A Green Man Review

The power of a name, that’s old magic.

The Doctor in The Shakespeare Code

So we’ve got on this warm summer’s day, a bevy on books and films, fiction and non-fiction like, on witches and witchcraft. Some like The Witches of Eastwick film will likely be familiar to you as will  Dahl’s now problematic The Witches;  others such as the two works on Bridget ClearyI think not.

 Craig looks at a John Updike novel considered a part of the literary canon: ‘In the end, The Witches of Eastwick is a good novel. Oh It is not a great novel; it is not even a great witch novel. The research is at best minimal and often seems negligible. Nor does it compare favorably with the rest of the Updike canon, certainly not his tetralogy of everyman Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, whose libido gets him in enough trouble to fill four novels and a novella. The book is not a waste of time, as long as the reader appreciates the above mentioned prose and description style.’

John, a Northern Irish born and raised reviewer, looks at the firate work on  Bridget Cleary, Joan Huff and Marian Yeates’ The Cooper’s Wife is Missing: ‘In this case, the so-called witch-burning incident is a true life happening in Ireland in the 1800s. Bridget Cleary from County Tipperary was the last woman to be burned as a witch in Ireland. That was my usual take on the subject matter of The Cooper’s Wife is Missing until it was pointed out to me that Ms. Cleary wasn’t in fact a witch at all, but a fairy changeling. That, however, did not prevent her for meeting her eventual fate in the usual gory manner.’

Jennifer read Sarah Avery’s Tales of Rugosa Coven and adored it. The Atlantic Ocean is almost a character in these stories. I could smell the salt breeze and feel the sand in my shoes. Plus, real witches on the Jersey Shore doing real witch stuff, like washing their sneakers, loving each other’s dysfunctions, and disagreeing about, well, everything magical!

Angela Bourke’s The Burning of Bridget Cleary which is reviewed by Kim, who emphasized the folkloric aspects of what happened: ‘So much has been written about the world of the fairies — the otherworld that we apprehend through bits of lore, heart-stopping moments of fear before the ordinary reasserts itself, direct observation in meditation or trance, dreams, and the writings of fantasy authors, folklorists or even tourism boards.’

Mia looks at the first of two films involving witchcraft: ‘Based on the Alice Hoffman novel of the same name, Practical Magic stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as Sally and Gillian Owens, sisters who also happen to be witches. Sally is sweet, sensible, and longs for a normal life. Gillian is lusty and vivacious and uses her witchcraft mostly for the purpose of ensnaring a series of lovers. Sally and Gillian were orphaned and consequently raised by Frances and Jet, their wise, witty, and unconventional aunts.’

Not at all well received among Neo-Pagans is a film reviewed by Michelle: ‘There’s no denying the negative stereotyping in Nicolas Roeg’s The Witches, based on Roald Dahl’s novel of the same name. It’s a guilty pleasure, watching sophisticated women degraded by a little boy whom they’ve turned into a mouse. Adults will have an easier time than the intended young audience in recognizing the satiric elements of the film, but for some viewers that may not make it more tolerable; works of art like this one contribute to the demonization of Pagans and practitioners of folk medicine historically and in our own era.’

‘I’ve learned that the things you like about a record at first blush quite often change as you listen to it over a couple of decades,’ I note in my new review of a deluxe reissue of The Handsome Family’s 2003 album Singing Bones. ‘That favorite track might no longer top your list of songs from that record, and a song you glossed over has in the meantime revealed deeper layers of meaning for you.’ That’s definitely true of this album, as you’ll see in my review.

From the archives … well, let’s see if you pick up on a theme…

David has reviewed a lot of Americana for us, including the compilation Hoyt Axton’s Flashes of Fire: Hoyt’s Very Best 1962-1990. ‘ “Smoky,” one of only three non-Axton tracks included, is the theme song from a film in which Axton appeared. His version of the song was not included on the soundtrack. It’s a catchy tune, 12-string guitar and harmonica, and Axton’s smoky vocals.’

I really enjoyed Chris Eckman’s Harney County, an indie folk rock album of fictional stories set in a real place, one of Oregon’s high desert locales. ‘Eckman evokes sense-memories in songs like “The Conifer Smoke,” a tale of estranged siblings meeting in some sort of encampment, something to do with “lost causes.” ‘

‘Imagine someone so lost and lonely that her only good dreams are of sharing a bottle in an alley, but she clings to that memory to keep out much worse thoughts,’ I said in my review of Anna Tivel’s excellent Small Believer. ‘Tivel can do more to set a mood with just a few words than many can do in a whole raft of verses, like the opening lines of (“Alleyway”): “Smoke against the window pane / just the semis breathing on the interstate / and the gray upon the gray of October…” ‘

Way back in the day I reviewed a couple of albums from the Illinois Americana trio Dick Smith, including one entitled Smoke Damage. ‘The overall sound draws on Grisman and Garcia’s “dawg music,” with a little of the psychedelic weirdness and irreverence of the Holy Modal Rounders and the down-home corn of Goose Creek Symphony thrown in for good measure.’

I’ve reviewed a lot of albums by the late great Doc Watson, including Doc Watson at Gerdes Folk City, an important historical document from the folk revival. ‘Everybody has to start somewhere, and this brand new CD catches Doc in his first series of public appearances as a solo musician. It’s part of the First Time North Project, which is presenting archival recordings of the earliest urban performances of blues, bluegrass and folk musicians. It was recorded in late 1962 and early ’63 at the eponymous club in New York’s Greenwich Village.’

Christy Moore’s Smoke And Strong Whiskey was a departure of sorts for the Irish folk icon, Richard hsaid in his review. This one has lots of political and social commentary, he noted. ‘The choice of songs, too, is a long way from the traditional repertoire; indeed, there is not one “trad.” in sight, not even a “trad. arr.” Instead we have three of Moore’s own compositions, plus three co-written with other musicians, including Shane McGowan, one of whose own songs is also featured.’

So lets us finish off with some choice music from Nightnoise, to wit ‘Toys, Not Ties’ which was performed at Teatro Calderón de la Barca, which is a theater in Valladolid, Spain, some thirty years ago. For more on this superb sort of Celtic band, go read our career retrospective here. Nightnoise had its origins in members of the Bothy Band and Skara Brae, august bands indeed, and also included fiddler Johnny Cunningham for a while.

Every good fiddler has a distinctive sound. No matter how many play the same tune, each can’t help but play it differently. Some might use an up stroke where another would a down. One might bow a series of quick single notes where another would play them all with one long draw of the bow. Some might play a double stop where others would a single string. If the listener’s ear was good enough, she could tell the difference. But you had to know the tunes, and the players, for the differences were minute. — Fiaina in Charles de Lint’s Drink Down the Moon

Cat decided as you can see from the quote that we have lead off with  some of the works of Charles de Lint, a much beloved writer around here. He did a number of novels set in the real city of Ottawa where he and his wife, the late artist MaryAnn Harris, lived and had made their home for many decades, so those are the ones you will find here.

Gary reviews a set of Nordic fiddle or fiddle centered albums for us.  One is so true to live music that he says it’s ‘like sitting on the perimeter of an after hours fiddle jam at a Scandinavian folk festival’ and another was a work which ‘follows the reindeer’s annual cycle of birth, searching for food, near constant movement, and graze’. Fascinating reviews all.

We finish off with  some music that I think befits the summer season. It’s Michele Walther and Irina Behrendt playing Aaron Copland’s ‘Hoe Down’  from his Rodeo album.

His Yarrow: An Autumn Tale gets a loving look by Grey: ‘Cat Midhir has stopped dreaming. People assure her that it isn’t possible, that she just doesn’t remember her dreams, but Cat knows they’re wrong. Where her dreams have been, there is only heaviness and loss. For Cat, this loss means more than it would to most of us, because she is that rarest of all dreamers, a person who returns to the same dream every time she sleeps. In her dream world live her truest friends and her only source of inspiration for the books and stories that have won her acclaim in her waking life…’

Robert has two set there which are Autumnal: ‘Charles de Lint is known as “the godfather of urban fantasy,” and indeed, it’s in that genre that he’s made his mark – he’s never been a writer of heroic fantasy: in a better than thirty year career, very few buckles get swashed, although the two short novels included in Jack of Kinrowan — Jack the Giant Killer and Drink Down the Moon — come close, something of a romp a la Dumas pere — by way of Harold Lloyd, perhaps. Both concern the adventures of Jacky Rowan and Kate Hazel, best friends who find themselves enmeshed in the doings of the land of Faerie that coexists with modern-day Ottawa.’

He also looks at Moonheart, perhaps de Lint’s best loved novel: ‘Moonheart may very well be the first novel by Charles de Lint that I ever read. I can’t really say for sure — it’s been awhile. It certainly is one that I reread periodically, a fixture on my “reread often” list. It contains, in an early form, all the magic that keeps us coming back to de Lint. (And be reminded that Charles de Lint may very well be the creator of what we call “urban fantasy” — he was certainly one of the first to combine contemporary life and the stuff of myth.)’

Spritwalk  he says ‘is a loose sequel to Moonheart, a series of related tales, again centering around Tamson House and including many of the same characters. In fact, the House is even more important as a Place in this group of stories. It begins with a brief discussion of Tamson House from a book by Christy Riddell, whom we will meet again in The Onion Girl and, Widdrrshins followed by a delightful vignette, “Merlin Dreams in the Mondream Wood,” of Sarah Kendell, age seventeen, remembering her childhood “imaginary” playmate, a red-haired boy named Merlin who lived in the oak tree at the center of the garden. It’s a sweet, sad tale of the price of love.’

Next he reviews a most unusual album, subject wise, Mirra, from the progressive Norwegian Hardanger fiddler and composer Benedicte Maurseth, whose 2022 album Harr was one of my favorites of that year. ‘This is a deeply immersive work, its themes, motifs and sounds moving in patterns that repeat and modulate. The entire work follows the reindeer’s annual cycle of birth, searching for food, near constant movement, and grazing, and incorporates the grunting and pawing sounds they make as they feed and interact. The titles of the eight pieces that make up this suite reflect this cycle, such as: “Windy Days,” “The Calf Rises,” Hunting March,” “Fresh Snow Over Reindeer Moss,” “A Flock Of Birds Under The Moon.” ‘

The first time he saw or heard the Nordic Fiddlers Bloc was at a superb show called “Far Flung Fiddles” at the Judique Community Center in Judique, Nova Scotia, as part of the 2013 version of Celtic Colours. The show also featured local band Beòlach and American Irish fiddler Liz Carrol. I noted that the Bloc comprises Olav Luksegård Mjelva of Norway, Anders Hall of Sweden and Kevin Henderson of the Shetland Islands. ‘As is typical for an opening act here, they played four suites of tunes that included many jigs and reels but also some polskas and more.’

He wraps off his reviews with  Nils Økland Band’s Kjolvatn. Økland, who plays hardangar fiddle, violin and viola, leads this ensemble in droning, jazz-inflected music informed by Norwegian folk music. ‘Fans of Nordic fiddling should seek out this recording, especially those who are on the adventurous side when it comes to some subtle jazz elements in the music.’

So I’ve got some music for you that I think fits pretty much any season. It’s Michele Walther and Irina Behrendt playing Aaron Copland’s ‘Hoe Down’from Rodeo. I sourced it off a Smithsonian Institution music archive which has no details where or when it was recorded (which surprised me given how good they usually are at such things), but it may have been around twenty years ago according to other sources.

All writers write about themselves, just as the old storytellers chose to tell stories that spoke to and about themselves. They call it the world, but it is themselves they portray. The world of which they write is like a mirror that reflects the inside of their hearts, often more truly than they know. 
~ Jane Yolen, Touch Magic: Fantasy, Faerie and Folklore in the Literature of Childhood, 1981

If a writer’s work is truly ‘like a mirror that reflects the inside of their hearts’ as Jane Yolen said in the work quoted above, then her heart was indeed a wondrous place. Yolen, who died June 11 at age 87, was one of our favorite and most reviewed writers here at Green Man Review, and we’re dedicating the book section of this edition to her.

As Gary K. Wolfe and Jonathan Strahan astutely observe in the most recent edition of their Coode Street Podcast, Yolen was so prolific over such a long time that she may not be ‘best known’ for any one work. Worth a listen if you enjoy this sort of thing, which is two veterans in the field of SFF reviewing and criticism, engaging in frequently rambling discussions on a variety of related topics.

That said, perhaps Yolen’s best known book is Briar Rose, which reimagines the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty wrapped up in a YA story of a young person discovering the secrets of her grandmother, who was a Holocaust survivor. Eric did a fine job of reviewing it. ‘Briar Rose evokes all of the emotion that a true fairy tale should. The language is very moving, describing events in World War II in words that are both shocking and uplifting, while still preserving something of a fairy tale’s magic.’

Cat reviewed Yolen’s essay collection Touch Magic: Fantasy, Faerie and Folklore in the Literature of Childhood. ‘What this volume is about is acting as an advocate for the preservation and protecting of traditional folk and fairy tales.’ He was also very enthusiastic about a collection of Yolen’s stories: ‘Once Upon A Time (she said), shows her at her very best, with a fine collection of short stories, poems, and essays in a wonderfully designed book.’

Back in the day, Jo Morrison reviewed The Wild Hunt for Folk Tales, a long ago predecessor of Green Man Review. ‘Folk legend merges with Jane Yolen’s creative world to create a work of pure magic in The Wild Hunt, which should be destined to become a classic in the world of children’s literature.’

Liz had fun with Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary  Cookbook for Young Readers and Eaters, that Yolen wrote with assistance from her daughter Heidi E.Y. Stemple, and illustrator Philippe Béha. ‘Fairy Tale Feasts presents 20 classic fairy tales from around the world masterfully told by ace word slinger Jane Yolen. … The book includes fairytales from European, African-American, Ashkenazi Jewish, Arabic, Turkish and Chinese cultures. Sidebars give quick facts regarding the stories and the foods mentioned in them.’

Marian McHugh reviewed Not One Damsel in Distress, a collection of tales with illustrations by Susan Guevara. ‘Yolen initially compiled Not One Damsel in Distress for her daughter and three granddaughters, as she wished to provide for her girls that which she had not been able to access — stories where girls are the heroes.’

Michael was utterly swept away by the beauty of Merlin and the Dragons, in which Yolen collaborated with the artist Li Ming. ‘… there are children’s books … and then there are books for all ages that just happen to be marketed for children. This is the latter. You can leave this on your coffeetable, or next to your child’s bed, and be equally proud either way.’

You want it darker? Try The Midnight Circus, says Warner. ‘This book is billed as a short story collection, yet in some ways this volume serves as two anthologies rather than one. After the bulk of the book, all of the short stories, comes a section in which Yolen examines the stories collected and, usually, includes an associated poem. Each is an enjoyable read in its own right, and many are published in this collection for the first time.’

And in a previous Yolen edition, Zina noted that Briar Rose continues to astound her as a reader. ‘That Briar Rose is about an evil that grew to be so large that it almost eclipsed the humanity of its participants, yet still manages to be a beautiful tale astounds me as a writer. As a human being and a reader, I was touched to the core over and over again.’

Gary here with new music. First up is some very nice jazz from ECM. ‘This inaugural self-titled record by saxophonist Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet would get a high rating just on the strength of its two covers, both of them warm slow ballads: Charlie Haden’s “First Song” which appropriately opens here, and Wayne Shorter’s “Lady Day.” Both give lots of room for guitarist Julian Lage and Lovano to showcase their tone, control, and easy way with melody and improv, and lift bassist Asante Santi Debriano and drummer Will Calhoun out of mere supporting rhythmic roles to the realm of full partners in song sculpture.’

Then there’s a new release of an old(ish) live recording, Kenny Barron’s So Many Lovely Things from the archival label Elemental Music. ‘You can drop the needle on any of the 10 tracks (and yes, it’s being released as a limited-edition 2-LP set as well as a 2-CD set, via digital download and streaming) and hear some of the best straight jazz ever laid down. These three veteran musicians knew each other like brothers and they knew every song in the book, but they never phone it in.’

With something quite different, Norwegian Hardanger fiddler Helga Myhr’s second solo release Slåttespel ‘puts the focus squarely on her fiddling and on traditional Norwegian dance music from her home region of Hallingdal. This is the music that got her named Norway’s finest Hardanger fiddle player at the 2025 National Championship for Norwegian Folk Music and Dance (Landskappleiken), an event that’s been going on since 1896.’

On the Americana front, Chicago queer country crooner Andrew Sa is releasing his debut album and it’s a winner. ‘Yes, the songs on American Rough subvert the entrenched hetero normative tropes of country music. But that seems like just a minor detail with songs this beautifully written and realized.’

New York’s Benny Bleu blends bluegrass, old time and jazz in his latest release When I Am A Fossil, a nod to his background as a geologist. ‘The fare here ranges from humanist earth-friendly songs informed by Bleu’s scientific background and his streak of pure humanism, to anti-capitalist ballads to instrumentals that draw equally on bluegrass, old-time and jazz …’

With high summer officially underway we’re thinking of one of our favorite pastimes, namely fishing. And the best song ever penned about fishing, one that’s been recorded by many, “Fishing Blues.” This one is possibly the original recording; it’s from the Anthology of American Folk Music, recorded by Henry Smith in 1928.

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She’s looking for the music. She can hear it but she can’t find it. There are candles everywhere. Some parts of the room are low-ceilinged and high-cushioned, just right for kissing and gossip and splitting a bottle. Some parts are ballroom-size. The floor slopes down, away from the stone ceiling. Dawn trips a little, blames the drink. The bass gongs through her blood, a fiddle skirls, the faraway downbeat (alone of a tinny fusillade) cracks two glasses touching, a false blow, ting! Not in this room. Nor the next.  — Jennifer Stevenson’s ‘Solstice’

Delia Sherman, Don Keller and Ellen Kushner were doing a theme anthology called Horns of Elfland. I was invited to write a story for it and did so, which was rejected. So I wrote another story. And they put it first in the anthology.

This story was my first professional sale.

I did something mildly sexy with the literary-ness: I didn’t use certain time-related words at all, so that when I did, it would stick out. (It’s been yonks since I thought about this so I would have to reread it to remember what exactly. At this range I think the word I was trying not to use is “was.” Yeah. Write me a short story without “was” in it!

So her literary offering this time in ‘Solstice’ which Grey reviews for us here: ‘The reader somehow senses that everything Dawn sees, each action she takes, even her name, has a deeper significance. She’s not just playing for a great party, she’s playing to keep a shrinking, fading man alive on the longest night. And if it’s an over-the-top, splendid bash that keeps the sun alive for another year, well, human beings believed that for a very long time. Maybe this story will help us remember some of what we’ve forgotten.’

When I was young and in my prime (in my prime)
I left my home in Caroline
Now all I do is sit and pine, for all those folks I left behind

I got the Blue Ridge mountain blues, and I sat right here to say
‘My grip is packed to travel, and I’m back to ramble
to my Blue Ridge far away’

John Fogerty’s ‘Blue Ridge Mountain Blues’

Though fox hunting by the gentry was common in Scotland for centuries, this Estate never allowed them to be hunted here, so the Estate foxes have thrived. Even when we had a Groundskeeper here, before we abolished that position and created the Estate Head Gardener position that I now hold, they were safe from being hunted.

Foxes, both mythical and real, have shown up in literature for a very long time now. Our selected book reviews reflect multiple threads of their story. We’ve got two of the kitsune myth, one riffing off the British myth of the intelligent fox and one looking at an interesting take on foxes that I hadn’t run across before.

Oh and Charles de Lint, one of beloved writers here, has one as a character  in his story set in the Appalachians which is illustrated by Charles Vess, so we get to see the foxes in their glory. The Cats of Tanglewood Forest naturally being set in a very old forest has to have at least one fox among the characters that the girl Lillian here will meet; this one is named rather charmingly T. H. Reynolds.

It’s a short list, so you have time to go to your favourite bookstore to order a copy The Cats of Tanglewood Forest. Yes it’s that good and it makes really good reading any time of year. Though it is marketed as a young adult novel, I think it’s a fine novel for any adult interested in fantasy literature as well.

Cat introduces us to the foxes of Rita Mae Brown’s Crazy Like A Fox: ‘What is fascinating is the deep, loving look at that culture, and though the novels are always built upon the story in the previous novel, the author does a perfect job of giving the reader enough information to know why a character, say a fox, who was a cub in an earlier story, is now an adult. Yes, it’s a charming plot device, having the creatures speak, that allows Brown to give depth to story that’s simply not possible if only the humans in the story were speaking, and it’s particularly entertaining when the a fox and a foxhound trade insults, as they often do in these novels.’

His second offering to us is not a book but rather a film which is based off a graphic novels, so yeah it’s literature based. It’s Hellboy: Sword of Storms which his review will tell you more about, but the fox is described here: ‘a kitsune which is a Japanese fox spirit who though she does not speak a word here, and yes, I believe that all of the kitsunes are female, is wonderfully depicted here and is given enough character that you feel that she is quite real…’

In Ben Aaronovitch’s What Abigail Did That Summer (Rivers of London #5.83), there are foxes, very special ones. Let’s have have Lis introduce them to us: ‘When Abigail realizes that Natali and Jessica, the girls who invited her and Simon to the “happening” that never happened, have disappeared, she can’t let go of it. She insists on investigating. Simon introduces her to the Cat Lady, who is a good deal more interesting that that label alone suggests. A talking fox named Indigo approaches Abigail, and says Abigail is needed for something the foxes can’t do on their own.’

A fox, another Asian kitsune, is central to following novel. An albino one to be exact. Who may or may be haunting him. Robert’s review of 9Tail Fox that whittles down the general genre label and gets to the heart of the story. ‘The book cover claims that Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s 9Tail Fox is ‘A novel of science fiction.’ Considering what science fiction has become over the past generation, that could well be valid — with some qualifications. I’m going to call it ‘slipstream’ in honor of its genre-bending tendencies and let it go at that.’ So how does the fox fit in? Read the novel to see how.

Gary here with new music. First, some live music!

‘I was a member of a trio that trekked to North Portland on the last night in May 2026 to enjoy the ambience of the Rose City Book Pub and the music of Trio Tsuica, which bills itself as Portland’s only four member trio. The ensemble is named for țuică, a fiery Romanian plum brandy, and they play a fiery blend of music from Romania, Hungary and other places in central and eastern Europe.’

Next, some moving and comforting jazz. ‘Kris Tiner & Cathlene Pineda’s Sung is a deeply intimate record by this trumpet and piano duo from Southern California; every moment of this chamber jazz recording reflects a close personal connection between the two musicians.’

Jazz and Americana fiddler John Mailander has a new EP out, called Little Wheel // Hope Looming. ‘This EP could just as easily be called a single, featuring as it does two full tracks and one brief electronic ambient sample, but it is a timely recording whatever you call it. Forecast plays the kind of jazz informed Americana beloved of Bruce Hornsby fans, no surprise since that’s been a major one of Mailander’s many gigs in the past few years.’

Phillip Golub’s new album Partisan Ship had me grasping for descriptions that were weird enough. ‘It sounds like free association, but if you listen closely you realize it’s not. It’s composed music, each part intricately woven together into a fascinating and often moving whole. High speed keyboard runs, polyrhythmic drum and percussion parts, deep honks from low clarinets, melodic flute, Klezmer trumpet lines, all undershot with a multitude of synthesized sounds that create those atmospherics that make it such a good accompaniment to a good SF narrative.’

Cat found a concert recording, John Fogerty’s The Long Road Home which he really liked: ‘Though Creedence Clearwater Revival was one of the best bands of the Sixties, I’m more fond of the recordings of the post-CCR career of vocalist John Fogerty. And his best recordings are by far the concert recordings, both the legit ones like this release and of course the many bootlegs done as soundboard recordings.’

Of course we can’t leave you without music from him, so here is ‘Blue Ridge Mountain Blues’ from his concert at the Air Canada Centre, Toronto twenty years ago.