Thomcat
10/14/2025
Solid contemporary fantasy, not available as an e-book (interlibrary loan to the rescue!). Rumors are that the author may be revising it or writing a sequel.
There are many great characters here. The main character is a lute-playing driver of an aging Volkswagen bus who does odd jobs. The scene is California and the framing is an early version of the Society for Creative Anachronism - folks that dress up and fight with medieval weapons. Add in real magic and/or time travel and things get very interesting. Beagle's lyrical writing and wry observations let me feel like I was there.
I didn't read this in one sitting, and the plethora of SCA characters got jumbled in my head. Various musicians were introduced but didn't seem to go anywhere. I also wonder if there was a thread of reference that I missed, especially connected to the dog, Briseis. I wanted more from biker Julie Tanikawa.
Would absolutely read a rewritten or updated version, or a sequel. Coming soon - a reread of Beagle's most famous book.