6 Reasons Sarah Kuhn Loves Seanan McGuire’s InCryptid Novels

Delightful Characters
Verity Price, the badass cryptozoologist who also happens to be a champion ballroom dancer, swoops onto the scene in the first book, Discount Armageddon, with this winning statement: “I’m Verity Price. I’m a cryptozoologist. And this is why I can never get a goddamn date on a Saturday night.” That immediate, assured confidence of voice draws you into McGuire’s world right away, and I love how she teases out Verity’s unique arc—what will ultimately speak to her soul, the family business or the dancing that gives her such joy?—throughout the course of the other books in which she’s the protagonist, Midnight Blue-Light Special and Chaos Choreography. Verity’s more grounded brother, Alex, and his fearless girlfriend, Shelby, pick up the thread with ease in Half-Off Ragnarok and Pocket Apocalypse, and Magic For Nothing finally brings us a much anticipated novel-length tour inside the head of roller derby-ing, explosion-loving little sister Antimony.

Unique Worldbuilding
McGuire’s thoughtful worldbuilding is always a treat. Here, it’s textured in that way that feels lived-in and believable—even as we’re encountering such wonders as gorgons, dragons, and talking mice. Speaking of the Aeslin mice, though, as many of this series’ fans will note, they really are worth the price of admission all by themselves: fiercely devoted to Verity’s family, able to make a celebration out of absolutely anything, they bring joy and hilarity to their every page.

Fun Situations
A reality TV dancing competition does not spring to mind as an obvious setting for a fantasy novel—but of course, this series pulls it off with aplomb in the fifth book, Chaos Choreography, when Verity returns to her performing roots. I was just as invested in the twists and turns of the show—and the various costumes and numbers described—as I was in the engaging supernatural adventure.

Rich Family Dynamics
The multi-generational Prices feel like a real family—a big, sprawling, loving family who also happen to find supernatural-based trouble wherever they go. Part of the fun is hearing them describe each other, and how they fit into the world. One of the genius strokes of Chaos Choreography, for instance, involves bringing in Verity’s grandmother, Alice Price-Healy, who Verity describes thusly: “Grandma Alice is a heavily tattooed dimension-hopping marauder who regularly carries grenades clipped to the belt of her cut-off jeans, but for some reason, people want to like her.” So much conveyed in that one sentence. And as expected, watching her and Verity adventure together is exactly the kind of awesome treat you think it’s going to be.

Monsters!
One of the chief delights of this series is how it takes monster movie tropes and turns them on their ear—or sprinkles them with a hefty dose of mundane reality, making for excellent comedic contrast. Take Alex’s assistant, Dee, cool as a cucumber, tossing off “sure thing, boss,” and reminding him to file important paperwork with HR like any good assistant would—but it just so happens that she’s also a gorgon in possession of scary, hissing snakes instead of hair. (She wears a wig when she’s trying to blend in, naturally.)

Sarah
All this, and I haven’t even mentioned my favorite character, the telepathic mathematician cuckoo Sarah Zellaby, Verity’s adopted cousin. Sarah has an arc in the existing books that is so good, I don’t want to spoil one word of it—but let’s just say one of my dearest wishes is that a book starring Sarah is on this series’ endlessly entertaining horizon.
Sarah Kuhn is the author of Heroine Complex, available now from DAW Books.