffing out evil. Still it is a constant struggle for them to use their strength...but not get too close to their Fairy Tale.
The story ends well and has an incredibly well done plot. I just really enjoyed this book.
Overall another outstanding and very creative novel from Seanan McGuire. If you love urban fantasy and fairy tales I would recommend reading this. If you are a McGuire fan definitely pick this up. I loved it and really hope they are future books featuring Henry and her crew.
I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was really well done. The narrator does all of the voices really well
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and also does an excellent job conveying emotion. I really enjoyed listening to it a lot.Basically the concept behind this book are that fairy tales are real and they are trying to take over our reality. These fairy tales driven by The Narrative create chaos and pain wherever they appear.
Enter Henry and crew, Henry (short for Henrietta)is a leader in an ATI field team. The ATI tries to get to these fairy tale incursions and stop them before than can hurt people. However lately things have been getting out of hand and there are way more incursions than normal. On top of all this Henry is an inactive Snow White, and things are pushing her in a way that just might drive her fairy tale to active status...this is something Henry really wants to avoid, she really doesn't want to end up in a glass coffin.
I loved this book, the premise is awesome and interesting. There are tons of creative fairy tale retellings woven throughout the story. It is fast paced and a very engaging read. Most of the chapters start with a new fairy tale incursion and we hear a bit from the person being affected, then we go back to hearing from Henry and her teammates.
Henry (and all of the side characters) all have a very interesting issue to deal with. The Narrative wants them to do something that will ruin their lives, but they have to resist. Some of the characters, like Henry, have been able to sidestep their fairy tale and live reasonably normal lives. Still everyday Henry struggles with the love of bluebirds, an urge to eat poison apples, and the fear that she will someday cave in to her fairy tale and end up comatose in a glass coffin somewhere.
The way the characters have to constantly struggle to avoid their Fairy Tales is fascinating. They try to make the best of the urges that drive them. For example the almost-wicked stepsister is excellent at sniffing out evil. Still it is a constant struggle for them to use their strength...but not get too close to their Fairy Tale.
The story ends well and has an incredibly well done plot. I just really enjoyed this book.
Overall another outstanding and very creative novel from Seanan McGuire. If you love urban fantasy and fairy tales I would recommend reading this. If you are a McGuire fan definitely pick this up. I loved it and really hope they are future books featuring Henry and her crew.
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LibraryThing member nnschiller
A clever idea skillfully executed.
LibraryThing member brookietx1944
You will never think of "fairy tales" as for children again!
LibraryThing member DabOfDarkness
In this urban fantasy, fairy tales can kill. A person can get caught up in their story and then the narrative will carry that person to the forgone conclusion. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Sleeping Beauty, a Wicked Stepsister, or a Pied Piper, eventually the story will be too strong for you to
Henrietta (Henry) Marchen runs an indexing team for the ATI Management Bureau. They are tasked with tracking down these narratives that just went active, indexing them (which is figuring out what class of fairy tale and how strong they are), and diffusing them before the story creates a body count. Sometimes the only way to diffuse a narrative is to take out the human at the center of the story, because they are no longer in control of their actions. Henry has to make some tough calls during this tale. Her little team is like family; they all have their hangups and they all care about each other.
In truth, I did find some aspects of this book difficult to keep track of. Once I figured out what was going on with the narrative, it got a little easier. Sometimes the long wordy explanations (which might have been a spoof on actual government procedure documents) was cumbersome and didn’t really help explain anything. Plus, they were a bit boring. Rather, the conversations between characters did the best to explain how a fairy tale can take over a small piece of reality and what, if anything, the ATI folks could do about it.
Other than that, there was some great stuff going on in this book. I liked thinking of modern Sleeping Beautys or Snow Whites trying to make their way working in an office or a daycare center. It often gave me a chuckle. My favorite side character was Sloan Winters. She was awesome! She got to say all sorts of cranky things I wish I could say at the office, and her team understood because that’s how her fairy tale built her. McGuire also pays a nod to the transgender community with a character and I thought that was well done.
There’s also this murder mystery going on. At first, it looks like random narrative attacks and there’s a few bodies piling up. However, the indexing team does love to analyze stuff so pretty soon it looks like there’s some sort of pattern and perhaps someone or something is controlling the narrative outbreaks. The murder mystery part took some time to get going, but once it did, it really added to the story.
Over all, I did enjoy this book, though I find McGuire’s other urban fantasy series, the Toby Daye series, much easier to get into. That series teaches you the rules as you go along, whereas this series tends to have big chunks of convoluted rules dumped on you, sometimes repeatedly. Still, I think it’s worth the time and effort.
I had access to a free copy of this book through the Kindle Unlimited program.
The Narration: Mary Robinette Kowal did a good job, as usual. I really liked her voice for Sloan, who is always snappish. She did a great job shifting from a character’s every day voice to their ‘possessed’ fairy tale voice.
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ignore and then you will no longer have a choice.Henrietta (Henry) Marchen runs an indexing team for the ATI Management Bureau. They are tasked with tracking down these narratives that just went active, indexing them (which is figuring out what class of fairy tale and how strong they are), and diffusing them before the story creates a body count. Sometimes the only way to diffuse a narrative is to take out the human at the center of the story, because they are no longer in control of their actions. Henry has to make some tough calls during this tale. Her little team is like family; they all have their hangups and they all care about each other.
In truth, I did find some aspects of this book difficult to keep track of. Once I figured out what was going on with the narrative, it got a little easier. Sometimes the long wordy explanations (which might have been a spoof on actual government procedure documents) was cumbersome and didn’t really help explain anything. Plus, they were a bit boring. Rather, the conversations between characters did the best to explain how a fairy tale can take over a small piece of reality and what, if anything, the ATI folks could do about it.
Other than that, there was some great stuff going on in this book. I liked thinking of modern Sleeping Beautys or Snow Whites trying to make their way working in an office or a daycare center. It often gave me a chuckle. My favorite side character was Sloan Winters. She was awesome! She got to say all sorts of cranky things I wish I could say at the office, and her team understood because that’s how her fairy tale built her. McGuire also pays a nod to the transgender community with a character and I thought that was well done.
There’s also this murder mystery going on. At first, it looks like random narrative attacks and there’s a few bodies piling up. However, the indexing team does love to analyze stuff so pretty soon it looks like there’s some sort of pattern and perhaps someone or something is controlling the narrative outbreaks. The murder mystery part took some time to get going, but once it did, it really added to the story.
Over all, I did enjoy this book, though I find McGuire’s other urban fantasy series, the Toby Daye series, much easier to get into. That series teaches you the rules as you go along, whereas this series tends to have big chunks of convoluted rules dumped on you, sometimes repeatedly. Still, I think it’s worth the time and effort.
I had access to a free copy of this book through the Kindle Unlimited program.
The Narration: Mary Robinette Kowal did a good job, as usual. I really liked her voice for Sloan, who is always snappish. She did a great job shifting from a character’s every day voice to their ‘possessed’ fairy tale voice.
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LibraryThing member lexiechan
I liked it okay. It has a good start. Interesting after 2 pages in. But it did leave me confused. I guess I just need to read the next serial to comprehend the story. Just a quick question though, Henry, she's from Sleeping Beauty right? so why did she said "My inner Snow White blah blah"? :/
LibraryThing member Kellswitch
From the books blurb: For most people, the story of their lives is just that: the accumulation of time, encounters, and actions into a cohesive whole. But for an unfortunate few, that day-to-day existence is affected—perhaps infected is a better word—by memetic incursion: where fairy tale
I love the idea of fairy tales as infectious outbreak vectors as having a life and force of their own, and the idea of having a crisis team ready to try and prevent the next break out, sort of a cross between the CDC and the FBI’s BAU. I also enjoyed having that team made up of people who had either had their own fairy tales interrupted or were saved from them but who were still shaped and influenced by them.
Overall I enjoyed the story and the underlying mystery, though at times it felt like it dragged on a bit too long and that perhaps the characters should have seen some obvious clues…but then it’s easy to see how the story is unfolding from the outside…
I enjoyed the different ways the fairy tales found to try and encroach into the “real” world, and how they were shown to adapt with the times and I really loved how the book took the fairy tales back to their darker roots, pointing out how old so many of them are at their heart, and how different they are from the Disneyfied version we grew up with, even as they seemed to be influenced by Disney themselves.
I liked most of the characters though the most developed and engaging were Henry and Sloan, I did enjoy their relationship and watching it develop. Most of the other characters were fine if a bit bland for lack of a better word I guess.
Overall I enjoyed this book and the world it created, it was a bit uneven which could be due to its original serialized format, and I am looking forward to the next in the series.
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narratives become reality, often with disastrous results.I love the idea of fairy tales as infectious outbreak vectors as having a life and force of their own, and the idea of having a crisis team ready to try and prevent the next break out, sort of a cross between the CDC and the FBI’s BAU. I also enjoyed having that team made up of people who had either had their own fairy tales interrupted or were saved from them but who were still shaped and influenced by them.
Overall I enjoyed the story and the underlying mystery, though at times it felt like it dragged on a bit too long and that perhaps the characters should have seen some obvious clues…but then it’s easy to see how the story is unfolding from the outside…
I enjoyed the different ways the fairy tales found to try and encroach into the “real” world, and how they were shown to adapt with the times and I really loved how the book took the fairy tales back to their darker roots, pointing out how old so many of them are at their heart, and how different they are from the Disneyfied version we grew up with, even as they seemed to be influenced by Disney themselves.
I liked most of the characters though the most developed and engaging were Henry and Sloan, I did enjoy their relationship and watching it develop. Most of the other characters were fine if a bit bland for lack of a better word I guess.
Overall I enjoyed this book and the world it created, it was a bit uneven which could be due to its original serialized format, and I am looking forward to the next in the series.
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LibraryThing member all4metals
This book provides basic information on using an indexing head on a mill.
LibraryThing member MrNattania72
Holy shit this way beyond hilarious and a great spin on the Happily Ever After Tales. I was cracking myself up during my class's silent reading time. Great Stuff
LibraryThing member mirihawk
I loved this book. I wish I had more than 5 stars to give it. Read it! It's only $2 in the Kindle store right now. And no, I'm not affiliated with anything.
LibraryThing member kevn57
3 1/2 stars, I liked this but not as much as Velveteen vs series. The incredible world building of the author is fully displayed but for me the characters just weren't as compelling. I have to say I started out hating Sloane, but she in time grew on me. Now onto book 2.
LibraryThing member Tikimoof
On the bright side, I think I finally figured out why I hate Seanan McGuire's writing. She's super descriptive, but in a really abrupt and repetitive way. There's no nuance in the writing, so it feels like she's always telling you "this is the way things are, snowflake. Deal with it," even though
Not helping her case was the serialized nature of this book, where every story had to have a reintroduction of the characters in the same "Yeah I'm totally a bitch in a noir story, aren't I cool?" tone, with the same wording every time. Everything always has the most depressing/horrific outcome (except when you need an Emotional Moment). Somebody asks an important question, and everybody stops to fucking quip about it before discussing how to not die, because otherwise you'd think people cared about their jobs or their colleagues.
Character details were inconsistent from chapter to chapter. McGuire couldn't decide if her Snow White was completely melanin-deficient or not, characters' hair changed, she couldn't decide whether Jeff's shoes were any good, people flip-flopped on how they felt with invading personal bubbles, and plot threads (Sloane!) were dropped with no further mention.
Also I hate unacknowledged Disney-ification of fairy tales, and Snow White seemed to be all about that.
This was my third try at Seanan McGuire, and since it wasn't the charm, I think I'm going to have to not read any more of her books. I just get angrier and angrier every time I read a new one.
(Sloane was the only good character, but she wasn't the main POV so who the fuck cares)
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you may not agree with the interpretation. It's really abrasive.Not helping her case was the serialized nature of this book, where every story had to have a reintroduction of the characters in the same "Yeah I'm totally a bitch in a noir story, aren't I cool?" tone, with the same wording every time. Everything always has the most depressing/horrific outcome (except when you need an Emotional Moment). Somebody asks an important question, and everybody stops to fucking quip about it before discussing how to not die, because otherwise you'd think people cared about their jobs or their colleagues.
Character details were inconsistent from chapter to chapter. McGuire couldn't decide if her Snow White was completely melanin-deficient or not, characters' hair changed, she couldn't decide whether Jeff's shoes were any good, people flip-flopped on how they felt with invading personal bubbles, and plot threads (Sloane!) were dropped with no further mention.
Also I hate unacknowledged Disney-ification of fairy tales, and Snow White seemed to be all about that.
This was my third try at Seanan McGuire, and since it wasn't the charm, I think I'm going to have to not read any more of her books. I just get angrier and angrier every time I read a new one.
(Sloane was the only good character, but she wasn't the main POV so who the fuck cares)
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LibraryThing member MyFathersDragon
I have liked fairy tales and folklore since I was in grade school. I knew there were cultural variations of fairy tales because I had read so many. My first year of college, in an introduction to the library course, I was excited to learn about the index to fairy tales - and thus remembered about
I was disappointed in the first few chapters, expecting more or something different. But, then, I started becoming interested. The characters live in a world where a force tries to make fairy tales repeat. Would you want to be forced into becoming Sleeping Beauty and sleep for 100 years, or one of Cinderella’s wicked sisters, or even one of Snow White’s seven dwarves. The fairy tale force tries to force people that could be transformed into a character in the fairy tale into a character from a fairy tale. The members of the ATI team try to stop fairy tales before they take over. Because of variations in fairy tales, the team needs to identify who is being transformed into which part of the fairy tale.
I enjoyed reading it and borrowed the sequel immediately afterward. I am not sure it deserved quite 4 stars, but it got a boost because it is in a topic I am a fan of.
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it. Oddly, the small folklore department was unaware of the index, but they were delighted when a visiting professor told them the library should have a copy. I knew there were cultural variations of fairy tales. I think I must be part folklorist. Well, I couldn’t resist a story about fairy tales, so I read it via Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited during every free bit of time I had in a period of about 48 hours.I was disappointed in the first few chapters, expecting more or something different. But, then, I started becoming interested. The characters live in a world where a force tries to make fairy tales repeat. Would you want to be forced into becoming Sleeping Beauty and sleep for 100 years, or one of Cinderella’s wicked sisters, or even one of Snow White’s seven dwarves. The fairy tale force tries to force people that could be transformed into a character in the fairy tale into a character from a fairy tale. The members of the ATI team try to stop fairy tales before they take over. Because of variations in fairy tales, the team needs to identify who is being transformed into which part of the fairy tale.
I enjoyed reading it and borrowed the sequel immediately afterward. I am not sure it deserved quite 4 stars, but it got a boost because it is in a topic I am a fan of.
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LibraryThing member catseyegreen
A compilation of linked stories, Henry is a member of a secret government agency that prevents fairy tales from forming and destroying peoples lives. Henry herself is an averted Snow White and her team is also "on the spectrum" They avert such tales as Sleeping Beauty- who is a carrier of a new
These stories were obviously published separately and then set together, there are some obvious continuity errors. Still, it's a fun read.
re-read 9/29/2023
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strain of avian flu, Goldilocks- who is haunted by ghost bears and the Clever Fox- who is a psychologist who is murdered for what he knows. These stories were obviously published separately and then set together, there are some obvious continuity errors. Still, it's a fun read.
re-read 9/29/2023
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LibraryThing member lexilewords
Guys I am so frakking in love with this book. Buy it. Now. Seriously.
---
So here's the thing with McGuire and me--I really like her Mira Grant works (the Newsflesh trilogy plus assorted short stories, her new Medical Thriller Duo), but I've never been into her October Daye books and I'm reserving
This was about a twist on fairy tales and how they push on reality and that got my attention.
Its not perfect. It had some dragging parts and what felt like unnecessary drama (the whole thing with Demi*), plus some of the story permutations for the fairy tales are much more obscure then others so that can be confusing. For a fairy tale/fable/legend fan this is a treasure trove of lesser known variations to well known stories, as well as a gateway to bringing back the darkness Fairy Tales used to have.
I loved Henry (aka Henrietta Marchen aka Snow White) so very much. I loved that when she decided to avoid her Fairy Tale she went full out to avoid it (though not as far as her sibling...). I loved that birds flinging themselves at her window or flowers growing in her carpet were so ordinary to her that she barely mentioned them.
I loved Sloane (aka the "Wicked Stepsister") who was all sorts of rude and obnoxious, but cared really cared about helping those poors saps caught in the vortex of the Narrative. I loved that one of very few things to truly frighten her wasn't that she could turn wicked at any moment--that she was wicked and she fought tooth and nail to not become evil. That in the end the very thing she was so afraid of being, became the most heroic confession of all.
Henry and Sloane were so well developed as characters that their interactions with the world felt natural. The very few things that didn't feel mostly involved Demi (but I'll get to that later). I never questioned why Henry felt that a "Sleeping Beauty" could be disastrous or why an averted Beauty and the Beast mutating into The Little Mermaid could become dangerous extremely fast. The sense of calm urgency that Henry displayed throughout was far more effective then if she explained in minute detail why it could be a very very bad thing.
Each 'chapter' usually began with whatever memetic incursion (the science-y name for when the Narrative intrudes on reality) will be the focal point for the chapter. These ranged from the Pied Piper to Goldilocks to a truly weird case of Cinderella. After the initial set up the chapter would then flip to Henry's view as the team proceeds to investigate and neutralize the incursion as swiftly as possible.
As the story progressed a larger problem loomed that eventually made itself known in a BIG way (I may have been horrified by the turn that the story took since the character who is pulling the strings was one of my favorites as a child thanks to a Shelly Duvall movie and later Whoopi Goldberg).
Really a lot of the twists that McGuire uses to send red herrings are very clever. When the Big Bad is revealed, its a bit obvious looking back, but at the same time I admired the fact that my assumptions of that character--while true in the loosest of ways--got turned on their head. Its makes a certain kind of horrible sense that the Big Bad would turn the way they did.
I mentioned my displeasure with Demi and really its not the character's fault so much as the role she played. I'm often reminded of the quote from the Children of Dune mini-series in which Paul tells Irulan that she was born to be used by everyone around her. This is the role Demi inhabits. Henry 'activates' her story as a last ditch effort to stave off a worse (or at least at that moment worst) threat, Demi is then tossed head first into a world that terrifies/repulses her, treated like a ticking time bomb (with no clear understanding why), used as a pawn by the Big Bad and then shuffled off to lick her wounds while the rest of the Team attempts to do damage control.
She was, to my mind, the 'bridge' for the reader to relate to someone who is also 'new' to the whole world. She questions, she points out logic holes, she makes daft mistakes. Not because this is her character (I can't think she's really that dim), but more because its a quick way to story tell some situations that would have taken longer to develop. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but it did make me want to strangle the girl.
This will definitely not be for everyone. There's very little sense of 'happily ever after' and more of a 'oh thank god now maybe we can do paperwork' feeling to the story as a whole. It will also make you rather cynical/possibly paranoid if you tend to think that way to begin with. Fans of McGuire should definitely give this a shot. Now that its over you don't have to wait like I did!
---
So here's the thing with McGuire and me--I really like her Mira Grant works (the Newsflesh trilogy plus assorted short stories, her new Medical Thriller Duo), but I've never been into her October Daye books and I'm reserving
Show More
hope for the Incryptid books. Also I'm not a fan of waiting for stuff. Signing up for a Kindle Serial is very much like signing up for a tv show season. This was about a twist on fairy tales and how they push on reality and that got my attention.
Its not perfect. It had some dragging parts and what felt like unnecessary drama (the whole thing with Demi*), plus some of the story permutations for the fairy tales are much more obscure then others so that can be confusing. For a fairy tale/fable/legend fan this is a treasure trove of lesser known variations to well known stories, as well as a gateway to bringing back the darkness Fairy Tales used to have.
I loved Henry (aka Henrietta Marchen aka Snow White) so very much. I loved that when she decided to avoid her Fairy Tale she went full out to avoid it (though not as far as her sibling...). I loved that birds flinging themselves at her window or flowers growing in her carpet were so ordinary to her that she barely mentioned them.
I loved Sloane (aka the "Wicked Stepsister") who was all sorts of rude and obnoxious, but cared really cared about helping those poors saps caught in the vortex of the Narrative. I loved that one of very few things to truly frighten her wasn't that she could turn wicked at any moment--that she was wicked and she fought tooth and nail to not become evil. That in the end the very thing she was so afraid of being, became the most heroic confession of all.
Henry and Sloane were so well developed as characters that their interactions with the world felt natural. The very few things that didn't feel mostly involved Demi (but I'll get to that later). I never questioned why Henry felt that a "Sleeping Beauty" could be disastrous or why an averted Beauty and the Beast mutating into The Little Mermaid could become dangerous extremely fast. The sense of calm urgency that Henry displayed throughout was far more effective then if she explained in minute detail why it could be a very very bad thing.
Each 'chapter' usually began with whatever memetic incursion (the science-y name for when the Narrative intrudes on reality) will be the focal point for the chapter. These ranged from the Pied Piper to Goldilocks to a truly weird case of Cinderella. After the initial set up the chapter would then flip to Henry's view as the team proceeds to investigate and neutralize the incursion as swiftly as possible.
As the story progressed a larger problem loomed that eventually made itself known in a BIG way (I may have been horrified by the turn that the story took since the character who is pulling the strings was one of my favorites as a child thanks to a Shelly Duvall movie and later Whoopi Goldberg).
Really a lot of the twists that McGuire uses to send red herrings are very clever. When the Big Bad is revealed, its a bit obvious looking back, but at the same time I admired the fact that my assumptions of that character--while true in the loosest of ways--got turned on their head. Its makes a certain kind of horrible sense that the Big Bad would turn the way they did.
I mentioned my displeasure with Demi and really its not the character's fault so much as the role she played. I'm often reminded of the quote from the Children of Dune mini-series in which Paul tells Irulan that she was born to be used by everyone around her. This is the role Demi inhabits. Henry 'activates' her story as a last ditch effort to stave off a worse (or at least at that moment worst) threat, Demi is then tossed head first into a world that terrifies/repulses her, treated like a ticking time bomb (with no clear understanding why), used as a pawn by the Big Bad and then shuffled off to lick her wounds while the rest of the Team attempts to do damage control.
She was, to my mind, the 'bridge' for the reader to relate to someone who is also 'new' to the whole world. She questions, she points out logic holes, she makes daft mistakes. Not because this is her character (I can't think she's really that dim), but more because its a quick way to story tell some situations that would have taken longer to develop. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but it did make me want to strangle the girl.
This will definitely not be for everyone. There's very little sense of 'happily ever after' and more of a 'oh thank god now maybe we can do paperwork' feeling to the story as a whole. It will also make you rather cynical/possibly paranoid if you tend to think that way to begin with. Fans of McGuire should definitely give this a shot. Now that its over you don't have to wait like I did!
Show Less
LibraryThing member MontzaleeW
Indexing
By Seanan McGuire
I love this fun book! There is a secret agency that deals with fairy tales that really happen in our world. This secret group helps fend off circumstances that arise from the fairy tales and stop it from manifesting all the way. It is clever, witty, and a real joy to read!
By Seanan McGuire
I love this fun book! There is a secret agency that deals with fairy tales that really happen in our world. This secret group helps fend off circumstances that arise from the fairy tales and stop it from manifesting all the way. It is clever, witty, and a real joy to read!
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I have the second book and will start it next. Terrific characters and plot. Very unique. Great narration. Show Less
LibraryThing member tldegray
It's a story about stories and about how we fit in to them. It's about finding your own place and your identity. It's about women and power and family and friends. And I hope it gets a second series as a Kindle serial because it was wonderful.
LibraryThing member Treebeard_404
Wonderful story made even more wonderful by an artful audiobook narrator.
Awards
Gaylactic Spectrum Award (Shortlist — Novel — [Published in 2014], 2014/2015)
Original language
English
Original publication date
2014-01-24
Physical description
5.25 inches
ISBN
148055765X / 9781480557659