Singer of Souls
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Leaving his life of petty crime and drug abuse behind, young Douglas flees from Minneapolis to Edinburgh, Scotland, to his stern but fairminded Grandma McLaren, who will take him in if he can support himself. Fortunately, few cities are friendlier than Edinburgh to a guitarist with a talent for spontaneous rhyme, and soon Douglas is making a decent living as the busker who can write a song about you on the spot.
But Edinburgh has its dangers for the unwary. The annual arts festival, biggest in Europe, draws all manner of footloose sorts, and tempted by the drugs offered by a mysterious young girl, Douglas stumbles.
What follows isn't what he expects. Suddenly, Douglas can see the fey folk who invisibly share Edinburgh's ancient streets—in all their beauty and terrifying cruelty. Worse, they can see him, and they're determined to draw him into their own internecine wars--wars that are fought to the death.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the start of Stemple's wonderful fantasy debut, his first solo effort (he's collaborated with his mother, Jane Yolen, on children's music books), Douglas "Doc" Stewart, a recovering heroin addict and talented street musician, flees Minnesota for Scotland and his Grandma McLaren, who welcomes her grandson with open arms but warns, "I've buried three husbands and I'll bury you, too, if need be." Doc's subsequent success as a busker in Edinburgh strengthens his resolve to stay clean. During the Fringe arts festival, he meets a fey young woman, Aine, who gives him the gift of sight distilled in white powder he shoots into his arm. This ability to perceive the faery world puts him in grave danger after Aine is abducted by a strange priest, Father Croser, who uses his own magical sight for evil purposes. A "bogie" (or mischievous spirit) enlists Doc's assistance in rescuing Aine, but Doc soon finds himself drawn into a faeryland that's alarmingly similar to the world of addiction he thought he'd escaped forever and an erotic adventure that holds shocking consequences. Fans of Charles de Lint and Clive Barker will find much to like.
