I have to wonder is Verity's stage name is an X-men reference*. Especially since Ms. Pryor is a redhead.
I really liked seeing the mice again. Which sounds silly, but they seem to be getting more real as we learn about their culture and how it works. Like, the mice could easily turn into a punchline (look as they interrupt Verity and Dominic!) or a plot device, but it feels like their religion has underlying structure beyond the 'what would be funny for the mice to say here'. Like the bit about how the mouse that attended Verity the last time she was in LA for Dance or Die was now a senior priestess of the Arboreal Priestess, and couldn't travel again because her congregation needed her, so she sent younger members. Or how the mice justify that human senses (particularly of the Gods and Priestesses) were less keen than mouse senses, because of course divinity doesn't need the things worshippers might.
(Also the sense that the Prices do get a skewed view into the world of the Aeslin mice, because the priests have forms for interacting with the Prices. Which makes me imagine all sorts of other tasks a worshipper might perform -- still a devout participant in their religion but less likely to interact with divinity directly because maybe their calling is to craft clothing, vestments and ritual gear, or care for children.)
Also, man I want to reread to see how many clues are there and how many are red herrings.
ETA: And the first chapter! I nearly forgot it, but I love how we continue to see how the Price family functions in terms of having connections that let them deal with a problem like 'underfed and growing plesiosaur too close to human settlements'. Because there's a gap between wanting to rehome an animal that doesn't understand that pets and humans are not safe foods and being able to do it. One thing I appreciate is that the family (including various Uncles and Aunts by adoption) is present.
* Maybe not an in-universe one, unless Sarah or Artie were involved.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2016-03-02 03:04 am (UTC)I really liked seeing the mice again. Which sounds silly, but they seem to be getting more real as we learn about their culture and how it works. Like, the mice could easily turn into a punchline (look as they interrupt Verity and Dominic!) or a plot device, but it feels like their religion has underlying structure beyond the 'what would be funny for the mice to say here'. Like the bit about how the mouse that attended Verity the last time she was in LA for Dance or Die was now a senior priestess of the Arboreal Priestess, and couldn't travel again because her congregation needed her, so she sent younger members. Or how the mice justify that human senses (particularly of the Gods and Priestesses) were less keen than mouse senses, because of course divinity doesn't need the things worshippers might.
(Also the sense that the Prices do get a skewed view into the world of the Aeslin mice, because the priests have forms for interacting with the Prices. Which makes me imagine all sorts of other tasks a worshipper might perform -- still a devout participant in their religion but less likely to interact with divinity directly because maybe their calling is to craft clothing, vestments and ritual gear, or care for children.)
Also, man I want to reread to see how many clues are there and how many are red herrings.
ETA: And the first chapter! I nearly forgot it, but I love how we continue to see how the Price family functions in terms of having connections that let them deal with a problem like 'underfed and growing plesiosaur too close to human settlements'. Because there's a gap between wanting to rehome an animal that doesn't understand that pets and humans are not safe foods and being able to do it. One thing I appreciate is that the family (including various Uncles and Aunts by adoption) is present.
* Maybe not an in-universe one, unless Sarah or Artie were involved.