"Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881 is the site of one of the richest mineral strikes in American history, where veins of silver run like ley lines under the earth, a network of power that belongs to anyone who knows how to claim and defend it." "Above the ground, power is also about allegiances. A magician can drain his friends' strength to strengthen himself, and can place his friends between himself and danger. The one with the most friends stands to win the territory." "Jesse Fox left his Eastern college to travel West, where he's made some decidedly odd friends, like the physician Chow Lung. who insists that Jesse has a talent for magic. In Tombstone, Jesse meets the tubercular Doc Holliday, whose magic is as suppressed as his own, and attracts the sorcerous attention of Wyatt Earp." "Mildred Benjamin is a young widow making her living as a newspaper typesetter, and - unbeknownst to the other ladies of Tombstone - selling tales of Western derring-do to the magazines back East. Like Jesse, Mildred has episodes of seeing things that can't possibly be there." "When a failed stagecoach holdup results in two dead, Tombstone explodes with speculation about who attempted the robbery. The truth could destroy Earp's plans for wealth and glory, and he'll do anything to bury it. Meanwhile, outlaw leader John Ringo wants the same turf as Earp. Each man courts Jesse as an ally as they struggle for control of the territory."--BOOK JACKET. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Starred Review. World Fantasy finalist Bull (War for the Oaks) takes huge chances and achieves something distinctively wonderful with this subtle reworking of a western legend. The taming of Tombstone, Ariz., by Wyatt Earp, his brothers and their pal Doc Holliday is a cherished American myth of stoic heroism. Bull approaches the story from a different angle, considering matters that may or may not have escaped Wyatt's chilly attention. When tough-minded widow Mildred Benjamin and drifter Jesse Fox realize that dark magic is manipulating people for a sorcerer's selfish ends, they must decide what they can and should do about it, in the process discovering who they truly are. Mixing fantasy with Old West lore is risky, but Bull takes time to make the place and the people real before undeniably supernatural forces appear. The magic is less flashy than in many fantasy novels, but it's vivid and deeply felt. Readers will think about the story long after it ends, savoring the writing and imagining what the characters might do next. (July) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

In 1881, the Arizona town of Tombstone, rich in minerals for the taking, becomes a magnet for men and women possessing special gifts or hungry for more power than they already have. To this region of natural magic come Wyatt Earp, a master of sorcery; Doc Holliday, whose power belongs to those who can take it; Chow Lung, a Chinese doctor with his own strange abilities; Mildred Benjamin, a writer of Western adventure and a true visionary; and Jesse Fox, a man with a talent for taming horses, among other gifts. The author of War for the Oaks chooses one of the definitive legends of the Wild West as a setting for her latest tale of magic and mysticism, placing a unique spin on the motives behind American history's most famous gunfight. Elegant storytelling and strong characters make this a good selection for most adult and YA fantasy collections. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Wyatt Earp and his brothers famously got themselves into a tussle in Tombstone, and due to the assorted badges they wore, the legend of the western lawman was born. Bull skews the events leading up to the shootout into a shadow struggle between sorcerers who divine inexplicable power in the silver-booming land. Someone has killed a Chinese whore in a blood ritual intended to stake a claim. But what sort of claim, and whose? Despite all the marquee names on hand and the fact that Bull's Doc Holliday marvelously embodies his whiskey-addled southern gentleman facade, two of Bull's creations, journalist Mildred Benjamin, who's trying to balance propriety and her increasingly dissonant view of so-called magic, and Jesse Fox, inadvertently drawn into the struggle because of his own affinity for land-sorcery, get the most face time. Extraheavy on exposition-it isn't clear until very near the end what's really going on, and by then the fun is nearly over-this solid if anticlimactic fantasy-western crossbreed may enchant and frustrate fans in both genre camps about equally. Chipman, Ian. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.