Half-Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire

April 20th, 2018 Kimberly Review 35 Comments

20th Apr
Half-Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire
Half-Off Ragnarok
by Seanan McGuire
Series: InCryptid #3
Narrator: Ray Porter, Emily Bauer
Length: 10 hours and 17 minutes
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchase
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Narration: 4

When Alex Price agreed to go to Ohio to oversee a basilisk breeding program and assist in the recovery of his psychic cousin, he didn't expect people to start dropping dead. But bodies are cropping up at the zoo where he works, and his girlfriend—Shelby Tanner, an Australian zoologist with a fondness for big cats—is starting to get suspicious.

Worse yet, the bodies have all been turned partially to stone...

The third book in the InCryptid series takes us to a new location and a new member of the family, as Alex tries to balance life, work, and the strong desire not to become a piece of garden statuary. Old friends and new are on the scene, and danger lurks around every corner.

Of course, so do the talking mice.

urban Humor SUSPENSE Monsters

And my crazy urban fantasy binge continues with Half-Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire. This is the third audio in the InCryptid series. Interestingly it comes with a change in POV, narrators, locations, and murder. Once again McGuire pulled me into the crazy world of InCryptid.

I have to say I am impressed. Not only did McGuire change locations, taking us from Manhatten to Ohio, she also gave us a new POV, that of Alex Price, Verity’s brother. I was worried about the change of POV. It isn’t something one traditionally sees in urban fantasy, but damn if she didn’t pull it off. I love how fresh this series is, and the paranormal “cryptid” creatures are living amongst humans.

Alex lives with his (non-related) grandparents, as they take care of his cousin Sarah (again non-related). Both Sarah and his grandmother are cuckoos. Sarah is recovering from events in Manhatten. As for Alex’s grandfather, well I will let you discover more about him for yourself. Alex works under an alias and is a researcher at the Ohio Zoo. He secretly studies local cryptids and oversees a basilisk breeding program. Shelby Tanner, an Australian zoologist who works with the big cats and is currently dating Alex.  Alex struggles to keep his work as a cryptozoologist secret, so the relationship hasn’t progressed. However, all that is about to change and oh boy do things get interesting.

Each book/audio in the series deals with a mystery or dangerous situations surrounding the cryptids.  Half-Off Ragnarok shares a suspenseful murder-mystery. Someone or something is petrifying people. If Alex doesn’t solve the mystery soon, it might draw the attention of the Covenant of St. George, a group that cleanses the Earth of cryptids,  or worse he and Shelby may end up dead.  McGuire is a masterful storyteller with a never-ending source of imagination, and she presented quite a tale.

From the Aeslin Mice to Alex’s unusual pet, and his gorgon assistant I enjoyed listening. There was humor, fleshed out characters, and scary situation. Alex is very different from Verify and has his geek-on. He cares about his family, gets excited by scientific discovery and can be kickass when necessary. Ray Porter narrates, and Emily Bauer has parts throughout. Ray’s performance of Alex was delightful. He captured Alex’s emotions, personality and enhanced the overall story.

If you haven’t yet explored the InCryptid series, I encourage you to listen. This series and its characters lend themselves perfectly to audio. While I never recommend reading/listening to urban fantasy out of order, McGuire does an excellent job of recapping events, and you could jump in during POV changes.

And we are off to Ohio with Alex Price to catch a killer who petrifies his victims. Suspense, humor, and delightful creatures await you in, Half-Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire #audio Click To Tweet

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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

35 Responses to “Half-Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire”

    • Kimberly

      It did and she does it again with the youngest Price sibling. I have listened to all of the released ones now and enjoyed the heck out of them.

  1. MarthaE

    I have book one in my Audible TBR – I’ll plan to listen sooner than later.
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

  2. Debbie Haupt

    Oh wow this is a new to me series and what an unusual story concept you’ve got me curious Kim, non-related grandparents, non-related cousins and unusual pets plus zoologists hmmmm.

  3. Mary @StackingMyBookShelves!

    I really enjoyed the audible clip. This one sounds great and that she was about to change the POV and still make you want to listen – Hats off! More to add to my TBR list! =)
    Great review!

    Mary

  4. Greg

    Ooh I love the sound of this one, and a new family member too! Plus basilisks? Cool! I’ve only read the first book, I really should get on w/ these. And the mice ARE a riot.

  5. Melliane

    I really love this series even if Alex isn’t my fave character. I loved the one about Antimony though!!

  6. Heidi

    I finally got the ebook of the first book in this series today. I am excited to finally start this series!

  7. Ann Marie

    This sounds like a really fun series I would like. I hadn’t heard of it before. I must admit that the cover didn’t really attract me but the blurb and your review do!

  8. Vanessa

    Bodies turning into stones? Sounds like medusa to me, and I love that! Haven’t read anything from this author yet, but I’m definitely checking out this series 🙂

  9. RR

    Thanks for your review of this book and introducing me to it. Sounds interesting!