Of Things Unknown by Seanan McGuire

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s been mentioned a few times, but things were left in an unfinished state at the end of the second book. This novella, from April’s point of view, finally finishes things. McGuire does a good job portraying April’s alien state of mind as the world’s only Cyber Dryad. This seems to be one of the short stories/novellas that’s definite worth reading in publication order.

The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Up until now we’ve barely seen much of Amandine the Liar. We know that she is considered spoiled by The Ludiaeg and that Winterrose looks down at her. Toby’s relationship and desires to know her have changed as Toby has learned more about who she truly is and what her mother did to her (psychologically and physically). Well, she makes an appearance here and we realize that Toby is lucky she has not been too involved before.

Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It was pretty clear to me as soon as Toby and gang developed a cure for Elf Shot that it was going to cause a huge problem with the balance of power. I don’t know how true it is, but it’s accepted knowledge that the USA and USSR having nuclear weapons throughout the cold war prevented large scale war. (There were plenty of wars, but most of them were civil wars that the USA and/or USSR gave support to - or participated in) In the same way, removal of the ability to simply send your rivals to sleep for a while would definitely cause problems.

Heaps of Pearl by Seanan McGuire

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fun short story that shows us how Patrick and Dianda met. As far as I can tell, it’s completely optional - nothing key learned - but it’s a ton of fun.

Full of Briars by Seanan McGuire

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This one’s a bit longer than most of the other short stories. It’s great to get into Quentin’s head, given what we learned in recent books. It also helps explain why, after the adventure with Arden, his parents didn’t immediately recall him. It’s also fun to see how Quentin sees the others.

A Red-Rose Chain by Seanan McGuire

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Since the previous book ended the first cycle, this one doesn’t move to answer a few of the remaining mysteries - what will the night haunts want in return? Where is August? Where is Amy? Will October and Sylvester reconcile? But this book does tie off one loose end from the last cycle as things move to Portland, OR for this book.

No Sooner Met by Seanan McGuire

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think the Tybalt-based short stories are my favorites. I love when McGuire writes from his point of view. In fact, for all the short stories, while it’s nice to get more backstory on the October Daye universe, what I love most is getting to be in the headspace of different characters.

The Fixed Stars by Seanan McGuire

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This short story takes place before anything else in the timeline (at least so far). It explains a lot, but should definitely not be read until this point in the narrative (that is, don’t read it until after October Daye #8).

If it sets up any new plot points, I couldn’t see them, but it does provide backstories for a few of the histories we’ve heard until now. SO FAR, of all the short stories this one seems the most skippable. We’ll see if time proves me wrong.

The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Seanan McGuire mentions that this book is what all the previous books have been working towards. I believe McGuire. This book truly does feel like the end of an era for Toby. Almost every single plot from the first book to the last one is touched upon as we finally (FINALLY) start getting answers about Toby’s life and why all the fae in her life act the way they do towards her. Of course, it’s an October Daye book so triumph comes with tragedy, pain, and sadness.

Never Shines The Sun by Seanan McGuire

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

We saw bits of this in the last full book and now we get to see the whole scene. This is much shorter than other short stories so far, definitely worth reading, because I think it’s probably going to be important for the setup going forward.

Forbid the Sea by Seanan McGuire

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another short story about Tybalt’s past. It picks up a while after the last short story. We learn yet another bit about what things were like for him and why he acts the way he does with October Daye. It also builds on what we’ve learned about Selkies in both mainline book One Salt Sea and short story In Sea-Salt Tears. So, definitely read those first if you want to get the most out of this short story.