Songkiller Saga

"Contemporary" in the above review means the world as it was in 1992 when the book was written. The rapid changes in recording and communications technology make it seem like a period piece now, which is entirely appropriate for the subject matter. This is a fantasy series about a bunch of folk musicians, good pickers and flawed but likable human beings, trying to reclaim songs destroyed by the evil forces (or devils, including but by no means limited to the Expediency Devil, the Stupidity and Ignorance Devil, and the Debauchery Devil) that want humanity to lose its humanity. Hauntings abound, as they do in the folk songs. It's a good yarn to read at Halloween, whether or not this is the music that moves you. And sometimes it's really funny. There's a lot of cussing though. Well, the characters are frustrated and scared a lot, and they beg your pardon for their language but you might do the same if faced with similar catastrophes, disasters, travails, frustrations, and circumstances.

The ancient ballads of England, Scotland and Ireland are great stories to visit but nobody in their right mind would want to live there. There's a high body count for every ballad and a happy ending usually involves boy meets girl and they end up sharing a grave. The musicians who go to retrieve the songs, with the help of the magic banjo, Lazarus, know this, but the fact is, the songs also contain a great deal of magic useful in defeating the devils who are out to dehumanize humanity by stealing the music The Queen of the Fairies, aka the Debauchery Demon, Torchy Burns, makes them a deal they can't refuse and the reluctant heroes find themselves thrust into the lives and deaths of ballad people they know are going to end badly. It's enough to make a picker take up accounting!