by Manly Wade Wellman, with an introduction by Mike Resnick
There’s a traveling man that the Carolina mountain folk call Silver John for the silver strings strung on his guitar. In his wanderings, John encounters a parade of benighted forest creatures, mountain spirits, and shapeless horrors from the void of history with only his enduring spirit, playful wit, and the magic of his guitar to preserve him.
Manly Wade Wellman’s Silver John is one of the most beloved figures in fantasy, a true American folk hero of the literary age. The Planet Stories edition of Who Fears the Devil? collects—for the first time—all of John’s adventures published throughout Wellman’s life, including two stories about John before he got his silver-stringed guitar that have never previously appeared in a Silver John collection. Lost, out-of-print, or buried in expensive hardcover editions, the seminal, unforgettable tales of Who Fears the Devil? stand ready for a new generation to continue the folk tradition of Silver John!
Introduction by Mike Resnick (Stalking the Unicorn, Starship: Mutiny).
I always find it interesting on how fast I read through certain books. I roared through Asimov's Foundation trilogy and all Douglas Adams' books. However, it took me forever to read through Le Mort d'Arthur.
I now do most of my reading on the way to and from work on buses in Tempe. I started reading this on March 11, 2010 and finished it on April 30, 2010. Sos the Rope (the following book) took only 6 days to read while only being half the length.
Silver John is a great character and it is interesting to read through his character development in the book, especially due to the fact that he did not age in the stories, but there were several decades between the first and the last in the book.
I'll replace this with a full review soon, but for now, I feel the need to stump for it. I started out saying, Who put hicky Americana in my Planet Stories subscription? But from a position of disinterest, this author completely won me over with his superior storytelling and quality writing. Tone is just right. This is a must buy and must read.
I've actually been waiting for the local Borders to get this, but they keep listing it as N/A. Mind you, I'm not sure if they've ever carried any Planet Stories here ..
Hot damn, I bought this the other day and it's really a rollicking good time. Wellman wrote in such a fashion that I can't help BUT hear the narrator in Johnny Cash's voice, and picture a young Cash righting wrongs in the Appalachians.
Hot damn, I bought this the other day and it's really a rollicking good time. Wellman wrote in such a fashion that I can't help BUT hear the narrator in Johnny Cash's voice, and picture a young Cash righting wrongs in the Appalachians.
Thanks, Planet Stories!
Great stuff, isn't it? I love Wellman's voice, the character, and the weirdness in the woods.
Guilty of thread necro, but I'm guessing this is the inspiration for the new Bard archetype in Occult Adventures?! The Silver Balladeer. Very intriguing from what little I know/have read of both Silver John and the archetype.
If you have the cash to spend, a publisher called Haffner Press will e releasing all the stories they had in this book together with all six of the Silver John novels in October 2019 in two big illustrated hardcovers for $90.
