“He’s a touch strange at times.”—The Chronicles of John Zebedee
I like Elizabeth Schechter’s books, especially this one although I wasn’t entirely sure why. Her books are quirky. I like quirky. In fact, the quirkier, the better. But that wasn’t it. Then I got it. There are fairies in it. I won’t say how and where they make their appearance because that would be a spoiler (be on the lookout for the explanation of how the fairies came to America). Rest assured though, there be fairies!
It doesn’t hurt either that The Chronicles of John Zebedee harken back to Schechter’s earlier dark horror, historical series, Swords of Charlemagne, which I very much enjoyed. While there was a fair bit of time jumping in those—what else would you expect when your main characters are immortal?—The Chronicles of John Zebedee are fixed in a single time period, post-Civil War America.
Our main character, John Zebedee, is cursed to be immortal. He’s lonely. Everyone he’s ever loved eventually dies while his life continues. His tale of dreary existence, and the unexpected chance at renewed love following his release from a prisoner of war camp in the deep South is recounted over a series of three short stories: John Zebedee and the Heir of the Elvenlands, John Zebedee and the Monstrous Town, and John Zebedee Meets the Witch-Queen of the Elvenlands. Originally, these stories were written for a shared world anthology, meant to include characters in an established wraith-like setting. The project, unfortunately, was unable to be completed. However, by that time, Schechter had the John Zebedee serial completed. Released from the anthology, the short stories were initially released as serials, then combined into the book format.
The chronicles begin with John returning to a place where he found some semblance of happiness before the Civil War broke out. While “home,” he discovers an injured and very strange man hiding in his barn. Even though the man is strange, there is something also familiar about him. When it becomes obvious the man, Ethriel, is being hunted, why, and by whom, John enlists the aid of the local Choctaw peoples to thwart Ethriel’s capture. Then Lilith (yes, that Lilith) makes an appearance, which complicates everything.
Not so surprisingly, Ethriel is not who he appears to be, hence John’s long-deserved HEA ending once the monstrous wraith and witch queen are faced.
A four-and-a-half-star fairytale about an unknowing, eon spanning curse that eventually ends in a satisfying, and deserved happily-ever-after way.
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