This is one of the foundational books of urban fantasy, and it's written in sort of the same style that Charles de Lint uses in his Newford series -- it's quieter, more literary, more thoughtful (even as it jams its way through the eyes of a rock band) than the cliched urban fantasy with the exhausted, broke noir private eye we're accustomed to. I have to admit I spent a great deal of time copying quotes from this to various friends; I just loved the writing. Very cool. Glad I finally got around to reading this. :) ( )

Bull's book is great because she uses the Faerie, like Shakespeare before her, for an extended metaphor on art and imagination. Lesser authors get snagged on the boring surface details of the genre -- inscrutable Court politics and elvish surprise at the high price of eggs -- but Bull never gets distracted from the human element. Eddi's music is fundamentally more interesting than the brownie cleaning her kitchen, and Bull keeps these elements in proper proportion.

It's not a perfect book. It tends to dramatically compress long stretches of time, which distorts the way certain characters are growing and changing. In particular, the phouka -- Eddi's crafty dog/man bodyguard -- goes from seeing Eddi as a convenient tool to "My God! HU-MANS HAVE FEELINGS TOO!" In about thirty pages. His new-found empathy comes off as a little abrupt.

On the other hand, it's hard for me to be harsh on the phouka as the phouka is such a brilliant character. The phouka refers to Eddi as his "primrose." The phouka makes puns. The phouka is the best character in the book. To be honest, the phouka was the source of my squealing. My inner eight-year-old loved the phouka and his verbosely uncomfortable relationship with Eddi. I liked the psychological insights of the text, but my inner eight-year-old gives the phouka two thumbs up. And a hug. ( )

I enjoyed the concept, loved some of the descriptive bits. ( )

I'd never heard of this book until last week and, lo, the bookstore had a ton of copies of this newer edition sitting everywhere, like they got overstocked and where trying to get rid of it. It's hard for me to believe that such an incredible novel that is so relevant to my interests, and is nearly as old as I am, could have gone so unknown to me until mere chance intervened.

This book is a wonderful urban fantasy that can be even more appreciated by music lovers. It's multi-leveled and has great dialogue and character interactions that have you entranced from cover to cover. One reading has set it in my favourites pile.

It was originally published for teens but I feel it's more adult, not in context but in writing. It's very mature and just very well written. This is not for typical lovers of the S. Meyer brand of romance fantasy but a more developed reader. ( )

Eddi McCandry breaks up with her boyfriend and leaves his band only to become involved with the Seelie Court. She is chosen as their mortal representative in their war with the Unseelie Court over turf in Minneapolis. At the same time, she's putting together a new band while guarded by a phouka who helps her navigate her new world.
This is one of the first books in the Urban Fantasy genre and the winner of a Locus Award. The story relies heavily on Celtic folklore for the creatures of the Courts while set in an urban real world. While the music references are slightly dated (more for younger readers than me), the story also incorporates music as a type of magic. Speaking of Eddi:
“She has her own glamour, Willy lad. All poets do, all the bards and artists, all the musicians who truly take the music into their own hearts. They all straddle the border of Faerie, and they see into both worlds. Not dependably into either, perhaps, but that uncertainty keeps them honest and at a distance.”
The characters, both human and magical, are intriguing and interesting. The humans are rock glam musicians for the most part and I love how they contribute to the music and the band. The magical characters rely on tradition like the works of Lord Dunsany or Tam Lin, a solid foundation for fantasy writing. My special favorite is Hairy Meg, a brownie who becomes friends with Eddi.
If you like urban fantasy writers like Charles de Lint or Patricia McKillip, this is definitely a book you should read. ( )