It would have been CRAZY. It is made for fanfic and fan art and OTPing. I am a little in love with this book that I was so fortunate to receive in the book exchange from JS. The War for the Oaks is one of the first urban fantasies published in 1987; it is set in Minneapolis in the 80s, centring on a musician named Eddi who finds herself getting out of both a bad relationship and a bad band, and falling into the middle […]
A novel of the Borderlands
I love those classic novels that stick with you for years, that may even change your perspective on life–especially if you read them when you’re younger. I saw that Finder (1994) by Emma Bull was recommended as unforgettable, and I thought it might just be one of those books. Finder is a novel of the Borderlands. Bull has set up her story where there is the world we know as well as an Elvish land full of magic and fairies. Inbetween these two places is the Borderland, a […]
Welcome to the 80s
If I was writing this review back when I’d read this book the first time, I would have given it a firm 5 stars and been proselytizing it all over the place. It was the first urban fantasy I’d ever encountered, and the story really got me as a college aged writing major. With that being said, I did a close-read on it for my MFA, and d*mn those close readings for ruining a book I have such fond memories of! This is not to […]
“I’m a bullet that thinks for itself, and I want to know what I’m being shot at.”
War for the Oaks is widely considered to be the establishing foundation of the urban fantasy genre. Setting a war between the Seelie and Unseelie (or, Light and Dark) Courts of the Fae in modern-day Minneapolis (or, at least, modern in 1987, when this was written,) Emma Bull established a paradigm. One: in contemporary times, in recognizable places, there are intersecting magical realms and accompanying magical beings that are invisible to most humans. Two: certain humans have an aptitude for magic, even if they haven’t […]