The Essential Bordertown

"The Essential Bordertown" is the fourth in a series of anthologies all set in the same shared world, where elves and the Realm from which they come becomes acessible to humanity. All of the stories take place in the city of Bordertown, in between the World and the Realm. Here technology works half of the time and magic the other half of the time and the city is populated by both elves and humans, who are mostly exiles, runaways, outcasts, halfbreeds, and others who don't fit in.

"The Essential Bordertown" takes the form of a guidebook for new arrivals with advice on how to live in the Soho district of Bordertown, a poor neighborhood full of the young and the energetic, the waifs and strays who make Bordertown what it is. It alternates between essays on a variety of subjects (cooking, jobs, nightlife, etiquette) and stories that complement them. The guidebook sections, written by the editor, Terri Windling, are easily the best part--funny, snarky, informative, and it cnjures up a whole world of fascinating places and people. It's a brilliant example of of worldbuilding.

The stories written to take place in the world created by the guidebook sections, however, are a very mixed bag. Some, like "Dragon Child," "Socks," and "Changeling," are very good, well-written, and live up to the potential of the setting, while others, like "Oak Hill," "When the Bow Breaks," and "Arcadia" are just confusing and don't quite work. "Hot Water" has an interesting concept (an epidemic of talking teapots) but it seems half-baked. "May This Be Your Last Sorrow" is a sad little well-written vignette, but it's also very short. "Argentine" and "Cover Up My Tracks With Rain" are both good, and I want to see more of the characters in them. "How Shannaro Tolkinson Lost and Found His Heart" had a few nice moments, but other parts didn't work, and some things (such as the two elvin families involved being named after fantasy authors) just seemed cheesy.

All in all, there were some good stories, some not-so-good, and quite a few in between. I'm glad I read it, and I might even read some more Bordertown books, but the stories were greatly outshone by the background materials. I want to explore Bordertosn some more, but this book doesn't wuite live up to its potential.