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InCryptid #0.22
Target Practice
Buckley Township is starting to grow on Thomas Price, rather like a particularly aggressive strain of moss. He still has a lot to learn about his new environs, and about the people they bring him into contact with. People like Alice Healy, whose talent for getting herself into trouble is only exceeded by her inexplicable ability to get out of it again. Luck is not a dependable survival mechanism. And hers is running out.
When Alice stumbles over something that even the ecologically unusual Buckley woods shouldn't be able to sustain, it's anyone's guess whether she'll be able to handle it on her own--and if she can't, whether she'll be able to find the help she needs to stop an invasive species from damaging the town and people she cares about. Thomas, meanwhile, just wants to avoid being shot by her father.
Tensions are high and stakes are higher as Alice and Thomas both begin taking aim on what they want, and where they want to be when they get it.
When Alice stumbles over something that even the ecologically unusual Buckley woods shouldn't be able to sustain, it's anyone's guess whether she'll be able to handle it on her own--and if she can't, whether she'll be able to find the help she needs to stop an invasive species from damaging the town and people she cares about. Thomas, meanwhile, just wants to avoid being shot by her father.
Tensions are high and stakes are higher as Alice and Thomas both begin taking aim on what they want, and where they want to be when they get it.
32 pages, ebook
First published September 28, 2017
About the author
Seanan McGuire
481 books16.5k followersHi! I'm Seanan McGuire, author of the Toby Daye series (Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses), as well as a lot of other things. I'm also Mira Grant (www.miragrant.com), author of Feed and Deadline.
Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).
I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(
Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).
I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
February 6, 2018
Target Practice is a free short story about Alice Healy and Thomas Price that you can download from Seanan McGuire's website. This is the third story about them and the previous 2, The Way Home and The Way of the Land, are also available to read for free so I'd recommend reading them in order.
Jonathan is so desperate to keep Alice safe that he refuses to tell her anything about the Incryptid community and won't even let his parents teach her how to defend herself. His heart is in the right place but Alice has her mother's curiosity and banning her from doing something is a surefire way to make her do it anyway. So when Alice is exploring in the woods and wanders across a dire boar things nearly end in disaster, it's only the fact she's a fast runner and that Thomas shoots even faster that keeps her alive.
Meanwhile Thomas is continuing to question his ties with the Covenant of St. George, the more he learns about the Healys the less dangerous he finds them and he's starting to pay more attention to Alice too now that she's getting older. I'm loving the slowly growing attraction between these two and I'm really enjoying the way Seanan McGuire is slowly filling in their history. I'm still holding out hope for a full length novel about these two set in the current timeline of the main series but until then I'll happily devour as many short stories as I can get my hands on!
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OMG how did I miss that Seanan McGuire has written another Thomas and Alice short story? I wish she had a newsletter to help us keep up to date with this kind of thing!!
Jonathan is so desperate to keep Alice safe that he refuses to tell her anything about the Incryptid community and won't even let his parents teach her how to defend herself. His heart is in the right place but Alice has her mother's curiosity and banning her from doing something is a surefire way to make her do it anyway. So when Alice is exploring in the woods and wanders across a dire boar things nearly end in disaster, it's only the fact she's a fast runner and that Thomas shoots even faster that keeps her alive.
Meanwhile Thomas is continuing to question his ties with the Covenant of St. George, the more he learns about the Healys the less dangerous he finds them and he's starting to pay more attention to Alice too now that she's getting older. I'm loving the slowly growing attraction between these two and I'm really enjoying the way Seanan McGuire is slowly filling in their history. I'm still holding out hope for a full length novel about these two set in the current timeline of the main series but until then I'll happily devour as many short stories as I can get my hands on!
______________
OMG how did I miss that Seanan McGuire has written another Thomas and Alice short story? I wish she had a newsletter to help us keep up to date with this kind of thing!!
December 12, 2017
Alice is growing up, much to Jonathan’s dismay. Having read so much about older Alice, I love getting to read and backfill her history, especially her growing relationship with Thomas Price.
October 26, 2017
Full review to come!
August 30, 2019
Love the children you have, not the children you want, or they will be gored by dire boars in the woods.
November 26, 2017
Review first published on My Blog.
Alice has snuck out again and gone into the Woods. This time she managed to find a dire boar and only barely managed to run fast enough to end up at Thomas Price's back porch where he was able to wound it enough to scare it off. Unfortunately, her father was yet again not of a mind to listen to her when she got home from her latest adventures. Jonathan wants so much for his daughter to have a 'normal' childhood that he is blinded to who she really is, her mother's daughter above all else. Normal was never going to happen. Now his parents must intervene if Alice is going to have a chance of surviving to adulthood.
I've really been enjoying these backstory pieces Ms. McGuire posts on her website for her fans. It's a generous thing that she does and it's fascinating seeing where the current crop of Price-Healy kids come from because these apples definitely didn't fall far from the tree.
Alice has snuck out again and gone into the Woods. This time she managed to find a dire boar and only barely managed to run fast enough to end up at Thomas Price's back porch where he was able to wound it enough to scare it off. Unfortunately, her father was yet again not of a mind to listen to her when she got home from her latest adventures. Jonathan wants so much for his daughter to have a 'normal' childhood that he is blinded to who she really is, her mother's daughter above all else. Normal was never going to happen. Now his parents must intervene if Alice is going to have a chance of surviving to adulthood.
I've really been enjoying these backstory pieces Ms. McGuire posts on her website for her fans. It's a generous thing that she does and it's fascinating seeing where the current crop of Price-Healy kids come from because these apples definitely didn't fall far from the tree.
August 9, 2021
Next up on my InCryptid short story binge is Target Practice. Written by Seanan McGuire, this short continues the story of a young Alice Healy. And yes, she is just as stubborn and driven as any other member of her family.
Alice has always been fascinated by the world her family has always known. Even if her father would prefer that she had nothing to do with it all, thankfully, she's a stubborn girl and thus did not take his advice (orders) accordingly.
This was a chaotic and fun-fueled short story. One that did an excellent job of portraying the differing personalities of all four Healy members, not to mention a Price and a babysitting ghost. It was just the right balance all around and is perfect for fans of the series.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Alice has always been fascinated by the world her family has always known. Even if her father would prefer that she had nothing to do with it all, thankfully, she's a stubborn girl and thus did not take his advice (orders) accordingly.
This was a chaotic and fun-fueled short story. One that did an excellent job of portraying the differing personalities of all four Healy members, not to mention a Price and a babysitting ghost. It was just the right balance all around and is perfect for fans of the series.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
May 18, 2018
"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Mind you, I always assumed that meant the other side of the fence was where all the bodies were buried, but that's neither here nor there."
Jonathan Healy has lost far too much. His son, his wife...he will not lose his daughter, Alice, too. Alice has other ideas. She's proud to be a Healy and she's ready to prove herself. Who will win the battle to keep Alice safe and where does Thomas Price fit into all this?
***This is the last prequel story about Thomas and Alice and I'm kind of dying to know what happens between this and everything else.
Jonathan Healy has lost far too much. His son, his wife...he will not lose his daughter, Alice, too. Alice has other ideas. She's proud to be a Healy and she's ready to prove herself. Who will win the battle to keep Alice safe and where does Thomas Price fit into all this?
***This is the last prequel story about Thomas and Alice and I'm kind of dying to know what happens between this and everything else.
October 10, 2020
The first dot point that I wrote in my notes on this short story sums it up perfectly:
- Naw. Alice finally broke Jonathan!
That’s pretty much it. There was something that became steadily more irritating about Jonathan as these short stories unfolded. Don’t get me wrong, it’s understandable. But it was still dang annoying. So when Alice finally manages to “break” him… it left me feeling happy. Nothing like a rebellious teen having a point to make me love a story.
As with the other short stories so far in this collection, now all I want is to get the next books in this series and stick my nose into them! But I’m trying so hard not to buy anymore until I finish some from my teetering TBR… I may actually get buried under an avalanche soon.
But I digress… this was a fun story and showed how well Alice’s grandmother knows her, and how the scars of the past and worries for the future can have the exact opposite effect to what you desire. Luckily, things will steadily get more interesting (I’m sure) as the rest of the series about Alice’s children unfolds…
- Naw. Alice finally broke Jonathan!
That’s pretty much it. There was something that became steadily more irritating about Jonathan as these short stories unfolded. Don’t get me wrong, it’s understandable. But it was still dang annoying. So when Alice finally manages to “break” him… it left me feeling happy. Nothing like a rebellious teen having a point to make me love a story.
As with the other short stories so far in this collection, now all I want is to get the next books in this series and stick my nose into them! But I’m trying so hard not to buy anymore until I finish some from my teetering TBR… I may actually get buried under an avalanche soon.
But I digress… this was a fun story and showed how well Alice’s grandmother knows her, and how the scars of the past and worries for the future can have the exact opposite effect to what you desire. Luckily, things will steadily get more interesting (I’m sure) as the rest of the series about Alice’s children unfolds…
July 6, 2021
Alice Healy and Thomas Price
This review will be about three free Incryptid stories, available for download from Seanan McGuire's Incryptid Short Stories page:
The Way Home
The Lay of the Land
Target Practice
These are the three stories listed under the heading "Alice Healy and Thomas Price (circa 1954-)". In contrast to the preceding Jonathan and Fran stories, this small set tells us only a small part of the story of Alice and Thomas. Thomas (26), a semi-disgraced Covenant researcher, shows up in Buckley township, supposedly to spy on the Healys. Alice (16) is chafing under the overprotective watch of her father, Jonathan, who has never gotten over Fran's death, and probably never will. Thomas and Alice meet cute. Alice is soon smitten with Thomas. Mary warns Thomas to be gentle with Alice.
And that's pretty much where we leave things. We know from the family trees in the front matter of the Incryptid novels that Thomas and Alice will marry and have at least two kids and eventually five grandchildren. We know that Thomas will be revered by the Aeslin mice as the God of Empty Rooms and Colder Regrets, God of Difficult Bargains and Unwanted Knowledge, and God of Things That it is Almost Certainly Better Not to Be Aware Of. Surely there are some deep stories behind those titles. But at the end of Target Practice that is all in the future. Thomas has not yet even met the Mice.
This review will be about three free Incryptid stories, available for download from Seanan McGuire's Incryptid Short Stories page:
The Way Home
The Lay of the Land
Target Practice
These are the three stories listed under the heading "Alice Healy and Thomas Price (circa 1954-)". In contrast to the preceding Jonathan and Fran stories, this small set tells us only a small part of the story of Alice and Thomas. Thomas (26), a semi-disgraced Covenant researcher, shows up in Buckley township, supposedly to spy on the Healys. Alice (16) is chafing under the overprotective watch of her father, Jonathan, who has never gotten over Fran's death, and probably never will. Thomas and Alice meet cute. Alice is soon smitten with Thomas. Mary warns Thomas to be gentle with Alice.
And that's pretty much where we leave things. We know from the family trees in the front matter of the Incryptid novels that Thomas and Alice will marry and have at least two kids and eventually five grandchildren. We know that Thomas will be revered by the Aeslin mice as the God of Empty Rooms and Colder Regrets, God of Difficult Bargains and Unwanted Knowledge, and God of Things That it is Almost Certainly Better Not to Be Aware Of. Surely there are some deep stories behind those titles. But at the end of Target Practice that is all in the future. Thomas has not yet even met the Mice.
September 28, 2017
The further adventures of Thomas and Alice. I love that McGuire has written from Jonathan's standpoint and portrayed his point of view with enough sympathy that I can see where he's coming from, that place of grief and trauma, even while (like the rest of his family) I want to shake him until his teeth rattle.
December 31, 2017
Such a great short story, developing the relationship between Alice and Thomas, grandparents of the main characters in the full length books! And Jonathan is a dad who sees his daughter as someone who can have normal, when she can't because that isn't who she is. Such a great read, I need more!
May 27, 2024
it's a shame the stories of Alice and Thomas end here. I was so looking forward to seeing them develop as a relationship, the way we were able to with Fran and Johnnie.
But good on her for finding and surviving a dire boar.
But good on her for finding and surviving a dire boar.
April 29, 2018
One of the best InCryptid Shorts I read in a long time.
June 24, 2018
I need dozens of stories accounting how Alice and Enid introduce Thomas to the woods around Buckley.
Read
July 29, 2018We learn a little bit more of Enid's past. Jonathan's coming around. There is a sense of humor to this one.
April 22, 2019
OMG I want more of Alice. I was glad when she grew up a bit but now there isn't enough stories about her as a teenager. She's wonderful.
July 22, 2019
Good, more Alice and Thomas. Interested to see how this progresses -- oh, there are only 3 shorts. Sigh. I hope their story unfolds more later. Dire pig!
May 2, 2020
I wish there was more. I'm loving these Incryptid short stories!
May 6, 2020
Another highly enjoyable short story about Alice and Thomas, and I do hope that we'll get more. The teenage stupidity and obstinance was very believable.
July 27, 2020
Represents reading the full run of Incryptid shorts published before 2020.
January 29, 2021
Ready and waiting for Alice's book in 2022!!
April 11, 2023
It's kind of nice to see these characters back before they were the best at everything.
August 7, 2024
Short, sweet, compelling. I need a full-length novel about these two right now
February 1, 2019
92 points/100 (4.75 stars/100).
Alice is rebelling against her father, and nearly gets killed in the process.
After the death of Fran, Jonathan is understandably wary of letting his daughter take up the family business. But Alice has other ideas, and she resents her father's restrictions.
I really liked this one as I happen to like all of the InCryptid short stories. They show the life of this family from the start. I like how seeing on has just completely collapsed under the death of his wife. I like seeing how Alice is raising herself into the woman, the person, she wants to be.
Alice is rebelling against her father, and nearly gets killed in the process.
After the death of Fran, Jonathan is understandably wary of letting his daughter take up the family business. But Alice has other ideas, and she resents her father's restrictions.
I really liked this one as I happen to like all of the InCryptid short stories. They show the life of this family from the start. I like how seeing on has just completely collapsed under the death of his wife. I like seeing how Alice is raising herself into the woman, the person, she wants to be.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews