Dreams and Shadows

Starred review from November 12, 2012
In this beautifully written debut, Ain’t It Cool News Web site contributor Cargill chronicles the friendship and adventures of Ewan, stolen as a baby by the fairy–goblin crossbreeds called Bendith Y Mamau, and Colby, an eight-year-old who encounters a djinn, with an unhurried storyteller style that provides total immersion. The two boys travel from the faerie lands known as the Limestone Kingdom, a realm filled with creatures of myth—Coyote, changelings, the Wild Hunt, and more—to Austin, Tex., where they must learn to navigate the often treacherous path to adulthood. Legends and faerie lore are given a dark urban twist with a raw, honest, sometimes violent edge. The universe is richly detailed, and issues of destiny and sacrifice give the story depth. Readers with delicate sensibilities should leave this one for those who enjoy a roller-coaster ride into the depths of strangeness and despair. Agent: Peter McGuigan, Foundry Literary + Media.

June 1, 2013

A child stolen away by the fairies is one of the oldest stories in fantasy, but in this debut, it is only the beginning of the tale. Ewan was taken as a baby to the Limestone Kingdom, where he was raised as a half-wild fairy creature and never told of the destiny that awaited him. Colby is another human child who encounters a djinn and makes a wish to see all the magical things that are normally veiled from human eyes. The fates of the two children are intertwined as they try to save Ewan from the forces of the Limestone Kingdom and the Wild Hunt. VERDICT Cargill shows us hard-drinking angels, jealous changelings, and trickster spirits in a brilliant modern fairy tale that is dark, bloody, and populated with creatures trapped by their own natures. (LJ 11/15/12)

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.