Helpful Score: 1
Classic urban fantasy. Musicians, warring faerie factions, big fun.
Helpful Score: 1
This is a beautifully written book that is both poetical and fantastical. liked the mix of music and magic. All the characters are well defined, and I especially liked Eddi, Willy and the phouka.
Helpful Score: 1
Really great fantasy read, one of my favorites. This is a story about a very normal woman having a bad day who gets stuck in the middle of a supernatural war. Never boring.
Helpful Score: 1
An urban fairytale set in downtown Minneapolis. At once edgy and lyrical, this is a novel that defies its genre.
The best book I've read in a while! Wonderful and clever wrighting. This novel was originally released in 1987, and the eights pop culture vibe (especially the fashion) is a lot of fun.
I found this book difficult to get into, so I ended up not finishing it. I don't know if it was the characters or the storyline but it wasn't for me.
Fun contemporary fantasy novel about a faerie war in St. Louis that entangles a young woman. Good, light read, and chock full of 80'sness (seriously, this book is bursting with the 80s)
While the context is definitely dated (late '80s), this book is well-written and, I'm sure, went a long way toward defining an entire genre. Worth the time for fans of urban fantasy/alternate realities.
This book was so cheesy and had some weird racial scenes, but it kept my interest. I enjoyed the faeries. And how can you not fall in love with a guy who looks like Prince and can turn into a dog? (I love dogs.)
Having seen this author pop up occasionally I made a mental note to check out her work. Interestingly, I chose this book which is said to be the novel that started urban fantasy. Some even call it an urban fantasy classic. Anyway i totally enjoyed the read even if it took place during the 1980s in Minneapolis and featured a rock and roll artist as heroine. (I am not a particular fan of rock and roll.)
Now to the book itself. Oaks combines adventure with music, fairies (fey), and romance. The key character is Eddi McCandry who plays a mean guitar and loves music particularly when she is playing with equally talented musicians. Her dream is to lead a band of her own.
Eddi is selected by the fey as the mortal who will bring determine the outcome of a battle between the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court. Obviously, if the Unseelie Court wins the outcome for the city and humans is dismal and dark. As this portion of the book continues we meet the Phouka, an interestingly eccentric character who gains her trust not to mention that he is an outstanding fighting partner. So the battle begins and the story unwinds. It's a fast moving read that I found difficult to put aside.
The writing is such that it pulls the reader along, page after page with wonderful analagies to create the atmosphere needed for the story. Eddi's emotions are key to much of the telling. Yes, I found this an outstanding read and can recommend it highly to readers of fantasy.
Now to the book itself. Oaks combines adventure with music, fairies (fey), and romance. The key character is Eddi McCandry who plays a mean guitar and loves music particularly when she is playing with equally talented musicians. Her dream is to lead a band of her own.
Eddi is selected by the fey as the mortal who will bring determine the outcome of a battle between the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court. Obviously, if the Unseelie Court wins the outcome for the city and humans is dismal and dark. As this portion of the book continues we meet the Phouka, an interestingly eccentric character who gains her trust not to mention that he is an outstanding fighting partner. So the battle begins and the story unwinds. It's a fast moving read that I found difficult to put aside.
The writing is such that it pulls the reader along, page after page with wonderful analagies to create the atmosphere needed for the story. Eddi's emotions are key to much of the telling. Yes, I found this an outstanding read and can recommend it highly to readers of fantasy.
Sharp, lucid and full of beautiful phrases, War for the Oaks is the sort of book you read and never forget. The best urban fantasy ever written, in my opinion.
A modern fantasy, enjoyable
very good
a sci fi fantasy with music and dark elves
I'm somewhere in between with this book.
First, the main girl, Eddi. She wasn't a blushing, stammering, stupid airhead; so far, so good. On occasion, she even had a bit of spine; yay! She was not, however, a particularly strong character, nor was she a memorable one. She was on the somewhat likeable end of tolerable.
The phouka was an amusing character, but his style of speech jarred me. It was for old-fashioned sounding, and maybe it was just because he got the most screen time in the book, but he seemed to speak in much more flowery way then any of the other character, including the other fey. At least his entertaining mood swings and magical wardrobe made up for that.
This book had romance, which I wasnt thrilled about. I still cant say that I enjoyed the romantic aspect, but at least it sorta made sense, so I could at least tolerate it in a necessary evil sort of way. Sounds cynical, I know, but considering how much I hate romance in books, this is actually high praise.
A lot of the plot, the action especially, felt lacking. First, a lot of it was predictable. Whether that was this authors fault or the fault of later authors that may have copied her, I dont know. Second, for a book that claims to be about a faerie war, theres a noticeable lack of fighting. Theres one horse-and-sword battle that lasts about one chapter, one hostage rescue, and a battle of the bands. What? The battles are more of a side note, the focus being on music and bands.
So, not bad, but not amazing and not quite my thing.
First, the main girl, Eddi. She wasn't a blushing, stammering, stupid airhead; so far, so good. On occasion, she even had a bit of spine; yay! She was not, however, a particularly strong character, nor was she a memorable one. She was on the somewhat likeable end of tolerable.
The phouka was an amusing character, but his style of speech jarred me. It was for old-fashioned sounding, and maybe it was just because he got the most screen time in the book, but he seemed to speak in much more flowery way then any of the other character, including the other fey. At least his entertaining mood swings and magical wardrobe made up for that.
This book had romance, which I wasnt thrilled about. I still cant say that I enjoyed the romantic aspect, but at least it sorta made sense, so I could at least tolerate it in a necessary evil sort of way. Sounds cynical, I know, but considering how much I hate romance in books, this is actually high praise.
A lot of the plot, the action especially, felt lacking. First, a lot of it was predictable. Whether that was this authors fault or the fault of later authors that may have copied her, I dont know. Second, for a book that claims to be about a faerie war, theres a noticeable lack of fighting. Theres one horse-and-sword battle that lasts about one chapter, one hostage rescue, and a battle of the bands. What? The battles are more of a side note, the focus being on music and bands.
So, not bad, but not amazing and not quite my thing.
