Welcoming Home

[ladysprite]

So a few weeks ago I won an advance reader copy of 'Welcome to Bordertown' from coffeeem. It arrived about two weeks ago, and I have been wallowing in delight ever since.

Once I finally managed to stop bouncing around the room and hugging the book to my chest and actually settled down to read it, I was hooked by the end of the first page. I'll admit I wasn't the hardest sell; I've loved the series since I first encountered it. Even so, I was a teeny bit apprehensive when I started it - it's been a long time since there was a new Bordertown novel, and I wasn't sure they'd be able to capture the same feel that hooked me as a teenager.

I needn't have worried. The stories in this book are different, in a lot of ways, from the older stories, but they're wonderful in their own way. The new writers, and the twists to the world, add new dimensions to the setting and allow new areas and themes to be explored. I was occasionally a little frustrated with some of the new writers when it felt a little bit like they weren't quite Getting It Right - their Bordertown isn't quite the same as mine - but once I stepped back a little and read them as their own stories instead of through the lens of my past experiences, they were good.

I loved the old writers best, of course - Terri Windling and Ellen Kushner, Will Shetterly (who bribed me with another Wolfboy story; I have an enormous crush on that character), Emma Bull, and without a doubt Charles DeLint, who closed out the book with a gorgeous tale that had me tearing up at work as I finished it. The only real dud for me was Cory Doctorow's math problem disguised as a story, but I'll also acknowledge that his style of writing just isn't my favorite.

The only problem with reading it is being done, now. As I got closer and closer to the end I started slowing down, parceling out stories like the last candies in a box of gourmet Valentine's Day chocolates, dreading the day when there wouldn't be any more left. And now it's done, and I love it and I miss it and I'll never have the chance to read it for the first time again... but I'm sure as hell looking forward to reading it again and again.

Comments

[anu3bis.livejournal.com]

Oh, good - I admit I was a little worried.
We should get together soon and do the pasta thing we talked about and talk books. I can loan you Last Hot Time, if you like.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

That sounds lovely, thank you! May is pretty hectic for me, but what do your weekends look like in June?

[mneme]

I was wondering if LS had read Last Hot Time myself -- as it's the "too hot for Bordertown" Bordertown-inspired book.

[mermaidlady]

Bordertown books (which I will admit I have never read) and the works of Charles DeLint (which I have) play a small role in an extremely hard-boiled novel called Pain Management by Andrew Vachss. Probably not your cup of cake in the least, but it was an interesting juxtaposition to see the Crow Girls amongst all the grit.

[mneme]

Bordertown! I'm so looking forward to this, both because I'm a fan of the original series (my second favorite shared world series! Sorry, BT, but nothing has displaced Liavek) and because I love the work of everyone involved that I can think of.