Rating: 4, Recommended Recommended By: SFRevu:4
Andy and H'ard are magical con men who offer to "help" a drought-ridden, depression-era, southwest town.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The story does a great job of preparing us to believe that H'ard has more legitimate power than Andy lets on. The character of Andy himself is very well developed, and his long, wandering speeches are a good laugh. The twist is delicious: we suspect H'ard really has fixed the drought, albeit at a much higher price that the town had expected. And we liked the idea of a "scoffomancer." The side story with Lolly ties up neatly as well.
Con: The dialect isn't quite right. We don't hear "ain't" or "gonna" nearly as often as we should, for instance.
Con: The dialect isn't quite right. We don't hear "ain't" or "gonna" nearly as often as we should, for instance.
If you liked this you'd love Swanwick's Surplus and Darger novels/stories
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