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Discount Armageddon (InCryptid #1)

by Seanan McGuire (Goodreads Author)

3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 · rating details · 3,143 ratings · 577 reviews

Ghoulies. Ghosties. Long-legged beasties. Things that go bump in the night....

The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity - and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manh...more

ebook, 368 pages

Published March 6th 2012 by Penguin Group (USA)

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Dec 29, 2012 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of lighthearted UF

Recommended to Carol by: a group read

Shelves: female-lead, supernatural-mystery, urban-fantasy

I've been immersed in serious literature, academia and non-fiction lately, so when the library found me a copy of Discount Armageddon, I promptly put everything down to read it. To be honest, my reading relationship with McGuire's works has been problematic, so this was escapism of the basest sort. While I find a number of her ideas fabulous, her heroines are often inexplicably stupid and the world-building inconsistent. So understand, if I had any expectations of Discount, it was that McGuire w...more

19 likes · like · see review

Mar 15, 2012 Rane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, keeper

I haven't picked up Seanan McGurie well known October Daye series, so I came into reading Discount Armageddon a total newbie to this author. And while I was a little leery at first due to the very off leading back blub that did nothing for the overall kickass-ness that is this book.

DA did have it's trouble at the beginning as your in need to swim the info dump to figure out who Verity Price is and her passion for dancing then trying live up to the family name of cryptozoologist and the red st...more I haven't picked up Seanan McGurie well known October Daye series, so I came into reading Discount Armageddon a total newbie to this author. And while I was a little leery at first due to the very off leading back blub that did nothing for the overall kickass-ness that is this book.

DA did have it's trouble at the beginning as your in need to swim the info dump to figure out who Verity Price is and her passion for dancing then trying live up to the family name of cryptozoologist and the red stamp of being part of a traitor family to the Covenant of St. George a craze group that wants to rid the earth of anything different then human.

The ending that is the info dump ends with the rest of the story starting to hit it stride with action that melts into more action and running story that has you flipping quickly to the next page.

The world of DA is vast with creatures of all kinds are introduced through Verity workplace and her own studies (and living habits as she lives with talking religious mice who celebrate pretty much everything). When she runs into a Covenant agent Dominic, she has her hands even fuller with trying to keep him in check and figure out what the heck is happening to her city.

Verity was very easily liked, she had a sharp sense of humor, and a mind that was curious but didn’t go headlong into danger when she could help it. She was well balanced out with the asshat and oftentimes very naïve Covenant agent Dominic who like Verity ended up likely against my judgment. It was well played out as both work together but still have their differences with Verity trying to show that Dominic’s teachings are wrong on many counts about those who are different.

Along with some laugh out load moments, there was a great underlining mystery that even surprised me with some nice twists and turns with serious moments to balance it all to make one hellva great read.

While Discount Armageddon and Seanan McGurie might not be everyone cup of urban fantasy tea it is for me and one that I enjoy with a big helping up action, and humor cake!

Verity thoughts on her (small) waitress uniform
"No matter how many times I put this on, I can't get past the part where I look like a hooker." "No, you don't, honey." said Carol. "hookers get better tips.
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17 likes · like · see review

Mar 13, 2012 Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalker rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Read my review below or at Badass Book Reviews (only my 2nd review at the blog so come show your support...please!!)

Review below!

When you think of the bogyman, you don’t normally think of him running a strip club named Dave’s Fish & Strips. How about those delicious sweet pastries you eat from your local bakery, is it the result of a talented bakery chef or a cryptid known as a Madhura?

Verity Price doesn’t have to wonder about the bogyman or other monsters that we thought were only figments...more

24 likes · like · see review

Apr 07, 2012 MandyM rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance, urban-fantasy

A fairly light urban fantasy as they go. This series stars Verity Price, a scion of the infamous Price family, 'Cryptozoologists' who protect and police the 'Cryptids' who live among humans. Verity is a reluctant protector. Her passion is ballroom dancing and she's spending a year in New York following her dream to convince her family she can make it work. But a member of the dreaded 'Covenant' (a religious group that desires absolute destruction of all cryptids) comes to town and discovers Veri...more

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 03, 2012 Sherwood Smith added it · review of another edition

Picked this up to read on the bus, and am having so much fun. I suspect that the author doesn't actually know much about dance, but that is a small quibble in an otherwise fairly fast-paced tale full of interesting critters and funny one-liners. I love Verity Price's family and I especially love her worshipful mice!

This is a fast-paced, wisecracking romp of an urban fantasy with an interesting take on the world's strange creatures, called cryptids, Verity and her family are delightful--I want to...more

5 likes · like · see review

Oct 01, 2011 The Holy Terror marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, color-pink, color-blue, ebook

This cover.

Wut.

4 likes · like · see review

May 10, 2012 Marg K. marked it as did-not-finish · review of another edition

Did Not Finish

I just can't do it anymore.

Reading this book has quite literally been painful for me. In fact, my inner Seanan McGuire fangirl is currently curled up in the fetal position bawling her sad little eyes out in a very dark corner of my mind.

Listen, I don’t know what seriously trippy shit girlfriend was smoking while writing this hot mess of a story, but I do know that she’s capable of so much more (and better…much, much better).

Wow. I’m actually at a loss for words. I suppose I can su...more

10 likes · like · see review

Apr 04, 2012 Xenophon Hendrix rated it 1 of 5 stars

Imagine you are a trained and experienced fighter being attacked by snake men. You know that if you lose, the scaly creatures are unlikely to be merciful. You are armed with knives, a machete, and a pistol. There is a significant ricochet risk, so you begin defending yourself with the cutting implements. Unfortunately, the edged weapons aren't enough, and you are going to lose unless you try the gun. Do you

A. use the gun, despite the danger of being hit by a ricochet?

B. lose?

The main character o...more Imagine you are a trained and experienced fighter being attacked by snake men. You know that if you lose, the scaly creatures are unlikely to be merciful. You are armed with knives, a machete, and a pistol. There is a significant ricochet risk, so you begin defending yourself with the cutting implements. Unfortunately, the edged weapons aren't enough, and you are going to lose unless you try the gun. Do you

A. use the gun, despite the danger of being hit by a ricochet?

B. lose?

The main character of this novel chooses B. The book is loaded with similar problems of logic and consistency.

Literature of the fantastic requires a suspension of disbelief. This is understood by all regular readers of it, and they are willing to accept characters that are elves, half-elves, vampires, werewolves, fairies, space aliens, wizards, warlocks, witches, or even superheroes. But this book has a main character, Verity Price, who claims no special abilities or ancestry, getting around Manhattan by throwing herself from roofs, bouncing off walls, running over rooftops, swinging from fire escapes, and generally behaving as if she were Daredevil or Spider-Man. The author could have claimed that the character can do these incredible feats because of magic or technology, and regular fantasy readers would have accepted it. Instead, Ms. McGuire claims training and practice. An Olympic gold-medalist in gymnastics couldn't do this stuff without killing herself in short order, but this is how the main character routinely travels around the city.

Furthermore, Verity Price claims to be intelligent, giving her training as a cryptozoologist as evidence in support of her assertion, yet she regularly behaves like an idiot, and I don't mean forgetful, or overenthusiastic, or young and thoughtless. I mean an idiot.

Consider another scenario: You are somehow jumping around over rooftops and meet up with a hereditary enemy of your family. (I am going to be vague to avoid spoilers.) These hereditary enemies greatly outnumber your family, but fortunately, they think your family line is defunct. You are angry with this person, but you realize that he is, indeed, a representative of your numerous hereditary enemies. Your choices are

A. Keep your mouth shut about your true identity so that your family and you remain relatively safe, as you have been trained to do since birth.

B. Clearly tell this representatives of your enemies who you are so that he now knows your family still exists.

Our heroine chooses option B.

There are others, but I lack the heart to go on. The protagonist is stupid. The novel is stupid.(less)

21 likes · like · see review

Mar 31, 2012 Tracy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, urban-fantasy, gifted-by-author

This Price Is Definitely Right
Sometimes a girl's just gotta dance. For Verity Price, it's more than a party, it's a passionate calling. One for which she trains hard to excel. She's got a year in New York City to try to make a career out of it. If she can't, she'll return to the family and make her side job her primary occupation. Like the rest of her family. For now, though, New York City is her town. And Verity is very protective of her town.

The Prices have been renegades for a couple of gener...more

5 likes · like · see review

Mar 14, 2013 Dr susan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: need-to-buy, read-again, re-read, books-to-read-when-i-feel-bad

I hope McGuire had as much fun writing this book as I did reading it. The 'cryptids' are some of my most favorite characters: the Aeslin mice, the Goth waheela, the nerdy cuckoo. This book is great, silly fun and was as enjoyable the second reading as it was the first. I am looking forward to Verity's continuing adventures.

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 05, 2013 Terah Edun rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked up this book not knowing what to expect...at all. The cover and title says 'Post-Apocalyptic Urban Fantasy with a dash of Science Fiction Drama and a pinch of Manga'. The book reads as 'Modern Urban Fantasy Paranormal Read w/ a Kick-Ass Sexy Heronie'. Seriously this chick is awesome. She comes from a family of fighters, think the Grimm family from the TV Series, but more often than not she ends up protecting the evils that she hunts (medusas, dragons, telepathic hunters) and talking mic...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 30, 2013 Anna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fluff, urban-fantasy, reviewed

This is an enormously enjoyable fluffy urban fantasy, fast paced and full of charm. I loved meeting all the different species that our ballroom-dancing cryptozoologist main character studied and protected, especially the Aeslin mice, who... well, I really don't want to spoil it for you. Suffice it to say that they are adorable. To begin with this book reminded me a bit of Tanya Huff's Gale Family novels, but that fell away quickly because this book, which very enjoyable, is just not that thought...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 02, 2012 Isamlq rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“The greatest joy is the joy of discovery. Followed closely by the joy of a discovery that doesn’t kill you.”

With one liners like these, is it any wonder that I kept on? Frankly, all her asides had me gesturing with an exasperated ‘come-on on already!’ It’s definitely different in tone from what I’ve read of late, but I like how unique her world is. Cryptozoologist. Wut?

Disliked…

If only she could grab hold of her enthusiasm for her job for a minute because time and again sometimes, things coul...more

1 like · like · see review

May 04, 2012 Shanshad Whelan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, series, urban-fantasy

The challenge of putting my thoughts in order about this book. . . I love Seanan McGuire's work. Her October series has matured into a marvelous urban fantasy scape with beloved characters and great story arcs. This is something very different. A New York City urban fantasy about a young woman who works with the cryptid community while ballroom dancing on the side.

I'll admit, after the back cover synopsis and the first few pages I almost called it quits on this one. It's a little more paranormal...more The challenge of putting my thoughts in order about this book. . . I love Seanan McGuire's work. Her October series has matured into a marvelous urban fantasy scape with beloved characters and great story arcs. This is something very different. A New York City urban fantasy about a young woman who works with the cryptid community while ballroom dancing on the side.

I'll admit, after the back cover synopsis and the first few pages I almost called it quits on this one. It's a little more paranormal romance and a lot more "kick-ass chick in skimpy clothes". I freely admit I kept reading for the mice. The Aeslin mice won me over and kept me turning pages until the story started taking off. By the end I was truly enjoying myself with this story, though I won't say it's Ms. McGuire's best writing to date.

In this urban fantasy world Verity Price is a young woman from a line of renegade cryptid hunters that have also become cryptid protectors. Crytids encompass all sorts of traditional and nontraditional monsters and legends, many of them living in mainstream civilization and managing to remain undiscovered by the human population. Verity is not only a kick-ass monster hunter, she's also a highly talented ballroom dancer, but making those two career choices mesh is a difficult job, even in the Big Apple.

In the end I really wound up liking this, mainly because Ms. McGuire's writing is so much fun to read. That said, I'm not sure the ballroom dancing melded into the story quite as well as some of the other elements. I was more prone to enjoy the parts off the dance floor and away from the dance references. The romance aspect of the book is well played, if fairly unsurprising. Given that I was able to put this book in the "over the top", "fun but fluffy" mode of my reading, I was able to forgive the too perfect hero and heroine in the story. Make me laugh and I'll forgive a lot. Oh, and one little thing, not really a criticism but a comment, does every kick ass urban fantasy heroine have a complete lack of cooking and healthy eating skills? Every new heroine I meet appears to have the same balefully empty fridge that other characters are horrified by. Just wondering.
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Mar 05, 2012 Garrett Jones rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, top-favorites

http://www.rantingdragon.com/discount...

Contemporary fantasy is one of the fastest growing genres within speculative fiction today. Urban fantasy, in particular, has seen an increase in sheer numbers of authors and stories, to the point where some ideas have been recycled so much that various incarnations are either too similar to fully enjoy or have become stale.

Don't take this to mean I dislike urban fantasy; nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, if you look at a genre breakdown of...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Abby rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

KEYWORDS: PARANORMAL, SUPERNATURAL/ MYSTICAL CREATURES, VIOLENCE, ROMANCE

IN SHORT: A GOOD FUN READ

REVIEW:

This book is a fun read and I’m so glad my owner picked this up so we could read it.

This book is about a young woman called Verity who belongs to the Price family who specialize in mystical creatures and their behavior. Although Verity also specializes in urban creatures she is stuck between what her family wants and her passion. This conflict between the two leads us on a very fast pace and...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 26, 2012 Lilli Perspice rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, reviewed, urban-fantasy, too-smexeh-for-mah-shirt, they-live-in-my-house

1.5 stars

I was seriously disappointed in this book. I'm a fan of Seanan McGuire's October Daye series as well as her Newsflesh series written under her pseudonym, Mira Grant, so I went into this expecting to like it. Things started off okay. I thought cryptids (basically creatures, sentient and nonsentient) were interesting, different enough to keep me entertained for a full book. However, things started going wrong the minute Verity Price (our first person protagonist) meets Dominic De Luca, a...more 1.5 stars

I was seriously disappointed in this book. I'm a fan of Seanan McGuire's October Daye series as well as her Newsflesh series written under her pseudonym, Mira Grant, so I went into this expecting to like it. Things started off okay. I thought cryptids (basically creatures, sentient and nonsentient) were interesting, different enough to keep me entertained for a full book. However, things started going wrong the minute Verity Price (our first person protagonist) meets Dominic De Luca, a man belonging to a fanatical organization called the Covenant. The Covenant's doctrine is to exterminate every cryptid out there whether they pose a threat to humanity or not, and Dominic supposedly is no different. Verity's family has a history with the Convenant, having once been members, though they now reject the Covenant's genocidal ideals and are in hiding from the organization.

Now we're going to get spoilery. (view spoiler)

With Dominic's unbelievable change from raging fanatic to bleeding heart proponent for cryptid rights over the span of days and the completely contrived relationship between Verity and Dominic, I just couldn't get behind this series. It was trying too hard to be clever and funny and just came across as needy and pathetic to me. Seanan McGuire is no longer on my instant to-buy list after this mess, and I'll be sure to do my homework on any future series before purchasing.(less)

5 likes · like · see review

Apr 14, 2012 Ainslie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, read-2012

This was more a two and a half stars for me.

*******DOES CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*****READ AT YOUR OWN RISK*****

So what went wrong with it as far as I was concerned? Well, first of all there was the repetition. We were told several things repeatedly, and that got old really quickly. Then there were the quips. I felt the author tried too hard to be funny, and she seemed to be reaching with some of the similies. The protagonist came across as too much like a gum-chewing, wise-cracking, hard-boiled de...more This was more a two and a half stars for me.

*******DOES CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*****READ AT YOUR OWN RISK*****

So what went wrong with it as far as I was concerned? Well, first of all there was the repetition. We were told several things repeatedly, and that got old really quickly. Then there were the quips. I felt the author tried too hard to be funny, and she seemed to be reaching with some of the similies. The protagonist came across as too much like a gum-chewing, wise-cracking, hard-boiled detective to me, and I'm not a big fan of those. I think the sheer quantity of the quips also made the protagonist seem a bit too shallow, and where I felt a scene could have done with a little more drama to add depth, that was sacrificed in the attempt to be funny. I remember thinking the same thing about Maria V Snyder's A Touch of Power, and that book came to mind several times as I read Discount Armageddon.

One or two rather glaring continuity issues spoiled my enjoyment. At times too, the world didn't come across as all that believable to me. Certain aspects were fine, but there were others where the logic just seemed to fail, and I kept rereading sections to make it all add up, but it didn't. Then there was the interaction with the love interest. While I felt that his capitualtion to the protagonist's way of thinking was logical (and decent), it all seemed to happen a bit too quickly and completely, and I feel that more conflict there would have made to book more enjoyable for me. Take away the conflict, and it becomes boring.

So what was the first thing that irritated me about the book? That would be what I can only describe as the fatuous one-liner by Charlaine Harris in the "Praise for" section. It's a good job I'm familiar enough with Harris' inability to express herself properly to disregard it, or I'd have put the book back if I'd been browsing in a bookstore. "The only thing more fun than an October Daye book...?" Oh, please. The October Daye books have aspects which are fun, but they aren't a light-hearted romp in the way this comment implies. Those books have depth. Far more than Ms Harris' own. Publishers, please. Is it really worth going for the big name (and that's only because of True Blood--not due to Ms Harris' own efforts) if you're going to get meaningless drivel like that?

Things I liked about the book? The mice. I think a few more embarrassing moments with them would have been funnier than the quips, but I'm hopeful for future books. I liked that the book touched on issues of prejudice, as displayed towards the cryptids, and I did enjoy reading about the rivalry between the protagonist and her sister. Basically, I liked the characters, and I would hope to see some more depth to them in the next books. I liked the idea of the protagonist running full tilt, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, and the part where she ended up... well, I won't spoil it for others. I guess I'm more a fan of situation comedy than one-liners, although there was one near the beginning of the book where I laughed out loud...

I will continue with the series. I'm hopeful that it was only Seanan McGuire's foray into unfamiliar territory which made things awkward, and that when she relaxes into the series a little more, the rough edges will be rubbed off, and things will even out.(less)

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May 31, 2012 Carolyn F. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library-book, paranormal-romance, urban-fantasy

Enjoyable book. Verity is in New York to see if her ballroom dancing career will take off and to help the cryptids, supposedly "mythological" creatures as needed. She finds out one of the Covenant, guys who kill cryptids because the're evil, is in town at the same time that single cryptids ladies are missing. Somehow they join forces to find out what's going on and find they like each other after awhile.

Verity is kind of off-hand funny, I smiled throughout the book but never laughed out loud. Th...more

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May 10, 2012 Laurel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I think that this book is best described as a romp. She's a bad ass chick who thankfully has a sense of humor about herself. She works in a strip club, but will break the fingers of anyone who tries to put hands on her. And did I mention the talking mice? A warrior Cinderella who defends the honor of the monsters in her city while listening to dance music and rattling off tongue in cheek cliches. I can't do a much better job of describing it, so you might as well run along and get the book. You'...more

5 likes · like · see review

Apr 24, 2013 Serena rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Discount Armageddon is the first installment of Seanan’s InCryptid series. I have to admit; if it hadn’t been thrust into my hands by a friend (and then promptly led to the sales counter) I probably wouldn’t have read it based on its cover. Half dressed female, posing provocatively with a samurai sword strapped to her back and gun in hand. “No thankyou” was my first thought. I distinctly remember thinking that this would be another ‘I’m a supposedly strong independent woman, but I need a man to...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Isis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: magical-being, paranormal-sci-fi-and-or-fantasy, mystery-and-or-fantasy

This is a gem of a book for fans of the urban paranormal and strong female characters that are sassy, independent, and still vulnerable all in one package.

Verity Price comes from a long and distinguished line of "monster-hunters," at least until about four generations ago that is. That would be when her family split off from the 'Covenant' to move the North America and start protecting those same monsters they once hunted. The family business is cryptzoology, something Verity has trained for her...more This is a gem of a book for fans of the urban paranormal and strong female characters that are sassy, independent, and still vulnerable all in one package.

Verity Price comes from a long and distinguished line of "monster-hunters," at least until about four generations ago that is. That would be when her family split off from the 'Covenant' to move the North America and start protecting those same monsters they once hunted. The family business is cryptzoology, something Verity has trained for her entire life.

However Verity is torn between going into the family business or pursuing her own passion - dancing. Specifically ballroom dancing. She is so passionate that she has to dance under an assumed name and disguise, because there is always a risk that the Covenant will think that her family line was not completely terminated some time ago. Disguise in place Verity goes on national television's hugely popular 'Dance or Die' show. After the show ends she makes a deal with her folks. She will move to New York City for one year to try to make it as a dancer, but on the side she'll also be doing some outreach into the cryptid community to do more non-invasive research and to help them however she can. Of course part of that job means she is also a hunter, because she can't just let the cryptids kill humans. But before she takes the drastic step of killing them she tries things like relocating them first. Anything that will keep her from taking a sentient being's life simply for doing what nature designed it to do.

Verity has made decent inroads with the cryptid community, but not so well with the dance career because of all her work with the cryptids. And her work with the cryptids is about to leap into first place for a while, as Dominic, a member of the Covenant comes to NYC to see if the city is ready for a purge. If the Covenant comes to NYC it would mean there wouldn't be a single cryptid alive by the time they left; not too mention the risk to not only Verity, and by extension her entire family.

The characters are well-rounded and engaging from the very beginning, with the appeal of being relate-able and interesting. The interpersonal dynamics are entertaining and run the gamut from insane to downright romantic and sweet.

Ms. McGuire has a talent for world-building that is to be applauded, keeping the story well balanced between the world we know and the one we unknowingly share with the cryptids. The story arc moves along at a nice clip, never letting the reader's attention wander to others things they should be doing, like getting some sleep before work rather than continuing to read. And if all that isn't enough to make you want to pick up the book, then read it solely for the pleasure of experiencing the Aeslin mice!(less)

1 like · like · see review

Feb 03, 2013 PointyEars42 rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: deeply-regret-reading, hero-isnt-an-alpha-dickhead, too-stupid-to-live

If you can get past the eye-wateringly bad cover art, you might notice that the Agent K-worshiping aliens from the locker at Grand Central Station (Men, In Black) have been relocated to the protagonist’s closet. It’s (almost) all downhill from there.

I could have forgiven Verity Price for the endless & unnecessary stream of one-liners (she does live in an action movie after all) but please explain to me the wisdom behind expending your limited, human energy reserves by free-running everywher...more If you can get past the eye-wateringly bad cover art, you might notice that the Agent K-worshiping aliens from the locker at Grand Central Station (Men, In Black) have been relocated to the protagonist’s closet. It’s (almost) all downhill from there.

I could have forgiven Verity Price for the endless & unnecessary stream of one-liners (she does live in an action movie after all) but please explain to me the wisdom behind expending your limited, human energy reserves by free-running everywhere you go? An hour a day to keep your abilities sharp, by all means, but she apparently can’t pop out for milk without the Cirque du Soleil routine. By the second or third time she refused to walk somewhere I found myself hoping she’d sprain an ankle or exhaust herself immediately before being in a fight. I’m assuming that the final climactic scene fizzled limply because all that exertion finally caught up with Daredevil "Selene from Underworld" Verity.

Some of the dialogue is screamingly funny though. I laughed. In disbelief. Then I started screaming at the book.
Verity: “So you know, the military precision thing, really not nearly as effective when you’re starkers. Anyway, I told her about the lizard-men in the sewer & she flipped out, big-time.”
American girls now use the word “starkers” a lot, yes? In conjunction with “flipped out”?
Dominic: “You are the most insane, insufferable, infuriating excuse for a female that I have ever met.” Is he just thrown because she’s the sexual aggressor in their relationship & everything is happening on her turf so she’s in charge, or is he really a Regency Romance Rake (I can alliterate too!) who has time travelled into the modern era to fight monsters? I can see why he'd think her insane, but she is in no way insufferable (unless he's referring to her always knowing more than he does) & she's not even that infuriating (except when she's deliberately making him think with the lower brain when he'd obviously thought himself above such things).

Pretty much the only things I liked about this book were the the Price siblings' interactions, the SYTYCD moments, & the role reversal in the romance. He’s the shy but feisty he-wench who knows just enough to get himself into trouble & will have to grow up by the end of the book or the only thing he'll be able to bring to the relationship is his pretty face. She’s the arrogant but irresistible Alpha who likes what she sees & takes what she likes, & will make him enjoy it despite himself. Some of this is no less douchey or clichéd or annoying just because the genders are swapped around, but I appreciate a male character who steps back when he should to let the female character utilise her skill-set. Sigh.

I confess I probably am going to read the next book anyway... if it’s 100+ pages longer so that the story can be fleshed out more & if it's about ~~Charlie Weasley~~ Alex Price.(less)

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Dec 20, 2012 Maddalena rated it 4 of 5 stars

A quick and fun ride...

This book, the first of a new series by Seanan McGuire, is quite different in tone from her previous works, because there's a solid thread of humor running through it and giving it a lightness that her other books don't have. And for me it's been a welcome, and relaxing, change of pace....

The heroine, Verity Price, is a sort of paladin for "cryptids", in other words monstrous or mythical creatures that live alongside humans in the modern world: the reader can find more......more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 21, 2012 Lois Bujold rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've been carting this around for months thinking it would make good airplane reading; I was right. In general, urban fantasy is not my thing, nor is first person, but the first-person-smartass voice and the biological take on fantasy creatures won me over. It also helped that I had just visited New York City on book tour, so the setting amused me. (Every time I see Manhattan, I think, "Don't you people know that there's 3000 more miles of country to the west of you? Why are you all crowded up o...more

9 likes · like · see review

Oct 26, 2012 Andrew rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read the first Fishgirl Daye book and thought, well, decent, but not worth investing into a series of. Pretty much the same here. Verity Price is from a renegade family of monster-hunters (renegade because they prefer negotiation to slaughter); she also does competitive ballroom dance. The snark is fine, the character writing is fine, I just feel like I've had this genre and it was Tanya Huff the first time. (Maybe Simon Green the second.) The setting reads like "Sanctuary" fanfic, which I adm...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Jenni Ebba rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoy McGuire's work. Discount Armageddon is definitely not an exception. Her work is refreshing in the sense that none of her series are alike. In this series Verity Price is a cryptozoologist from a family that has sworn to allow the supernatural community to prevail (as long as they don't harm humans, that is). Her family defected long ago from a religious fanatic group that killed all supernaturals, just for their mere existence. But the funniest thing about Verity is she wants li...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Kay_Vee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: felicia-day-vf-made-me-read

4 Stars (solid)

Before starting I did read some other reviews about there being a lot of background info dump at the beginning but that pacing picked up after the first 100 pages or so. I'm glad I started off with that knowledge as it was a little slow going at the start. Once it got rolling though this was a pretty quick and light read for me - completed in less than a weekend (no skimming and I'm not the fastest reader). Initially I was leaning towards the 3 stars end of the spectrum but the wo...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Linda Baker rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am a big fan of Seanan McGuire's October Daye series but I took a little while to get to this one. I think I was a little put off by the cover, but she had me at the Aeslin Mice!

Verity Price comes from a family of cryptozoologists who study and protect the creatures of the world who are not human. The family started out as monster hunters with the Covenant of St. George, an organization dedicated to eradicating all non-human creatures-other than those who came on the ark. However, generations...more

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Jul 10, 2012 drey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads, urban-fantasy

Discount Armageddon is a fabulous urban fantasy romp with a kick-ass ballroom-dancing heroine, a lot of snark and sass sprinkled liberally throughout – starting with the little quotes at the beginning of each chapter, and a horde of mice who know how to have a good time. The Price family were once part of a shadowy organization who went around exterminating the monsters populating our world. An epiphany later, they’re no longer hunters – instead they catalog the Cryptids and send the more danger...more

1 like · like · see review

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About Seanan McGuire

Hi! I'm Seanan McGuire, author of the Toby Daye series (Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses), as well as a lot of other things. I'm also Mira Grant (www.miragrant.com), author of Feed and Deadline.

Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and...more

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Quotes from Discount Armageddon

“Never tell anyone to be careful, never ask what that noise was, and for the love of God, never, ever say that you'll be right back." —Evelyn Baker” — 39 people liked it

“The problem with people who say monsters don't really exist is that they're almost never saying it to the monsters." —Alice Healy” — 29 people liked it

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