Borderland 1

I recently discovered this series, and wonder how I have gone so long without hearing about it. These are by far my favorite anthologies. Incredibly detailed and timeless. I'm certain I'll be re-reading these for years.

Bordertown... dear lovers of urban fantasy and faery lore, .... is a place where magic and technology have formed an unstable alliance and to which teenagers runaway to find that thing that is missing in their lives. Alas, the elves are usually portrayed as being rather like spoiled rich kids, still we loved this series, although like most short story collections some stories appealed to us more than others. There are three other collections in this series, Bordertown: Where Magic Meets Rock & Roll, Life On The Border (Borderlands) and The Essential Bordertown (Borderlands), all of which we enjoyed. We also recommend the novels associated with it, Emma Bull's Finder: A Novel of the Borderlands, which while not as good as War for the Oaks: A Novel, nor a classic like that one, is still fun to read. Also, Will Shetterly's Elsewhere and Nevernever. We simply wished they'd write more in the series, and perhaps realize that not all elves are of the Unseelie variety. kyela, the silver elves

LKH suggests she created the Urban Fantasy genre...how wrong she is. Borderland emerged over a decade before her Merry Gentry (Faery) series. The land of fairy returns, and its a messy reunification at best. The land between the normal human world and fairy is called "The Border" a place where one can easily become lost--or found. In the rements of evacuated cities from this rebirth the two worlds come together in Bordertown, where magic and technology don't always work. The town is teeming with the outcasts, run-aways and dreamers of both fairy and earth children. The stories are fabulous rich in mythology, Aurthurian legend, and fairy tales. The characters are heartbreakingly real and flawed. I wish the series would continue.

I'm no longer a teenager, but I still really enjoyed this book, which consists of four novellas. All deal with the Borderland, a place where elves & humans coexist uneasily, where technology & magic are both unreliable, & where lots of down-on-their-luck youths gather to play great music & attempt to live their dreams. Very original, excellently written, & I think that almost everyone will find something to identify with. I particularly liked the examination of the issues that 'halfies' (those who are half-elf, half-human) face. This is another of Terri Windling's fine projects, & it's a shame that this series is so hard to get hold of!

I discovered this book by accident, and I am glad that I did. Borderland is about a world like ours in which the Elves and their magic have returned to earth. Magic and technology both work sporadically in Bordertown (which lies at the heart of the Borderlands) where teenagers runaway to hang out in rock and roll clubs where fairie dust is a drug and music is magic. The book is the first in an anthology series featuring such talents as Emma Bull and Charles de Lint. After losing some of my interest in works of fantasy, this book reignited a spark in me like gasoline on a bbq pit. I haven't felt this way about a work of fantasy since Conan or Fahfrd and Greymouser. These books are nearly impossible to get ahold of but Essential Bordertwon is a new one coming out soon.I cannot recommend this book and this series highly enough.