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An Artificial Night is the third book in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. Toby works to rescue fae and human children who have been kidnapped by faerie boogeyman Blind Michael.

Away from light steals home my heavy son, and private in his chamber pens himself, shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight away, and makes himself an artificial night."''

–William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Publication Details[]

AAN German

German edition

See also: International Release Dates

An Artificial Night has been published as a mass market paperback, e-book, Audible exclusive, and CD. It is available for purchase in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. It has been translated into German with the revised title of "Nightmare."


Synopsis[]

Author Description[]

HOW MANY MILES TO BABYLON?

Everyone in the Bay Area knows about Blind Michael, the unseen, dangerous figure whose Hunt sweeps the Berkeley hills on full moon nights. He's a familiar hazard of life in the Kingdom of the Mists, and most people don't waste time worrying about him. October "Toby" Daye certainly doesn't. She has better things to worry about, like paying the electrical bill on time. So it's understandable that she'd be upset when Blind Michael suddenly starts taking an interest in people that matter to her, like the youngest children of Mitch and Stacy Brown .

Tasked to find the missing children, and with the stakes growing higher by the minute, Toby has few choices and fewer allies to help her through the dangers yet to come. With the Luidaeg's help and a candle to light her way home, there's a chance that she'll come through this latest danger...but the sudden appearance of her Fetch doesn't give Toby all that much in the way of hope...

An Artificial Night is the third book in the October Daye series, a modern urban fantasy set in both the San Francisco Bay Area and the Faerie Kingdom of the Mists which overlays Northern California. It was released in North America by DAW Books on September 7, 2010, and has been translated into German. ~ Seanan McGuire: An Artificial Night

Back Cover[]

Changeling knight in the court of the Duke of Shadowed Hills, October "Toby" Daye has survived numerous challenges that would destroy fae and mortal alike.

Now Toby must take on a nightmarish new assignment. Someone is stealing both fae and mortal children—and all signs point to Blind Michael. When the young son of Toby's closest friends is snatched from their Northern California home and his sister falls into a coma-like state, the situation becomes way too personal. Toby has no choice but to track the villains down, even when there are only three magical roads by which to reach Blind Michael's realm —home of the legendary Wild Hunt —and no road may be taken more than once. If she cannot escape with all the children before the candle that guides and protects her burns away, Toby herself will fall prey to the Wild Hunt and Blind Michael's inescapable power.

And it doesn't bode well for the success of her mission that her own personal Fetch, May Daye—the harbinger of Toby's own death—has suddenly turned up on her doorstep… ~ Seanan McGuire: An Artificial Night

Plot[]

Chapter 1: Toby and Danny team up to fight a Barghest infestation, with Danny taking the creatures home as rescues. He encourages her to socialize more, but she makes excuses.

Toby grabs a last-minute birthday present before going to a party at the Brown home. She savors the experience, having missed out on her own daughter’s childhood.

Chapter 2: As she’s getting ready to meet Connor for breakfast, her Fetch appears at the door. Toby won’t accept her looming death quietly and throws May out, vowing to fight for her own life to the very end.

Chapter 3: Following her visitor, Toby is distant with Connor. They argue over their ability to hang out as just friends, given their history and Rayseline’s jealousy.

Stacy calls, upset because Andy and Jessica are missing. On top of a parent’s usual concerns, the kids don’t know how to maintain their glamours and risk revealing themselves to humans. Toby investigates, discovering the scent of candles and blood in the kids’ bedrooms, and burns her hand when she tries to touch the window. The children have been stolen by something magical. What’s more, Karen is lying comatose and won’t wake up.

Chapter 4, 5: Toby takes Karen to the Tea Gardens, hoping Lily might know how to help. She runs into Tybalt and doesn’t hide her hurt that he’s been keeping his distance. He asks for her help: several children from the Court of Cats have gone missing as well.

Lily heals Toby’s hands, and she and Tybalt both request that Toby stop injuring herself. Lily tells Toby to “ask the moon” about the missing children, and promises to look after Karen while Toby looks for answers.

Chapter 6: Quentin is waiting for Toby at home; Katie has gone missing as well. They go together to Shadowed Hills.

Chapter 7: Luna greets her, acting a bit odd before conversing with Spike, and Toby updates her and Sylvester. Luna says the children were taken by Blind Michael to join his Hunt, and sends Toby to the Luidaeg.

Chapter 8: The Luidaeg grudgingly creates a blood spell to send Toby to Blind Michael’s Realm via the Children’s Road, using candlelight as her guide, and explains the strict rules that Toby must follow to remain safe.

Chapter 9: Toby wakes disoriented, but the candle guides her in the right direction. The Hunt spots her, but the magic of the candle protects her from being caught in their glamour. They chase her, and she crosses paths with Raj and Helen, who are also fleeing. Raj has been told about his uncle’s friend Toby, but the Luidaeg’s spell has turned Toby into a child. Distrustful, he runs away from her after Helen is caught by the Riders.

Chapter 10: Toby tracks Raj through the forest and almost gets caught by Acacia, but is hidden by the candle. Raj finds her again, but they are both caught by the Hunt.

Chapter 11: They are brought to the Children’s Hall, filled with Blind Michael’s victims. The children harass her but she keeps them at bay with the Babylon rhyme. Michael summons her, and she nearly gets caught in the charisma of his glamour. She demands he return the stolen Cait Sidhe and Brown children, and they settle on a wager for her to rescue them: Toby must free the children without being caught by the Hunt.

Chapter 12: Sent back to her starting point, Toby begins the journey back to Blind Michael’s holdings. She hides in a thicket and falls asleep, and Karen visits her dream along with the spirit of a dead Kitsune girl. Karen tells Toby to seek the rose’s daughter.

Quentin finds her; he too bargained with the Luidaeg to journey to Blind Michael’s realm, and cannot return home without Toby. They are spotted by the Hunt but reach the safety of Acacia’s wood.

Chapter 13: Karen encourages Toby again in a dream. Toby wakes to a concerned Spike, whom Acacia recognizes as one of Luna’s rose goblins. Acacia is Firstborn, and Luna is her daughter. She asks Toby for Luna’s whereabouts but Toby won’t tell her. Acacia rewards Toby’s loyalty by healing her wounds, and Toby finally tells her that Luna is married with a daughter in Shadowed Hills. In turn, Acacia explains how Luna took a Kitsune’s skin to escape her father Blind Michael. Acacia gives Toby a rose to pass on to Luna and sends her on her way.

Chapter 14: Toby finds Quentin outside Acacia’s woods and he is overcome to see her still alive. They reach Blind Michael’s holdings and sneak into the Children’s Hall to rescue the fae kids. They find Raj, Jessica, Andy, and more. Although Toby only bargained for the Cait Sidhe and Brown kids, she refuses to leave anyone behind.

Chapter 15: They hide the kids in the nearby forest, leaving Raj in charge while Toby and Quentin return for Katie, who is in the stables with the other human children. She has begun transforming into a monstrous horse-creature, and Toby must glamour her to be calm enough to travel. It kills Toby to leave the rest of the human children behind, but they will need more guidance than the fae children and Toby knows she can’t possibly save them all.

Chapter 16: Toby and the children travel in a frightened procession, retracing Toby’s steps and stopping frequently to rest.

The Hunt nears. Karen, invisible to everybody but Toby, directs them to a patch of brambles. Toby opens a portal with her blood and sends the kids through to the Luidaeg, who waits on the other side. Once safely back, Toby calls May for a ride since she is still in child form.

Chapter 17: The Luidaeg is pissed that Toby went on her quest with knowledge of her imminent death. With May’s terrifying driving, they drop Karen off at the Tea Gardens and then take the other children to Shadowed Hills.

Chapter 18: Sylvester is angry with Luna for having sent Toby to the Luidaeg; Luna shows no regret. Sylvester despairs at Toby’s lack of self-preservation. Luna can’t or won’t restore Toby to her true size, and admits that she sent Toby on the quest not expecting her to come back.

Toby passes on Acacia’s greetings and acknowledges Luna’s parentage. When she gives Luna Acacia’s rose, Luna transforms into her true Blodynbryd form.

When Toby leaves Shadowed Hills, Connor recognizes her in child form and offers to drive.

Chapter 19: Blind Michael’s Riders appear and chase them through San Francisco. May takes the wheel from cautious Connor in order to lose their tail. They manage to get away; May, the omen of Toby’s death, just saved her life.

Chapter 20: They reach the Brown home and Toby convinces May to pose as her to return the Brown kids to their parents. Connor tells Toby it’s okay to cry, and despairs that he is magically too weak to protect her from her impending death.

After traveling to Golden Gate Park, Connor and May are left behind as Raj leads Toby into the Court of Cats with the rescued children. Raj reunites with his family while Julie, recognizing child-Toby, attacks her.

Chapter 21: Raj defends Toby from Julie and the two Cait Sidhe fight. Because Raj is a prince, no one will interfere to help him. Toby tries, but Tybalt yanks her away, nonplussed by her appearance. Tybalt finally breaks up the fight and admonishes Julie before sending her away, and Toby and Raj both ask him to go easy on Julie.

Tybalt dismisses the Court so he can speak to Toby alone. He all-but-thanks her for saving the kids and acknowledges that the “lie” that made him upset and avoid her was not in fact her fault, although he refuses to explain further.

Chapter 22: Marcia realizes Toby and May are glamoured, though she can’t see through to their true forms. Toby asks Lily to see Karen, thinking her dead. She isn’t just sleeping still. May carries Toby, who has been ignoring her injuries since returning from Blind Michael’s lands, into the Gardens where Lily heals her and restores her true age. Lily offers Toby tea, which Toby’s subconscious turns the flavor of blood. Toby gets frustrated and tries to leave, but Lily speaks a spell and Toby passes out instead.

Chapter 23: Toby wakes at the Luidaeg’s home; Lily sent her there on the Tidal Road to get her away from May. The Luidaeg tells Toby off and insists that her friends won’t let her get killed.

The Luidaeg explains that Karen and Katie are still under Blind Michael’s power, then takes some of Karen’s blood and recognizes Karen as an oneiromancer, which explains both Toby’s dreams and why Karen’s kidnapping was different from the others. The Luidaeg returns Toby’s candle to her but cannot send her back on the Children’s Road. Toby must take the Rose Road instead, with a 24-hour time limit. The Luidaeg arms Toby and sends her out onto the San Francisco streets, where Toby is caught by Blind Michael’s Riders.

Chapter 24: Before she can be taken by the Riders, Tybalt rescues her. Although the quest rules do not allow Toby to ask for help herself, the Luidaeg tipped Tybalt off on where to find her. He takes her through the Shadow Roads to escape the Riders, realizes she’s been hurt, and insists on carrying her the rest of the way. When they arrive at their destination, Tybalt collapses and stops breathing.

Chapter 25: Toby is frantic, but Tybalt revives and mentions the legend of a cat’s nine lives. She leaves him to rest and enters Shadowed Hills. Katie is getting worse. Luna apologizes for lying about her heritage, but says she did it for protection from Blind Michael. Luna notes that the Luidaeg set Toby on the Rose Road, and Luna has Toby prick herself with a thorn to continue her journey.

Chapter 26: Karen shows Toby how Luna took Hoshibara’s identity. Toby wakes in Blind Michael’s lands and sneaks into his holdings in search of Karen’s trapped soul. She finds Katie, who was re-kidnapped because Toby took her outside of her bargain, and Blind Michael’s servants catch Toby and take her to the throne room. Blind Michael offers another bargain: he will return Karen if Toby gives up the candle that keeps her safe (He refuses to return Katie). Toby takes the deal, promising to join his Ride even as she privately hopes to buy enough time to escape.

Chapter 27: Without her candle, Toby is caught in the fog of Blind Michael’s spell, singing nursery rhymes and trying not to anger Blind Michael. After some time, Acacia snaps her out of it and Toby remembers her quest. Acacia reveals that Toby is meant to replace her as Blind Michael’s Lady of the Ride, his mistress, and then Acacia lies to the guards to get Toby out of the hall. They are stopped, however, and Toby must join the Ride.

Chapter 28: Acacia leads the Riders, regretfully calling out the ritual words. Blind Michael taps into the Rider’s eyes to see and they travel through the Summerlands and the human world alike. 

They are interrupted by Toby’s friends, led by the Luidaeg, who invokes the Ballad of Tam Lin[1] and challenges Blind Michael for the stolen. The Luidaeg argues that Blind Michael didn’t play by the rules when he took the adult-form Toby. Tybalt, Cassandra, Quentin, Connor, and May all cling to Toby as she shapeshifts  through the song, and their determination frees her at the end.

Blind Michael returns to his lands, Acacia choosing to go with him. Luna greets her mother before Acacia leaves, but it does not change her mind to go.

Chapter 29: The children with families to claim them return to their homes. Katie is the only human, having been rescued by Quentin, and is traumatized by the experience. Tybalt and May catch Toby up on all she’s missed--Karen is safe thanks to Toby’s bargain with Blind Michael--and Toby and Connor have a quiet moment to themselves.

The Luidaeg warns that, because Toby did not return by candlelight, Blind Michael will still try to reclaim her. When Toby’s friends realize she intends to go back intentionally, Sylvester arms her with his own sword. The Luidaeg confirms that killing Blind Michael might break the final spell on Katie, then sets her on the Blood Road.

Chapter 30: Back in Blind Michael’s lands, Toby is bleeding through cuts inflicted by the Blood Road; her time is very limited. She is quickly caught by the Hunt and taken to Blind Michael,who insults her and tries to bespell her again. She finds her candle on the floor and uses its small protection against him. He attacks her, but he can only see through the eyes of others and can’t get a good read on her. Toby gains the upper hand and Acacia tells her not to torture him. Toby kills Blind Michael, combining her own silver dagger with an iron knife Acacia had given her. The kill fulfills the Blood Road’s price, and Toby receives no new cuts.

Chapter 31: She wakes in Acacia’s woods and learns that Acacia plans to remain as ruler of Blind Michael’s lands. Toby is sent back to the mortal world where Sylvester, Luna, and May are waiting.

Chapter 32: The Luidaeg tells Toby and Quentin that although Katie is freed, she is too damaged by her experiences to be easily healed. Quentin must choose to keep her in Faerie forever or let her go back to a fully mortal light. Toby recognizes the choice as Quentin’s loss of childhood innocence when he chooses to let Katie go.

The Luidaeg debriefs Toby, telling her that iron and silver together is the only way to kill a Firstborn, and they hug.

Chapter 33: Time passes. Toby visits the Browns for Karen’s birthday. May joins the party, integrating into Toby’s life as her “twin sister.” Tybalt has been AWOL for a full month, and Connor silent as well. Luna has stayed in contact with Acacia. Quentin has stopped playing part-time mortal, spending much more time hanging out with Toby as a result. Toby celebrates her found family and her life.

Characters[]

Major[]

Allies[]

  • October "Toby" Daye: Weak-blooded Daoine Sidhe changeling, knight and hero of the realm
  • Quentin: Daione Sidhe, blind fosterling, page
  • May Daye: Toby's Fetch
  • Tybalt: Cait Sidhe, King of Cats, Toby's ally
  • Raj: a Prince of Cats and Tybalt's heir
  • Luidaeg: Firstborn, sea witch, resides in San Francisco
  • Lily: Undine, Lady of the Tea Gardens
  • Acacia: Firstborn, Luna's mother

Antagonists[]

  • Blind Michael: Firstborn, stealer of children, Luna's father
  • Blind Michael’s Riders / The Wild Hunt: Stolen fae children transformed into monstrous creatures and act as Blind Michael's eyes

Minor[]

Mentioned[]

  • Rayseline Torquill: Daione Sidhe, Sylvester and Luna's daughter, Connor's wife
  • Kerry: Hob changeling and Toby's friend
  • Hoshibara: Kitsune. Luna stole her skin and identity centuries ago to escape Blind Michael.
  • Amandine: Daoine Sidhe, Toby's mother
  • Oberon, Titania, and Maeve: The creators of Faerie, long missing
  • Janet: a legend of Faerie

Places[]

Continuity[]

Debts[]

  • Toby and Tybalt settle their debt over the hope chest[2], and Tybalt implies that he now owes Toby for the extent of her service
  • Toby enters a new debt with the Luidaeg to get help entering Blind Michael’s lands...multiple times.

Current Book[]

  • Toby uses Dare’s silver dagger[2], with the addition of Acacia’s iron dagger, to kill Blind Michael.
  • This is the third car of Toby's that's been destroyed, yet another VW Bug.[2][3]
  • Toby dreams the scent/taste of ashes, which is May's magical signature.

Previous Books[]

  • Toby's jacket was given to her by Tybalt.[3]

Future Books[]

MAJOR SPOILERS!

  • The Luidaeg calls Toby a child of Oberon [4]
  • Blind Michael recognizes Toby as Amandine's bastard daughter" [4]
  • Just...so many Amandine references. By Luna and Sylvester, the Luidaeg...
  • Janet interrupted Maeve’s Ride in the Ballad of Tam Lin.[5] October sings of this in "a song about a woman named Janet and the white horse her lover rode" while under Blind Michael's thrall.
  • Toby mentions that interracial dating is especially frowned upon in the Court of Cats[6]
  • The Luidaeg makes a point to tell Toby that only silver and iron combined can kill a Firstborn.
  • “He wasn’t a god, and I was glad. I can handle purebloods and Firstborn. I can’t handle gods.”[7]
  • Killing a pureblood Fae such as Blind Michael earns a death sentence in Faerie.[4]

Quotes[]

Culture References[]

  • "locks fair daylight away, and makes himself an artificial night" -Shakespeare
    • Refers to Blind Michael and his Realm
  • "I'm not Orpheus. I'm not that easy to trick." -Greek Mythology
    • Orpheus, too, had to rescue his loved one from the underworld, but he was tricked into looking back and lost her.
    • Toby is ordered not to look back while on the Babylon and Rose Roads.

Concerning Toby[]

  • "You are the most passively suicidal person I've ever met." (Luidaeg)
  • “The urge to smack you until you stop doing stupid things to yourself is at the top of the [to-do] list.” (Tybalt)
  • “Heroes never listen. That's why they're heroes.”
  • “It’s not that I enjoy surprising everyone I know; it’s more that I almost never know where I’m going before I actually get there.”
  • “Sometimes I think I’m getting trigger-happy. Then I think of how many things have tried to kill me and I wonder why it’s taken this long for the paranoia to kick in.”

Concerning Childhood[]

  • “Children's games are stronger than you remember once you've grown up and left them behind. They're always fair, and never kind.”
  • “That’s all childhood is, after all: strong arms to hold back the dark, a story to keep the shadows dancing, and a candle to mark the long journey into day.”
  • “Sometimes I envy kids for the way they dismiss the things that don’t matter. They still get bogged down in details, but at least they’re different details.”

Concerning the Fae[]

  • “Are the fae ever sane? We live in a world that isn't there half the time. We claim that windmills are giants, and because we say it, it's true. Our lives become myth and legend, until even we can't tell what we truly are from what we're told we ought to be. How can we live that way and be considered sane?" (Acacia)
  • "Never rush anyone who's personally experienced continental drift."
  • “It made sense the same way everything in Faerie does: sideways and upside down, like looking in an underwater mirror.”

Miscellaneous[]

  • “Just once, I want to meet the villain in a cheerful, brightly lit room. Possibly one with kittens.”
  • “How many miles to Babylon? Three-score and ten. Can I get there by candle-light? Yes, there and back again. If your heels are nimble and light, You will get there by candle-light”
  • Forever is a long time. You have to burn the edges of memory onto your heart, or they can fade, and sometimes the second loss is worse than the first one.”
  • “I need to hold someone, and you need to be held. It’s a fair trade. Just for a little while, and then we can go back to being what we are.” (Luidaeg)
  • "Sometimes your sense of honor confuses the hell out of me."
  • “Love is a powerful thing; it makes us all equals by making us briefly, beautifully human.”
  • “There’s nothing more stubborn than youth, with the possible exception of old age.”
  • “If you wish to find your answers, you’ll need to begin thinking, not merely reacting" (Lily)
  • “Answers are bitter things, and once you get them, they’re yours and you can’t give them back."
  • “We can’t save them if they don’t want to be saved. It doesn’t work that way.”
  • “Their eyes were blank and hollow, like the eyes of refugees running from a war they didn’t understand and couldn’t escape. There were no tears. The time for tears was past."
  • “If something looks like it’s going to be simple, it probably won’t be.”

An Artificial Night Quotes ~ GR

References[]

Trivia[]

  • Acacia was not in the original outline for the book, and when she was added it "changed everything."[1]
  • McGuire on Twitter: "AN ARTIFICIAL NIGHT literally started as a dream of a cartoon"[2]

External References[]

Pages for book:

Content References: 

Reviews:

October Daye Series
Novels
Rosemary and RueA Local HabitationAn Artificial NightLate EclipsesOne Salt SeaAshes of HonorChimes at MidnightThe Winter LongA Red-Rose ChainOnce Broken FaithThe Brightest FellNight and SilenceThe Unkindest TideA Killing FrostWhen Sorrows ComeBe the SerpentSleep No MoreThe Innocent Sleep
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Strangers in Court (R&R) • Never Shines the Sun (CAM) • Full of BriarsDreams and Slumbers (OBF) • Of Things Unknown (TBF) • Suffer a Sea-Change (NAS) • Hope is Swift (TUT) • Shine in Pearl (AKF) • And With Reveling (WSC) • Such Dangerous Seas (BTS) • Candles and Starlight (SNM)
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