Under the Dominion of the Unseelie Court?
I'm writing tonight about something found in one of my favorite books. The book is a work of fiction, written by a woman named Emma Bull. War for the Oaks is the name of the book.
In it, she created an alternative world placed in the present day, in a real location, the city of Minneapolis. The alternate world intersects our own, and enjoys some overlap, even if it remains forever beyond our ken.
That world is the home of Faerie. An unimaginable wealth of magical, immortal creatures resides there. They fall into two opposing groups, the Seelie Court (the 'good guys,' for our purposes) and the Unseelie Court (the bad guys).
More below!
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Daily Kos front pager, Mark Sumner, mentioned the book in a 1 rec, 355 comment diary in 2010 about a few books he’d recommend. (The one rec was today, by me. :) Please add some! The rec to comment ratio makes it seem like a tr0ll diary, which it most certainly is not!) It is the only mention of the book that I could find on Daily Kos in a cursory search, which I find astonishing. Oh well! Here is what Mr. Sumner wrote about it:
There are some books that never become all that widely known, never get that best seller status, but which are so deeply admired by authors and readers that they kick off sparks in all directions. Some books reshape traditions, tell the old stories in a new way. Some books make those old tales relevant again in by bringing them up to date and bringing in fresh characters and modern settings. This book achieves all that, and does it well. After this book a hundred others would try to merge modern day with the tales of faerie -- mingle rock and roll with the unseelie court. None of them do it as well. If you've read bad urban fantasy, wash it out of your mind and start over with this book.
I agree.
For me, then, the concept of Seelie and Unseelie Courts traces to Emma Bull’s book. But the concept predates her book by many many years. Her book is just where I learned of those courts, it is what I learned of them, based on the ‘portrait’ she painted in her book. For those wishing more background into the courts, this wikipedia page might make a starting point. But that is beyond tonight’s diary.
In the world of Faerie, there is a complete hierarchy of characters on both sides, from aristocratic champions to the most common footsoldiers, all different, all unique, all immortal. Except ...
From time to time, to decide 'ownership' of a place, the two sides go to war. As immortal beings, none of them can be killed, with one exception: when a mortal is on the battlefield. As the story's mortal heroine, Eddi McCandry, is educated early in the book:
Were you upon the battlefield, you would bring to it the taint of mortality. All wounds would be true ones, and some would be fatal.
So, the book describes the war between these two powerful forces, Seelie Court and Unseelie Court. Eddi is the mortal champion for the Seelie Court.
Of course, while Eddi may be the talisman that renders the battle serious, she is not free of peril. The Unseelie Court would be delighted to kill her, too! There are consequences to being involved in the affairs of these beings.
My interest in this diary isn't to write a book review, however. It's to focus on remarkable real-world consequences of the war between the two Faerie courts. At one point, Eddi asks why they have to fight over the area where she lives, wondering why the Seelie Court doesn't just cede the territory to the Unseelie mob. Would it result, in Eddi’s words, in the humans being 'eaten in their beds?!'
Her immortal protector pauses, then answers:
“Have you ever passed through some small town, surrounded by fertile country and fed by commerce, that seemed to be rotting away even as you watched? Where the houses and the people were faded, and all the storefronts stood empty?” Eddi remembered a few. “Or a city whose new buildings looked tawdry, whose old ones were ramshackle, where the streets were grimy and the wind was never fresh, where money passed from hand to hand to hand yet benefited no one?”
His words were quicker now. “This city is alive with the best magic of mortal folk. The very light off the skyscrapers and the lakes vibrates with it. If the Unseelie Court takes up residence here, this will be a place where people fear their neighbors, where life drains the living until art and wit are luxuries, where any pleasant thing must be imported and soon loses its savor.” He felt silent, as if embarrassed by his own eloquence.”
Hmmm. People fear their neighbors … life drains the living until art and wit are luxuries … any pleasant thing must be imported …
Is it just me, or does Emma Bull seem to be describing real changes taking place in this country since November of 2016?
I’m not accepting this ‘development’ for a second. And neither, I think, are you. The Unseelie Court is going down.
On to tonight’s comments. Formatted by my Seelie Court-supporting friend, brillig!
TOP COMMENTS
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From Petsounds:
Nominating this comment by Concinnity, from Greg Dworkin's Abbreviated Pundit Roundup. Because I hadn't heard that quote before, and it's a stunner.
From Youffraita:
semiot’s response to this by brn2bwild is the perfect top comment. From Kerry Eleveld's Remember when Mitch McConnell killed the effort to protect Robert Mueller from being fired?
From ontheleftcoast:
This comment from Hinoema01 is either a brilliant word play or an amazingly accurate typo. You be the judge. From Joan McCarter’s McConnell prepares to go all in for Kavanaugh.
From MikeTheLiberal:
I’m nominating this comment from Paul C in teacherken’s What is standard for NY Times to verify a story?. It is a reminder that the “free” press depends on money, and these days clicks, and points out how the media now has a conservative bias. Wait, did I say “now”? I meant “continues to have” a conservative bias.
Also this comment by Bluerall in Tom Tomorrow’s Cartoon: Cavalcade of Kavanaugh.
Highlighted by FishOutofWater:
This comment by annieli might just be the most hilarious thing they have ever written here.
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday, September 23rd 2018, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
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