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John the Balladeer , (Introduction) , David Drake (Foreword)

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John the Balladeer

Manly Wade Wellman , Karl Edward Wagner (Introduction) , David Drake (Foreword)

John the Balladeer Manly Wade Wellman , Karl Edward Wagner (Introduction) , David Drake (Foreword) Collection of 17 short stories (written in two chronological periods, 1951-58 and 1979-86) plus a few ultra- short vignettes written in 1962-63, presented in the order they were written, and all set in Appalachia and featuring Wellman series character Silver John. John wanders the mountains on foot as an itinerant folk singer of the old songs (his nickname comes from his guitar strings made of silver --- a substance that also repels some supernatural nasties --- but he's also known as a "witch-master," that is, a kind of paranormal troubleshooter whose lore and skills render him "master over" and able to defeat the sinister sorcery of witches and "ha'nts." His variety of supernatural adventures bring him to face with time travel, revenants, various monsters of regional folklore such as the "Behinder," and other macabre phenomena.

Contents:

1 · Foreword: Manly in the Mountains · David Drake · fw * [Manly Wade Wellman] 4 · Introduction: Just Call Me John · Karl Edward Wagner · in * [Manly Wade Wellman] 9 · O Ugly Bird! · ss F&SF Dec ’51 25 · The Desrick on Yandro · ss F&SF Jun ’52 41 · Vandy, Vandy · ss F&SF Mar ’53 59 · One Other · ss F&SF Aug ’53 77 · Call Me from the Valley · ss F&SF Mar ’54 92 · The Little Black Train · ss F&SF Aug ’54 112 · Shiver in the Pines · ss F&SF Feb ’55 134 · Walk Like a Mountain · ss F&SF Jun ’55 154 · On the Hills and Everywhere · ss F&SF Jan ’56 165 · Old Devlins Was A-Waiting · ss F&SF Feb ’57 189 · Nine Yards of Other Cloth · ss F&SF Nov ’58 212 · Wonder as I Wander · gp F&SF Mar ’62; Then I Wasn’t Alone, vi; You Know the Tale of Hoph, vi; Blue Monkey, vi; The Stars Down There, vi; Find the Place Yourself, vi; I Can’t Claim That, vi; Who Else Could I Count On, vi 219 · Farther Down the Trail · gp Who Fears the Devil, , 1963; John’s My Name, vi; Why They’re Named That, vi; None Wiser for the Trip, vi; Nary Spell, vi 223 · Trill Coster’s Burden · ss Whispers II, ed. Stuart David Schiff, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1979 237 · The Spring · ss #2, ed. Charles L. Grant, Doubleday, 1979 252 · Owls Hoot in the Daytime · ss , ed. Kirby McCauley, Viking, 1980 268 · Can These Bones Live? · ss Sorcerer’s Apprentice #11 ’81 280 · Nobody Ever Goes There · ss #3, ed. , DAW, 1981 294 · Where Did She Wander? · ss Whispers Oct ’87

John the Balladeer Details

Date : Published 1988 by Baen ISBN : 9780671654184 Author : Manly Wade Wellman , Karl Edward Wagner (Introduction) , David Drake (Foreword) Format : Paperback 306 pages Genre : , Fiction, Short Stories, Horror

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From Reader Review John the Balladeer for online ebook

Rhys says

I have mixed feelings about this collection of stories. It's partly brilliant, partly annoying. The early stories, where John isn't quite such a pious do-gooder, are superior to the later, in which the same tired formula is repeated again and again: John is threatened by evil but it's OK because he has good on his side, so he's bound to win. This formula destroys any tension that might have existed. And yet, some of the atmospheric effects in certain passages are hugely enjoyable.

Jim says

Silver John wanders 's mountains with his silver-strung guitar in a land and time where the supernatural--from George Washington's ghost to something evil dwelling in a deserted mine--is never far away

Bax says

Atmospheric set of folkloric horror tales set in the shadowy hollows of Appalachia.

John & his silver-strung guitar make an indelible impression.

Andy Love says

This is a wonderful collection of short stories (and two groups of very short vignettes) about John, an itinerant folk-singer and student of folkways, who wanders the backwoods of the American south, learning, writing, and performing songs, played on his silver-stringed guitar, which is nearly his only possession. Through luck, knowledge of folk magic and good character, he faces down various evils, and helps the people he encounters with their problems. Most of the stories are in the first-person, but there are two memorable stories told in the third person: one a story told by John (who is sometimes styled "Silver John") about a carpenter who helps two neighbors restore a broken friendship, and the other, a story that shows John from the outside, helping rescue two people whose curiosity has gotten them into trouble. I look forward to reading the Silver John novels.

Joseph says hillbilly gold. and spooky as hell.

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Mickey Schulz says

I first read one of Manly Wade Wellman's John the Balladeer stories in a children's horror short story collection, and it stuck in my head. I'd seen these stories anthologized several times, but this collection is brilliant. I love the way he writes about Appalachain folk beliefs.

Ronda says

This collection of short stories is one that I've re-read on so many occasions. I don't typically like to read short stories--not sure why, but this series is just the right mix of Appalachian folklore, music, and folk--feels like home.

Alan says

I've been interested in the character of John the Balladeer, or known in some circles as Silver John, since I encountered a mention of him. Please read the short forward by David Drake so you have a better idea of where Wellman is headed with this character.

With the large market I am surprised that no one has really thought of trying rural fantasy. Years before urban fantasy really became as big as it is, Wellman had John and his guitar going through the mountain regions of the Southeast encountering dangers told about in old tales and songs.

John is not so much the protagonist as a catalyst, and that works well in these short stories. John wanders into a town or settlement, hears tell of an old story or song, and then deals with the aftermath. It could be an old curse, or something awakened by John's arrival.

This is a very enjoyable collection, and I am aware that John appears in a couple of novels. However, I don't see the character working well in a novel, as he is barely two-dimensional in these stories.

But, he does work in these short stories.

Leons1701 says

Interesting fantasy collection, the stories of Silver John and his wanderings about Appalachia, where he encounters a good bit of weirdness and some outright evil. Fortunately, he has a deep knowledge of the magic and mysteries around him, a good heart, and his trusty silver stringed guitar. An early modern classic of the fantasy genre, these stories date to the 50's and 60's (mostly, a few are newer), and from various references take place at that time, but most of them have a certain timelessness to them that could place them in the Appalachia of almost any era from the Civil War onwards. Others make mention of the fading of the old folkways (and especially the old music) before the oncoming of modernization. I dimly recall reading one of the Silver John novels many, many years ago and not being impressed, well, I can't say I was truly impressed by this collection either, but I have no trouble accepting that most folks

PDF File: John the Balladeer... 5 Read and Download Ebook John the Balladeer... consider the shorts to be better than the novels. Still might hunt down a few of the novels again to see what I think now.

Travis says

A man with a magic guitar wanders across america singing songs, taking odd jobs and fighting supernatural menaces.

Reads like a mix of John Steinbeck and 'Supernatural'. Very atmospheric and entertaining.

Andy says

A fairly well written but ultimately boring collection of stories about a backwoods traveler who solves supernatural problems with folksy wisdom and Christian wholesomeness. It works for one or two stories, but it wears thin quickly thereafter. Perhaps the novels are better, but I was seriously underwhelmed by this collection about which I had heard nothing but good things.

Helmut says

Die Gitarre mit den silbernen Saiten

Lassen Sie mich raten - Sie sind bei diesem Buch über die Hellboy-Verbindung gelandet. Wellman ist heutzutage in Deutschland praktisch unbekannt, und was für ein Verlust das ist, wird jeder Leser nach Lektüre dieses Sammelbands erkennen. Umso wichtiger ist, dass aktuelle Werke, wie z.B. das eben zitierte Hellboy Vol. 10: The Crooked Man & Others, dieses Vergessen verhindern.

Dieser Band enthält alle "Silver John"-Geschichten Wellmans (es fehlen nur die Romane), also die Geschichten um den herumreisenden Gitarrenspieler John, der einsame Täler und verlassene Orte besucht, um alte Lieder zu finden. Die abergläubischen Hinterwäldler, auf die er trifft, haben alle Angst vor düsteren Hexern und bösen Monstern, die in diesen abgelegenen Orten wohnen, und, wie sich schnell herausstellt, ist das Böse nicht immer nur Aberglaube, sondern grausige Realität - und die Angst davor ist durchaus begründet...

Enthalten sind:

O Ugly Bird! The Desrick on Yandro Vandy, Vandy One Other Call Me From the Valley The Little Black Train Shiver in the Pines Walk Like a Mountain On the Hills and Everywhere

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Old Devlins Was A-Waiting Nine Yards of Other Cloth Wonder as I Wander: Some Footprints on John's Trail Through Magic Mountains Farther Down the Trail Trill Coster's Burden The Spring Owls Hoot in the Daytime Can These Bones Live? Nobody Ever Goes There Where Did She Wander?

Ich kenne kaum Kurzgeschichten, die einen so fesseln wie die hier versammelten; gerade die frühen, wie "O Ugly Bird!", "The Desrick on Yandro" oder "Vandy, Vandy" erzeugen eine extrem dichte Atmosphäre, die sich mit kaum etwas vergleichen lässt, was ich sonst kenne. Sicherlich sind dies keine Horror-Geschichten, und auch der Begriff "Fantasy" scheint mir unangebracht - die Geschichten ähneln irgendwie mehr den deutschen Volkssagen von Wilhelm Hauff wie "Das kalte Herz", nur eben deutlich moderner und sehr stark regional verortet in Nordamerika. Düster, voller unheilvoller Gestalten und Hexerei und dabei aber auch mit viel Action versehen.

Die Baen-Ausgabe ist mit einem Vorwort von David Drake und einem von Karl Edward Wagner versehen. Das Papier entspricht dem typischen 80er-Jahre-Qualitätsstandard für Taschenbücher (also sehr billig und zum starken Vergilben neigend), die Bindung ist dafür gut und das Schriftbild vernünftig (wenn auch etwas mehr Weißraum nicht schaden würde). Als Alternative zu diesem Band kann man sich auch die Neuzusammenstellung bei Nightshade Books holen, die optisch deutlich mehr hermacht (Owls Hoot in the Daytime and Other Omens).

Melanti says

This is a set of closely related tales where Silver John wanders around the Appalacian mountains in the late 1950's/early 60's, encountering situations from ballads and folklore of the region, then thwarts what evil he finds with his silver strung guitar. Like a lot of ballads, it focuses more on an eerie atmosphere and events rather than character development or solid motivations. I enjoyed it and I'm going to try to track down some of the novels about Silver John.

I was a bit embarassed by how few of the ballads I recognized, though I think a few of them were written specially for this book. I'm going to try to find my copy of Some Ballad Folks and see if I can find any more of the original sources. Granted, I'd be more likely to find them in a Childs collection but that seems like cheating considering I'm looking for Appalachian versions of the ballads.

Randy says

Collection of the Silver John stories. Set in the mountains of North Carolina.

Michelle Hajder says

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This is one of those books that I need to have handy; it'll never get weeded from my collection.

Wellman's short stories are touching, heartfelt americana - oh, and spooky as all hell.

Gregory D. says

So if you are over the age of 35 and had any love of old-school fantasy, you have heard of Manly Wade Wellman (yeah his real name), whose bio is as colorful as his name, and whose career stretched from the 1920s to the mid-1980s. He is, in many ways, the father of the "occult detective" (although Howard also was an early worker in that field) sub-genre so everyone from Randall Garrett to Jim Butcher trace back to him.

Anyway, beside a few, isolated stories in collections, I knew who MWW was but had never read him, so when I found this old collection of his own favorite character, Silver John/John the Balladeer I thought it was time I caught up. What a good move! Set in Appalachia in the 1960s, John, whose last name is never revealed, is a wandering singer who carries a guitar strung with strings of pure silver. He is a veteran of the Korean War turned wandering folk-singer, who encounters creatures and superstitions from the folk tales and superstitions of the region. An unusual character, an unusual setting and the writing (these stories were written from the mid-60s to early 80s) doesn't feel particularly dated: the prose is powerful and the inter- weaving of both real and created Appalachian lyrics lends a poetic power to it all. Glad I found it!

Weltenburger Kloster says

Starts out really interesting and good, but then repeats itself to death and becomes more and more one dimensional. Main problem is that protagonist is never in real believable danger, and supposedly is in danger all the time. If there had been only one, the first story, I would had given it 5 stars, but even that story sucks when reading many of the similar build. Also christian good characters who have only one dimension (goodness) in them are often a really bad idea. Hugo did it well in Les Miserables, giving us a very believable character, but this character just sucks in a long run. A fucking modest besserwissering philantropist. But the whole idea of rural supernatural americana, with folk song motives and ghosts and devils thrown in, is good.

Nick Colen says

The stories of silver John or simply John as he has no last name are some of the only stories of pulp fiction that deal with American folklore of the Appalachias. These story are exciting, spooky, funny, touching, and educational as almost every one of them is based on legends that people out side of the American south have never heard. If you like horror or action or just love folklore you have to read these stories.

Matt Carpenter says

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These short stories are fun, although the quality varies. The earlier stories are not as well-plotted as the later stories, but part of the reason for reading is the depiction of Appalachia. The dialect, mannerisms, and culture of the characters is accurate for the time in which it was based. Silver John is a good, upright character who is faithful to help all who are in need. He is not superhuman, but applies his knowledge of supernatural things to the situations he encounters.

Werner says

Although I first encountered Silver John at novel length, the author introduced him in the short fiction form, not long after moving to Appalachia himself and falling in love with the region. The homespun, largely self- educated John is the last of a chain of paranormal investigator series characters found in Wellman's work going back to the pulp era (and he's no less smart and formidable than the rest), but his background makes him a change of pace from the others, and his wise, folksy persona makes him a particularly endearing character. (My wife is not a supernatural fiction fan, but became a fan of this series when I introduced her to it, and admits that this is largely because of the appeal of John himself.)

Born to missionary parents in what is today Angola, and himself a professing Episcopalian, Wellman not infrequently reflects Christian faith in his writing. A Christian message is clearest here in the very Christ- centered "On the Hills and Everywhere;" but it also underlies stories like "Trill Coster's Burden," which revolves around the old practice of "sin-eating" (and features a rare literary appearance of John's wife, Evadare), and "Walk Like a Mountain." John's own faith is low-key (and not inconsistent with moderate use of moonshine, an Appalachian custom Wellman also appreciated :-) ) but it's present in the background. A part of the appeal of the stories (and the Silver John novels as well) is the author's deft use of Appalachian background, and rich Appalachian dialect, especially in John's own narrative voice --and unlike Appalachian writers like Sharyn McCrumb, Wellman consciously presents a traditional Appalachia as little touched by modernity as possible, which much of it still was in 1951, when he wrote the first Silver John story. But his erudition in the lore of the macabre is wide-ranging, so his story elements aren't always confined to strictly Appalachian motifs. Finally, Wellman's plots are upbeat; his outlook is that of a Romantic, not a cynic, so the reader can trust that in Silver John, the forces of evil will meet their match.

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