Steward of Song

Leaving his life of petty crime and drug abuse behind, young Douglas flees from Minneapolis to Edinburgh, Scotland, to his stern but fairminded Grandma McLaren, who will take him in if he can support himself. Fortunately, few cities are friendlier than Edinburgh to a guitarist with a talent for spontaneous rhyme, and soon Douglas is making a decent living as the busker who can write a song about you on the spot. But Edinburgh has its dangers for the unwary. The annual arts festival, biggest in Europe, draws all manner of footloose sorts, and tempted by the drugs offered by a mysterious young girl, Douglas stumbles. What follows isn't what he expects. Suddenly, Douglas can see the fey folk who invisibly share Edinburgh's ancient streetsin all their beauty and terrifying cruelty. Worse, they can see him, and they're determined to draw him into their own internecine wars--wars that are fought to the death.

Adam Stemple is the author of Singer of Souls and, with his mother Jane Yolen, several other novels, including Pay the Piper and Troll Bridge. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and children.

“One of the best first novels I have ever read.” —Anne McCaffrey on Singer of Souls
 
“Wonderful. Fans of Charles de Lint and Clive Barker will find much to like.” —Publishers Weekly on Singer of Souls
 
"Singer of Souls glows with magic and folklore, realistic characters and vivid language, and has the grit, blood, and tension of good film noir." —Emma Bull
 
"A really splendid story." —Steven Brust on Singer of Souls