John the Balladeer (Silver John #6) 3Stars

 

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Title: John the Balladeer
Series: Silver John #6
Author: Manly Wade Wellman
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Folk Fantasy
Pages: 222
Words: 90K
Publish: 1988

This was a good end to my Silver John read by Manly Wade Wellman. I will say though, Wellman likes telling us that the women in the stories (if they are bad) don’t wear underwear. Make of that what you will.

This was a collection of the short stories that Wellman wrote about Silver John from 1951-1987 and showcases many of the instances that John references in the full novels. We also get the story of how John and Evadaire meet and marry. There is a section of what I’d call “micro-fiction”, little stories 1-2 paragraphs long that still manage to tell a whole story. I was actually quite impressed with the ability of Wellman to get an Idea across with so few words. No blather and filler here!

I don’t see myself ever re-reading these Silver John books. I enjoyed my time with them, really enjoyed the covers and it brought back good memories of seeing the books in the public library in the 90’s. Speaking of covers, I’m including the 2023 re-release version here. Not sure why, as it seems like the artist was on drugs when he drew it, but it still captures that fey and wild feel of American Folklore that Wellman was going for with Silver John.

★★★☆☆

From the Publisher & Table of Contents

In John the Balladeer, Manly Wade Wellman created one of the great characters in all of horror and fantasy literature. Armed with his silver-stringed guitar and an endless trove of folk songs, John travels the backwoods of Appalachia, battling supernatural evil with his own brand of down-home charm and endless resourcefulness. In these tales, John wanders the Southern mountains, encountering hoodoo men and witch women, strange supernatural beasts, malevolent spirits, and even George Washington's ghost.

Edited by horror legend Karl Edward Wagner, this volume contains the complete John the Balladeer stories in their original, unaltered form, as they first appeared in magazines and anthologies between 1951 and 1987. Also featured is a foreword by Wellman's friend and literary executor David Drake and an introduction by Wagner.

Introduction to the
Electronic Publication
of John the Balladeer

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
Old Devlins Was A-Waiting
Nine Yards of Other Cloth
Wonder as I Wander:
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?