I’ve been struggling to read much this year, particularly as I’d been picking quite weighty books to plough through, so I decided it was time for some brain candy. I’ve been loving Seanan McGuire for a while now, so while waiting to get my hands on more of the Toby Daye series (the UK kindle release dates would appear to be years behind everywhere else) I decided to visit her Indexing world again.
For those who are new to Indexing, we follow a team from the ATI Management Bureau on their cases. The Bureau deals with very special cases, when fairytales and start affecting our world, and each agent on the team is an archetype bringing their own special talents to the mix. Team leader Henry is a Snow White, their archivist is a Shoemaker’s Elf, and they’re backed up by an Evil Stepsister (my favourite character) and a Pied Piper.
With Henry having had to fully embrace her story to get out of the trouble she found herself in in the first book, the team are under scrutiny from management. And when a rogue Cinderella manages to break herself out of prison and teams up with a familiar villain, the shit really hits the fan.
I really love the imagination on display in these stories as McGuire weaves the familiar into new shapes and thinks about how aspects of different fairytales would affect people in the real world. And while there isn’t as much to sink my teeth into as in the Toby Daye series, it’s a pleasantly entertaining holiday from the real world.