Walking With Murphy's Shaman

Urban Shaman: The Walker Papers by C.E. Murphy

I almost passed on this book before even cracking the cover.

Not that there's anything wrong with the cover. Hugh Syme's art is not only lovely, but it manages to meld many different elements and symbols without being crowded. Also-though not obvious until after reading the book-the cover fairly accurately captures the main character and things that happen in the book without giving any spoilers.

No, it was the setting that worried me. It was a romantic fantasy set in modern America-Seattle, to be exact-published by Luna Books. I ha'd already been burned reading their other modern fantasy (that one set in New York) and wasn't eager for a recurrence.

It wasn't until I read the short story, Banshee Cries in Winter Moon that I realized I might be missing something good.

C.E. Murphy's debut novel Urban Shaman is a fun, enjoyable read. From the first page, she lets loose with a wise-cracking humor that stays with the heroine in even her worst and most despairing moments.

The heroine is Joanne Walker, a police mechanic who is flying home from Ireland after the death of her mother. From the airplane, she sees a woman in distress and is compelled to come to her aid. The search turns her previously rational and grounded life upside-down as she encounters power within herself that she would have scoffed at previously.

Now a disclaimer is perhaps necessary here. This is a fantasy novel, not a detective or police procedural novel. There are, of course, some resemblances, but if you are expecting realism, you need to go elsewhere. You won't enjoy this book if you aren't willing to suspend disbelief and accept that some things can happen that you'd normally argue cannot or would not.

At the heart of it, that is what Joanne's journey is all about-learning to have faith in things that are beyond her ken. So if the police don't act quite like we would expect police to act, then we let it slide by with the understanding that this really is a genre novel. What we can glory in is Joanne's discovery of her powers and her relationships with all those around her.

Granted, there are some similarities between Urban Shaman and hard-boiled detective fiction. There are certainly as many dead bodies as you could hope for in a serial murder mystery. However, the killers are gods and demigods, opponents that leave the traditional police force somewhat out of their league. Urban Shaman is an action-packed book that could easily be turned into a fascinating movie under the hands of a director who can meld special effects and relationships.

One of the more fascinating elements of the book is the blend of cultures and symbolism. Joanne is half-Native American, half-Black Irish. The places that she visits and the people she meets are replete with references drawn from pagan, Native American, Christian, Celtic, and Judaic sources.

Joanne discovers that she is a shaman-someone who heals. Murphy manages to imbue the story with plenty of fight scenes while still having a character who looks to defeat her enemies by healing rather than by destroying. Dungeons and Dragons players won't be able to help but crack a smile at the number of times Joanne is able to heal herself from otherwise mortal wounds. The geek in me kept hearing the healing dice hit the table as the cleric managed to keep herself and others alive.

Murphy triumphs when it comes to the creation of minor characters. They are fascinating creatures that manage to step just outside their archetypes enough to surprise the reader and enliven the pages.

While the mission of Luna Books is to publish fantasies with strong female characters and a romantic subplot, Urban Shaman is rather notable for not having a romantic subplot. There is the occasional tease that there might be a romance in the future, but you will find more romance and sex in your traditional high fantasy novels than you will in this book.

Murphy's Urban Shaman is neither groundbreaking nor a giant among literature. It is, though, something highly worthwhile-a very entertaining read that is well worth the cover price.

--B. Redman