Title: Balance
Author: Seanan McGuire
Series: InCryptid #6.6
In: Urban Enemies (Joseph Nassise)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 30th December 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Gallery Books
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: “Tangy,” I said, and felt him swell with pride.
The world needs balance. And in the reality of the InCryptid’s, maths and malice work perfectly to do so. A cuckoo creates a new nest, but is removed. Then hes kin remove the hunter… it’s all about checks and balances.
This is my first every taste of the InCryptid series. And now I’m so excited that I already have the first novel in this series on my shelves. There was just something completely amazing about the idea of cryptids (monsters) that are hunted down for preying on humans. And writing this whole short story from the point of view of the monster… freaking, totally and utterly brilliant. I’m hooked. I’m happy.
I’ve read about a lot of monsters in my many, many, many fantasy books. I’ve never read about a monster that is a cuckoo. One that parasitising on the human race by doing exactly what a cuckoo does. And now I’m wondering why there aren’t more parasitic creatures like this. It’s just such a damn brilliant idea! And it asks, they exploit us, so does that mean that they’re actually malicious? Or like the cuckoo, just doing what they’re designed for?
Ultimately this story is all about checks and balances. Or at least, that’s how it’s written and acts are justified. Which I kind of like. The idea is that humans keep ruining things, they are getting a little too big for their britches, so we have predators that keep us in check. After all, ecosystems don’t survive when one organism is overpowering all of the others.
Earth and Skye 
3 thoughts on “Balance by Seanan McGuire”