Steel City Magic

In the world created by Spencer, Pittsburgh has - as a result of a interdimensional gate's malfunction - been transported to Elfhome, in a different dimension. There it stays for 29 days, and then for 24 hours it is returned to Earth, during what is turned Shut-Down. Tinker (Baen Fantasy) is 18 and owns a scrap yard, and on the eve of one Shut-Down, an elf runs into the scrap yard, being pursued by horrible Warg-like creatures. Tinker manages to kill the creatures, but the elf - who she recognizes as Wolf, having met before in a similar situation - has been badly hurt. Elves can normally heal themselves well, but in this case Shut-Down has occurred, shutting off Wolf's access to magic. This affects his ability to heal. Determined to save his life, she uses a magic sink she has created around a large magnet to create a healing spell that will help him remain status quo and takes him to a friend of hers for more assistance. After returning to Elfhome, and Wolf's healing, she finds herself the object of Wolf's attention. He gives her several gifts - one of which, as it turns out, is a marriage proposal, which she unwittingly accepts. She also finds herself caught in the middle of a very dangerous situation when her technical know-how is discovered, and the oni, another race of magical beings that are generally inimical toward elves, are attracted to her, hoping she can build a gate that will allow them to move from their overcrowded planet onto Elfhome. In Wolf Who Rules, Tinker is struggling with her new role as Vicereign (Wolf is the Viceroy to the humans) and learning the magic she can now control. A mishap with the gate she created in the last book has left Pittsburgh permanently stuck on Elfhome and she is trying to discover a way to fix this issue. She starts to have a series of terrifying dreams that hold the keys to her past - as well as to how to solve the problem they find themselves in. She also discovers that not all oni are bad; most are simply denied any options. I enjoyed these stories and hope that Spencer will eventually write more stories from this very interesting world she has created.

This is a book club edition and reprint of TINKER and WOLF WHO RULES - both set in an alternative universe of Pittsburgh and Elfhome. Go see the enthusiastic reviews of TINKER and WOLF WHO RULES. I was happy to purchase this 2-in-1 edition for my keeper shelf although I already own these as ebooks and have re-read them several times from library. I am impatiently awaiting future stories set in this world - probably why having a reissue may be disappointing to others - but that does not take away from the quality of the stories.

I checked the publisher's website this book is a book club reprint of Tinker and Wolf Who Rules.