One Salt Sea

One Salt Sea (2011) Seanan McGuire

Most fantasy series, the longer the series goes on, the weaker the stories get. Or perhaps the series remains strong, but for a book or two it seems like the author is struggling to figure out where they are going with the characters. Or, to work with the overarching story arc, we get a random cliffhanger ending (and we all know how violently I dislike cliffhanger endings).

Seanan McGuire’s Toby Daye series is not following that path. Instead, the story and the characters seem to get stronger with each book, as the characters find their voices and their paths.

After the last book and the tremendous changes Toby was subjected to, I might have expected a slow book, perhaps a lot of discovery as she comes to term with her new self.

But no, here, Faerie is complex place, constantly changing and doing (to humans anyway) the unexpected.

Toby is now Countess of Goldengreen, in addition to being one of Sylvester’s knights, and still thoroughly hated by the Winter Queen.

I think one of the things I particularly like about this series is how not just mercurial many in faerie are, but how for some it seems as if the eternal time on their hands has driven them insane, as if the world truly has no meaning except as entertainment. Yes, others have explored this, but I think Seanan McGuire goes further. After all, eternity might well push anyone over the edge after several millenia of dealing with it. It’s an interesting thought.

I think the only thing I didn’t particularly like was Toby’s relationship with Connor, but that was more because I prefer Tybalt, so we’re just looking at a personal preference.

If you have not been reading this series, I would not recommend beginning here. Start at the beginning and work your way forward–you’ll be glad you did.
Rating: 9/10

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