Denver Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club

WAR FOR THE OAKS
by
EMMA BULL
War for the Oaks tp War for the Oaks (1987, 2001)
A contemporary / urban fantasy

Tor Orb trade 2001 paperback
332 pages with new appendix
jacket photos Photonica/Photodisc (left)

Ace fantasy special 1987 paperback
309 pages
cover art by Pamela Patrick (right)		 War for the Oaks pb
From the back cover of the 2001 edition:
       Eddi McCandry sings rock and roll. But her boyfriend just dumped her, her band just broke up, and life could hardly be worse. Then, walking home through downtown Minneapolis on a dark night, she finds herself drafted into an invisible war between the faerie folk. Now, more than her own survival is at risk -- and her own preferences, musical and personal, are very much beside the point.

From the back cover of the 1987 edition:
       A terrible beauty walks among us for those with the power to see it: glittering creatures with unearthly eyes, horrid hobgoblins that squat in the shadows. The people of modern Minneapolis go about their daily business unaware that a war is being fought in their midst -- an age old war between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Only Eddi McCandry can see the battle lines being drawn -- for she's been drafted into a fairy war, whether she wants to fight or not.

Read for group discussion on September 12, 2001
RATINGS:
How we each rated this book
Dan 8 Amy 8 stack of books 10   Wow! Don't miss it
8-9  Highly recommended
7    Recommended
5-6  Mild recommendation
3-4  Take your chances
1-2  Below average; skip it
0    Get out the flamethrower!
U    Unfinishable or unreadable
-    Skipped or no rating given
Cheri 8 Barb 6
Aaron - Cynthia 6
Jackie 6.5 Ron 7
Our book group has also read the following books by Emma Bull:
-- Finder  in August 1995
-- Territory  in April 2009
Bibliography:
Emma Bull (1954-    ) is a US writer and musician.

Awards
1987 Locus Award for Best First Novel for War for the Oaks

Her science fiction books are Falcon (1989) and Bone Dance: A Fantasy for Technophiles (1991).  Bone Dance was nominated for the Hugo Award.

Finder: A Novel of the Borderlands (1994) is a fantasy.

She collaborated with Steven Brust on Freedom & Necessity (1997) which is a historical fantasy / mystery novel.

Territory (2007) is a fantasy novel set in Tombstone, Arizona.  Territory was nominated for The World Fantasy Award.

Emma Bull edited with her husband Will Shetterly, and contributed to, the shared world anthologies of Liavek.  There are five books in the series.
-- Liavek (1985)
-- Liavek: The Players of Luck (1986)
-- Liavek: Wizard's Row (1987)
-- Liavek: Spells of Binding (1988)
-- Liavek: Festival Week (1990)

Double Feature (1994, with Will Shetterly, limited edition) is a story collection.  The Princess and the Lord of Night (1994) is a children's book.

Emma Bull is Executive Producer and one of the writers for Shadow Unit.

Links:
Our book club's page for Territory by Emma Bull
Emma Bull - Wikipedia
Green Man Review: Emma Bull, The War for the Oaks
Shadow Unit

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 This page was last updated April 18, 2009