★★★☆☆ In a Yellow Wood, by Seanan McGuire
A disappointing installment of the Alice story in which nothing much happens
In a Yellow Wood
Seanan McGuire
A disappointing installment of the Alice story in which nothing much happens
“In a Yellow Wood” is Seanan McGuire’s March, 2026 Patreon reward. She introduces it as follows,
(Image: A panoramic view of an office very full of books. The walls are orange, and the picture is slightly distorted by the panning.)
It’s time to return to InCryptid, as we approach the release of Butterfly Effects and continue trying to bring the past into alignment with the present. We’ve known this was coming for quite some time now, and we’re finally there. It’s time to go back to Buckley and begin the process of burying Alexander Healy, who only ever tried to love his family and keep them safe. He didn’t want to break Alice’s heart.
He never really had a choice.
McGuire often uses her Patreon stories to fill in gaps in the backstories of her conventionally published novel series. The Incryptid series has a a deep history that is barely hinted at in the main series novels, but which is helpful in fully understanding them.
The Incryptid series is about the the Price Family of North America and their care for/interaction with cryptids and other fantastic entities such as ghosts, witches, etc. The main series of novels begins with Discount Armageddon, whose hero is Verity Price, a member of the fifth generation of the North American family. Most of the subsequent series novels are also about the fifth and (recently) the sixth generation.
I know all this because McGuire has written dozens of stories (and one short novel) about earlier generations, especially the key figure Alice Price-Healy, who is the sole surviving member of the third generation. Most of these stories can be downloaded free from her website or, for a price, from her Patreon page.
In And Sweep up the Wood, the novella that accompanied Spelunking Through Hell, McGuire mentioned that Alice’s grandfather Alex Healy had died in the Buckley forest in 1958. “In a Yellow Wood” fleshes that story out a little, but only enough to be annoying. Alice is at college, her last final exam is tomorrow, when her father Jonathan Healy calls her to let her know that Alex has died. “In a Yellow Wood” tells us what Alice does next, without telling us anything new about Alex’s death. It’s frustrating. I suppose we will learn more in yet-to-come Patreon stories.