I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Uncanny Times by Laura Anne GilmanPublished by Gallery / Saga Press on October 18, 2022
Genres: alternate historical fantasy, fantasy, Fiction, General, Historical
Pages: 384
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Netgalley
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Huntsmen, according to the Church, were damned, their blood unclean, unholy. Yet for Rosemary and Aaron Harker the Church was less important than being ready to stand against the Uncanny as not being prepared could lead to being dead.
The year is 1913. America—and the world—trembles on the edge of a modern age. Political and social unrest shift the foundations; technology is beginning to make its mark.
But in the shadows, things from the past still move. Things inhuman, uncanny.
And the Uncanny are no friend to humanity.
But when Aaron and Rosemary Harker go to investigate the suspicious death of a distant relative, what they discover could turn their world upside down—and change the Huntsmen forever
Laura Anne Gilman is a solid writer who usually has a unique take on things. (Wine. Magic. Enough said.) Her political rants are also on point — look up her Patreon or social media accounts. So I’m always surprised that she’s not way more popular than she actually is. Maybe this series* will change that.
This book is probably my favorite thing that she’s ever done. Our main characters are brother and sister, so there’s no romantic tension to get in the way of the plot**. Using the Harker surname here is a little cliché, but it’s a handy shortcut to say that these people are monster hunters.
Their upbringing seems to have been a little bit problematic and a lot traumatic. They were essentially orphaned as teenagers by a hunt that went wrong for their parents. They are also confronted with the fact that what they were told about the Uncanny being monsters lacking human-intelligence and the powers of speech was… less than accurate.
Tracking down an Uncanny serial killer probably isn’t the time to confront that truth, but it definitely seems like it’ll be a future problem that Aaron and Rosemary will have to deal with. In fact, I think the whole book takes place over 3 or 4 days and neither of our protagonists get much sleep in that time frame.
This is a fast-paced novel with a solid mystery and really great character interactions. Tense B&B dinners! Grisly crime scenes! A demon-hunting hell hound! Gilman always has interesting things to say about the lines between what makes us human and what actually makes a monster, and this series is no different. Did I mention I think it’s her best yet? I’m giving it 4.5 stars, with room to grow!
*This is being marketed as Volume 1 of the Huntsmen, and I hope that’s accurate because if I don’t get more Aaron & Rosemary, I might have to riot.
**There’s some slight romantic vibes between one of our siblings and a side character (no spoilers!), but it’s slight enough that it barely registers, in my opinion.
