Coyote Cowgirl by Kim Antieu
Mar. 21st, 2008 08:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snugglekittyThis book was recommended in the bibliography of Coyote Road, the new-ish Trickster anthology from Datlow and Windling. The extensive bibliographies, I've mentioned before, are one of my favorite things about those anthologies. (I wonder if they will create a fourth anthology, and if so, about what? Shapechangers, perhaps?)
Jeanne Les Flambeaux is a nobody. In a family of famous restaurateurs, she doesn't like food. She has no talents and no confidence. She has never fit in anywhere. But when her family's treasured ruby scepter disappears and she goes on a wild journey to get it back, everything is going to change.
"Take me with," the skull said.
"Not on your life," I said.
"No pun intended?" the skull asked. "I can help you find the scepter. We have been living together for decades. I'm attuned to its vibrations."
"Last time you talked to me, I almost ended up in a funny farm. To this day, my brother calls me Jeanne d'Arc because she heard voices too."
"Yes, I remember her well. You know, if she had only listened to me, she might never have --"
I stared at the clear stone visage of the skull. I was either absolutely insane.
Or I wasn't.
I grabbed the skull and stuffed it into my suitcase. (p 26)
I have enjoyed Antieu's other works, such as Gaia Websters and a number of shorter pieces. This is another good one. It's fast-paced, funny, and evocative. I enjoyed the descriptions of food and landscape, the wacky family, and the way everything comes together at the end. Recommended for fans of trickster stories, offbeat food writing, and fantasy set in the Southwest. It also has an appendix of recipes! Three and a half stars.
Jeanne Les Flambeaux is a nobody. In a family of famous restaurateurs, she doesn't like food. She has no talents and no confidence. She has never fit in anywhere. But when her family's treasured ruby scepter disappears and she goes on a wild journey to get it back, everything is going to change.
"Take me with," the skull said.
"Not on your life," I said.
"No pun intended?" the skull asked. "I can help you find the scepter. We have been living together for decades. I'm attuned to its vibrations."
"Last time you talked to me, I almost ended up in a funny farm. To this day, my brother calls me Jeanne d'Arc because she heard voices too."
"Yes, I remember her well. You know, if she had only listened to me, she might never have --"
I stared at the clear stone visage of the skull. I was either absolutely insane.
Or I wasn't.
I grabbed the skull and stuffed it into my suitcase. (p 26)
I have enjoyed Antieu's other works, such as Gaia Websters and a number of shorter pieces. This is another good one. It's fast-paced, funny, and evocative. I enjoyed the descriptions of food and landscape, the wacky family, and the way everything comes together at the end. Recommended for fans of trickster stories, offbeat food writing, and fantasy set in the Southwest. It also has an appendix of recipes! Three and a half stars.