by Ysabeau S. Wilce ‧

This collection of tales, fragments and “history” from Wilce’s Califa may share a setting with the cuddly-(only)-by-comparison Flora books for teens (Flora Segunda, 2007, etc.), but don’t be fooled: This is a steampunkish, rococo anthology for a decidedly more mature readership.

Califa: riotous carnival world of soldiers, drunks and magick (very) loosely based on California in the 1800s. Califa: marvel of ingenuity and purple prose. The seven stories here (five were previously published elsewhere) focus mostly on a single small period of time just before and after the Warlord’s invasion and primarily on the previous Pontifexa’s grandson and great-granddaughter, cousins and reluctant spouses. From Hardhands’ initial consideration (“not exactly entirely Hardhands…, at least not yet,”) of regicide to avoid marrying Tiny Doom, then only a child, to Tiny Doom’s own early adulthood and the latest salvo in the war between them, the stories of these two fascinating characters form the literal and figurative heart of the collection. Other tales range from the whimsical-to-the-point-of-inexplicable opener, about Califa’s own Springheel Jack, to the closer, which the in-character afterword claims is a fantasy but which readers will find most familiar, set as it is in our actual history. A wordsmith (“Once upon a time, my little waffles…[in] a land well full of hardship, turmoil, and empty handball courts”) in love with her creations can be dangerous, but with the throttle set just right, the results nearly sparkle. Most of this does, barring the sometimes-forced conceit and unfortunate choices regarding story order.

Ribald, raucous, distressingly appealing, so steeped in its own world that readers may well be driven to find everything else Wilce has written—this won’t be for everyone, but oh, my precious pillows, what a joy for those who can handle it.