This was a gem of an Urban Fantasy read, one that I had been eyeing up for a long time, so I'm thrilled I finally set about getting myself a copy and This was a gem of an Urban Fantasy read, one that I had been eyeing up for a long time, so I'm thrilled I finally set about getting myself a copy and reading this book.
Adam Binder is from the wrong side of the tracks. He has grown up poor, lives in a trailer, and has The Sight, but not much of it - he's not as powerful a witch as many other practitioners. He also knows that his abilities run in his family, and he suspects that it came from his father's side. That's complicated because his father's parenting skills leave a lot to be desired. His mother is a cigarette-smoking, coffee-drinking, Bible-toting monster (in my opinion), and her actions make you wonder exactly which side of the family carries the witchery gene.
As you read through the story, Adam's abilities, although seemingly not powerful, are incredible nonetheless. I'd be interested in seeing what a regular witch can do! Spirit Walking is of fair importance, as is seeing 'beyond the veil' and into the Spirit Realm. It's hard to describe, but think of another dimension overlaid on top of our own world, and then fill that extra dimension with elves, gnomes, trolls, manticores, incredible beasts, ghosts, and reapers. It's truly a fantastical arena.
Slayton has taken bits and pieces from neo-paganism - dare I say Wiccan - belief systems and twisted them up a little. The Guardians of the Watchtowers was my absolute favorite bit. Throw in some conspiracy theories regarding lizard people, some spellcraft on binding, magical objects (like luck giving pool cues), and there you have White Trash Warlock.
Did I mention Adam is gay? Adam is also a crafty mechanic, blending his own brand of willpower(magic) into his car repairs. This was a nice divergence of stereotypes - gay guys aren't often thought of as mechanical - a silly assumption - but it still made me stop and go, "Cool." In attempting to assist his brother - the one who threw him into a mental ward - Adam ends up finding a boyfriend in Vicente Martinez, a cop. A cop who gets himself shot. Adam saves the day, but how is does it teeters on the delicate but sharp blade of grey magic.
In the end, it would seem that Death herself has had a critical part to play in this adventure from its very beginnings. Won't give anything more than that away - suffice it to say the book has its twists and turns, fresh takes on magic, and at times almost had me thinking this was more fantasy than urban.
Book two - Trailer Park Trickster is coming out next month. You can be sure I'll be placing my pre-order for this sequel. I know Adam and Vic will continue their adventure, and it will assuredly be as much of an emotionally complicated hot mess and gloriously magical as the first....more
M.D. Neu has done it again! You may recall that I read and reviewed his vampire novel, The Calling. Although both The Calling and A Dragon for ChristmM.D. Neu has done it again! You may recall that I read and reviewed his vampire novel, The Calling. Although both The Calling and A Dragon for Christmas would both fall into my definition of Urban Fantasy, A Dragon for Christmas is unabashedly sweet, with just enough sadness to make it a perfect Christmas Story.
And yes, before you get all "but it's April - why are you reading Christmas stories?", let me just say that a good Christmas story is good at any point of the year. Like who doesn't want Christmas in July, or October, or even April. So there. Deal. (I'm looking at you right now with a cocked eyebrow. That's a challenge for you to defy me and tell me I'm wrong. Go ahead, do it...)
I digress.
As I've said many times before, I don't like giving away a story's twists and turns, but I have to spill a little bit of the beans on this one. Neu has written this story from the perspective of an eleven-year-old girl. It is uncomplicated and straight to the point - just like any other girl would be at this age. The words aren't big, the concepts aren't twisted, and big grown-up problems aren't addressed - but we see them. We see it all through the eyes of Carmen who is honest, optimistic, but sometimes moody. (Just like every eleven-year-old girl I have known!).
You see, Carmen is cursed. We're never really told what that curse is, or how she got it, but that is the reality. The only thing that will help her is by having a dragon of her very own. There are many things that cursed children have to do in order to obtain their dragon, and Carmen is on that journey.
You can't help but make some comparisons to kids with cancer, or other life-threatening diseases, and it pulls at the heartstrings.
In Neu's world, Dragon's carry potent magic, and it is that magic that staves off curses. Hence, Carmen needs her own dragon to be healthy. Dragons, it would seem, are abundant in nature (I wish!). In fact, I was delighted with Neu's portrayal of the flying lizards. With common names like Blue Bottom, Yellow-Tip, and Canadian Whites, you would think we were talking about various subspecies of finches, not dragons. By the way, I have to say I was pleasantly tickled by the Canadian Whites. Living in the Great White North myself, it currently being April, and with snow still on the ground, I thought Canadian dragons being white, and of course, I would assume ice-liking, was perfect. I can only extrapolate from that concept that Canadian dragons only appear in the winter, and hibernate during the summer, or perhaps migrate to either the Arctic or the Antarctic where they live out their days in glacial snow valleys and polar ice caps.
But again, I digress.
Carmen, our cursed little girl, relies on her best friend Mattie in order to get her through her struggles. Also of note, in Neu's world, same-sex pairings are the norm. It's a matter of fact. No one makes a big deal out of it. And Carmen has made it very clear that she loves Mattie, and one day, the two will marry.
That's all I'm going to tell you. You'll just have to read the rest yourself. But even though there are images that will make you feel sad, the hope and promise of getting a Dragon for Christmas, in order to cure Carmen of her curse will make you zip through this short story with the wild abandon of a Blue Bottom dragon.