John the Balladeer

Manly Wade Wellman is perhaps one of the greatest sci-fi/fantasy/horror pulp writters in American literature. His stories drew upon a rich vein of southern folk lore from the Appalachias mixing Cherokee myths with Scots-Irish ballads. His character John (just named John) is a likable hero who wanders the mountains with his silver strung guitar, thwarting all manner of supernatural threats with his wits, common sense and knowledge of the old ballads. Along the way he ecnounters hoodoo men, witch-women, ghosts, raven-mockers, familars and all kinds of other horrors living in the backwoods. In this collection, all of the Silver John short stories are collected together (though there are five full length novels featuring the character, and Wellman liked to claim that two other short stories featured John before he got the guitar).Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Wellman's fiction is that it does draw upon uniquely American themes, and John is a very down-to-earth hero of the common people. As such, it really earns its place as something that represents the best ideals of American folk lore. Definately worth checking out, especially if your into Lovecraft, Shaver, Blackwood and the like. And if you like this collection, then check out some of the other anthologies of Wellman's work. Trust me, you'll like it.

I went and bought this book after I came across a copy of one of his old books on the street. However, I recommend you check out 5 volume series from Night Shade Books of all of Wellman's short stories. One volume has all of the Silver John Stories.

If you have yet to read any of the Silver John stories then here is the place to start, since the short stories collected in this volume are perhaps the finest writings Wellman did about this wonderful character. "John The Balladeer" is really an expanded and updated version of "Who Fears The Devil?" but does suffer slightly from having the small vignettes from that collection grouped together, which rather lessens their impact. Although the tales of John are out of print they can easily be found on the second-hand market, with the exception of the final volume "The Voice of the Mountain" which is harder to locate. All are well worth the effort of looking.

...is that it will whet your appetite for other stories about Silver John and they're all out of print. Wellman, who lived in the Appalachians and knew their people, uses these stories to illustrate the kind of people who lived up in the 'hollers', their lore (told correctly, I suspect) and their music (correct, I know). There are some hints of something transcendent, that John may be more than just a man who 'bears some of the goodness of others of that name', and there is history woven into these accounts, but both only add depth to some well-told stories worth the reading.