Ashes of Honor

Love it. As usual, I end one of Seanan's books utterly mazed in her world...Again, Toby's world is changing. Somewhat less physical change than the last book, but more emotional change - dealing with Connor's death and with what happened to Gillian. Then there's the current crisis, which pushes a lot of her buttons (and, incidentally, threatens all of Faerie, on several levels). Current crises, actually - the main one, plus an assassination attempt on Tybalt that gets Toby disemboweled. She also learns some of the limits of her new abilities. The emotional changes are the biggest part, though. Toby actually admits she's a hero - consciously, even; admits that sometimes she needs rescuing; sincerely apologizes for someone else being in show more danger through her - that's not entirely new, though I don't think she ever meant it quite so sincerely before. She's accepted her responsibility to Quentin, and to Raj. She's...well, she's grown up. It's kind of amazing. I know (I'm pretty sure, anyway) that there are more books to come, to which I say Yay! and How soon? (which is also normal when I finish one of Seanan's books). And I really need to get all of this series for myself, so I can reread more easily than finding it in the library. Really good! (if I somehow have not expressed that already...) show less

Still reeling after the tragic events of One Salt Sea, Toby Daye has thrown herself into her work, rushing into unnecessarily dangerous situations and pushing all her friends away. But she can't avoid the people around her forever -- a fact made abundantly clear when Etienne, one of Duke Sylvester's knights, comes to her for help. His daughter Chelsea, a changeling whose existence he only recently discovered, has inherited extremely strong powers from her fae blood, but she has no idea how to control them. Now she's ripping doors through Faerie that were never meant to be opened, and Toby has to stop her before she inadvertently destroys the world of Faerie.

I'm really enjoying the Toby Daye books, and this latest installment is no show more exception. The book moves at a quick pace, with the need to find Chelsea being the driving force, but there's still the occasional quiet moment to balance out the action sequences. I also noticed several little hints throughout the novel about what might come next in the series: for example, the clues about Quentin's background should pay off in future installments. Tybalt also plays a prominent role in this book, which is always a plus for me! And as always, I love Toby's sarcastic voice and gallows humor, which are the perfect antidote to the violence and cruelty that she confronts on a daily basis. Overall, this is another strong installment in an excellent series. Can't wait for the next Toby Daye novel! show less

This is the sixth book in the October Daye series. It seems like these books just keep getting better and better. In this installment we travel to new lands, get to see Toby’s new powers in action, and also get to spend a lot of time with my favorite character The King of Cats, Tybalt. This was just a fantastic book in this series.

Toby is trying to recover from her losses in the last book; she is focusing on her duties as a knight and training Quentin in his duties. Personal losses have taken an emotional toll on Toby though ,and she has been throwing herself into more and more reckless situations to the point where her friends are starting to be scared for her. Things get worse when Etienne (a fellow knight from Shadowed Hills) finds show more out he has a changeling daughter, Chelsea, and that she has gone missing. He hires Toby to find Chelsea, but when they find out Chelsea has unlimited power and is ripping the world apart with her teleportation abilities, the quest to recover her becomes a world-saving one.

I have to say right away that Tybalt, the King of Cats, is my favorite character in this series. The fact that he was in the story so much and that we learn so much more about him and his court of cats really made this a fun and enjoyable read for me.

In addition to the above Toby gets to venture into some brand new worlds never before traveled to. I loved being introduced to these new worlds and hearing the stories behind their history. We also get to see a side of the Luidage we’ve never seen before, I love the character of the Luidage as well.

I also felt like Toby healed a lot in this book; she seems to finally be working through her grief and letting her friends back in. She is also starting to learn the limits of her new faerie powers. With both her magical and emotional status stabilising she is becoming a force to be reckoned with and a really fun character to read about.

A lot of the plot turns and twists thoughout the book are incredibly creative. I love that you never know what you are going to run into in these books, each new turn of the story holds new wonder for the reader. The story is incredibly well written and fun to read. I did miss the nursery rhyme references, they really weren’t in this book at all.

Overall I just loved this book. It is one of the strongest book in this series, these books just keep getting better and better. Wonderful characters, new worlds, a creative plot, and excellent pacing make this a book that is hard to put down. There is lots of Tybalt in this book which is awesome and Toby is finally starting to stabilize both magically and emotionally. I can’t wait to see what the next book holds for these wonderful characters and this amazing world. This whole series is highly recommended to fans of urban fantasy, especially those who love a little faerie in the urban fantasy. show less

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy.
allthingsuf.com

The October Daye series is one of those delicious worlds that becomes more and more beloved with each visit, and ASHES OF HONOR is my favorite of this series to date. Tobey and her squire, the electric Dryad, Tybalt and Raj, Sylvester and May, all of the familiar favorites get page time in this book. Despite the pain and losses of prior books and the mystery central to this one, seeing the support network of friends and family around October makes ASHES OF HONOR a sweet interlude of happiness in the series.

Part of what fed the happy tone is the fact that I was not mourning past losses as deeply as October does (though I’ll try to gloss over specifics to avoid spoilers for show more those behind on the series). I feel a little bad that I am willing to forget so quickly, but October’s current romantic prospects more than outweighed lost opportunities for me. October explores her romantic past and future on multiple levels in this book, and I couldn’t be happier with the way things are going.

In ASHES OF HONOR more than any prior book, I felt that Tobey shared top billing with her support network of friends and colleagues. This collaborative style was incredibly satisfying, diluting the pain and isolation that so characterized Tobey’s past. Though readers new to the series would certainly be curious about past events (and miss out on some emotional impact), I think you could pick up ASHES OF HONOR and enjoy it as a standalone. October ruminates on past mistakes and takes the time to appreciate her present day in a way that I loved reading and that new readers could appreciate.

Now more than ever October Daye ranks alongside Kate Daniels and Rachel Morgan as a nuanced, fascinating main character. Each of these heroines kick butt in their own unique way, but all form lasting friendships that are as rich and satisfying as any romance. ASHES OF HONOR definitely focused on developing the relationships of Tobey and her allies, and felt like a long awaited chance for Tobey to catch her breath. I enjoyed this straightforward mystery and emotionally rich story, and am looking forward to where McGuire takes the world of faerie next.

Sexual Content: Kissing. show less

Seanan McGuire has caused me to abandon work and kept me up nights more than any other author I’ve read recently. Her work is so compelling that I absolutely must find out what happens next. Ashes of Honor was no exception to this rule. It’s the sixth and latest in the OCTOBER DAYE series, and offers up new surprises about the knight and hero of the Court of Shadowed Hills, Toby Daye.

Toby is surprised herself when Etienne, another of the Court’s knights, approaches her for help. Etienne never seems to have approved of Toby, as he’s a more traditional sort of guy — one who lives in the realms of Faerie rather than the real world of its approximate location, San Francisco. But when he learns that he has unknowingly fathered a show more changeling, and worse, that the changeling, now a teenager and just starting to come into her powers, has gone missing, he knows he needs someone familiar with the ways of the world to find his child. That’s not an easy task, because Chelsea’s blood makes her a teleporter, and she appears to be a powerful one at that, opening doors that are better left closed. Worse, some of the more evil parts of Faerie find her useful, and aren’t afraid to treat her as badly as necessary to meet their goals.

Many of the best characters in the OCTOBER DAYE series make appearances in Ashes of Honor, even if only for a moment. The Luidaeg provides the magic potions necessary to stop Chelsea, offering a few surprises of her own (not the least of which is that Toby doesn’t have to drink something disgusting in order to accomplish her task, though she does have to submit to the Luidaeg’s bite to provide a bit of blood to incorporate in the magical tools). April, the current Duchess of the knowe called Tamed Lightning who played a starring role in A Local Habitation (the second book in the series), is of assistance to Toby in her search for Chelsea. Officer Michael Thornton of the San Francisco Police Department, with whom Toby has had prior run-ins, also makes an important appearance.

More critically, however, Raj, the heir apparent to the Court of Cats of which Tybalt is the present king, has also gone missing. His father, Samson, is plotting against Tybalt, which complicates the search for the missing teenagers, as do the machinations of Treasa Riordan, the Duchess of Dreamer’s Glass, an ambitious woman who wants more than she’s got. It all turns into a tangled ball of plot, but McGuire never loses the thread. By the time Ashes of Honor ends, the loose ends are all accounted for — or officially abandoned, perhaps to serve as possible fodder for further books in the series.

Ashes of Honor is also available as an audiobook from Brilliance Audio, read by Mary Robinette Kowal. Kowal has a lovely way with McGuire’s language, which tends to flow by when one is reading but takes on a special luster when one is listening. Either way, print or audio, this book is a must for urban fantasy fans.

This review was previously published at Fantasy Review: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/ashes-of-honor/ show less

I had been waiting for what felt like forever for this book and then I devoured the whole thing in just about a day, it was that good. This is my favorite of the October Daye books, and not just because of Tybalt. There's something about this book that really just grabbed and made me not want to let go (ever!). I think it was the way Toby deals with the aftermath of what happened in One Salt Sea along with her desire to die (partly resulting in the events of the previous books). There's darkness and death, but there are people in Toby's life who love her and that's part of what makes this book (and the others) so good. I loved Ashes of Honor -- it was worth the wait.

After the initial investment in both the world of Ms. McGuire's fae and and Toby, I feel completely justified in becoming a fanboy. Both the characters and the stories are strong, but like most urban fantasy, characters are where everything shines. Toby's losses and gains don't feel stretched. I'm honestly enjoying her new-found powers better than the original under-powered hero that just narrowly escapes certain death. This story continues the feel of larger stakes like the one immediately prior, but on a different scale altogether. My only complaint is that there ought to have been more concern among the fae court or just about everyone in the summerlands with the implications. That didn't detract from the tension and the involvement show more I felt as a reader, though. I felt like I was falling into the story and more than the rest of them, I got lost within it. That's high praise. show less