356 pages
English language
Published 2016
Verity Price is back on the West Coast and getting back into the swing of the family business: cryptozoology. She’s rescuing cryptids from bad situations, protecting them from monster-hunters, and generally risking life and limb for the greater good, with her ex-Covenant partner/husband, Dominic, by her side. Her ballroom dance career is behind her—or so she thinks. When Verity gets the call from the producers of Dance or Die, the reality show she almost won several years before, she finds the lure impossible to resist, and she and Dominic are off to L.A. for one last shot at the big time.
Of course, nothing is that simple. When two contestants turn up dead, Verity will need every ally she can find with the investigation, without blowing her cover…
Really liked the "dancing contest" setting :D
Really liked the "dancing contest" setting :D
Well... All in all, I like the InCryptid series. Verity's books are candy floss pulp, Alex's books are a bit more serious (and better). This one... was the worst book in the series for me (until this point). I had to struggle to push through. I hate reality shows. I hate them with a passion. Also, it reminded me too much of the Harry Dresden Porn set book. Demonic cult? Check.
The end felt very much shoehorned in, it didn't flow.
I had expected Clive (?) (one of the judges) to be one of the culprits, which was correct. I also thought Jessica was a red herring, because of her overt framing... but no, that was just bad writing, and yes she was a bad guy as well. At the beginning, I suspected Anders as well, but dropped that later. Having him come out as the son and a cultist …
Well... All in all, I like the InCryptid series. Verity's books are candy floss pulp, Alex's books are a bit more serious (and better). This one... was the worst book in the series for me (until this point). I had to struggle to push through. I hate reality shows. I hate them with a passion. Also, it reminded me too much of the Harry Dresden Porn set book. Demonic cult? Check.
The end felt very much shoehorned in, it didn't flow.
I had expected Clive (?) (one of the judges) to be one of the culprits, which was correct. I also thought Jessica was a red herring, because of her overt framing... but no, that was just bad writing, and yes she was a bad guy as well. At the beginning, I suspected Anders as well, but dropped that later. Having him come out as the son and a cultist was... unbelievable. Deus ex machina-style. It felt rushed and contrived.
I can give it a scant 3 starts. 2.5 really, and that isn't fair to the novella "Balance" in this series, which is better than this book, but... okay.
Granny Alice was a very good character in this book, and I hope she'll get some books or novella's of her own. However, I don't like that they aged her down so much as to make her a teenager as well. The world needs more physical kick-ass grannies.
I really enjoy the way Seanan McGuire blends fast paced stories with little flourishes and well timed and considered references to culture.
Verity Price returns to the world of dance for one last hurrah, but ends up having to put on her cryptozoologist cap when the contestants on a reality show start dying around her. Her main backup is her grandmother, described by Verity as the most dangerous person in several dimensions and with a love for hand grenades.
Chaos Choreography was super fun to read.
I’m on a roll at this point! The InCryptid books are the only thing I want to listen to during my walks, and I’m going to use up a year’s worth of Audible credits way too soon.
Chaos Choreography switches perspectives back to Verity Price, the focus of the first two books in the series. This is kind of a nice trick, because each protagonist gives the series its own flavor. You can have the shared world of cryptozoologists, but if there isn’t a story to tell about one of the Price kids, McGuire can switch to another.
This installment is particularly absurd and focuses on Verity’s time as a contestant on an all-stars version of a reality show dance competition. When eliminated contestants start getting vivisected and covered with strange runes, Verity has to try to stop the villains without losing her competitive edge. Needless to say, complications ensue.
…
I’m on a roll at this point! The InCryptid books are the only thing I want to listen to during my walks, and I’m going to use up a year’s worth of Audible credits way too soon.
Chaos Choreography switches perspectives back to Verity Price, the focus of the first two books in the series. This is kind of a nice trick, because each protagonist gives the series its own flavor. You can have the shared world of cryptozoologists, but if there isn’t a story to tell about one of the Price kids, McGuire can switch to another.
This installment is particularly absurd and focuses on Verity’s time as a contestant on an all-stars version of a reality show dance competition. When eliminated contestants start getting vivisected and covered with strange runes, Verity has to try to stop the villains without losing her competitive edge. Needless to say, complications ensue.
Mere minutes after finishing this book, I bought book six. The series to date (as of this writing) totals eight published books with one more scheduled for next year. At least I still have enough credits left to catch up.
Well structured, if less my usual area of interest, and with a very silly/fun endgame.
After the last book and the horrible family of Alex's girlfriend, this was fresh air. Well there was a little too much on the dance competition and the reality circuit. Each time she described the cutting of player, I was just thinking get on with it, argh. So this was the star off, really the only reason too because everything else was great.
There was a lot going on in this book and new personalities to meet. I really loved this. How the dragons of the West Coast asked Verity to be their negotiator was great too. This was the beginning and I thought would be the main point but no... we get bodies, dead bodies, and of dancers that Verity knows as Valerie. Now the mystery is on because no one seems to making much of a deal of it. Hmm. So Verity employees her family and calls her …
After the last book and the horrible family of Alex's girlfriend, this was fresh air. Well there was a little too much on the dance competition and the reality circuit. Each time she described the cutting of player, I was just thinking get on with it, argh. So this was the star off, really the only reason too because everything else was great.
There was a lot going on in this book and new personalities to meet. I really loved this. How the dragons of the West Coast asked Verity to be their negotiator was great too. This was the beginning and I thought would be the main point but no... we get bodies, dead bodies, and of dancers that Verity knows as Valerie. Now the mystery is on because no one seems to making much of a deal of it. Hmm. So Verity employees her family and calls her Dad. Now we get to meet the other Grandmother. And how Dominic reacts to being left out, well I totally agree.
This was really good and seeing how Verity decides where she belongs in the end and the emotions she goes through. Well that is just icing. And that was just the first layer because the mice play a pretty big part and I really love it. In the last book, I was so upset with what happened that I wanted to rage. No worries in this one. And there was no capture and threat this time. Man that was getting old. That over used plot trope was not used here and I was so relived. It made this almost perfect. Only the droning on of the judges and the announcement of the dance competition took down my enjoyment. I would have rather just been told, not have the scene described, over and over.
So this one was really good. If you read quickly through the dance competition announcement, it might be perfect. I was listening so couldn't speed up (not easily). I wonder if I had read it, if I would have given it 5.
