Review: One Hell of a Ride

One Hell of a Ride by Seanan McGuire

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This is a short story, available currently on the author's website for free download. It's set in the InCryptid universe, several generations before the events of Discount Armageddon. This is set after the events of "The Flower of Arizona," another short story available in the Westward Weird anthology.

I didn't read "The Flower of Arizona," so I'm reviewing this from the standpoint of lacking all the context. Even from that perspective, though, it's still amusing, and you can follow it without the back story. It's clear that Jonathan Healy, with a lot of help from Frances Brown, killed a Questing Beast, and is headed back home to Michigan. This story follows their train journey, where they're flipped into a hell dimension because of a glitch in a shortcut taken by the railroads to cut costs. Jonathan and Fran have to fight their way back out to their home dimension, and not be eaten by border imps along the way.

The Aeslin Mice make an appearance, albeit a short one, and the Healy tendency to protect sentient cryptids is firmly entrenched in Jonathan, the latest generation in this wild west timeline.

I found this a quick and entertaining tale which did a lot to keep me wanting more from the InCryptid universe. It's fun, seeing which family member Verity inherited which trait from, and Fran is a heroine to root for. She doesn't know all of what's going on, unlike Jonathan, but she takes it in stride.

If you're interested at all in the InCryptid story, I would highly recommend that you treat yourself to a free copy. All you'll be out is a few minutes of reading time. In exchange, you get a thoroughly enjoyable story.



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