Wow.

Eddi McCandry is a singer in a rock and roll band that also includes her boyfriend and her best friend, until one early spring night it goes south. Her boyfriend, who has been becoming more and more odd, flips out, their current gig falls apart, and she finally leaves, the band and the boyfriend. And Eddi literally walks home... and her life takes a wild left turn when she is grabbed by a phouka to be a part of a war between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts of Faerie. Her presence as a mortal on the battlefield will allow the combatants, otherwise immortal, to be able to kill each other dead (not something I've ever heard of in fantasy before, but convincingly presented)... She is taken to stand on the side of the Seelie Court, and of course once the Unseelie hears about it they will be out to kill her as a blow to their enemy... In order to protect her, the same phouka who chose her and snatched her is set to protect her. Day and night. Every minute. For the entire six months the war is expected to last. Eddi is not best pleased by any part of this situation - but, once chosen and revealed to the Court, she has no choice; she is marked as the mortal representative, and even if the Seelie Court let her go, the Unseelie Court would assume it was a ploy to misdirect them and kill her anyway. She's stuck. And the phouka is driving her crazy.

Those are the bones of the story. What the book is really about is want. It's about wanting what is needed to survive, and wanting what is needed to live; wanting what will make life better, wanting what is not good for you, wanting what you can never have, wanting something which, attained, isn't what you thought it was... Every person in this book desires something, or someone, or both... Yearning weaves through the pages like the weft of a tapestry, sometimes subliminal and sometimes plainly stated.

I knew by the first page that this was what I was looking for: beautiful, unique characters; tight, lyric yet down-to-earth writing, a view of Faerie which is the writer's own spin on tradition ... and an ending that does everything an ending should. Gorgeous. ( )

The premise: Eddi McCandry is a rock-and-roll girl who drops out of her band and breaks up with her boyfriend all in one night. To make matters worse, on her way home, she's chased by a crazy man and his dog. Once they have her cornered, she learns the crazy man IS the dog, and that she's been selected by the faerie to be a vital part in a coming battle. Eddi doesn't want a thing to do with it, but she doesn't have much choice. The story that unfolds is full of Eddi coming to terms with this new, magical, but frightening world she's been pulled into, and the world of rock-and-roll she's always loved.

My Rating

Must Have: but this is very, very close to a "keeper shelf." That's how much I loved this book. And that's saying something, because you know I'm so very tired of faeries, but this book is above and beyond them all, even those series that I love. I think every single author writing urban fantasy/paranormal romance owes their career to this book, to say nothing of those writing about faeries. For a book that's over twenty-years old, it's still beautiful, engaging, and a must-read for anyone who's a fan of the urban fantasy genre, and it's really a MUST for anyone who wants to write (or is writing) in the genre. Trust me, it's fun to compare what Bull was doing twenty years ago to what's popular now. It's similarities and differences that are just delightful to look at. And this is also one of the many fantastic examples of balancing the fantasy elements with the urban setting. It really is. I loved this book so much that when I finished it, I promptly ordered Emma Bull's Bone Dance off Amazon. If that doesn't say something, I don't know what will. I thank the readers of for selecting this for our very first book challenge, because I don't know when I would've gotten around to this otherwise. It's worth the read. It is. I can't stress that enough.

Review Style: the hard thing about WAITING to review a book is it becomes harder to remember details, so this review will be of the stream-of-conscious variety, and it will contain spoilers. If spoilers bother you, just skip to the "My Rating" section of the review, and you'll be good to go. :) For those of you who participated in the September challenge, there's questions within the review that I'd love your feedback on, so don't be afraid to comment (or disagree with me!).

Also, the review includes a recommended reading list of urban fantasy that isn't of the Buffy-Lit variety, so if you want to see what OTHER authors are doing under the bigger umbrella (authors like Neil Gaiman and China Miéville), check it out!

Remember, the full review does contain spoilers. If that doesn't bother you, feel free to hop over to my LJ! As always, comments and discussion are most welcome!

REVIEW: Emma Bull's WAR FOR THE OAKS

Happy Reading! ( )

A Real Keeper: This is a book that should be put prominitly on your keeper shelf. Emma Bull is an outstanding author and this is a great read. I highly reccomnd this book. I totally enjoyed reading it. As a matter of fact, I am writing this after reading it for the 3rd time!. Read,enjoy, and keep ths book.

The War for the Oaks is one of my favorite fantasy reads. I really enjoy the juxtaposition yet complimentary aspects of mundane contemporary life and the strange, alien world of the supernatural fairies that seem to lurk just out of everyday perception. I have always liked the subtle mix of the fantastical and the commonplace, and I think that Emma Bull does it very well here, marrying these contradictory themes into a cohesive (and compelling) whole. One of the earlier works in the genre of “urban fantasy,” “The War for the Oaks” (Bull’s first novel) expertly weaves together many threads into an entertaining plot; Celtic folklore, rock music, and love, all under the backdrop of a lovingly described 1980s Minneapolis.
Telling the story of down on her luck musician Eddi McCandry and her sudden and frightening introduction of the warring bands of Fey, the Seelie and the Unseelie courts who each hope to take the Twin Cities for their own side. The normally immortal beings need a mortal witness to make their battles fatal and heighten the stakes of their centuries old conflict. Bull draws heavily on Celtic folklore to really bring her fairies to life, making them feel authentically ancient and otherworldly and yet playful in their interpretations of modern life.
The characters, both mortal and fey alike are very well drawn, likeable, and believable and as much detail is put into the practice of Eddi’s band, and though I have know musical experience seemed to bring further authenticity to the work. The action however is very dated to the 1980s with its outrageous fashion and the Minneapolis Sound in music highly evident, which I personally enjoyed but others may find jarring. Some of the shifts in romantic relationships may also become a bit clichéd in certain segments, but for the most part the characters remain quite real.
In addition, Bull makes the setting of the Twin Cities into a character itself; it definitely appears to be a tribute to Minneapolis and Minnesota in general, and I really can’t think of a better city for a story like this to take place in. To me the Twin Cities, with its parks, lakes, rivers, glittering skyline and mix of cultures, seem perfect for urban fantasy and Bull utilizes this setting to the fullest, drawing in local landmarks from Minnehaha Creek to the Como Conservatory (and of course, First Avenue).
“The War for the Oaks” really works for me as one of the best depictions I’ve seen of the culture of the Twin Cities and really works in the themes of urban fantasy very well, making it almost difficult to tell when the “urban” ends and the “fantasy” begins. I highly recommend the novel to anyone interested in urban fantasy, folklore, rock music, or the Twin Cities as a setting, and though it may be a little too ‘80s for some, Bull has created a truly nice summer read. ( )

This book is a very strong argument as to why frequent, extended descriptions of what the characters are wearing is a bad idea: not only is it unnecessary, a lot of the time, but it makes the book feel very dated. The fact that the descriptions are of what was fashionable in the late Eighties is even worse: people actually wore that? With shoulder-pads? Oh my. Similarly: ixnay on the awful rock lyrics.

Anyway, I read War for the Oaks because I had heard so many people describe it as a classic of the genre. Liked the Phouka a lot, didn't mind Eddi overly much (she wasn't annoying, though her increasingly Mary Sue qualities made me roll my eyes just a bit as the book progressed), thought their eventual romance made things a bit too treacly. It was certainly enjoyable, and a quick read, but I don't think I'd call it a classic—perhaps more of a pioneer? I've read things by, say, Gaiman, who have taken on the same themes and roughly the same settings, and haven't left me feeling frustrated by things left hinted at or never explored. (Why the hell have two European fairy courts taken up residence in Minneapolis, of all places? What happened to the native magic of the place? Because I can't imagine it not having an existence before us white folks.) ( )