Working with Fairies
Magick, Spells, Potions, & Recipes to Attract & See Them
Anna Franklin
Career Press, 2006
256 Pages

If you've seen any New Age spellbook, you've seen this one. The formula is pretty standard, with a few chapters of somewhat breathless and very much unreferenced recounting of general fairy lore ranging from Shakespeare to generic folklore, jumping from culture to continent. It's a nice summary of beliefs in other races that co-habit with humans, but in the light of such works as Hutton's "Triumph of the Moon", it frankly lacks scholarship.

The Pickup Artist
Terry Bisson,
Tor Books, 240pp, 2001

An odd twist on the world of Farenheit 451, the story follows a Federal agent charged with gathering creative works that have been banned by an agency purging the public cannon in order to inspire new creativity. Intrigued by a Hank Williams record scheduled for removal which brings back childhood memory, he soon finds himself on the run and in pursuit of the mysterious "Alexandrians" who smuggle illegal copies of banned works. A parallel story follows the global plot to implement this system, with ties to terrorism and thinly veiled references to Howard Hughes and Bill Gates.

This conclusion of "The Tawny Man" trilogy also serves as a sort of conclusion to Hobb's other series, the "Farseer Trilogy" as well as the Live Ship" trilogy. The world she built in the "Live Ships" is the setting for both "Farseer" and "Tawny Man". "Farseer" deals with the youth and struggles of royal bastard Fitz Chivalry, taken in by his family's entourage as Royal Assassin. "Tawny Man" follows his career as an adult and explores his relationship with the King's Fool, a prophetic and other-ly being.

While the "Live Ships" at times strayed pretty far into the "Boddice Ripper" romance genre, the latter two trilogies have not done so as badly. They do make heavy use of that genre's technique of artificial conflict. Fitz has many secrets that he will not share, many conflicts caused by a sense of honor that makes no sense to the reader. We are tempted to pick him up, shake him, and say "talk to them!" about any number of deep misunderstandings.

Margaret Baker
1974
David & Charles, Netwon Abbot, Devon, England
Rowan & Littlefield
Totowa, New Jersey
ISBN 0-87471-549-0

183pp

Ms Baker compiled an exhaustive survey of country customs and lore, using sources dating back to the 1800’s, including personal recollections. While this assembly is impressive in it’s breadth, little has been done to categorize these traditions according to their possible practicality or effectiveness, their relevance to or origin in a particular location, or even very effectively by topic.