The Good Fairies of New York

The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar (2006) – A group of fairies from Cornwall and Scotland find themselves drunk and confused in New York City. The two from Scotland believe that Scottish folk music would improve through a strong dose of heavy metal. Meanwhile, the Cornish fairies are political refugees. None of them are ready for the Big Apple. Both the city’s human and fairy (Chinese, Italian and Black) are less than impressed with their antics. There’s robbery, death, and a possible international fairy invasion in the offing.

Why I Liked It – Just some fun fantasy from a skillful storyteller.

Martin Millar is not an author I’ve read before. If I’m honest, I’ve never heard of him before. But the title intrigued me, as did the promise of an introduction by Neil Gaiman. If Neil liked it (and he assures that he does, even if it took him five years between buying the book and reading it), then it was worth a shot. I wanted something different from I had been reading, so it ticked all the boxes.

Having finished it (well short of five years later), it still ticks the boxes. Fantasy can get awfully full of itself. Everything is mighty and majestic and profound. Or you can have an eighteen-inch tall fairy fly randomly into your apartment and throw up on your floor. That’s how the enthusiastically anti-social world of Dinnie Mackintosh is invaded by the fae. He’s not alone in that. There’s the lovely but suffering Kerry (for whom Dinnie yearns), Magenta, a mentally ill bag lady, who believes she is fighting enemies from Ancient Greece, and the ghost of Johnny Thunders, the lead guitarist of the punk rock band The New York Dolls. There’s a legendary flower alphabet that is missing a vital bloom, a rock version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and postcards of Botticelli’s “Venus and Mars”. Add in a fairy king in Cornwall, ready to drag his subjects into at least the 19th century by their iridescent wings. His heirs have fled with some friends. At one moment, it looks like they will launch an intercultural war in New York, but then unite against their father’s plans. Plus, the worst violin playing in New York.

So, NOT traditional fantasy fairy fare.

It’s all great fun, though. While lacking the gut punch brilliance of Terry Pratchett, I can place Millar in the same room with no issues. He has the deft storytelling touch and decidedly off-center sense of humor. I looked forward to the moments when I had the time to jump back into the story. It bounces back and forth between a handful of story lines and an amazing cast of characters. Millar has written a string of novels, plus the award winning (2000 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel) “Thraxas” series (as Martin Scott).

The story is outrageous and the characters are often vulgar. But, their a helluva lot of fun along the way. If you’re looking for some lighter, less serious fantasy that still keeps the storytelling on point, I can recommend “The Good Fairies of New York”.

Rating – **** Recommended