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Indexing #2
Reflections
“For her to love me, she had to be willing to kill me. Anything else would show that her heart was untrue.”
The struggle against not-so-charming storybook narratives isn’t the only complicating factor in Henrietta “Henry” Marchen’s life. As part of the ATI Management Bureau team protecting the world from fairy tales gone awry, she’s juggling her unwanted new status as a Snow White, dealing with a potentially dangerous Pied Piper, and wrangling a most troublesome wicked stepsister—along with a budding relationship with Jeff, her teammate.
But when a twisted, vicious Cinderella breaks out of prison and wreaks havoc, things go from disenchanted to deadly. And once Henry realizes someone is trying to use her to destroy the world, her story becomes far from over—and this one might not have a happily ever after.
Indexing: Reflections is New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire’s continuing new urban fantasy, where everything you thought you knew about fairy tales gets turned on its head.
This book was initially released in episodes as a Kindle Serial. All episodes are now available for immediate download as a complete book.
The struggle against not-so-charming storybook narratives isn’t the only complicating factor in Henrietta “Henry” Marchen’s life. As part of the ATI Management Bureau team protecting the world from fairy tales gone awry, she’s juggling her unwanted new status as a Snow White, dealing with a potentially dangerous Pied Piper, and wrangling a most troublesome wicked stepsister—along with a budding relationship with Jeff, her teammate.
But when a twisted, vicious Cinderella breaks out of prison and wreaks havoc, things go from disenchanted to deadly. And once Henry realizes someone is trying to use her to destroy the world, her story becomes far from over—and this one might not have a happily ever after.
Indexing: Reflections is New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire’s continuing new urban fantasy, where everything you thought you knew about fairy tales gets turned on its head.
This book was initially released in episodes as a Kindle Serial. All episodes are now available for immediate download as a complete book.
325 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 12, 2016
271 people are currently reading
2030 people want to read
About the author
Seanan McGuire
510 books17k followersHi! 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 share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).
I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(
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 share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).
I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 345 reviews
March 7, 2018
I really need Amazon Serials to pick up another installment. Such a cool world and a great cast of characters... I need, at the very least, a real and satisfying conclusion that ties everything up :D
January 11, 2019
We're both agents for the ATI Management Bureau, an organization dedicated to keeping stories from eating the world. It's in our motto, even: In aetermun felicitas vindactio. Defending happily ever after. [...] Fairy tales are not for children, and they don't care who dies. They never have.
Hello, everyone. My name is Amy and I am a hopeless Seanan McGuire fangirl. I am not the kind of fangirl who insists everything her author writes is pure gold; the lady has written plenty I do not adore. (*cough* Incryptid *cough*) But what I do adore, I adore A LOT. And this series? Yeah, I adore. (Mainly I adore stompy-boot-wearing, story-punching, all-around-mean-woman Sloane Winters, but really the whole caboodle is in for some total fangirl love.)
Why I am making this admission (again) right now? In all honesty, this series has issues. To begin with, both Indexing and its sequel, Reflections, were released originally as part of the Kindle Serial program, with twelve episodes apiece released two weeks apart, then collected together in a single book. (McGuire is quite familiar with episodic work and has referred to each of these books as seasons, so that gives you an idea of how our author is approaching them.) Consequently, there is a certain amount of recapping and repetition going on in episodes. That's is probably a lot less noticeable when read two weeks apart, but about the third time our protagonist's ghastly complexion was described here, I was pretty well over it.
In addition, I get the feeling the timelines on these things are pretty tight, with less time for polish. I didn't notice it so much in the first book, but in this one there was some seriously creaky prose in places, as well as some authorial tricks that were rather transparent. (Half the book is the result of a seriously stupid hero move on the part of our protagonist. At one point there is a good bit of exposition via dialogue in which the whole reason we fear our villain is explained to, well, a veteran of the bureau. Did I mention the repeated references to the ghastly complexion?) For the first quarter of the book I really thought I was going to have to give this thing two stars.
So why did I give it four? The writing got better, and the book just hits too many of my own personal sources of glee for me not to love it. This is the story of a Snow White in command of an MIB-like team of a homicidal Wicked Stepsister, a love-struck Shoemaker's Elf, a teenage Pied Piper, and a normal guy who have to face down a weaponized fairy tale. Weaponized. Fairy. Tale. While under HR review. Gingerbread houses and hotels alike will be destroyed. The nature of archetypal literature will be explored. A story will reach for self improvement. And Sloane Winters will kick some people in the head. By the end of the book I was smiling stupidly, giggling with evil joy, and just generally having a great time. All I can saw after that kind of fun is that I really hope we see another season of this series coming our way again soon.
(As I have said elsewhere, McGuire is not really a good author to do that 'jump into the middle of a series' thing that some people like to do. All power to you if you want to read this one, but you really should start with Indexing . For one thing, it actually is a better book. For another thing, do you want to miss a moment of weaponized fairy tales? No, no you do not.)
*****1/12/16:******
I can't believe it, but I managed to hold off on this until now. The Kindle Serial run is complete and the full book is now available for your reading pleasure.
Hello, everyone. My name is Amy and I am a hopeless Seanan McGuire fangirl. I am not the kind of fangirl who insists everything her author writes is pure gold; the lady has written plenty I do not adore. (*cough* Incryptid *cough*) But what I do adore, I adore A LOT. And this series? Yeah, I adore. (Mainly I adore stompy-boot-wearing, story-punching, all-around-mean-woman Sloane Winters, but really the whole caboodle is in for some total fangirl love.)
Why I am making this admission (again) right now? In all honesty, this series has issues. To begin with, both Indexing and its sequel, Reflections, were released originally as part of the Kindle Serial program, with twelve episodes apiece released two weeks apart, then collected together in a single book. (McGuire is quite familiar with episodic work and has referred to each of these books as seasons, so that gives you an idea of how our author is approaching them.) Consequently, there is a certain amount of recapping and repetition going on in episodes. That's is probably a lot less noticeable when read two weeks apart, but about the third time our protagonist's ghastly complexion was described here, I was pretty well over it.
In addition, I get the feeling the timelines on these things are pretty tight, with less time for polish. I didn't notice it so much in the first book, but in this one there was some seriously creaky prose in places, as well as some authorial tricks that were rather transparent. (Half the book is the result of a seriously stupid hero move on the part of our protagonist. At one point there is a good bit of exposition via dialogue in which the whole reason we fear our villain is explained to, well, a veteran of the bureau. Did I mention the repeated references to the ghastly complexion?) For the first quarter of the book I really thought I was going to have to give this thing two stars.
So why did I give it four? The writing got better, and the book just hits too many of my own personal sources of glee for me not to love it. This is the story of a Snow White in command of an MIB-like team of a homicidal Wicked Stepsister, a love-struck Shoemaker's Elf, a teenage Pied Piper, and a normal guy who have to face down a weaponized fairy tale. Weaponized. Fairy. Tale. While under HR review. Gingerbread houses and hotels alike will be destroyed. The nature of archetypal literature will be explored. A story will reach for self improvement. And Sloane Winters will kick some people in the head. By the end of the book I was smiling stupidly, giggling with evil joy, and just generally having a great time. All I can saw after that kind of fun is that I really hope we see another season of this series coming our way again soon.
(As I have said elsewhere, McGuire is not really a good author to do that 'jump into the middle of a series' thing that some people like to do. All power to you if you want to read this one, but you really should start with Indexing . For one thing, it actually is a better book. For another thing, do you want to miss a moment of weaponized fairy tales? No, no you do not.)
*****1/12/16:******
I can't believe it, but I managed to hold off on this until now. The Kindle Serial run is complete and the full book is now available for your reading pleasure.
February 24, 2016
“[F]airy tales are deadly, capable of rewriting reality in order to get what they want--and what they want is rarely good for anybody who’s not on the short list for a happy ending. Fairy tales are not for children, and they don’t care who dies. They never have.”
Fairy tales have a habit of endangering people. The people trapped in the narrative of some stories have to be locked away, so they don’t pose any danger to society. Obviously the people who are locked up don’t want to be. They didn’t ask to be part of a fairy tale; it was thrust upon them. For the first time ever, someone managed to break out of the special fairy tale jail, which shouldn’t have been possible.
I liked this better than Indexing. The storytelling improved greatly. Like Indexing, this was a serial where each chapter was released every two weeks. Seanan McGuire obviously learned how to use this format more effectively. The story was more cohesive and wasn’t as choppy. It jumped into the story right away.
Henry finally began to seem like a person beyond being born Snow White and being a workaholic. She does remind me of Toby Daye because she is a hero type and runs head first into danger without considering the consequences. She’s way more bland than Toby although I liked her better in this. Sloane’s history was revealed! I fucking love her. She’s mouthy and bitchy in a manner that is more entertaining than obnoxious. Despite being an evil stepsister, she’s loyal to her friends. The friendship between Sloan and Henry is interesting. They should hate each other, but it’s an opposites attract type of situation. Aside from the two of them, the rest of their ATI crew is in dire need of character development. Some of them have funny lines every now and then, but they still don’t feel essential to the story.
The end left things open for another book. There wasn’t a cliffhanger, but not everything was thoroughly explained. What are the ramifications of the events that occurred? How will Sloan and Henry deal with what happened to them? I’m hoping there will be a third book eventually.
Fairy tales have a habit of endangering people. The people trapped in the narrative of some stories have to be locked away, so they don’t pose any danger to society. Obviously the people who are locked up don’t want to be. They didn’t ask to be part of a fairy tale; it was thrust upon them. For the first time ever, someone managed to break out of the special fairy tale jail, which shouldn’t have been possible.
I liked this better than Indexing. The storytelling improved greatly. Like Indexing, this was a serial where each chapter was released every two weeks. Seanan McGuire obviously learned how to use this format more effectively. The story was more cohesive and wasn’t as choppy. It jumped into the story right away.
Henry finally began to seem like a person beyond being born Snow White and being a workaholic. She does remind me of Toby Daye because she is a hero type and runs head first into danger without considering the consequences. She’s way more bland than Toby although I liked her better in this. Sloane’s history was revealed! I fucking love her. She’s mouthy and bitchy in a manner that is more entertaining than obnoxious. Despite being an evil stepsister, she’s loyal to her friends. The friendship between Sloan and Henry is interesting. They should hate each other, but it’s an opposites attract type of situation. Aside from the two of them, the rest of their ATI crew is in dire need of character development. Some of them have funny lines every now and then, but they still don’t feel essential to the story.
The end left things open for another book. There wasn’t a cliffhanger, but not everything was thoroughly explained. What are the ramifications of the events that occurred? How will Sloan and Henry deal with what happened to them? I’m hoping there will be a third book eventually.
February 10, 2017
These are so much fun. If you like fairy tales and urban fantasy, this is a must read. Not sure if a third installment is to come but I would more than welcome it. Next time though, I'll definitely read it as intended, with a new story released every couple of weeks. It was a lot more fun doing it that way with the first book.
June 10, 2017
Enjoyed this one a little more then the first book of the series 3.75 stars, Sloane is really starting to grow on me but the main character just seems to bland. Aside from character issues, the world building is incredible set in a modern like world with government agency to protect citizenry against living fairy tales. This book gives a small glimpse of the people fighting fairy tales in the past.
November 18, 2021
Finally read the second book and it was absolutely awesome!
August 31, 2018
Overall, the world building is great. The story is blah. The main problem is that is told from three viewpoints - third person, Henry, and Sloane. Henry is really a Snow White type, and Sloane is a wicked step-sister (or at least that is how she started). While a good argument can be made that a wicked step-sister in general, and Sloane in particular, is very close to the evil stepmother type that inhabits Snow White (and McGuire does point this out), that doesn't example why the points of view of Sloane and Henry sound and read so much like one person. There is no change in voice. You literally cannot tell. This might be interesting if it was actually played with in the story, but it's not. And it is really, really jarring.
June 6, 2016
Oops, I should have realized that I forgot a May book, but I didn't recall that until I went to clean up my downloaded books (I tend to delete off the ones I've already finished). That should tell you something about how much of an impression this book made.
I love Seanan McGuire's writing, I really do, but she is so very prolific, and I think that sometimes the things she writes could bear with a little more time, a little more polish, a little more effort to diverge from what has gone before. Part of why she can write so quickly is that everything she writes is, to a degree, of a piece with everything else she writes. She bends and breaks tropes, but she does it in the same way which means that you end up with adverted-trope stock characters, which writing those words out looks insane, but doesn't make it less true. It's frustrating to a degree...and well, boring to a degree, and sadly Indexing, likely due to its serial nature, gets the least polish of all.
That's not to say I didn't like it. I very much wanted to be in Sloane's head, and I was delighted to get that opportunity. If this whole book had been the Adventures of Sloane, I'd probably have rated it at least 4 stars, but it's not, and Henry's parts were not particularly fun to experience. I'd likely pause before deciding to start a third round of this particular series.
I love Seanan McGuire's writing, I really do, but she is so very prolific, and I think that sometimes the things she writes could bear with a little more time, a little more polish, a little more effort to diverge from what has gone before. Part of why she can write so quickly is that everything she writes is, to a degree, of a piece with everything else she writes. She bends and breaks tropes, but she does it in the same way which means that you end up with adverted-trope stock characters, which writing those words out looks insane, but doesn't make it less true. It's frustrating to a degree...and well, boring to a degree, and sadly Indexing, likely due to its serial nature, gets the least polish of all.
That's not to say I didn't like it. I very much wanted to be in Sloane's head, and I was delighted to get that opportunity. If this whole book had been the Adventures of Sloane, I'd probably have rated it at least 4 stars, but it's not, and Henry's parts were not particularly fun to experience. I'd likely pause before deciding to start a third round of this particular series.
August 13, 2016
I think it's probably getting pretty old by now me saying that I really liked a book or that I absolutely loved it but I usually do... :-) Maybe I'm just not that picky, I don't know? Or maybe I just get lucky? Or maybe I'm an easy reader, if that makes sense? xD
But I really do like this series, which is only two books so far, and I actually don't know if that is all there is planned for it or not :-) A lot of it is Mary Robinette Kowal's narration, which I think she does perfectly, but I also just really love the concept of the story of a government agency trying to save the World from stories
But I really do like this series, which is only two books so far, and I actually don't know if that is all there is planned for it or not :-) A lot of it is Mary Robinette Kowal's narration, which I think she does perfectly, but I also just really love the concept of the story of a government agency trying to save the World from stories
January 19, 2016
★ ★ ★ 1/2
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
Okay, I've already published entries on the individual chapters/episodes. So here, I've collected them all in one handy-dandy (and long) post, and then added a few thoughts on the book as a whole.
Episode One: Forbidden Doors ★ ★ ★
It's been a few weeks since the team saved the world, but the ATV's investigation into the matter isn't quite finished. They've got one more hurdle to get through: a series of interviews with a HR Department shrink.
It's a nice little narrative device--we're reintroduced to the characters (or new readers are introduced), get the last series recapped (and interpreted from a couple of angles), we get to see how the team's reacting to the rather dramatic turn of events they lived through, and get ready for what's next. Since there are (an estimated) eleven more episodes to go through--you know going in that things are going to go pretty well for the majority of them. Sure, there's a chance that one or two will be packed off somewhere for some "treatment" or "observation", but the team, as a whole, will be fine.
It's a lot like a lot of TV season premiers, actually.
There were a couple of highlights for me:
- Sloane made me laugh, hard, at her apologetic for keeping Henry around (and I liked pretty much everything else she did here).
- I probably enjoyed Demi more than I have before.
- The more time we spend with Jeff, the more he threatens Sloane as the series' most interesting and/or entertaining character.
- I hope (and sorta fear) that we get to spend a little more time with Dr. Ciara Bloomfield --in her professional capacity, she'd be fun to have around; if it's about her personal life, I can't imagine that'd be pretty.
Really, not much to talk about here--this is why I don't normally do chapter-by-chapter writeups. Still, I like the world, characters, and the whole serialized novel thing. Happy to have it back.
Episode Two: Broken Glass ★ ★ ★
So, having reassembled the team, reviewed the events of the last book and refocused both readers and characters to their mission, it's time to get the ball rolling on this season.
Once again, McGuire introduces the AFI team to a problem that seems sort of light hearted at first (investigating a House that Jack Built, complete with lines like, "Sloane had managed to locate the cat that chased the rat")--but with some dark undertones. But before we get too far into it, Henry and the crew are interrupted and have to swing off in another direction. And this direction is a doozy--the prison to hold the Fairy Tales who've fully manifested in a bad-for-society way--has a jail break. It's not just any jail break either, because the Narrative has seemingly done something impossible along the way. But I'll let Henry spell that part out to ya. I'll just say that I really like where this is going.
On the one hand, I thought what we learned about Demi in the previous episode helped us understand her better, and demonstrated her commitment to the cause/team. So when many of the same notes where struck this episode, I wasn't thrilled--but, what we heard/saw this time, was different enough to justify it. Seriously, Demi is either going to be a superstar in the AFI, or when she turns and stabs everyone in the back, it's going to hurt a lot. I'm hoping for the former, am (trying to) ready for the latter.
Elise, the escapee, is either going to be a great Big Bad for this season, a great underling, solider for a better Big Bad, or a nice warm-up for the next few weeks until we get to the Big Bad. Mid-sentence there, I thought of several other options for Elise's role. Whatever that role ends up being, I think I'm going to enjoy her.
Overall, it's more of a set-up chapter than anything else, but it was very promising and entertaining. Which is good enough.
Episode Three: Brotherly Love ★ ★ ★
Now this is what I'm talking about. A solid, solid entry. We get Henry's brother back; we get a good, contained story--yet with serialized elements that we'll see play out; we see fallout from Episode 2; and thanks to Elise's particular brand of magic, we--and the characters--see something new.
There's an incursion near the school where Henry's brother, Gerry, teaches. Thankfully, it has nothing to do with him, it's just near him. It's also near his school, and the children in it--children who, it should be said, are the primary targets of the incursion. So Henry and her team are dispatched to wrangle with the press, school administration, and whoever--or whatever--is out there wanting to snack on kids.
The solution to this comes a bit easily, but the challenge to this episode isn't solving eh narrative incursion, it's in figuring out just what's going on--how this is the result of Elise's escape--and then trying to see what the impact is going to be on Henry's team (the stress on Demi and Henry this episode in particular). We don't see Elise at all--just what she's done, but that's enough.
Other than the ending coming a page or two earlier than I'd expected, I thought this one worked pretty well. We've only had 15 episodes of this series, and already McGuire is playing with the conventions, I like that. Some people would wait until the third book to mess with things like this, but why wait? Go for it while you can. Especially if you can tell good stories while re-writing your own rules, and that's exactly what McGuire has done here.
Episode Four: Split Ends ★ ★ ★
This is one is hard to think about as an individual episode. There's some plot advancement, yes. But mostly this is about the team getting some new intel, evaluating it, and then coming up with a plan to get more information--there are some unorthodox moves required to obtain this more, but if they're going to get anywhere towards capturing Elise before more lives are lost, they're going to have to make them.
The new information they are given is huge. It's not unexpected for the reader, and you could make the case that Henry should've been expecting it. But it's more than believable that she wouldn't have.
Yes, this installment is mostly about investigation, and not busting heads, or messing with narrative incursions, or anything. So it's hard to discuss--but it is really well executed, what the reader and Henry learn is interesting and thought-provoking. Not only about the case they're working on, but we get a better understanding (or at least the beginning of a better understanding) of how the whole Fairy Tale narrative functions.
There's suspense, there's Sloane being Sloane, there's a cliffhanger ending. Not easy to write about, but easy enough to read and start waiting on the next chapter--maybe more urgently than I'm used to.
Episode Five: Sleeping Beauty ★ ★ ★ ★
A first-person narrator change can be annoying, no doubt, but sometimes it's just the breath of fresh air that a work needs (or can find useful). In this case, we get passages like this:
So we're treated to some more of Sloane's backstory than we've gotten before, we learn a bit more about the AFI's Deputy Director, we get the return of the HR shrink from Episode 1 (we all knew we weren't done with Ciara). We also see the team through Sloane's eyes, as well as her unmediated take on Elise and Birdie.
There was nothing not to like about this Episode, it moved the story along well, was entertaining as all get out and shook up the status quo in a way that served the story and characters rather than being change for change's shake.
If you're reading this serially, or will read it when the whole is complete, I can assure you, this is going to be a favorite installment.
Episode Six: Frostbite ★ ★ ★
While Jeff and Sloane were fretting in the last chapter, this is what Henry was going through--and pretty soon you start to think that maybe Jeff and Sloane were better off (as worried as they were). But honestly, there really wasn't a lot of plot movement here. It's primarily a chapter that expands what the reader knows about the story. We get a better understanding of how things work in the whiteout wood that the Snow Whites like Henry in habit, we get a little backstory on Henry and Gerry, and the beginnings of an understanding what's going on with Elise.
Which isn't just to say is all exposition, or dull--because it's not. But the fight scenes, the danger, the tension takes are of secondary importance. It's a good chapter, and does a good job of establishing a foundation for whatever is going to come next.
The ending could be cliff-hanger-y. But didn't really feel that way, it felt more like one more hurdle for Henry to conquer. It seems like a pretty big hurdle and one not easily overcome. But I, for one, am not that worried about the outcome.
Of course, with my track record of predicting McGuire means I should probably be sweating bullets.
Episode Seven: False Love's Kiss ★ ★ ★ ★
So there's a Fairy Tale incursion, a Godfather Death, that I've never heard of--but man, it doesn't sound like fodder for a Disney movie, I'll tell you that. Opening with this is a great setup for the chapter--there's drama, a little action, and a few laughs. Have I mentioned I really enjoy reading about Sloane?
Then things take a turn for the dramatic--Henry's back from her little mission, but . . . something's not right. Even if it has nothing to do with stopping evil/saving the world, I hope they can take care of whatever's not right just for Jeffrey's sake. And then we get a Rapunzel in action--and a not-so-typical Sloane solution.
I've enjoyed what we've seen from Ciara so far--but her working on the locks, and how she describes it? It's just gold. Probably the highlight of the episode. I hope, if there's another sequel, she doesn't disappear into HR.
I think having this chapter before the last would've been more interesting--just to see if we'd have been able to figure why Sloane's Spidey-Sense was going off, without a very strong possibility having been talked about last chapter. Even if I'm wrong, watching this unfold is going to be very interesting. Possibly more interesting than seeing what happens with Birdie and Elise.
Episode Eight: Holly Tree ★ ★ 1/2
Henry finds a way back home--of sorts, and at a great cost. We learn a whole lot about Sloane, about the early days of the ATI (and it's predecessors)--and I even expect a lot of this to come back and be relevant.
I just don't know what to say about this installment. Was it interesting? Yes. Does it set up all sorts of things for the future in terms of character, plot, and everything? Oh yeah.
But, it didn't grab me, didn't get me invested, didn't do anything really for me at all, but I think I know where it tried to and it just didn't succeed. All it managed to do what whet my appetite for Episode Nine.
Episode Nine: Feline Cobbling ★ ★ ★ ★
Just what I needed after "Holly Tree," Sloane puts the pieces together, and the bad guys show their hand. But wait, there's more--a fascinating narrative incursion, and some real tension--both physical danger and a heart and soul in jeopardy.
The incursion was a "Puss in Boots," which just gets our characters out of the office and into a situation where things can happen. Which isn't that uncommon this second series, but is frustrating. I'd have loved to see more with this Marquis of Carabas tussling with the Sloane and the team. Still, what McGuire did instead? So much better.
I really can't say more about this one (like the last couple) without ruining the whole thing, so I'll just leave it as: exciting, intriguing, and what we learn about what Birdie and Elise makes this series all the more interesting. As for what Sloane learns about herself? Fuhgeddaboudit.
I expect that Episode Ten will be all about Henry and that we'll have to wait until Eleven to see what happens as the result of this one, and that's going to drive me crazy. Even if I like Episode Ten a whole lot more than I have the last couple of Henry-centric episodes.
Episode Ten: Untold Truths ★ ★ ★ 1/2
We've all read enough/watched enough Body Swap stories to know how this goes down. Henry wakes up in a body that's not hers, makes her way to the Bureau, to try to get her team back.
She has to convince more than a few people that's she who she claims to be. The fact that there are people who work there who have the ability to tell if she's telling the truth, should make things easier--and probably does.
McGuire doesn't let things get too bogged down with this identity test. Between humor, one seriously creepy version of Moaning Myrtle, and the sense of impending doom, things keep moving well.
The plot didn't advance a lot, but what little bit that happened was much needed and a positive sign for the next installment. Except for the last few paragraphs, which will hopefully be the first thing addressed in episode 11.
Episode Eleven: Mirror's Face ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
Well now, that was something. This is probably the Platonic ideal of Indexing episodes.
We start with a character putting all of the pieces together at the last second--technically, milliseconds after the last second, I guess. We get to see that there are some advantages to living in a Fairy Tale (and it's about time, too. This made me realize that there's really been no upside to be found for these people). We see again that Demi is someone not to be taken lightly, and that Ciara is in the running for most fun character McGuire's yet given us (not just in the Indexing stories, either).
That's before we get to the meat of the action and the center of this story, too.
McGuire just nailed this one--good character moments, high-stakes action, good use of magic, important reveals, without for a beat missing the sense of fun that this series demands (and she too-often loses). All of the questions and concerns I had about this second series were wiped away with this episode--it's all been building to this, and McGuire pulled it off.
The rest of this series is going to be great, and I can't wait to see what McGuire does with it.
Episode Twelve: Never After ★ ★ ★ 1/2
I have to admit, after the last chapter--and the momentum that had built up to it--I thought this was a bit of a let-down. Not much, just a bit, like McGuire had let her foot off the gas a little bit now that she was in her final lap.
Given the nature of what Henry and the others were setting out to do--namely, rescue Sloane--I really can't complain too much that Sloane didn't get to do enough, but blast it--she didn't. It makes sense that there wasn't a lot for her to do, but I'd like to think that somehow, this could've been dealt with in a better way. I'm probalby wrong, McGuire knows what she's doing, but that was my impression while reading.
Thankfully, Andy was there to pick up a little of the slack (among other things)--this is probably the best use of Andy in either book. Definitely the best use of him in Reflections.
The confrontation between Henry and Adrianna was pretty satisfying, I wanted more. I'm tempted to say I'm just being greedy, but I think it goes back to the letting the foot off the gas thing. I was definitely less-than-satisfied with the confrontation with Birdie.
McGuire used a very effective--and subtle--way to do an info dump at the end to let the reader know everything that happened off-screen and point to how things'll be going in the future. I don't know if Amazon/McGuire are planning on a Season 3, but if they are, I have a hunch it'll be a doozy.
Sure the ending, could've been a little stronger, but it got the job done, and ultimately, that's enough.
The Whole Enchilada ★ ★ ★ 1/2
I'm not sure this one worked as well as Indexing in the episodic format, some of the slower chapters--the ones with a lot of discussion about the nature of/intent of the Narrative, etc. seemed slower than they might have in the middle of reading the whole thing at once (binge reading?). Still, it was a stronger serialized story than Indexing, which spent a lot of time being episodic to get things rolling.
I liked the new characters, fleshing out the world of the Bureau and so on. On the whole, a more successful book than the last one--even if it wasn't as good on a chapter-to-chapter basis.
There seems to be something appropriate to this world to be talking in Gestalt terms, so I'll just leave it at that.
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
Okay, I've already published entries on the individual chapters/episodes. So here, I've collected them all in one handy-dandy (and long) post, and then added a few thoughts on the book as a whole.
Episode One: Forbidden Doors ★ ★ ★
Fairy tales are not for children, and they don’t care who dies. They never have.Seanan McGuire's Indexing is back, and it's like we never left.
It's been a few weeks since the team saved the world, but the ATV's investigation into the matter isn't quite finished. They've got one more hurdle to get through: a series of interviews with a HR Department shrink.
It's a nice little narrative device--we're reintroduced to the characters (or new readers are introduced), get the last series recapped (and interpreted from a couple of angles), we get to see how the team's reacting to the rather dramatic turn of events they lived through, and get ready for what's next. Since there are (an estimated) eleven more episodes to go through--you know going in that things are going to go pretty well for the majority of them. Sure, there's a chance that one or two will be packed off somewhere for some "treatment" or "observation", but the team, as a whole, will be fine.
It's a lot like a lot of TV season premiers, actually.
There were a couple of highlights for me:
- Sloane made me laugh, hard, at her apologetic for keeping Henry around (and I liked pretty much everything else she did here).
- I probably enjoyed Demi more than I have before.
- The more time we spend with Jeff, the more he threatens Sloane as the series' most interesting and/or entertaining character.
- I hope (and sorta fear) that we get to spend a little more time with Dr. Ciara Bloomfield --in her professional capacity, she'd be fun to have around; if it's about her personal life, I can't imagine that'd be pretty.
Really, not much to talk about here--this is why I don't normally do chapter-by-chapter writeups. Still, I like the world, characters, and the whole serialized novel thing. Happy to have it back.
Episode Two: Broken Glass ★ ★ ★
So, having reassembled the team, reviewed the events of the last book and refocused both readers and characters to their mission, it's time to get the ball rolling on this season.
Once again, McGuire introduces the AFI team to a problem that seems sort of light hearted at first (investigating a House that Jack Built, complete with lines like, "Sloane had managed to locate the cat that chased the rat")--but with some dark undertones. But before we get too far into it, Henry and the crew are interrupted and have to swing off in another direction. And this direction is a doozy--the prison to hold the Fairy Tales who've fully manifested in a bad-for-society way--has a jail break. It's not just any jail break either, because the Narrative has seemingly done something impossible along the way. But I'll let Henry spell that part out to ya. I'll just say that I really like where this is going.
On the one hand, I thought what we learned about Demi in the previous episode helped us understand her better, and demonstrated her commitment to the cause/team. So when many of the same notes where struck this episode, I wasn't thrilled--but, what we heard/saw this time, was different enough to justify it. Seriously, Demi is either going to be a superstar in the AFI, or when she turns and stabs everyone in the back, it's going to hurt a lot. I'm hoping for the former, am (trying to) ready for the latter.
Elise, the escapee, is either going to be a great Big Bad for this season, a great underling, solider for a better Big Bad, or a nice warm-up for the next few weeks until we get to the Big Bad. Mid-sentence there, I thought of several other options for Elise's role. Whatever that role ends up being, I think I'm going to enjoy her.
Overall, it's more of a set-up chapter than anything else, but it was very promising and entertaining. Which is good enough.
Episode Three: Brotherly Love ★ ★ ★
Now this is what I'm talking about. A solid, solid entry. We get Henry's brother back; we get a good, contained story--yet with serialized elements that we'll see play out; we see fallout from Episode 2; and thanks to Elise's particular brand of magic, we--and the characters--see something new.
There's an incursion near the school where Henry's brother, Gerry, teaches. Thankfully, it has nothing to do with him, it's just near him. It's also near his school, and the children in it--children who, it should be said, are the primary targets of the incursion. So Henry and her team are dispatched to wrangle with the press, school administration, and whoever--or whatever--is out there wanting to snack on kids.
The solution to this comes a bit easily, but the challenge to this episode isn't solving eh narrative incursion, it's in figuring out just what's going on--how this is the result of Elise's escape--and then trying to see what the impact is going to be on Henry's team (the stress on Demi and Henry this episode in particular). We don't see Elise at all--just what she's done, but that's enough.
Other than the ending coming a page or two earlier than I'd expected, I thought this one worked pretty well. We've only had 15 episodes of this series, and already McGuire is playing with the conventions, I like that. Some people would wait until the third book to mess with things like this, but why wait? Go for it while you can. Especially if you can tell good stories while re-writing your own rules, and that's exactly what McGuire has done here.
Episode Four: Split Ends ★ ★ ★
This is one is hard to think about as an individual episode. There's some plot advancement, yes. But mostly this is about the team getting some new intel, evaluating it, and then coming up with a plan to get more information--there are some unorthodox moves required to obtain this more, but if they're going to get anywhere towards capturing Elise before more lives are lost, they're going to have to make them.
The new information they are given is huge. It's not unexpected for the reader, and you could make the case that Henry should've been expecting it. But it's more than believable that she wouldn't have.
Yes, this installment is mostly about investigation, and not busting heads, or messing with narrative incursions, or anything. So it's hard to discuss--but it is really well executed, what the reader and Henry learn is interesting and thought-provoking. Not only about the case they're working on, but we get a better understanding (or at least the beginning of a better understanding) of how the whole Fairy Tale narrative functions.
There's suspense, there's Sloane being Sloane, there's a cliffhanger ending. Not easy to write about, but easy enough to read and start waiting on the next chapter--maybe more urgently than I'm used to.
Episode Five: Sleeping Beauty ★ ★ ★ ★
Henrietta Marchen was a perfect exemplar of her kind. Her skin was white as snow, and never tanned or freckled; the best she’d ever been able to accomplish was a violent burn that turned her entire body as red as her lips, which were the color of fresh-drawn blood. Once, in the third grade, she had gotten in a fight with another student who insisted on calling her a clown. She had blackened both his eyes, and he had mashed her red lips back against her white teeth, until real blood appeared to make the contrast in her coloration even more glaring. She had smiled, bloody toothed and feral, until he started crying for his mommy, and he’d never called her clown again, and her classmates had stopped looking her in the eye.Thanks to the events of the last episode, Henry's not available to narrate this one. Which is frustrating because we readers want to know what's going on with her, but is ever so cool and rewarding because we get this episode narrated by Sloane instead.
A first-person narrator change can be annoying, no doubt, but sometimes it's just the breath of fresh air that a work needs (or can find useful). In this case, we get passages like this:
I lifted the apple, turned it to the side without tooth marks, and took a bite. It was firm and crisp and a little too floral for my taste. I’ve never understood the way Snow Whites yearn for apples, but then, they’ve never understood the way I long to kill them all, so I figure it balances out in the end.Which absolutely makes this change worth it.
So we're treated to some more of Sloane's backstory than we've gotten before, we learn a bit more about the AFI's Deputy Director, we get the return of the HR shrink from Episode 1 (we all knew we weren't done with Ciara). We also see the team through Sloane's eyes, as well as her unmediated take on Elise and Birdie.
There was nothing not to like about this Episode, it moved the story along well, was entertaining as all get out and shook up the status quo in a way that served the story and characters rather than being change for change's shake.
If you're reading this serially, or will read it when the whole is complete, I can assure you, this is going to be a favorite installment.
Episode Six: Frostbite ★ ★ ★
While Jeff and Sloane were fretting in the last chapter, this is what Henry was going through--and pretty soon you start to think that maybe Jeff and Sloane were better off (as worried as they were). But honestly, there really wasn't a lot of plot movement here. It's primarily a chapter that expands what the reader knows about the story. We get a better understanding of how things work in the whiteout wood that the Snow Whites like Henry in habit, we get a little backstory on Henry and Gerry, and the beginnings of an understanding what's going on with Elise.
Which isn't just to say is all exposition, or dull--because it's not. But the fight scenes, the danger, the tension takes are of secondary importance. It's a good chapter, and does a good job of establishing a foundation for whatever is going to come next.
The ending could be cliff-hanger-y. But didn't really feel that way, it felt more like one more hurdle for Henry to conquer. It seems like a pretty big hurdle and one not easily overcome. But I, for one, am not that worried about the outcome.
Of course, with my track record of predicting McGuire means I should probably be sweating bullets.
Episode Seven: False Love's Kiss ★ ★ ★ ★
So we were going to do this the hard way. Fine. I’m Sloane Winters: I invented the hard way. "You want to ignore what’s right in front of your faces, that’s okay by me. I’ll just laugh even harder when it turns around and bites you. Assholes."Henry's a cool character, but man, Sloane is just a fun narrator--assuming that things get back to their heightened "normal", I'm going miss her.
"Thanks for the motivational speech, Sloane," said Andrew, wrinkling his nose. "Any time I start to feel like things are going well, all I have to do is remember your contributions to this team."
So there's a Fairy Tale incursion, a Godfather Death, that I've never heard of--but man, it doesn't sound like fodder for a Disney movie, I'll tell you that. Opening with this is a great setup for the chapter--there's drama, a little action, and a few laughs. Have I mentioned I really enjoy reading about Sloane?
Then things take a turn for the dramatic--Henry's back from her little mission, but . . . something's not right. Even if it has nothing to do with stopping evil/saving the world, I hope they can take care of whatever's not right just for Jeffrey's sake. And then we get a Rapunzel in action--and a not-so-typical Sloane solution.
I've enjoyed what we've seen from Ciara so far--but her working on the locks, and how she describes it? It's just gold. Probably the highlight of the episode. I hope, if there's another sequel, she doesn't disappear into HR.
I think having this chapter before the last would've been more interesting--just to see if we'd have been able to figure why Sloane's Spidey-Sense was going off, without a very strong possibility having been talked about last chapter. Even if I'm wrong, watching this unfold is going to be very interesting. Possibly more interesting than seeing what happens with Birdie and Elise.
Episode Eight: Holly Tree ★ ★ 1/2
Henry finds a way back home--of sorts, and at a great cost. We learn a whole lot about Sloane, about the early days of the ATI (and it's predecessors)--and I even expect a lot of this to come back and be relevant.
I just don't know what to say about this installment. Was it interesting? Yes. Does it set up all sorts of things for the future in terms of character, plot, and everything? Oh yeah.
But, it didn't grab me, didn't get me invested, didn't do anything really for me at all, but I think I know where it tried to and it just didn't succeed. All it managed to do what whet my appetite for Episode Nine.
Episode Nine: Feline Cobbling ★ ★ ★ ★
Just what I needed after "Holly Tree," Sloane puts the pieces together, and the bad guys show their hand. But wait, there's more--a fascinating narrative incursion, and some real tension--both physical danger and a heart and soul in jeopardy.
The incursion was a "Puss in Boots," which just gets our characters out of the office and into a situation where things can happen. Which isn't that uncommon this second series, but is frustrating. I'd have loved to see more with this Marquis of Carabas tussling with the Sloane and the team. Still, what McGuire did instead? So much better.
I really can't say more about this one (like the last couple) without ruining the whole thing, so I'll just leave it as: exciting, intriguing, and what we learn about what Birdie and Elise makes this series all the more interesting. As for what Sloane learns about herself? Fuhgeddaboudit.
I expect that Episode Ten will be all about Henry and that we'll have to wait until Eleven to see what happens as the result of this one, and that's going to drive me crazy. Even if I like Episode Ten a whole lot more than I have the last couple of Henry-centric episodes.
Episode Ten: Untold Truths ★ ★ ★ 1/2
We've all read enough/watched enough Body Swap stories to know how this goes down. Henry wakes up in a body that's not hers, makes her way to the Bureau, to try to get her team back.
She has to convince more than a few people that's she who she claims to be. The fact that there are people who work there who have the ability to tell if she's telling the truth, should make things easier--and probably does.
McGuire doesn't let things get too bogged down with this identity test. Between humor, one seriously creepy version of Moaning Myrtle, and the sense of impending doom, things keep moving well.
The plot didn't advance a lot, but what little bit that happened was much needed and a positive sign for the next installment. Except for the last few paragraphs, which will hopefully be the first thing addressed in episode 11.
Episode Eleven: Mirror's Face ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
Dying, as it turned out, was quite a pleasant thing. The world went soft around the edges, taking all the pain and confusion and betrayal with it. They had seemed so important not long ago, when time had been measured in years, not in seconds. Now, it was finally clear that they’d never really mattered at all.
Well now, that was something. This is probably the Platonic ideal of Indexing episodes.
We start with a character putting all of the pieces together at the last second--technically, milliseconds after the last second, I guess. We get to see that there are some advantages to living in a Fairy Tale (and it's about time, too. This made me realize that there's really been no upside to be found for these people). We see again that Demi is someone not to be taken lightly, and that Ciara is in the running for most fun character McGuire's yet given us (not just in the Indexing stories, either).
That's before we get to the meat of the action and the center of this story, too.
McGuire just nailed this one--good character moments, high-stakes action, good use of magic, important reveals, without for a beat missing the sense of fun that this series demands (and she too-often loses). All of the questions and concerns I had about this second series were wiped away with this episode--it's all been building to this, and McGuire pulled it off.
The rest of this series is going to be great, and I can't wait to see what McGuire does with it.
Episode Twelve: Never After ★ ★ ★ 1/2
". . .we’re going to stop Adrianna and Birdie from doing whatever it is that they’re planning to do." Distort the narrative. Turn the stories that wouldn’t stop replaying to their advantage. We knew the broad strokes, but we’d never quite managed to unsnarl the details. I wasn’t sure they had either. We’d been at their heels every step of the way, and it’s hard to properly plot your evil empire when the damn heroes won’t stop harrying you.Oh good, I wasn't sure about the details either. If neither the good guys or the bad guys were that clear about it either, I guess it's okay if I was hazy about their evil plan.
I have to admit, after the last chapter--and the momentum that had built up to it--I thought this was a bit of a let-down. Not much, just a bit, like McGuire had let her foot off the gas a little bit now that she was in her final lap.
Given the nature of what Henry and the others were setting out to do--namely, rescue Sloane--I really can't complain too much that Sloane didn't get to do enough, but blast it--she didn't. It makes sense that there wasn't a lot for her to do, but I'd like to think that somehow, this could've been dealt with in a better way. I'm probalby wrong, McGuire knows what she's doing, but that was my impression while reading.
Thankfully, Andy was there to pick up a little of the slack (among other things)--this is probably the best use of Andy in either book. Definitely the best use of him in Reflections.
The confrontation between Henry and Adrianna was pretty satisfying, I wanted more. I'm tempted to say I'm just being greedy, but I think it goes back to the letting the foot off the gas thing. I was definitely less-than-satisfied with the confrontation with Birdie.
McGuire used a very effective--and subtle--way to do an info dump at the end to let the reader know everything that happened off-screen and point to how things'll be going in the future. I don't know if Amazon/McGuire are planning on a Season 3, but if they are, I have a hunch it'll be a doozy.
Sure the ending, could've been a little stronger, but it got the job done, and ultimately, that's enough.
The Whole Enchilada ★ ★ ★ 1/2
I'm not sure this one worked as well as Indexing in the episodic format, some of the slower chapters--the ones with a lot of discussion about the nature of/intent of the Narrative, etc. seemed slower than they might have in the middle of reading the whole thing at once (binge reading?). Still, it was a stronger serialized story than Indexing, which spent a lot of time being episodic to get things rolling.
I liked the new characters, fleshing out the world of the Bureau and so on. On the whole, a more successful book than the last one--even if it wasn't as good on a chapter-to-chapter basis.
There seems to be something appropriate to this world to be talking in Gestalt terms, so I'll just leave it at that.
September 23, 2018
So glad I finally read this and delighted once again. RTC
January 14, 2016
I really enjoyed
Indexing
for its inventive fairy tale procedural premise, likable and diverse characters, and analysis of narrative tropes. The sequel contains all of those things, plus more! But having read it over five months, sometimes waiting more than two weeks to read the newest section, I don't think I fully experienced the story, and as a result, I don't think I can give it a fair review, but I am erring on the side of positivity, because there is much to like here. Seanan McGuire delves into the histories of the two most interesting characters, Henry and Sloane, whose destinies are intertwined thanks to being on opposite sides of the same narrative, and it's some fascinating shit, especially since it deals with identity, a favorite theme of mine. Who is Henry, "a" Snow White, if there are many other versions of her type? Is she less of a person than the original? Can Sloane truly fight her villainous nature or is it inevitable that she will do what the narrative desperately wants her to do? This isn't even getting into the actual villains of the story and all the shenanigans they get up to. I think the serial nature fucks up the pacing and it could be a tighter read if it weren't held to that format, and sometimes it seems like McGuire just makes up the rules to be narratively convenient at the time (but even that is sort of meta-appropriate in its own way). But this is still a very cool world with cool things happening in it.
March 26, 2019
This book definitely expands on the world-building of the first book and gives us a better look into how the world and the fairy tales in particular work. Although sometimes I'm a bit torn on whether that's a good thing. For instance, I do like the white-out wood and the idea that all stories have their own kind of afterlife space built on their shared myth, but also when Henry spends a lot of time there I get bored because I honestly think she is the most boring character in the series [which is unfortunate since she's the main narrator]. However, this book gives us quite a bit of Sloan narration and backstory as well, so it definitely gets points for that [although once again I absolutely loathe the audiobook narrator's Sloan voice].
There's some fun new characters in this book as well as some old villains coming back and overall it's a pretty good sequel to the first book. I would love for her to write another book - either a continuation of this main storyline to see how the new characters will fit in in the long run OR a Sloan prequel because I think all the stuff she's seen would be fascinating to read about - but it's been awhile since this was published so I'm not sure if she's got anything else in the works. Still a fun little series though.
There's some fun new characters in this book as well as some old villains coming back and overall it's a pretty good sequel to the first book. I would love for her to write another book - either a continuation of this main storyline to see how the new characters will fit in in the long run OR a Sloan prequel because I think all the stuff she's seen would be fascinating to read about - but it's been awhile since this was published so I'm not sure if she's got anything else in the works. Still a fun little series though.
March 11, 2016
This is the second volume of Indexing, McGuire's exploration and analysis of archetypes of myths and fairy tales. It's more of a novel than the first book, which was more of a collection of connected individual stories, and delves more deeply into some of the interesting characters, particularly Sloane. It was interesting to read about Henry waking up in a body that wasn't really her, just as Sal did in the Parasitology trilogy, which McGuire wrote as Mira Grant. It's a very entertaining work, very cleverly presented, and offers some thought provoking ideas about the way we react and experience narratives.
October 26, 2016
Second in the Indexing urban fantasy series and revolving around fairy tales. The focus is on Henry Marchen and her team of government operatives.
My Take
This series is a blend of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next and Mercedes Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdoms, a "literary" government organization that polices fairy tales combined with fairy tales that insist on having their own way.
Reflections does revolve around Henry and splits its focus between the evolution of the Snow White monomyth and Sloane and her extremely sad past. It will definitely make you think and is a fun read, especially when combined with typical office activities — like the betting pool and employee reviews — and makes you take a second look at fairy tales. Who knew that pyramid schemes were actually "The House That Jack Built", a 2035 type?
There's some confusion (definitely on MY part) about Gerry. I get the impression he was originally a she, who chose to be a he and the fairy tale allowed him to change his physical appearance??
I agree, a hero is someone who knows who he or she is and doesn't take it out on anyone, lol. McGuire does a lovely twist on how to look at being the good guy, and I particularly liked Demi's take on what happened to her in Indexing . She knows who she wants to be and intends to be that person. Not what a story (or others) may want her to be.
It's a curious point McGuire makes about writing things down. That it cements that story as the only "real" version. Kind of sounds like English grammar and spelling, doesn't it? It does provide another possible arc for the series, right along with Henry's concerns about Childe, Mary's disappearance, and what the original Snow White monomyth will want from Henry.
On the negative side, I was confused at the start that this was a collection of short stories?? until I realized that McGuire meant these short blips to be an official report on memetic incursions — different crimes that relate to the main conflict — happening in different parts of the story. More confusions revolved around the lack of clarity in many of the incursions. I'm guessing that McGuire knew what she meant when she wrote it, and to be fair, she has created a complex and convoluted world.
Nor did I understand how "rotting corpses pretending to be his friends" related to Agent Névé's "ability". I do have to wonder about Piotr's retort about how HR was torturing Névé.
I'm not sure if Adrianna was a sociopath or a psychopath. Hmm, I wonder if a government agency can be psychopathic? 'Cause I sure don't like the threat that "the man" in the nineteenth century Aarne Management Bureau shoves onto Sloane!
The Story
Fairy tales are deadly, constantly rewriting reality to get their own way, and even more so when a twisted, vicious Cinderella breaks out of prison and wreaks havoc, with life going from disenchanted to deadly, as Henry Marchen and her team race to take Ellie and her fellow escapees down before they destroy the world.
It'll require Henry to bite into her own deadly narrative as a Snow White, continuing her story and threatening everyone she holds dear.
The Characters
Henrietta "Henry" Marchen is a Snow White princess who has resisted the pull of her narrative and is in love with Jeff Davis, one of the Shoemaker's Elves, who is also…
…part of the ATI Management Bureau, which is…
…an organization dedicated to keeping stories from eating the world. Henry leads an ATI team which includes Sloane Winters who is an Evil Stepsister constantly fighting the desire to poison, behead, or slit throats and functions as a story detector; Andy Robinson (Andy is married to Mike Dawson, and they're planning to adopt); and, Demi Santos is a Pied Piper and the newest member of the team.
Gerald Marchen is Henry's twin brother, sister?, brother?…I'm not sure, really (and Sloane's ex-boyfriend). He's an English teacher at a high school and has pulled away from his Rose Red narrative, wanting nothing to do with it. Suzie is one of his Creative Writing students. Principal Hanson. Natalie Barrick is the subversive school secretary. Andrew Briggs had been Henry and Gerry's adoptive father.
Dr. Ciara Bloomfield is a Bluebeard's Wife married to her Bluebeard and must never unlock the door to the garage (she has an affinity for doors and keys); she's normally attached to Human Resources. Deputy Director Tom Brewer is their boss without a narrative and who lost his happy ever after, Mary, an agent lost to the mirrors. Agents Piotr Remus (yep, he's a Wolf) and Carlos Névé (he can tell truth from lies and can see all your worst secrets in their reflection) are added to Henry's team when she shows up in a new body.
The Council of Librarians is…
…the precursor of ATI and based in London. Electa, a Rose Red; Jack, a Wolf; and, Hiram Rogers, who died in 1740, found the runaway Amity. In Colonial America, Amity Green wasn't meant to become an Evil Stepsister. Gabrielle is a Cinderella, and Amity and Isabelle's stepsister. The Aarne Management Bureau broke away from the Council (Henry thinks it was in the 1800s) and is the precursor to ATI.
The whiteout wood is…
…where the Snow Whites live. Tanya is the one teaching Henry how to cope with her narrative. Ayane is curious about television and the San Diego Comic Con. The deaf Judie prefers to learn about current events.
Marcus Troy is a cop.
Childe Prison is…
…where fairy tale types are held, and it doesn't matter if they're evil or simply active. Some of the inmates include Birdie Hubbard, a Storyteller, their former dispatcher who turned against them and Elise Walton, a self-made Cinderella (and Sloane's original stepsister!).
Adrianna is Henry's aunt and a murderous Snow White trapped in the whiteout wood, twin to Henry's mother, Angele, a Snow White who became a Sleeping Beauty and left Adrianna on her own. Dr. Mortimer Pierson makes the wrong choice in his narrative when he sees Godfather Death behind Ms. Thomas. The Marquis de Carabas could explain those sickos who kidnap and rape.
The Aarne-Thompson Index to Motifs in Folk Literature actually…
…exists and is used by scholars all over the world as a resource on folklore and fairy tales. Types include the Shoemaker's Elves who are a 503 type working their fingers to the bone to teach employers to respect the help; a Snow White is a 709; a Storyteller is one who can write the tale; the Evil Stepsister is easily angered with a bad attitude and trust issues; Pied Pipers can accomplish anything with the right music; The Treacherous Sister is a 315; Hansel and Gretel is a 327; a Rapunzel is a 310; Little Red Riding Hoods stray from the path; Sweet Polly Oliver; Anne the Pirate Queen; the Miller's Daughter; Sleeping Beauty; Little Mermaid; the Wolf; Godfather Death is a 332; Dorothys can summon poppy fields; Snow Queens; Puss in Boots is a 545B; and, the Cheshire Cat.
Memetics is the study of memes, and fairy tales are the ultimate meme. The Archives contain every variation on every fairy tale in the world. The Index tracks every aspect of every story, enabling ATI agents to identify problems. The negative side of the Index is that it codifies the legends, making them even more dangerous. A monomyth is a template of the hero's journey, as s/he takes on the adventure and wins the victory, coming home changed or transformed. Magic mirrors are Snow Whites gone bad.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a dark and bright crime scene with yellow tape crisscrossing a wide street behind which are lit-up skyscrapers against a night sky. A sparkling glass slipper is in the forefront with blood-red petals scattered before it. The font is distressed with, from top to bottom, the series name at the top in red against a black background, the title below it in white with each letter on a red rectangular background, and the author's name at the bottom in a pale yellow.
The title is how Henry saves the world, through Reflections.
My Take
This series is a blend of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next and Mercedes Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdoms, a "literary" government organization that polices fairy tales combined with fairy tales that insist on having their own way.
Reflections does revolve around Henry and splits its focus between the evolution of the Snow White monomyth and Sloane and her extremely sad past. It will definitely make you think and is a fun read, especially when combined with typical office activities — like the betting pool and employee reviews — and makes you take a second look at fairy tales. Who knew that pyramid schemes were actually "The House That Jack Built", a 2035 type?
There's some confusion (definitely on MY part) about Gerry. I get the impression he was originally a she, who chose to be a he and the fairy tale allowed him to change his physical appearance??
I agree, a hero is someone who knows who he or she is and doesn't take it out on anyone, lol. McGuire does a lovely twist on how to look at being the good guy, and I particularly liked Demi's take on what happened to her in Indexing . She knows who she wants to be and intends to be that person. Not what a story (or others) may want her to be.
It's a curious point McGuire makes about writing things down. That it cements that story as the only "real" version. Kind of sounds like English grammar and spelling, doesn't it? It does provide another possible arc for the series, right along with Henry's concerns about Childe, Mary's disappearance, and what the original Snow White monomyth will want from Henry.
On the negative side, I was confused at the start that this was a collection of short stories?? until I realized that McGuire meant these short blips to be an official report on memetic incursions — different crimes that relate to the main conflict — happening in different parts of the story. More confusions revolved around the lack of clarity in many of the incursions. I'm guessing that McGuire knew what she meant when she wrote it, and to be fair, she has created a complex and convoluted world.
Nor did I understand how "rotting corpses pretending to be his friends" related to Agent Névé's "ability". I do have to wonder about Piotr's retort about how HR was torturing Névé.
I'm not sure if Adrianna was a sociopath or a psychopath. Hmm, I wonder if a government agency can be psychopathic? 'Cause I sure don't like the threat that "the man" in the nineteenth century Aarne Management Bureau shoves onto Sloane!
I do like McGuire's perspective on fairy tales. It makes me think, and the way she writes it confuses the heck out of me. I had to let making sense of it go and just go with the flow, letting it reveal itself as I read."'The stories will be what we say they are,' said the man. 'That's the point of this exercise. We'll remake them in the image that suits us best.'"
Sound like any agency we know??
The Story
Fairy tales are deadly, constantly rewriting reality to get their own way, and even more so when a twisted, vicious Cinderella breaks out of prison and wreaks havoc, with life going from disenchanted to deadly, as Henry Marchen and her team race to take Ellie and her fellow escapees down before they destroy the world.
It'll require Henry to bite into her own deadly narrative as a Snow White, continuing her story and threatening everyone she holds dear.
The Characters
Henrietta "Henry" Marchen is a Snow White princess who has resisted the pull of her narrative and is in love with Jeff Davis, one of the Shoemaker's Elves, who is also…
…part of the ATI Management Bureau, which is…
…an organization dedicated to keeping stories from eating the world. Henry leads an ATI team which includes Sloane Winters who is an Evil Stepsister constantly fighting the desire to poison, behead, or slit throats and functions as a story detector; Andy Robinson (Andy is married to Mike Dawson, and they're planning to adopt); and, Demi Santos is a Pied Piper and the newest member of the team.
Gerald Marchen is Henry's twin brother, sister?, brother?…I'm not sure, really (and Sloane's ex-boyfriend). He's an English teacher at a high school and has pulled away from his Rose Red narrative, wanting nothing to do with it. Suzie is one of his Creative Writing students. Principal Hanson. Natalie Barrick is the subversive school secretary. Andrew Briggs had been Henry and Gerry's adoptive father.
Dr. Ciara Bloomfield is a Bluebeard's Wife married to her Bluebeard and must never unlock the door to the garage (she has an affinity for doors and keys); she's normally attached to Human Resources. Deputy Director Tom Brewer is their boss without a narrative and who lost his happy ever after, Mary, an agent lost to the mirrors. Agents Piotr Remus (yep, he's a Wolf) and Carlos Névé (he can tell truth from lies and can see all your worst secrets in their reflection) are added to Henry's team when she shows up in a new body.
The Council of Librarians is…
…the precursor of ATI and based in London. Electa, a Rose Red; Jack, a Wolf; and, Hiram Rogers, who died in 1740, found the runaway Amity. In Colonial America, Amity Green wasn't meant to become an Evil Stepsister. Gabrielle is a Cinderella, and Amity and Isabelle's stepsister. The Aarne Management Bureau broke away from the Council (Henry thinks it was in the 1800s) and is the precursor to ATI.
The whiteout wood is…
…where the Snow Whites live. Tanya is the one teaching Henry how to cope with her narrative. Ayane is curious about television and the San Diego Comic Con. The deaf Judie prefers to learn about current events.
Marcus Troy is a cop.
Childe Prison is…
…where fairy tale types are held, and it doesn't matter if they're evil or simply active. Some of the inmates include Birdie Hubbard, a Storyteller, their former dispatcher who turned against them and Elise Walton, a self-made Cinderella (and Sloane's original stepsister!).
Adrianna is Henry's aunt and a murderous Snow White trapped in the whiteout wood, twin to Henry's mother, Angele, a Snow White who became a Sleeping Beauty and left Adrianna on her own. Dr. Mortimer Pierson makes the wrong choice in his narrative when he sees Godfather Death behind Ms. Thomas. The Marquis de Carabas could explain those sickos who kidnap and rape.
The Aarne-Thompson Index to Motifs in Folk Literature actually…
…exists and is used by scholars all over the world as a resource on folklore and fairy tales. Types include the Shoemaker's Elves who are a 503 type working their fingers to the bone to teach employers to respect the help; a Snow White is a 709; a Storyteller is one who can write the tale; the Evil Stepsister is easily angered with a bad attitude and trust issues; Pied Pipers can accomplish anything with the right music; The Treacherous Sister is a 315; Hansel and Gretel is a 327; a Rapunzel is a 310; Little Red Riding Hoods stray from the path; Sweet Polly Oliver; Anne the Pirate Queen; the Miller's Daughter; Sleeping Beauty; Little Mermaid; the Wolf; Godfather Death is a 332; Dorothys can summon poppy fields; Snow Queens; Puss in Boots is a 545B; and, the Cheshire Cat.
Memetics is the study of memes, and fairy tales are the ultimate meme. The Archives contain every variation on every fairy tale in the world. The Index tracks every aspect of every story, enabling ATI agents to identify problems. The negative side of the Index is that it codifies the legends, making them even more dangerous. A monomyth is a template of the hero's journey, as s/he takes on the adventure and wins the victory, coming home changed or transformed. Magic mirrors are Snow Whites gone bad.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a dark and bright crime scene with yellow tape crisscrossing a wide street behind which are lit-up skyscrapers against a night sky. A sparkling glass slipper is in the forefront with blood-red petals scattered before it. The font is distressed with, from top to bottom, the series name at the top in red against a black background, the title below it in white with each letter on a red rectangular background, and the author's name at the bottom in a pale yellow.
The title is how Henry saves the world, through Reflections.
March 23, 2019
Even better than the first one...
What I enjoyed:
* You learn Sloane's backstory, and wow that could probably be a book or two on its own
* Ciara, a Bluebeard's wife was a cool addition and her "power" was very intriguing
* Learning more about how the stories function
What could have been better:
* Overall is still a bit confusing, especially the stories and how much influence they really have
* I hope the do something to improve Childe in the future
What I enjoyed:
* You learn Sloane's backstory, and wow that could probably be a book or two on its own
* Ciara, a Bluebeard's wife was a cool addition and her "power" was very intriguing
* Learning more about how the stories function
What could have been better:
* Overall is still a bit confusing, especially the stories and how much influence they really have
* I hope the do something to improve Childe in the future
April 14, 2020
Actual rating: 2.5/5 stars
I'm not sure what to say about this book. It was interesting and I liked the story in the beginning, but then it kind of fell apart? I don't know what did it, maybe the fact that the story was so much back and forth, or that there were introduced a bunch of new storylines that I realized wouldn't be finished?
I also had some trouble with the narrator. It is the same narrator as the previous book, and I mostly like her work, but some of her voices makes my teeth itch, especially the way she did Sloane, and then Sloane had a bunch of POV chapters in this book, and the narrator stuck with the nasal teen voice, which made me just want to rush through those chapters. Oh well.
I think this was the last chance I gave to McGuire. I like her writing and the stories she tell, but I have trouble with how she tell the longer stories.
I'm not sure what to say about this book. It was interesting and I liked the story in the beginning, but then it kind of fell apart? I don't know what did it, maybe the fact that the story was so much back and forth, or that there were introduced a bunch of new storylines that I realized wouldn't be finished?
I also had some trouble with the narrator. It is the same narrator as the previous book, and I mostly like her work, but some of her voices makes my teeth itch, especially the way she did Sloane, and then Sloane had a bunch of POV chapters in this book, and the narrator stuck with the nasal teen voice, which made me just want to rush through those chapters. Oh well.
I think this was the last chance I gave to McGuire. I like her writing and the stories she tell, but I have trouble with how she tell the longer stories.
July 6, 2020
Brilliant. An enchanting and gritty continuation of Indexing, which see Henry pitted against her own story in a stroke of sheer genius on McGuire's part. Honestly if you're a monomyth/ fairytale nerd, you need to read these funny, clever books. Highly recommend.
November 16, 2024
I love the dark, creative take on fairy tales. I’m also very impressed by Seanan McGuire’s depth of knowledge of the evolution of fairy tales over time. It’s too bad there weren’t more books in this series. This is my third favorite McGuire series after Incryptid and the Ghost Road series.
July 12, 2021
Excerpt from my joint review for Indexing and Reflections - originally published at Offbeat YA.
Pros: Inventive, exciting, trope-subverting and -abiding at the same time. Heart-warming and funny around a dark core.
Cons: Not every story is tightly connected to the others, but it's likely that they weren't written with a book in mind at first (and they do provide a sense of unity nevertheless). While both books are self-contained, there are a few loose thread (mainly one) that were clearly supposed to be picked up in a sequel or more, except none was released.
WARNING! Horror and gore.
Will appeal to: Metafiction and retelling enthusiasts. Also people who don't usually like retellings, but enjoy a creative spin on (dark) fable archetypes.
As a rule, I don't do series review. I'm a firm believer in the fact that each and every book has its own unique personality. I've only done that a few times for different reasons, and in this case, my reason is that the last installment is five years old already and there aren't new books scheduled (which is a real bummer). Please note: these books were initially released in episodes as Kindle Serials. I'm not even sure that the author had a "proper" book planned at the time, which would explain the lack of an overall narrative arc, at least for (part of) Book 1.
FULL (SERIES) REVIEW here.
Pros: Inventive, exciting, trope-subverting and -abiding at the same time. Heart-warming and funny around a dark core.
Cons: Not every story is tightly connected to the others, but it's likely that they weren't written with a book in mind at first (and they do provide a sense of unity nevertheless). While both books are self-contained, there are a few loose thread (mainly one) that were clearly supposed to be picked up in a sequel or more, except none was released.
WARNING! Horror and gore.
Will appeal to: Metafiction and retelling enthusiasts. Also people who don't usually like retellings, but enjoy a creative spin on (dark) fable archetypes.
As a rule, I don't do series review. I'm a firm believer in the fact that each and every book has its own unique personality. I've only done that a few times for different reasons, and in this case, my reason is that the last installment is five years old already and there aren't new books scheduled (which is a real bummer). Please note: these books were initially released in episodes as Kindle Serials. I'm not even sure that the author had a "proper" book planned at the time, which would explain the lack of an overall narrative arc, at least for (part of) Book 1.
FULL (SERIES) REVIEW here.
January 14, 2016
Serials are hard. Each of the twelve chapters came out two weeks apart. I eagerly read each chapter as fast as I could. And then it was another two week wait, while I read other things and possibly forgot the details.
That being said, I do think Reflections was better than--its excellent--predecessor, if only because now the world was established and the focus could go strictly to building on that world with a new but deeply related story.
I really liked that we got to know more about both Sloane (who we didn't know much about) and Henry (who we did, but who we got to see in new and deeper ways). Women are at the forefront of the story, both the heroes and the villains, and interestingly, both heroes and villains are people who have rejected the constraints of their stories, striving for the right of self-determination. It's the HOW that decides what side they're on, which is a smarter (imo) take than conformity versus rebellion.
The flaw of the serial format, though, is that the story has to be told in twelve finite chapters, which is not necessarily enough space to tell the story you're trying to tell. It makes parts of it--like the introduction/inclusion of Ciara--feel rushed or incomplete. I wish there was just a little more smoothing out across the whole story. Each chapter feels reasonably contained, but across the whole, it doesn't feel as polished. Though I do wonder if I need to go back and read it all as a whole, instead of in pieces. Maybe it would feel different then.
I do wonder if there's going to be a third "season", because Reflections feels less finished than Indexing's first season, like the door is wider open for a continuation and the story less definitively done. I certainly hope that's the case, but if it's not, it feels like a disappointing promise that will never be fulfilled.
In the end, though, it's a great story and one well worth reading. Below the surface fun and adventure of it all--and there's plenty of that--there's also a lot of smart thought and commentary about Story, with a capital S and how it makes, unmakes or sometimes cripples us.
That being said, I do think Reflections was better than--its excellent--predecessor, if only because now the world was established and the focus could go strictly to building on that world with a new but deeply related story.
I really liked that we got to know more about both Sloane (who we didn't know much about) and Henry (who we did, but who we got to see in new and deeper ways). Women are at the forefront of the story, both the heroes and the villains, and interestingly, both heroes and villains are people who have rejected the constraints of their stories, striving for the right of self-determination. It's the HOW that decides what side they're on, which is a smarter (imo) take than conformity versus rebellion.
The flaw of the serial format, though, is that the story has to be told in twelve finite chapters, which is not necessarily enough space to tell the story you're trying to tell. It makes parts of it--like the introduction/inclusion of Ciara--feel rushed or incomplete. I wish there was just a little more smoothing out across the whole story. Each chapter feels reasonably contained, but across the whole, it doesn't feel as polished. Though I do wonder if I need to go back and read it all as a whole, instead of in pieces. Maybe it would feel different then.
I do wonder if there's going to be a third "season", because Reflections feels less finished than Indexing's first season, like the door is wider open for a continuation and the story less definitively done. I certainly hope that's the case, but if it's not, it feels like a disappointing promise that will never be fulfilled.
In the end, though, it's a great story and one well worth reading. Below the surface fun and adventure of it all--and there's plenty of that--there's also a lot of smart thought and commentary about Story, with a capital S and how it makes, unmakes or sometimes cripples us.
August 1, 2016
When you stop to actually think about it, fairy tales are dangerous. Many of the Grimm Brothers' originally tellings are gory, and not all of the kids in those tales are rescued. This series (of which this is the second book) hypothesizes what life would be like if fairy tales came true; turns out that is not a pleasant reality.
This book follows the same main characters with a few new additions. They collectively are a part of secret sect of a government sponsored fairy tale police force, whose job it is to stop fairy tales from coming into this reality. Complications arise because many of these characters are partially formed fairy tale heroes and villain themselves, fairy tales (even of the same characters and rough plot) have several varieties, and the fairy tales don't like being held at bay.
One of my favorite features of this book and Indexing (the first book of the series) was how they were published. One chapter every two weeks. It was only published as a full novel after all the chapters had been released individually. It is delightfully reminiscent of the days of Dickens. Reflections is just as amazingly good as Indexing, and I highly recommend them both.
This book follows the same main characters with a few new additions. They collectively are a part of secret sect of a government sponsored fairy tale police force, whose job it is to stop fairy tales from coming into this reality. Complications arise because many of these characters are partially formed fairy tale heroes and villain themselves, fairy tales (even of the same characters and rough plot) have several varieties, and the fairy tales don't like being held at bay.
One of my favorite features of this book and Indexing (the first book of the series) was how they were published. One chapter every two weeks. It was only published as a full novel after all the chapters had been released individually. It is delightfully reminiscent of the days of Dickens. Reflections is just as amazingly good as Indexing, and I highly recommend them both.
January 17, 2016
I read this second book as a kindle serial and it was even more fun than the first. There's only so much cohesiveness that can be achieved when it's compiled into a book in the end, which is how I read the first book. It's still fun as a book, don't get me wrong, but it's intended to be read as chapters and I think it's a bit more effective that way. It was fun getting them every two weeks and waiting eagerly for the next installment. As for the story, I enjoyed getting much more background about Sloane, and about Snow Whites. Demi's abilities continued to grow in interesting ways. A few new characters joined the team and they were interesting as well. And McGuire did a great job of going deeper into almost all aspects of the story in a lot of interesting and entertaining ways. The fairy tale worlds living side-by-side, in-between, underneath and next to our mundane world became even more believable after reading this story.
February 2, 2016
I know it's a sin but I just didn't like this one. I tried really hard but I just couldn't.
I think it was probably because this was put out in chapters, instead of all at once, and so it felt very uneven. It was like Henry went to the most ludicrous option available as the first try. I mean, the whole problem in this book is half related to that (and you see it coming 2 miles away.) If I hear anything about apples or white/black/red, I'll scream. I also wanted to roll my eyes with the horribly cliche of 'join us Sloan! they never appreciated you' BS thing. You're better than that McGuire!
And then the narrator killed Sloan for me with that valley girl accent. It got so annoying so quickly. Even in the past there! A valley girl mixed with a country girl accent when there wasn't tech. a country? XD
I understand the plot choices in terms of putting this out as a serial, which is why I didn't give it 2 stars. It's just a me thing, I guess.
I think it was probably because this was put out in chapters, instead of all at once, and so it felt very uneven. It was like Henry went to the most ludicrous option available as the first try. I mean, the whole problem in this book is half related to that (and you see it coming 2 miles away.) If I hear anything about apples or white/black/red, I'll scream. I also wanted to roll my eyes with the horribly cliche of 'join us Sloan! they never appreciated you' BS thing. You're better than that McGuire!
And then the narrator killed Sloan for me with that valley girl accent. It got so annoying so quickly. Even in the past there! A valley girl mixed with a country girl accent when there wasn't tech. a country? XD
I understand the plot choices in terms of putting this out as a serial, which is why I didn't give it 2 stars. It's just a me thing, I guess.
February 3, 2019
Ever After High for adults. These few words describe the Indexing duology the best.
***
Musím říct, že číst tuto duologii v období, kdy jsem se už párkrát nachomýtla k tomu, jak si Američan povzdechl, že žije ve státě jako z dystopické literatury, je zážitek. Doufám, že ony vzdechy nebyly doslovně prorocké.
***
Same quality as the first book.
***
First Sloane woke up Henry from sleeping beauty sleep and now Henry woke up Sloane. These two have some serious chemistry going on.
***
Musím říct, že číst tuto duologii v období, kdy jsem se už párkrát nachomýtla k tomu, jak si Američan povzdechl, že žije ve státě jako z dystopické literatury, je zážitek. Doufám, že ony vzdechy nebyly doslovně prorocké.
***
Same quality as the first book.
***
First Sloane woke up Henry from sleeping beauty sleep and now Henry woke up Sloane. These two have some serious chemistry going on.
December 25, 2017
We get more of Sloane's story in this one, and it's great. I like this series' take on fairy tales and their iterations.
June 12, 2022
When it's good, it's very, very good
I have a hard time evaluating this one. It's set in the same world as Indexing and has many of the same characters. As before the first point-of-view character is Henry Marchen of the ATI Bureau, a government organization that serves to get rogue fairy tales under control when they threaten to take over consensus reality. However, we also have a second point-of-view. I will not tell you who it is, but if you guess, you'll probably guess right.
This second POV character is the best part of the book. She has depth, and her story is powerful. Also action-packed and fun. Henry's part, by contrast, falls a bit flat. It is very meta and abstract -- story-teller Seanan McGuire telling stories about stories that tell stories. One is reminded again that McGuire has a degree in Folklore from Berkeley, and at times this seems more like a scholarly work. (To be clear, as a former professor, I have nothing against scholarly works. But as scholarship Reflections has the tone, but not the substance, which of course is not what McGuire was aiming for.)
Still, second POV character carries the story. Also, Reflections has the thing I most like in McGuire's October Daye series -- unexpected revelations of deep background. For the most part I enjoyed this tremendously as I read it.
I have a hard time rating this book. It felt like five stars as I read it -- deep and involving. But my criterion for five stars is literary greatness. What do I mean by that? I can't tell you -- it's one of those "You know it when you see it." things. Except I don't. It's a difficult judgment every time. My criterion for four stars is perfection: A four-star book is perfect -- everything is done right, there is nothing wrong, and much good. Now the problem is that the five and four-star criteria are orthogonal -- a great work of literature may be flawed (most are, in fact), and a perfect book may not reach greatness. So, the rule is, greatness trumps flaws. A flawed but great book gets five stars.
So, I thought about Reflections, and I decided it doesn't achieve greatness. Also, it is flawed. So, apparently that would ding it down to three stars. But it is clearly better than three stars. So I'm giving it four stars, even while castigating myself for not being completely honest.
I have a hard time evaluating this one. It's set in the same world as Indexing and has many of the same characters. As before the first point-of-view character is Henry Marchen of the ATI Bureau, a government organization that serves to get rogue fairy tales under control when they threaten to take over consensus reality. However, we also have a second point-of-view. I will not tell you who it is, but if you guess, you'll probably guess right.
This second POV character is the best part of the book. She has depth, and her story is powerful. Also action-packed and fun. Henry's part, by contrast, falls a bit flat. It is very meta and abstract -- story-teller Seanan McGuire telling stories about stories that tell stories. One is reminded again that McGuire has a degree in Folklore from Berkeley, and at times this seems more like a scholarly work. (To be clear, as a former professor, I have nothing against scholarly works. But as scholarship Reflections has the tone, but not the substance, which of course is not what McGuire was aiming for.)
Still, second POV character carries the story. Also, Reflections has the thing I most like in McGuire's October Daye series -- unexpected revelations of deep background. For the most part I enjoyed this tremendously as I read it.
I have a hard time rating this book. It felt like five stars as I read it -- deep and involving. But my criterion for five stars is literary greatness. What do I mean by that? I can't tell you -- it's one of those "You know it when you see it." things. Except I don't. It's a difficult judgment every time. My criterion for four stars is perfection: A four-star book is perfect -- everything is done right, there is nothing wrong, and much good. Now the problem is that the five and four-star criteria are orthogonal -- a great work of literature may be flawed (most are, in fact), and a perfect book may not reach greatness. So, the rule is, greatness trumps flaws. A flawed but great book gets five stars.
So, I thought about Reflections, and I decided it doesn't achieve greatness. Also, it is flawed. So, apparently that would ding it down to three stars. But it is clearly better than three stars. So I'm giving it four stars, even while castigating myself for not being completely honest.
September 17, 2020
Plot: Fairy Tales invade the world on a regular basis and our protagonists belong to the secret government agency keeping them from killing people and devouring them whole. When they can, anyway.
1. Look I'm going to be biased about my love for this book because the concept is weaponized fairy tales and how cool is that. (The answer: pretty damned cool.)
2. This story falls slightly off center into the lyrical zone of Seanan McGuire's prose spectrum. This is not ideal, and sometimes I thought the metaphors and descriptive writing got opaque enough to jerk me out of the story. On the other hand, there were a lot of very lovely, very raw lines (I'm thinking mostly about the description of all of the earlier snow whites that whole speech was wonderful) so I guess it balances out, more or less.
3. We get more about our characters! Well, some of them anyway- Demi, Andy and Jeff are still mostly undefined (Demi perhaps less than the other two) but we get a lot of insight into both Henry and Sloane. There are also new interesting supporting characters; Ciara and Carlos and Piotr and Deputy Director Dan are all only sketched in, but the sketches are precise and intriguing. Gerald March also manages to get more of a personality than either Andy or Jeff- I was hoping for more stories with him in them, tbh.
I think this book did a really good job of showcasing just how interesting other teams in the ATI Management Bureau can be, and I very badly want to know more about how all of them work. It's a delight to see all of these stories come to life. Or semi-life, as the case may be.
4. The antagonists are great! They're perhaps a little more mustache-twirly than I'd like, but you can't deny their sheer menace.
5. The magic system in this book is (necessarily) soft magic, because it relies entirely on the changeability of the narrative; digging up connections not immediately evident before, and forging new connections to the stories. There's still a lot of worldbuilding here, with the disquieting hint that we've barely even seen the tip of the iceberg. I want more, dammit. I want all of this to fall into place and start taking shape, not smirking at me like a Cheshire Cat grin.
6. The Sloane backstory was my favorite part. I love her and she's my homicidal baby.
7. I sort of feel like the Indexing series is still in the process of building into a coherent and complete story and I really hope it gets the chance to come into its own because I think it has the potential to be really fucking good.
1. Look I'm going to be biased about my love for this book because the concept is weaponized fairy tales and how cool is that. (The answer: pretty damned cool.)
2. This story falls slightly off center into the lyrical zone of Seanan McGuire's prose spectrum. This is not ideal, and sometimes I thought the metaphors and descriptive writing got opaque enough to jerk me out of the story. On the other hand, there were a lot of very lovely, very raw lines (I'm thinking mostly about the description of all of the earlier snow whites that whole speech was wonderful) so I guess it balances out, more or less.
3. We get more about our characters! Well, some of them anyway- Demi, Andy and Jeff are still mostly undefined (Demi perhaps less than the other two) but we get a lot of insight into both Henry and Sloane. There are also new interesting supporting characters; Ciara and Carlos and Piotr and Deputy Director Dan are all only sketched in, but the sketches are precise and intriguing. Gerald March also manages to get more of a personality than either Andy or Jeff- I was hoping for more stories with him in them, tbh.
I think this book did a really good job of showcasing just how interesting other teams in the ATI Management Bureau can be, and I very badly want to know more about how all of them work. It's a delight to see all of these stories come to life. Or semi-life, as the case may be.
4. The antagonists are great! They're perhaps a little more mustache-twirly than I'd like, but you can't deny their sheer menace.
5. The magic system in this book is (necessarily) soft magic, because it relies entirely on the changeability of the narrative; digging up connections not immediately evident before, and forging new connections to the stories. There's still a lot of worldbuilding here, with the disquieting hint that we've barely even seen the tip of the iceberg. I want more, dammit. I want all of this to fall into place and start taking shape, not smirking at me like a Cheshire Cat grin.
6. The Sloane backstory was my favorite part. I love her and she's my homicidal baby.
7. I sort of feel like the Indexing series is still in the process of building into a coherent and complete story and I really hope it gets the chance to come into its own because I think it has the potential to be really fucking good.
January 30, 2019
I love this serie, it's so weird, funny and still deadly! It's like a fairy tale version of a crime novel, and I love it! Don't try to understand the magic, I'm pretty sure you won't be able to tell how it works, but that is one of the wonderful things about this book, it's unpredictable. It bends reality after its' own rules, and reality obeys!
This book is also great from an LGBT+ perspective! I feel very comfortable reading it, like they acknowledge there is more kind of combinations in the world than a male/female relationship.
This book is also great from an LGBT+ perspective! I feel very comfortable reading it, like they acknowledge there is more kind of combinations in the world than a male/female relationship.
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