Slim's a Texas bluesman down on his luck and just about broke -- but that's what the blues is all about. He loves "the real down-home gutbucket blues". Then, one day, the music loves him back.
In a single burst of lightning that comes from the ground, Slim finds himself in Texas. It's a little bit magic, and a whole lot different, but the blues is the same. The blues manifest here as a Strat called the Gutbucket, and it's fallen into the hands of T-Bone Pickens, who wants to suck up all of its powers and turn it to evil.
Slim's off on the Gutbucket Quest, with the help of his mentor Progress T. Hornsby, and an unstoppable blues singer named Nadine.
From Publishers Weekly
Anthony's collaborations with unknowns (Dream a Little Dream, etc.) have a mixed record, but this latest effort is notably successful. The novel draws on Leming's background as a Texas blues musician, by flipping its hero, blues guitarist Slim Chance, into an alternate reality where racial and environmental harmony prevail and music (especially the blues) holds magical power. The key to the power of the blues is the Gutbucket, a magical guitar incorporating the ashes of a famous musician. The Gutbucket has been stolen by the corporate villain T-Bone Pickens, who threatens all magic and music. With a classic elder mentor, the African-American Progress Hornsby, and Progress's gorgeous daughter, Nadine, Slim sets out on the quest to turn his own music into a magical weapon against Pickens and to retrieve the Gutbucket. Along the way to the inevitable victory, he meets a colorful gaggle of largely New Age but largely well-drawn secondary characters, and eventually becomes Nadine's lover and husband. The long passages of dialogue sometimes overwhelm the pacing, but readers will appreciate the graceful use of dialect and the compelling passion for the blues that positively sings out of the pages. Best of all, Slim is slowly and believably changed by his situation into a person worthy of Nadine's love, not handed her as a reward by auctorial fiat. This is a very readable variation on the theme of music as a source of magic. (May)
Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Transported by a lightning bolt from his home in Texas to the independent country of Tejas, guitarist Slim Chance joins an old blues man named Progress T. Hornsby and a sultry singer called Nadine on a quest for the Gutbucket, a guitar that contains the essence of magic and power. Pitting their skills against the machinations of T-Bone Pickens and the Vipers, who seek to control the power of the Gutbucket, Slim and his companions wage a war of music and magic that takes them deep into the heart of the blues. Coauthors Anthony and Leming combine their skills to produce a fast-paced fantasy adventure filled with the lore of the blues. A good choice for most fantasy collections. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Description:
Slim's a Texas bluesman down on his luck and just about broke -- but that's what the blues is all about. He loves "the real down-home gutbucket blues". Then, one day, the music loves him back.
In a single burst of lightning that comes from the ground, Slim finds himself in Texas. It's a little bit magic, and a whole lot different, but the blues is the same. The blues manifest here as a Strat called the Gutbucket, and it's fallen into the hands of T-Bone Pickens, who wants to suck up all of its powers and turn it to evil.
Slim's off on the Gutbucket Quest, with the help of his mentor Progress T. Hornsby, and an unstoppable blues singer named Nadine.
From Publishers Weekly
Anthony's collaborations with unknowns (Dream a Little Dream, etc.) have a mixed record, but this latest effort is notably successful. The novel draws on Leming's background as a Texas blues musician, by flipping its hero, blues guitarist Slim Chance, into an alternate reality where racial and environmental harmony prevail and music (especially the blues) holds magical power. The key to the power of the blues is the Gutbucket, a magical guitar incorporating the ashes of a famous musician. The Gutbucket has been stolen by the corporate villain T-Bone Pickens, who threatens all magic and music. With a classic elder mentor, the African-American Progress Hornsby, and Progress's gorgeous daughter, Nadine, Slim sets out on the quest to turn his own music into a magical weapon against Pickens and to retrieve the Gutbucket. Along the way to the inevitable victory, he meets a colorful gaggle of largely New Age but largely well-drawn secondary characters, and eventually becomes Nadine's lover and husband. The long passages of dialogue sometimes overwhelm the pacing, but readers will appreciate the graceful use of dialect and the compelling passion for the blues that positively sings out of the pages. Best of all, Slim is slowly and believably changed by his situation into a person worthy of Nadine's love, not handed her as a reward by auctorial fiat. This is a very readable variation on the theme of music as a source of magic. (May)
Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Transported by a lightning bolt from his home in Texas to the independent country of Tejas, guitarist Slim Chance joins an old blues man named Progress T. Hornsby and a sultry singer called Nadine on a quest for the Gutbucket, a guitar that contains the essence of magic and power. Pitting their skills against the machinations of T-Bone Pickens and the Vipers, who seek to control the power of the Gutbucket, Slim and his companions wage a war of music and magic that takes them deep into the heart of the blues. Coauthors Anthony and Leming combine their skills to produce a fast-paced fantasy adventure filled with the lore of the blues. A good choice for most fantasy collections.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.