Galveston [Paperback]

_Galveston_ is mainly the story of two people, Jane's daughter Sloane Gardner; and Josh Cane, who was sweet on Sloane when he was a boy. But Josh's father lost their house in a poker game, and Josh's mother kicked him out and ended up becoming an apothecary in the poorest part of Galveston. Josh learned from his mother the bitter art of trying to make medicines in a mostly post-technological world, taking over the business when she died of diabetes after her insulin stock ran out. Josh is forever bitter at his exile from the high society of Galveston, at his mother's death and father's abandonment, and at the way most of his new neighbourhood is slow to accept him.

Josh and Sloane are about 23 when the main action occurs. Sloane is watching her mother die, fearing the time when she will be expected to take over running the town, a job for which she feels inadequate. A desperate trip to the magical part of Galveston leads to a disastrous bargain with Momus, the god who rules that part of town, a bargain intended to save her mother, but which of course goes wrong.

From there the action intensifies. Odessa helps Sloane make additional trips to the magical side, this time appropriately masked, while Josh and his friend Ham end up framed for a crime that didn't even occur, and exiled to the barbaric Texas coast. Just at this time, the disaster which has been foreshadowed throughout the book happens: a hurricane, and some deaths, which finally loose the tide of magic onto the long protected city of Galveston. Sloane is forced to learn more about herself, and to try to find a way to lead the newly changed city, while Josh is forced to even more bitter self-confrontation.

This is really an absorbing book, a wonderful read. The magical elements are very well described, as is the decaying "real world" landscape of post-Flood Galveston. The characters are bitterly and honestly portrayed, and despite manifold weaknesses, they are very sympathetic. My only disappointment was that the book doesn't really end so much as stop. I think this is a result of Stewart's refusal to "lie": he doesn't want any easy solutions, either easy happy endings, or easy tragedies. The book's theme could be described as "life isn't fair", or perhaps "it doesn't get any better than this". To some extent, this means reader expectations are frustrated: I sense because of a feeling that to satisfy conventional expectations would be cheating. At any rate, I felt the ending of the book read a bit flat, though the theme is driven home excellently, and the characters are treated honestly and their changes are real. In sum, a very good book.

The first side is that of an almost post-apocalyptic city. One in which civilisation has started to collapse and the surviviors struggle to make do with the remains of technology and rapidly dwindling 'comforts.' The other side is of a Carnival that never ends, where the magic lives, ruled by a god named Momus. In between are a handful of women and men who try to keep the two sides as apart as they can.

The clash of magic and modenr society has always been one of Stewart's main themes, but here, for the first time. he's created a story and characters which are fully as interesting as his themes. This brings to mind the best of Charles De Lint's books.