Read This Book

I try not to use this journal for reviewing and promoting things, but every once in a while I discover a story that's just too good not to share. This is one of them.

I've been a fan of urban fantasy for as long as I've been aware of the genre, almost two decades. It's not a big niche in the literary world, though it's admittedly growing, and I tend to pride myself on being aware of most of the authors that fill it, both old and new.

This book is one I had never heard of, and I don't know many people who have read it. I had at least heard of the author, but she wasn't really on my radar - she will be now, though. A friend had been encouraging me to read this for a while, and I had been putting it off and putting it off, mostly due to not being able to find it, until he loaned me his clearly cherished, ancient, and falling-apart copy. Still, it sat on my to-read pile for quite some time until, between other books and desperate for something truly new, I decided to give it a try. It was short, and looked simple enough, and I figured it couldn't be all bad. By the second page I was hooked, and I've been dragging out the reading as long as I can, trying to make it last.

'Wizard of the Pigeons,' by Megan Lindholm. It's oldish, and strange, and the premise (a homeless Vietnam veteran living in Seattle, who may or may not be a wizard) sounds a bit contrived, but every word of it is glorious. The writing style reminds me of Ray Bradbury, and the drama and character development are beautiful, and the only downside of reading it is knowing that I'll never read it for the first time again.

Find it. Read it. Trust me. I can't believe I never found this before, and it makes me wonder what other gems I've been missing....