Emma Bull's debut novel, War for the Oaks, placed her in the top tier of urban fantasists and established a new subgenre. Unlike most of the rock & rollin' fantasies that have ripped off Ms. Bull's concept, War for the Oaks is well worth reading. Intelligent and skillfully written, with sharply drawn, sympathetic characters, War for the Oaks is about love and loyalty, life and death, and creativity and sacrifice.

Eddi McCandry has just left her boyfriend and their band when she finds herself running through the Minneapolis night, pursued by a sinister man and a huge, terrifying dog. The two creatures are one and the same: a phouka, a faerie being who has chosen Eddi to be a mortal pawn in the age-old war between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Eddi isn't interested--but she doesn't have a choice. Now she struggles to build a new life and new band when she might not even survive till the first rehearsal.

War for the Oaks won the Locus Magazine award for Best First Novel and was a finalist for the Mythopoeic Society Award. Other books by Emma Bull include the novels Falcon, Bone Dance (second honors, Philip K. Dick Award), Finder (a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award), and (with Stephen Brust) Freedom and Necessity; the collection Double Feature (with Will Shetterly); and the picture book The Princess and the Lord of Night. --Cynthia Ward


From Publishers Weekly
Originally published by Ace in 1987, this reprint of a minor fantasy cult classic should attract new readers with its appealing and unusual blend of the world of rock and roll performers with the coexistent world of Faerie. Guitarist and singer Eddi McCandry has just left a floundering band and is organizing a new one when a phouka, a man who at times is a talking dog, becomes her guardian at the behest of the Faerie Folk. Eddi soon finds herself involved with warring Faerie groups, the Seelie Court and its noble queen versus the Unseelie Court, ruled by the evil Queen of Air and Darkness. The Seelie Court has chosen Eddi because there's "power in a mortal soul that all of Faerie cannot muster." Eddi's tart humor helps lend reality. When the phouka says, "Forth to honor and glory," she responds, "Get stuffed." For many readers, the fey qualities of the wispy fantasy may be enough; Eddi even labels her new band Eddi and the Feys. The strength of the novel, however, is in the nonfantasy scenes. These demonstrate a sure knowledge of rock music and the field, and contribute to the climax, a struggle between Eddi and the dark queen at a concert. In an appendix of special interest to fans, Bull (Bone Dance, etc.) includes excerpts of a screenplay version of the book she and her husband, Will Shetterly, wrote. A film appears an unlikely bet, but the author's prose portrayal of Faerie infringing on the real world remains an imaginative triumph. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Review
“A contemporary fantasy classic.”—Publishers Weekly

“Emma Bull is really good.”—Neil Gaiman

“One of the most engaging fantasies I’ve read in a long time.” —Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“Knifes through the fantasy genre like a sharp blade of wind.” —Charles de Lint



Book Description
“A contemporary fantasy classic.”—Publishers Weekly

Guitarist Eddi McCandry has just dumped her boyfriend and their band when she finds herself running through the Minneapolis night, pursued by a sinister man and a huge, terrifying dog. As she soon discovers, the two creatures are one and the same: a phouka, a faerie being who has chosen Eddi to be the mortal pawn in the age-old war between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Eddi isn't interested--but she doesn't have a choice. For more than her own survival is at stake. To save the city--and the man--that she loves, Eddi must face off against the Dark Queen of the Unseelie Court in the ultimate duel of music and magic.

“Emma Bull is really good.”—Neil Gaiman

“One of the most engaging fantasies I’ve read in a long time.”—Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“Knifes through the fantasy genre like a sharp blade of wind.”—Charles de Lint

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
An original blend of modern music and magic in a contemporary urban setting, Emma Bull's novel is exceptional in its portrayal of a faerie world that exists alongside our own. It's even more extraordinary for the way it manages to find magic in everyday life. Musician Eddi McCandry has reached a crossroads in her life. She just broke up with her boyfriend and has decided to quit the band she plays for. Things could be worse -- her boyfriend was a creep, and the band was mostly out of work -- but they could be better, too. Eddi's money is running low, and the idea of a regular job repels her. She seeks options, wondering whether it would better to abandon her hopes and dreams or risk it all for one last chance at stardom.

At this juncture there appears a phouka, a being that alternately assumes the form of a dog and a man. This fantastic -- and frequently annoying -- creature informs Eddi she's to play a vital role in the upcoming battle between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. The phouka turns Eddi's reality upside down just as she's trying to pull together the pieces of her life. And things are about to get even worse: A battle is meaningless without loss; victory in war is impossible when no one dies. Eddi Chandry is an ordinary mortal, chosen to bring her mortality to a battlefield of immortals -- and neither side is particularly happy about it. (Joel Feigenbaum)

FROM THE PUBLISHER