HOW does Seanan continue to blow my mind time after time? This book changes everything. AGAIN. Also very cool to get Sarah's inhuman perspective.

Imaginary Numbers by Seanan McGuire
The ninth book in the fast-paced InCryptid urban fantasy series returns to the mishaps of the Price family, eccentric cryptozoologists who safeguard the world of magical creatures living in secret among humans.
Sarah Zellaby has always been in an interesting position. Adopted into the Price family at a young age, she's never been able to escape the biological reality of her origins: she's a cuckoo, a telepathic ambush predator closer akin to a parasitic wasp than a human being. Friend, cousin, mathematician; it's never been enough to dispel the fear that one day, nature will win out over nurture, and everything will change.
Maybe that time has finally come.
After spending the last several years recuperating in Ohio with her adoptive parents, Sarah is ready to return to the world--and most importantly, to her cousin Artie, with whom she has been head-over-heels in love since childhood. But there are cuckoos everywhere, and when the question of her own survival is weighed against the survival of her family, Sarah's choices all add up to one inescapable conclusion.
This is war. Cuckoo vs. Price, human vs. cryptid...and not all of them are going to walk away.
I’ve always been fascinated with the character of Sarah Zellaby. As a secondary character, she’s been intriguing, mostly because of her origin as one of the most deadly Incryptid that the Price family has ever encountered. For years, I’ve wondered how they discovered her, how she managed to become a part of the Price family, and more importantly, whether she’d ever recover from the events of the first novel in the series. I was not disappointed in this book because it answers all those questions and a few more I hadn’t considered, including whether all Cuckoo are the enemy and if Sarah can escape her nature.
This novel has all the telltale elements that I love about Seanan’s writing, excellent worldbuilding, realistic characters, and some of the finest storytelling I’ve ever read. We get Sarah as the hero of her own story but we also get Artie because in this narrative, you can’t have one without the other. With Sarah’s recovery and return to Oregon, she must deal with the repercussions of her withdrawal from Artie. Unfortunately, she’s also dealing with a group of Cuckoo who want her for their own reasons and those reasons are not good for the human race. I won’t spoil the story but suffice to say, it is full of action, love, and sacrifice, with a healthy helping of sass and a ton of numbers, because at heart, Sarah is a mathematician but will numbers save the day or will it be love?
My only downside is that with this novel, you will want to have read the series because there is a lot of information from the previous books that helps explain some of the actions and characters in this book. In addition, it does end on a bit of a cliffhanger. While the ending makes sense and the novel would have to be a lot longer to incorporate more story, it does leave me wanting more.
If you love the rest of the Incryptid series, if you love the action, the sass and if you love characters that are three dimensional, not black and white, and where even the villains can be saved, then I highly recommend this book. Just remember to catch up on the other books first.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 mathematicians

If you've been reading my reviews for any length of time you should know that I've become a tremendous fan of Seanan McGuire's work, I believe she consistently has the best most regular, best urban fantasy being published today. Her world-building is fantastic (and I mean that word in all its definitions) and well-defined. Her characters are unique and relatable and always seem so real. They deal with personal issues as well as the big picture problems around which the plot is built.

Though my memory is a little fuzzy and I'm probably remembering this a little incorrectly, I once heard the great Theodore Sturgeon respond to the question :"What is the difference between writing short stories and writing novels?" His response was, "Short stories are about things people do and novels are about people, who do things." McGuire's novels are definitely about people. But let's not sell short the things these people do, because McGuire's stories are also well plotted.

The story:
The Price family are cryptozoologists - a bit on the eccentric side, their goal is to protect the magical creatures of the world who are living in secret (or trying to) among the human population.

Adopted into the Price family is Sarah Zellaby. As much as she'd like to think of herself as Price, she will never get away from who she really is - a cuckoo ... "a telepathic ambush predator closer akin to a parasitic wasp than a human being." If her nature takes over, everyone she considered family or friends are possible targets for her predatory nature.

Sarah is returning to the family compound and both she and her close friend Artie are happy to reunite. But Sarah has come to the attention of other cuckoos who have taken up residence near the Price home. There is bound to be a clash. Between Sarah's core and who she has known herself as her entire life, and between the apex predator cuckoos and everyone around them.

By staying close to Sarah, Artie puts himself in extreme danger, but he's not about to abandon their friendship now that she's returned.

The book is told from alternating POV - sometimes Sarah, sometimes Artie.

This book is definitely a cliffhanger, leading up to something big.

In signature fashion, McGuire includes a short story/novelette at the end of the book. This one, "Follow the Lady," has the character Antimony returning home from a recent excursion (which takes place before the events in this novel) and relating some gathered information (which will likely be important in the next book).

Looking for a good book? Imaginary Numbers by Seanan McGuire is the 9th book in the InCryptid urban fantasy series. It is fast-paced and there is a lot going on, so pay attention, but do read it.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Imaginary Numbers is the ninth novel (wow, has it really been that many already???) in the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire, a thrilling series about all of the creatures that go bump in the night. I only recently picked up this series, and I am obsessed, thus I can't recommend it enough to everyone else out there.

Sarah Zellaby is what is commonly known as a Cuckoo, as well as being a Price by adoption. Being a Cuckoo means that she is a telepathic predator capable of making humans do whatever she wants. Being a Price means she won't take advantage of her nature.

Sarah has spent the last five years locked up in voluntary isolation, as her mind and heart recover from an injury she gave to herself. Now, she's hoping that she's well enough to go out into the world and see the rest of her family again. Especially Artie.

Only, Sarah is a Price through and through, and that means there's a major complication heading her way. She's about to get pulled into a war between Cuckoos and humanity, and that means she's going to have to pick a side.

“There’s no such thing as doing absolutely no harm. Human, cuckoo, it doesn’t matter. Everybody hurts and is hurt, in a grand cycle of being alive. But minimizing the damage... that matters.”

Imaginary Numbers is exactly the sort of adventure I was hoping for, when it came time to read about Sarah's perspective. It's quirky and full of math, in a way that only Cuckoos could bring to the table.

I always knew that Sarah's perspective would be the most unique out of all the Price family members. She's a Cuckoo after all, but more than that, she's been through so much. Trauma in her past, as well as what happened five years ago. That will do a number on anybody.

It's refreshing to see that she wasn't able to just roll with something so significant, but there's no way I could have predicted what it would all lead to. Learning more about Cuckoos was absolutely fascinating. Though once again, I did find myself feeling grateful that they don't exist in the real world. No offense, Sarah. You're the exception to the rule. Always.

“Being the only human in a cryptid family got Evie interested in cryptid biology and medicine long before I entered the picture.”

Imaginary Numbers is the first novel in the series to go for a perspective that is 100% Cryptid. There's a huge change of pace because of that, as well as seeing a major change in the way the world (and people) are perceived.

But don't worry, this book isn't totally out there. It still features many characters we know and love. My favorite appearances include Annie, Sam, and James, obviously. Oh! And we finally (finally!) get to see Artie, as opposed to just hearing about him.

“Nobody gets to pick where they’re born or who they’re born to, but everybody gets to pick their family. Make good choices with yours.”

For the first time since picking up this series, I find myself grateful for being so far behind. Imaginary Numbers, a brilliant read by all means, does end in a huge cliffhanger. One that I would have found unbearable, if I had to wait a year between books. Thankfully, I was behind, and thus able to happily hop right over to Calculated Risks after finishing.

Follow the Lady
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Follow the Lady is a short story included at the end of Imaginary Numbers, though it actually takes place following That Ain't Witchcraft. Once again, we're back to Annie (Antimony) Price's perspective, and I love it.

Annie and her friends are on their way home, following a battle with the Crossroads. On the way, they run across Grandma Alice, a very unique and terrifying character in her own right. Here an exchanging of information occurs, and we're once again reminded of all the reasons to never get on Alice's bad side.

This was a fantastic short. I honestly would love more road trip stories from this crew. Wait, is that a possibility? I haven't looked through all of the short stories yet, so I'm going to sincerely hope that this is a possibility, because I need more of it in my life.

Ever since I found out this book would be starting a new arc about Sarah, I was thrilled. She's been a favorite since the first book, and I was excited to finally get the deets about her an Artie. Imaginary Numbers does not disappoint, and I would rank it among my favorite InCryptid books.

Sarah's such an interesting character, and this book really dives into what it's like being Johrlac/Cuckoo, both for a unique one like Sarah and for others. The Cuckoos have been creepy in the background for a while, so a plot featuring them was inevitably coming. As usual, McGuire's plotting is *chef's kiss*. Pretty much the whole time, I felt like I knew what would happen, and yet I was constantly surprised by how things actually played out.

The one weakness for me in Imaginary Numbers was the addition of Artie's POV. It happens to cover what's happening when Sarah, for various reasons, cannot. That, in and of itself, is fine. What's less awesome is that his POV was, imo, indistinguishable from Sarah's, and her mind is so unique that that really didn't feel right.

The romance was, in some ways, a bit disappointing because it wasn't as shippy as I had been hoping. However, I don't dock points for that, because I do think it happens in a way that feels very much true to the characters. They're not big passion people; they're quiet and yearning and in love with one another's minds. Though it's not spelled out, their romance has massive demisexual vibes.

The InCryptid books have been super hit or miss for me on pacing, and this one I couldn't put down. It's fantastic, and I'm looking forward to more Sarah books; doesn't look like the next has been announced, but the ending makes it clear this is not the last.


"Follow the Lady"
Included in the book is a short story, "Follow the Lady", which actually takes place before Imaginary Numbers but which is at the end of the volume because people like to test my need for things to be in order. This is not one of McGuire's better short stories, as it doesn't have a plot. It consists of a) recapping who people are (who would read this that doesn't know?) and b) infodumping on certain things that are likely set up for the next novel. Based on this, I'm guessing the next book will be about finding Grandpa Thomas, which does sound fun, but this short story was meh.

I am always surprised this series isn't more well known because the premise is a delightful and unique spin on urban fantasy.

This has been one of the tales in this series I have been waiting for - Sarah Zellaby's story which is also Artie Harrington's story. Sarah, having spent 5 years recovering from her actions in New York, finally leaves home again on a trip to visit relatives in Oregon. On the way there, Sarah is ambushed by a Johrlac. After tricking that one, Sarah and Artie are ambushed by the same Johrloc in revenge. Sarah managed to defeat and kill her. But then she got a threatening note via her secured computer that led her to leave the Price compound and become the Queen of the Johrlacs. Artie's goal is to rescue her and survive. The question is, will the world survive Sarah's meddling with imaginary numbers? An interesting addition to the series that has a very nasty cliff-hanger ending!

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

Oh my God, the Cuckoos.

That is...basically the review.

Seanan has a unique ability to write things that are beyond creepy and unsettling that you're compelled to read because the story and writing are so good and interesting. (See: Rolling in the Deep.) But the Cuckoos are seriously one if the most shiver-inducing things she's written and I've been freaked out by them since the short story in this universe. (I confess to reading her longer series drastically out of order, but am getting to them all!)

It's Seanan, so you know the writing, characters, and story are going to be amazing. That's just a given. But this is a great addition to the series that delves into some missed characters and creepy cryptids.

Love, love, love this series. Really cool to have Sarah featured as the narrator in this one, since she is such a complex character. This book really takes the series in new, sci-fi directions, and i can not wait for the next one!

McGuire continues to write fantastic fantasy fiction, with plenty of drama and humor, and increasingly detailed world building. I devour every Incryptid book that she writes!

Seanan McGuire enchants with another InCryptid story about Imaginary Numbers. The Price family are mostly human who protect the inhuman cryptids. Sarah is a cuckoo incryptid, but also a Price family member. Other cuckoos have taken Sarah. Why? Urban fantasy at its best. How to rescue Sarah? How to stop the end of the world?

Series Info/Source: This is the 9th book in the InCryptid series. I got an eGalley from NetGalley to review.

Story (5/5): I really enjoyed this a lot. This story focuses on Sarah and her race, the cuckoos. It was incredibly entertaining and I really loved getting to know more about the Price family and learning more about cuckoos. This also includes a novella at the end about how Antimony and crew got to Oregon to rejoin the family.

Characters (5/5): While I wasn't a huge fan of Antimony being featured in the last couple books, I am a huge fan of Sarah. Sarah is one of my favorite characters, so I was very excited to be able to read a story focused on her. Delving into the world of cuckoos and getting to learn more about Sarah's origins was amazing. I also really enjoyed Artie and learning more about succubi, as well as getting to know the rest of the Price family a bit better.

Setting (4/5): The setting really wasn’t the feature of the story. The majority of the story takes place at the Price family compound. I continue to really enjoy how the incryptids are blended seamlessly into our modern day world.

Writing Style (5/5): I always love McGuire’s writing style, it’s very engaging and highly readable. This book is no exception to that. This book is very well written, easy to read and engaging.

Summary (5/5): Overall I enjoyed this installment of the InCryptid series much more than the last few books told from Antimony’s POV. Sarah is an awesome character and I really enjoyed getting to learn about the Cuckoo race. I was excited to see that the next book in this series will also be from Sarah’s POV. This was a wonderful installment in a very solid urban fantasy series that continues to be very well done. I would recommend this whole series to urban fantasy fans out there.

Seanan McGuire is becoming one of my favorite authors very fast. This is second book I have read of theirs and I cannot wait to pick up more. This was the first book I have read in the series (its book 9 by the way) and I cannot wait to go read the others. I was able to follow along without knowing the back history. The world was interesting, I liked the characters, the plot was interesting and fast pace. All things I want in a book. Yes there is special snowflake situation but it was not overly done. I give this a solid 4 stars.

Sarah is a Cuckoo, raised as a member of the Price family. As a member of the family she was taught to be cautious of her Cuckoo nature to manipulate and cause chaos. Recovering from what we discover as a metamorphosis, Sarah leaves her parents’ home to return to a family compound on the west coast. When she arrives, Sarah discovers other Cuckoos have taken up residency close by…which is never good for anyone, especially Sarah.

Artie has always had a thing for Sarah, they just get each other. When Sarah returns to the family compound, they get there chance to reunite. Artie is a quieter character but in this installment, the POV is switched between Sarah and Artie. You will discover a new side to Artie.

Lots happen and it ends in a H U G E cliffhanger! If you’ve seen my reading preferences, I’m not a big fan of cliffhangers but McGuire gave us enough closer but BOY OH BOY does she leaves us wanting more.

Pretty intense read for the InCryptid series, which I found more lighthearted than Toby’s plot lines. I enjoyed seeing Sarah and the Price – Healy group all coming into play and am sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see where we will end up next.

I received this copy of Imaginary Numbers from Berkley Publishing Group - DAW. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Seanan McGuire's books never fail to deliver. I believe her InCryptid series is my favorite. In this novel we move to a new protagonist, Sarah Zellaby, which opens up a completely new perspective on the Price family as well as humanity itself. I just want more Aeslin Mice.
Be warned I would not start the series with this novel.

For those of you who have traveled down the rabbit hole chasing cryptids with McGuire before, you are in for a treat. Imaginary Numbers picks up right where Antimony's story left off, but this time with Sarah (she can kill you with her brain) and Artie (part time computer nerd, full time incubus) as narrators.

Sarah is finally getting back to normal - or as close to normal as a telepathic ambush predator who broke her brain to save her family can be. On her way back to Oregon, she encounters another cuckoo at the airport and sets off a chain of events that could destroy the world. Just another complication when she's about to reunite with the man she has loved her entire life yet hasn't seen in 5 years. And the complications are only beginning,

McGuire's Incryptid series is great fun. Narration skips between the members of the current generation of Prices (though there are short stories about the others too). I really enjoyed Sarah and Artie's perspectives in this installment. There is also a killer cliffhanger that I will be contemplating until the next novel is published.

New readers may want to start at the beginning of the series - however, the entire collection is easily divided by narration trilogies, so you may want to pick a Price and start with them. I personally didn't enjoy Verity as a narrator, but loved Antimony and Sarah. Brother Alex is also good. So if you find the world interesting, all you need to do is find your gateway sibling. Enjoy!

This is a series that I like very much and I must admit that I was intrigued by the character highlighted in this volume, a character who did not yet have her voice presented in the previous ones: the cuckoo Sarah Zellaby.

After all the events that happened with Verity, our telepath took a long time to recover, but a few years have passed and she finally feels ready to face the world. As she tries to travel and visit Artie, Antimony and the whole gang, our young heroine stumbles upon some cuckoos. And that, I can tell you, is the beginning of the end!

I really enjoyed being back with the characters, even if I would have liked to see Verity. We see her parents all the same, which is different from the other volumes and especially Artie, about whom we always hear a lot. And then of course, there’s Antimony, Sam and James. But when Sarah finds herself in trouble with other cuckoos, her family will do everything in their power to save her.

It was a nice novel, even though I found it a bit beneath the others. It seemed to me that it was more of a transitional tome. There’s no mention of the Covenant, and there’s another plot unfolding here. Besides, with this ending, I confess that I’m curious to find out what will happen next.

Seanan McGuire has once again carried me away with this series and I’m still waiting for more.

Imaginary Numbers is the ninth book in the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire. While I do suggest reading the series in order, and as a series, the books can stand fairly well on their own but newcomers will be missing out on some great backstory and character references that enhance the read. Since this is the first story from Sarah's perspective, there are worse places to start.

Sarah Zellaby has always been in an interesting position. Adopted into the Price family at a young age, she's never been able to escape the biological reality of her origins: she's a cuckoo, a telepathic ambush predator closer akin to a parasitic wasp than a human being. Friend, cousin, mathematician; it's never been enough to dispel the fear that one day, nature will win out over nurture, and everything will change. Maybe that time has finally come. After spending the last several years recuperating in Ohio with her adoptive parents, Sarah is ready to return to the world--and most importantly, to her cousin Artie, with whom she has been head-over-heels in love since childhood. But there are cuckoos everywhere, and when the question of her own survival is weighed against the survival of her family, Sarah's choices all add up to one inescapable conclusion. This is war. Cuckoo vs. Price, human vs. cryptid, and not all of them are going to walk away.

Imaginary Numbers is another well written story from McGuire, with dynamic characters and a healthy dose of danger. I have been wanted more from Sarah for a long time, and I am extremely glad to have this story. I got much more action that I really expected, and a little less Artie and Sarah together, but everything worked together quite well and I was happy with the way it all came together. I enjoyed getting inside Sarah's head, quite literally. There were a couple twists I did not expect, some explanations that tied some things up for me, and a few twists that I am hoping to see pop up in the next book. I do not want to go into too much detail, because it was a great ride and I want everyone to enjoy it as much as I did. My biggest complaints are that I missed the book before this somehow, which I am off to rectify now, and the story ended in such a way that I am pretty desperate for the next instalment already.

Imaginary Numbers is a must read for the McGuire's fans, and a solid story for other readers that might want to dive in to her well crafted worlds.

Seanan McGuire is the queen of great series that somehow manage to improve further with each new book she writes. In Imaginary Numbers, I LOVED learning more about Sarah (and Artie) and the adventure was as great as ever. As always, HAIL SEANAN!

I love this series. Every time a new book comes out I immediately put it on my TBR list. However, this one fell a bit flat for me. Sarah has finally overcome the traumatic brain issue that she has been struggling with for 5 years. Turns out that it was actually her maturing into a stronger cuckoo. And have I said how much I hate cliffhangers....


ARC from Netgalley.