β Scribed by Wen Spencer
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Wit and intelligence inform this off-beat, tongue-in-cheek fantasy from Spencer (Alien Taste, etc.), set in near-future Pittsburgh-or rather, the part of Pittsburgh that's been translated to the Faerie world of Elfhome by a faulty hyperphase gate created by the Chinese. After 18-year-old tech genius Tinker saves Windwolf, the elven governor of North America on Elfhome, from a pack of nasty wargs, Windwolf in gratitude turns her into an elf and makes her his consort. In her new and important position, Tinker becomes the target for a conspiracy of humans, elves and oni (Japanese demons that control their own part of Faerie) who are trying to build another gate for use in conquering Earth and Elfhome. Furious action, including a memorable car chase, good characterization, playful eroticism and well-developed folklore all help lift this well above the fantasy average. The routine jacket art, of an elven biological dirigible, probably won't help, but Buffy fans should find a lot to like in the book's resourceful heroine. FYI: Spencer has won the 2003 John W. Campbell Best New Writer Award.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Spencer's latest novel is as imaginative and weird as usual for him, and it makes the same effective use of her old hometown, Pittsburgh, as a setting. This time a part of early-twenty-first-century Pittsburgh is taken through an interdimensional gate into Elfland. Tinker, a young orphan who runs a salvage yard in the city, rescues the local elvenlord from assassins, and thereafter finds herself entangled in a magnificent web of romance; plots involving humans, elves, and oni (Japanese demons); and a race to build another gate by means of which the oni can conquer both Earth and Elfland. Spencer's intertwining of current Earth technology and otherworldly elven magic is quite ingenious. But the whole novel possesses ebullient humor, and even the sex is entertaining, though there may be rather a lot of it for some readers' taste. The book ends with a cliffhanger, so Spencer is clearly kicking off another series. Most readers of this book will consider that good news. Roland Green
Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved
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