Territory

Starred review from May 28, 2007
World Fantasy–finalist Bull (War for the Oaks
) takes huge chances and achieves something distinctively wonderful with this subtle reworking of a western legend. The taming of Tombstone, Ariz., by Wyatt Earp, his brothers and their pal Doc Holliday is a cherished American myth of stoic heroism. Bull approaches the story from a different angle, considering matters that may or may not have escaped Wyatt’s chilly attention. When tough-minded widow Mildred Benjamin and drifter Jesse Fox realize that dark magic is manipulating people for a sorcerer’s selfish ends, they must decide what they can and should do about it, in the process discovering who they truly are. Mixing fantasy with Old West lore is risky, but Bull takes time to make the place and the people real before undeniably supernatural forces appear. The magic is less flashy than in many fantasy novels, but it’s vivid and deeply felt. Readers will think about the story long after it ends, savoring the writing and imagining what the characters might do next.

July 1, 2007
In 1881, the Arizona town of Tombstone, rich in minerals for the taking, becomes a magnet for men and women possessing special gifts or hungry for more power than they already have. To this region of natural magic come Wyatt Earp, a master of sorcery; Doc Holliday, whose power belongs to those who can take it; Chow Lung, a Chinese doctor with his own strange abilities; Mildred Benjamin, a writer of Western adventure and a true visionary; and Jesse Fox, a man with a talent for taming horses, among other gifts. The author of "War for the Oaks" chooses one of the definitive legends of the Wild West as a setting for her latest tale of magic and mysticism, placing a unique spin on the motives behind American history's most famous gunfight. Elegant storytelling and strong characters make this a good selection for most adult and YA fantasy collections.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2007
Wyatt Earp and his brothers famously got themselves into a tussle in Tombstone, and due to the assorted badges they wore, the legend of the western lawman was born. Bull skews the events leading up to the shootout into a shadow struggle between sorcerers who divine inexplicable power in the silver-booming land. Someone has killed a Chinese whore in a blood ritual intended to stake a claim. But what sort of claim, and whose? Despite all the marquee names on hand and the fact that Bulls Doc Holliday marvelously embodies his whiskey-addled southern gentleman facade, two of Bulls creations, journalist Mildred Benjamin, whos trying to balance propriety and her increasingly dissonant view of so-called magic, and Jesse Fox, inadvertently drawn into the struggle because of his own affinity for land-sorcery, get the most face time. Extraheavy on expositionit isnt clear until very near the end whats really going on, and by then the fun is nearly overthis solid if anticlimactic fantasy-western crossbreed may enchant and frustrate fans in both genre camps about equally.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)