Book Review: An Artificial Night

An Artificial Night (October Daye, book 3) by Seanan McGuire.

Changeling knight in the court of the Duke of Shadowed Hills, October "Toby" Daye, has survived numerous challenges that would destroy fae and mortal alike.  Now Toby must take on a nightmarish new assignment.  Someone is stealing both fae and mortal children--and all signs point to Blind Michael.  When the young son of Toby's closest friends is snatched from their Northern California home and his sister falls into a coma-like state, the situation becomes way too personal.  Toby has no choice but to track the villains down, even when there are only three magical roads by which to reach Blind Michael's realm--home of the legendary Wild Hunt--and no road may be taken more than once.  If she cannot escape with all the children before the candle that guides and protects her burns away, Toby herself will fall prey to the Wild Hunt and Blind Michael's inecscapable power.  And it doesn't bode well for the success of her mission that her own personal Fetch, May Daye--the harbinger of Toby's own death--has suddenly turned up on her doorstep.

Heroes come in many forms, sometimes even in the form of a snarky changeling.  The October Daye novels are rich with Celtic myth and folklore and filled with danger, suspense, and Toby's dry wit.  I loved Rosemary and Rue and A Local Habitation, the first two books in this series, and had high expectations for An Artificial Night.  Seanan McGuire did not disappoint.  Changeling October "Toby" Daye, half human and half Daoine Sidhe, lives on the knife's edge between modern day California and a world of darkness, magic, and monsters.  She has tried to live solely in the human world, casting aside her fey heritage for a normal peaceful existence, but that didn't go so well.  Even living on a diurnal human schedule is difficult for Toby, but she perseveres because she has a good heart...the heart of a hero. 

I highly recommend An Artificial Night (October Daye, book 3) to readers of urban fantasy, paranormal suspense, fantasy, and especially to fans of the Rachel Morgan books by Kim Harrison and The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher.

Source: This book was purchased by me for review.


An Artificial Night on Amazon.
An Artificial Night on Goodreads.