A Killing Frost by Seanan McGuireMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This fourteenth book in the October Daye series has the author's trademark layering of plot--in this case, a (seemingly) throwaway character from a couple of books ago is suddenly brought to the forefront and shown to be something that will shake the world to its core, going forward. I'm getting used to Seanan McGuire pulling an apparent unrelated rabbit out of a hat only to remember that it was in fact seeded into the story some time ago, but this plot twist was still genuinely surprising. Because of it, the series is reinvented yet again, and it's going to be interesting to see what the author makes of it in the next book.
Toby has to go on an unexpected, unwanted quest, to find her estranged and bespelled Faerie father, Simon Torquill. Due to an obscure Faerie rule she was never told about, she has to invite Simon to her wedding, or he can claim insult on her later. In addition, the daughter of one of her friends, who has precognitive dreams, tells her she has to find Simon or people will die. So Toby sets off, on a journey where she sheds blood and slices away even more of her humanity, where she rescues Simon and drags the Luidaeg (the best character in the series) into her troubles, and somehow manages to stumble onto the solution that will save the day for her and Simon...but will create all sorts of complications for everyone else.
This layered worldbuilding and characterization is a large part of why this series still feels fresh, fourteen books and eleven years on. I believe I saw a tweet from the author that there are at least two more books to come. I will be happy to read them.
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