Review: Boneyard

Boneyard by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Seanan, I doubted you, and I shouldn't have. #ashamed.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy for review (and additional thanks for adding the Kindle version so I didn't have to try to read this on a really tiny phone screen in an even tinier font that settings wouldn't seem to change in Adobe Digital Editions!).

I have never heard of Deadlands before this, not at all. But I think I'm going to attempt to get my hands on the first two books in this series of standalones set in the Deadlands world. Sure, they won't be Seanan, who is poetic and deep and knows both how to plot and how to develop characters like a pro (better than a pro, really, a savant)... but she made me like this world enough to try them.

The plot revolves around a circus, a setting that seems to be one Seanan loves. In this world, however, we aren't witnessing her beloved Price family make their way in the Incryptid world, no, we're witnessed Annie Pearl find her way in the world and live a life of love and protection for her daughter, Adeline. And in this world, there are strange creatures, but not the same kind as in Incryptid. In this world, pretty much everything is dangerous.

I'll stop there, because I don't want to spoil the characters, but I will say that the first section of this book almost led me to give up -- but if you follow in my footsteps, please continue on as I did. Once they hit The Clearing and the creepy begins to set in, it'll grip you like the cold, hungry hands of... oops, spoilers again. Perfect October/Halloween-ish read, and it's Seanan, so you're not risking a thing by picking this one up. With Seanan, you're pretty much guaranteed a winner.

Now, you go join the circus while I go find myself copies of the other Deadlands books. And be warned, Seanan will inspire a voracious reading hunger, just like in the... oops, spoilers again.

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