Sam Reader is a writer and conventions editor for
The Geek Initiative. He also writes literary criticism and reviews at
strangelibrary.com. One of "seven road trips in SFF that are a lot more fun to read about than they would be to actually take" he tagged at the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog:
Devil and the Bluebird, by Jennifer Mason-Black
Most of the trips on this list are more figurative Hell than literal Hell. Let’s change that right now: at 17, Blue’s sister made a deal with the devil at the crossroads in Maine. Years later, Blue heads to the crossroads herself to make a similar deal to get her sister back. In exchange for her voice, Blue gets six days to find her sister, or the devil gets her soul as well. Armed with her mother’s guitar, a bag full of memories, and her magical hiking boots, Blue sets out in the vague direction “west” in the hopes of locating her sister at last. Along the way, she has to contend with the devil in a variety of guises, constant rule changes to her deal, and the unusual characters she meets along the way, including a band wrestling with their own Satanic deal, criminals, hitchhikers, and numerous others. Hitchhiking can be sort of dangerous, but even more so when the devil is taking an active interest in your journey.
Read about
the other entries on the list.
--Marshal Zeringue
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