Welcome to Bordertown: New Stories and Poems of the Borderlands

Written by Holly Black (Editor) and Ellen Kushner (Editor)

Narrated by Cassandra Campbell, MacLeod Andrews, Holly Black and Ellen Kushner

Audie Award Finalist: Best Short Story Collection

Bordertown: a city on the Border between the human world and the elfin realm. A place where neither magic nor technology can be counted on, where elf and human kids run away to find themselves. The Way from our world to the Border has been blocked for thirteen long years.… Now the Way is open once again—and Bordertown welcomes a new set of seekers and dreamers, misfits and makers, to taste life on the Border.

Here are thirteen interconnected stories, one graphic story, and eight poems—all new work by some of today’s best urban fantasy, fantasy, and slipstream writers: Christopher Barzak, Holly Black, Steven Brust, Emma Bull, Cassandra Clare, Charles de Lint, Cory Doctorow, Amal El-Mohtar, Neil Gaiman, Nalo Hopkinson, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Annette Curtis Klause, Ellen Kushner, Patricia McKillip, Dylan Meconis, Tim Pratt, Sara Ryan, Delia Sherman, Will Shetterly, Janni Lee Simner, Catherynne M. Valente, Terri Windling, and Jane Yolen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Apr 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9781455854349

Holly Black (Editor)

Holly Black is the author of bestselling contemporary dark fantasy books for kids and teens, including The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), Tithe, and White Cat. She lives in New England with her husband, Theo, in a house with a secret door.

Reviews for Welcome to Bordertown

[wealhtheowwylfing · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Bordertown was one of my favorite set of stories back when I was a teen. The writing was often a little clunky, and once I started going to night clubs and having adventures of my own the stories became much less exciting. I wouldn't really recommend the majority of it anymore--it's just too self-consciously trying to be hip. But I still have a soft spot for the concept of Bordertown, and a few of the stories have stuck with me.

"Welcome to Bordertown" by Ellen Kushner and Terri Windling. These two stateswomen of the first Bordertown collections set up the overall plot for the reboot. One day, Bordertown became disconnected from the human world, and though 13 years passed for most of humanity, only 13 days passed for Bordertown. A teenage runaway arrives in Bordertown just before the disconnect. When her younger brother comes looking for her, only days have passed for her, but he has grown up. Fairy-tale lover Trish realizes that she'd rather go to college than be a runaway, while her engineering-minded brother decides to stay in Bordertown to play with the odd mixture of tech&magic. Trish feels like a retread of all the starry-eyed runaway teenagers who read a lot of fairy tales but have little street knowledge, and for much of the story she's quite boring. But the path she chooses is a novel one.

"Shannon's Law" by Cory Doctorow. Doctorow decides to bring the internet to Bordertown. Of course he does. I really liked the ways the main character tried to make magic work like technology, but mostly I was just annoyed at the smarmy, ain't-I-the-smartest feel of this story.

"A Voice Like a Hole" by Catherynne M Valente. Fig runs away, but she knows she's not going to fairyland. That's for older, prettier girls. She just wants to get through each day and maybe eat bacon for breakfast. Perfect and fabulous until the last paragraph, which is pure cheese.

"Incunabulum" by Emma Bull. Like a fairy tale happening in a small run-down city. An elf passes through the Border not knowing his name, nor anything about himself, and decides what kind of man he's going to be. Very good.

"A Prince of Thirteen Days" by Alaya Dawn Johnson. This was one of most surprising stories in here. I expected human teens running away to meet elves in Bordertown, discovering that magic alone won't bring them happiness, and then realizing that their own inner strength. Instead, this is the story of Peya, who grew up in Bordertown with a magic-wielding grandmother who says "the Lord is my shepherd" like someone else might say 'Don't fuck up" and a beautiful street-busking mother who's still hung up on the man she left back in the World. Peya likes the magic all round her, but mostly just wants to have sex. I really liked this! The characters felt very real, and very unique.

"The Sages of Elsewhere" by Will Shetterly. Shetterly brings back his old character Wolfboy, who's running a bookstore named Elsewhere these days. He fires an elven assistant who was plotting to steal a magical book from him, and she and her nefarious confederates pretend he's racist against elves to pressure him to give up the book. Sample text: "The small print said we had fired our elfin staff and we refused to do business with stores owned by elves. I began laughing when I got to the part about Elsewhere carrying kids' books that literally belittled elves, and fantasy novels that made elves into 'noble elf' wish-fulfillment figures." A boycott starts, then a mob forms, and Wolfboy and his ladylove (who does literally nothing the entire book) are nearly killed when the mob starts a fire. But wait! The mob was just riled up by evil-doers' magic and lies, and Wolfboy quickly proves that he's not a racist after all, and is in fact much more high-minded and generous than everyone else. It's written in a very basic, kinda clunky style.

Jane Yolen's "Soulja Grrrl: A Long Line Rap" is a "modern" retelling of Tamlin. Every verse is worse than the one before it. Just to give you a taste, it begins,
"I am a single Soulja Grrl, I've got gold in my hair,
A rose is at my boobies, and my feet are always bare.
And no one else can tell me that I can't go here or there.
'Cause a single Soulja Grrl goes anywhere." Jane Yolen's poems are clearly in the collection only because of her name--they're all awful (like everything else she writes nowadays).

"Crossings" by Janni Lee Simner. Analise and Miranda are seventh-grade bffs who run away to find werewolves and vampires in Bordertown. Unfortunately, they find a blood-drinking elf, and Miranda has to save her friend from being overcome with glamor. Not good.

"Fair Trade" is a graphic short story written by Sara Ryan, drawn by Dylan Meconis. A teenager tries to find her mother, lost in Bordertown 13 years ago. I love the art, which is clear but has a style of its own, and I wish there was more to the story, because what is there is written well.

"Our Stars, Our Selves" by Tim Pratt. Allie comes to Bordertown to become a rockstar. There, she is given one wish, to do whatever she pleases, and decides whether to use it to become the star she dreams of being. The dialog tries too hard ("'When you put it that way, I can see your point.' 'Sure you can,'Allie said. 'My point is the pointiest.'"), the plot non-existent, and it doesn't expand Bordertown in the slightest. Forgettable.

"Elf Blood" by Annette Curtis Klause. Lizzie traveled to Bordertown in order to feed on an elf to cure her. She picks Sky, a beautiful musician, to be her next meal, but he's always surrounded by groupies. Instead, his bookish brother Moss befriends her. This was one of my favorites of the collection.

"Ours Is the Prettiest" by Nalo Hopkinson. Damy tries to keep her ex's new girlfriend safe from her ex. But though the new girlfriend is new to Bordertown, she's not new to magic. Probably my favorite story in the collection, both because I like the main character and because it opens Bordertown up so much more. A sense of menace and imininent danger creeps into the story as a children's rhyme follows the characters around, and the magic is just barely-comprehensible.

"We Do Not Come in Peace" by Christopher Barzak. A washed-up street musician helps a young runaway find his feet--but then the runaway starts a movement against the elves. I liked the inner voice of the musician, who has had to compromise a great deal to survive and, a final indignity, has lost his gift for music. But I don't get the plot. Alek leads a mob to burn down Oberon House, and as he walks there Marius plays him a song. Alek turns away from the mob to join Marius and says, "Seems like I have to go to extremes to get your attention. I knew you would come through for me, Marius." In what way has Marius come through for him? I don't get iiiiiiiiit.

"The Rowan Gentleman" by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. Ashley is part of the troupe that acts out movies at the Magic Lantern, so when the movie stops playing (as it inevitably does) the actors can fill in the gaps. Her biggest problem is that her lazy elf boss is courting her, and she fears he wants more than she'll give. But then a street kid stumbles in and dies on the floor of the theatre, and Ashley is swept up in the Rowan Gentleman's story. This is like an urban fantasy retelling of the Scarlet Pimpernel. The plot is a bit thin, and the ending a little abrupt, but overall it's a fun, readable story.

Neil Gaiman's "The Song of the Song" is the only poem I actually like in this collection. It's witty and a little edged but not that weighty.

"A Tangle of Green Men" by Charles de Lint is the tale of an alcoholic juvenile delinquint named Joey who finds new life with a pretty blind girl who teaches him about magic. Unrealistic dialog, personalities, a nearly non-existent plot, and a terrible ending. Cheesey and pandering all round.

Overall, a few great short stories and a few very enjoyable ones.

[pmlyayakkers · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Bordertown is on the edge between the Faerie Realm and the mortal lands. Inhabited by Truebloods (faeries), halfings and mortals it is a place where magic and technology both function erraticly. Most of the humans there are young and either searching for somthing or running from something. This collection features stories by popular authors, set in Bordertown.

[tadad_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Okay, but I preferred the original Bordertown stories. The explanation for the years-long gap was fine, but these new stories didn't capture me the way the old ones did.

[bardbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This collection is so DARN GOOD.
"The origin node for urban fantasy, " says Cory Doctorow. WELCOME TO BORDERTOWN may be your first visit to the Borderlands ... but it won't be your last. Stellar collection of short stories, expertly edited by Holly Black and Ellen Kushner. Addictive as Mad Water!
I'm now chasing Borderland 1-7, delighted by the challenge of unearthing increasingly HTF vintage editions.

[sdramsey-298717 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was my first introduction to Bordertown, and I think I might have enjoyed it more had I been familiar with previous stories set there. The stories were enjoyable (although in an anthology of course it's always a mixed bag--some you love, some are less engaging) but I always felt like maybe I'd be enjoying them more if I had some Bordertown experience. I love the concept though, of a place where our world and other realms meet, neither one nor the other, familiar but strange. Recommended for fans of urban fantasy, for sure!

[seschend · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very solid book conceptually & artistically; favorite stories by de Lint and Bull.

[altheaann · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This volume comes the closest to recapturing the feeling of the original two books as anything that's been published since then. There are a couple of stories here that didn't work for me, but the rest delighted me enough to keep it at 5 stars. Holly Black Gets It.

I was excited enough about this book being released that I preordered it. (Very rare, for me.) I got it in the mail... continued to be excited... and then it disappeared. I loooked and looked... couldn't find it anywhere. It just resurfaced, nearly 3 years later. Considering the premise of the book, I found that odd and appropriate: The 'way' to Bordertown mysteriously disappeared. In Bordertown, only a couple of weeks passed. Out in the World - thirteen years went by. Many humans began to believe that the Border was mythical. Others lost contact with those they loved. (And, it's an excuse to have more modern characters enter a basically-unchanged scenario.)

Bordertown Basics (Letter from the Diggers)- Set out in the form of a local newsletter, this sets the stage...

Welcome to Bordertown - Terri Windling & Ellen Kushner
A 'typical' guy sets out to find his runaway older sister, who's been missing for thirteen years. He makes it to Bordertown, and keeps looking. However, while he searching for her, he finds a life for himself. In the end, both he and his sister must re-evaluate what it is they really want from life. Perfect. Wonderful. Everything I've loved about this series, my whole life, is somehow channeled here. (I suppose it doesn't hurt that this is by the originators...)

Shannon's Law - Cory Doctorow
I can see that some people might have mixed feelings about this one [due to too much focus on technology?], but it totally worked for me. The new arrival to Bordertown here is a young IT entrepreneur, who sees the spotty communications and intermittent workings of magic and technology as a challenge and an opportunity. He's got a punky, DIY-flavored start-up - and his Grail is to establish communication with the Realm. The story gives just enough - and holds back from demystifying things too much.

Cruel Sister (poem) - Patricia A. McKillip
Throughout this book, there are poems and lyrics which really give a sense of the art, music and creativity that's so much of Bordertown's milieu. I have to admit, I'd rather have had a whole story by McKillip, but this is a good poem.

Voice Like a Hole - Catherynne M. Valente
This is one of the stories that didn't work for me. I'd read it recently, in 'Magic City.' It just doesn't have the feel of the original stories. It's an OK story, but the magic wasn't there. Two runaway girls are on a downward spiral, and make it to the Border. But their transportation is just a bit too deus ex machina, and doesn't fit with the original... The Bordertown bit felt a bit tacked-on.

Stairs in Her Hair (song*) - Amal El-Mohtar
Definitely song lyrics. Loved it. I could almost hear the music...

Incunabulum - Emma Bull
I expect good things from Bull, and she does not disappoint. A young Trueblood (elven) man finds himself in Bordertown, with no memory of his name, or why he's there. Disoriented, he meets a woman he believes to be a witch, but who is actually an artist. (Is there a difference?) Gradually he comes to consider: what is more important - who he was, or who he can become?

Run Back to the Border (song) - Steven Brust
I think this is a hard rock one... Fun - but again, I would rather have had a whole story from Brust.

Prince of Thirteen Days - Alaya Dawn Johnson
A fairytale of a virgin girl in love with a beautiful statue instead of a real boy... This story, one could argue, is only coincidentally set in Bordertown, but Johnson really does have a feel for the setting - and the way in which the story works everything out is just about perfect. [It's nicely sex-positive, you can have your dream and then have more...]

The Sages of Elsewhere - Will Shetterly
Shetterly return to his beloved character Dogboy here, with a tale of a rivalry between two bookstores, curses, and a priceless book of elven magic. Great fun.

Soulja Grrrl: A Long Line Rap (song) - Jane Yolen
As it says... I've never thought of Yolen as a rapper, but hey...

Crossings - Janni Lee Simner
Two naive girls come to Bordertown. Each is hoping to find love: one is obsessed with werewolves, and one with vampires. Each, briefly, thinks they've found their dreams - but neither works out as they hoped. The story rang more true in some ways than I'd like to admit; and is also a reminder of the darker side - while most of us survive and live to laugh at our younger selves' reckless foolishness, not everyone makes it through intact.

Fair Trade (Comic) - Sara Ryan & Dylan Meconis
I really enjoyed this brief graphic representation of Bordertown. The story was fairly basic: A girl whose dad's in jail is being threatened with foster care. She runs to Bordertown in search of her mom, and finds a place that might be for her...

Lullabye: Night Song for a Halfie (song) - Jane Yolen
OK, this is more what I expect from Yolen...

Our Stars, Our Selves - Tim Pratt
An aspiring rock star makes it to Bordertown, and quickly realizes that the town's a bit rougher than she expected. Luckily, she meets an astrologer (who misses her former expertise in astronomy, rendered obsolete by the oddness of the Border). The story becomes one about wishes - their use, and misuse - the adjustment of expectations, and the importance of self-reliance. All good stuff. I also liked the glimpse of the Nevernever.

Elf Blood - Annette Curtis Klause
I kind of felt that one story with a vampire theme was enough for this book, because while blood magic is fine, that's not what Bordertown is all about. But both 'Crossings' and this story are done so well, I can't really object. Here, a street artist finds the redemption she longs for. Klause is new to Bordertown, but she does a great job with it.

Ours is the Prettiest - Nalo Hopkinson
Just because you make it to the Border, doesn't mean your life isn't a mess. In the midst of Carnival celebrations, a group of lesbians negotiate a complex web of love, jealousy, violence and resentments. And get blindsided by some unexpected magic. Probably the best thing I've read from Hopkinson.

The Wall (poem) - Delia Sherman
Another good poem...

We Do Not Come in Peace - Christopher Barzak
Friendship, sorrow, initiation and exploitation are all explored in this piece. Nicely done - I think I'll seek out more writing by Barzak.

A Borderland Jump-Rope Rhyme (poem) - Jane Yolen
And... Yolen gets three in this anthology? It's OK, she deserves it...

The Rowan Gentleman - Cassandra Clare & Holly Black
An actress at the local theater company finds a group of masked vigilantes... and love. Art, justice, and the Bordertown way. Great fun, with mystery and action. As I said before, Holly Black Gets It.

The Song of the Song (song) - Neil Gaiman
Gaiman's always good for contributing a poem to a good anthology. This is particularly beautiful.

A Tangle of Green Men - Charles de Lint
Rather a huge disappointment at the end of the book. Honestly, I'd say skip it and end on the Gaiman poem. Read this later, separately. This is not a story of the Border - Bordertown is unnecessarily tacked on at the end. The story has nothing to do with the themes I expect...
Mainly, this is an arrant attempt to drum up atttendees for FaerieCon. It's a FaerieCon/FaerieWorlds story. Don't get me wrong, I love FaerieCon, but this is just not a very good story. Native American convention worker randomly meets blind FaerieCon exhibitor and falls in insta-love. She dies, he gets suicidal. Blah.

[lgildersleeve-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A solid collection of short stories set in the shared land of Bordertown. Like all collections, some stories/poems were better than others.

[catek-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very enjoyable read - not a weak story in the lot. Overall it's a darker view of Bordertown, showing the problems as well as the joy.

[glitrbug_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

544 pages of wonderful stories, a novella, a graphic short, and a couple poems about a city between the Realm (fairie) and the World populated by runaways of all kinds; humans, halfies, Truebloods, a Wolfboy, some goblins, they are all here bumping up against each other. Magic works some of the time but not always they way you'd expect it to. You can't always tell the good guys from the bad. It's a collection of good old fashioned fairy tales in an urban setting. Simply wonderful. Couldn't have been more pleased. Some of the authors who invented Urban Fantasy are here again; Charles de Lint, Will Shetterly, Emma Bull, and Ellen Kushner. There are also authors who read the earlier books and grew up dreaming of Bordertown such as Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, Cory Doctorow, Neil Gaiman, Catherynne M. Valente.

[paperloverevolution · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Like any collection, this one is uneven. Please don't throw things at me, Border fanatics. I assure you that I love Bordertown as much as anyone. The unevenness can be divided roughly into two groups: good and bad. For a change of pace, I'm going to start with what was so very good about this anthology, in a disjointedly listing sort of way. Like so:

Nalo Hopkinson and Catherynne Valente, turning out two ass-kickingly awesome stories, of the type which manage to feel epic and mythic despite their short size. Deep. Scary and beautiful.

Poetry can be an iffy thing in an anthology - it's likely to be too precious, or pretentious, or boring, or just sucky. The poetry selections in this book were great, and more importantly, helped add depth and backstory. Neil Gaiman, with his creepy little song, furthered my theory that he's at his best when most concise.

The old guard of Emma Bull, Terry Windling, and the rest: so good, and always so consistently good. It reminded me of this 'outlaw country' show I went to a couple of years ago. The night was largely young, exuberant people into old-timey music - lots of stomping, and drinking, and the happy sort of bellowing. We were all dancing and sweating and singing. It was great. Then these old guys who had been sitting towards the back, listening, came up for their set, and very politely and thoroughly handed all the young musicians their asses. I mean, these guys could really fucking play. It was sort of humbling and inspiring at the same time. The younger writers in this collection suffer a bit in the same way and for the same reasons - they just don't have the same mastery of the craft. But the most beautiful thing about Bordertown is its generosity. The kids will get there, eventually.

The bad:

I know I put the poetry in the 'good' column, but Jane Yolen shouldn't try hip hop. Well, what the hell. She's Jane Yolen, and I guess she's earned the right to do whatever she wants, even if it turns out sort of awkward and weird.

Annette Curtis Klause. This pains me, because I loved "Blood and Chocolate" so much, and her story here is just not at all good. I can see it might be irresistible to try to get vampires into Bordertown somehow, but this story had too many unconvincing gaps and loose ends to work. I kept thinking that maybe if it was scrapped as a short story and turned into a novel, it might turn out better.

Holly Black sits solidly in the bad category, and Cassandra Clare can join her, for the astonishingly crappy short story they jointly contributed. Yes, you're saying, but Sarah, we already know how you feel about Holly Black, and it seems neither fair nor surprising that you're bashing her contribution now. But I actually had high hopes for this story. True! Holly Black utterly won me over with her charming introduction. Oh Holly Black, I thought, I've maligned you without cause. I felt a warm sense of solidarity with her. And I remembered how good the story 'Poison Eaters' was. Clare has been talked up to me a lot at work, and so, all in all, I was really looking forward to this story. Really. You may be thinking that my change of heart is implausible and untrustworthy, but it actually happened. I was ready to start a new, more charitable chapter with Black. So imagine my sense of betrayal. This story, Rowan something, is about nothing. Noting happens. Things almost happen. We almost learn things about the characters. There's almost an adventure. It starts out promisingly, with a gruesome murder! But then nothing comes of it. The lead characters get into almost trouble and then everyone is saved at once and the plot, which never did get very far, is forgotten in favor of some crude jokes and a romantic jaunt into the sunset. Lord. For further emphasis, I'd just like to point out that my fiance's teenage daughter, who is a HUGE Holly Black fan, totally hated this story. This is extra maddening, because she started out with this one, being excited about Holly Black and all, and hated it so much that she wouldn't even try any of the rest of it, or any other Border related story, for that matter. THANKS A LOT.

No Midori Snyder. This made me sad.

I'm going to put Cory Doctorow right in the middle. He's like that friend we all have, who wants to chew your ear off all the time about the boring thing he's obsessed with, and will use any sort of excuse to work it into any conversation. Borderlands? Let's talk internet!! I'm not one to judge. I drove a very attractive young man clean away once, when, on our first and only date, I got started on medieval papermaking techniques. I think it's a common nerd affliction. The plus side about Doctorow is that he's a) fairly charming, even while preaching, and b) you really should know the shit he's trying to explain to you, because it's important.

So, all in all, there was more good than bad. But it still felt strangely bittersweet. It feels important for Bordertown to get handed over to a younger generation, and it also feels important that it keeps going. I think no other series speaks so strongly and so hopefully to the young, the fucked up, the irredeemably weird, the desperate, and the wounded. Is this the book that will win a whole new crop of fans? I hope so. I just wish it felt more solid.

[fyrefly98 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Overall Summary and Review: Bordertown is much what it sounds like: a strange, ever-changing city that exists on the border between the human world ("The World"), and Faerie ("The Realm"). It's populated by humans, elves (or as they prefer to be called, "Truebloods", but never "fairies"), and their half-blood progeny. It is a world neither here nor there, where neither technology nor magic works reliably, where runaways from both sides of the border live in everything from squalid squats to fabulous mansions, where coffee and creativity are prized more highly than gold. Thirteen years ago, the way from Bordertown into the World was closed, and the stories and legends that built up its mystique have grown in its absence. Now the way is open again, but time passes differently close to the border, and the residents of Bordertown have only been away for thirteen days.This year has marked the first time I've really gotten into the realm of shared-world anthologies, and while I enjoy the idea in theory, I've been finding that there are some problems with it in practice. In this case, the fact that a bunch of different authors were writing in a single world meant that a fair number of the world-building details got repeated. I can understand that hearing the same thing in several ways is meant to reinforce and provide depth, but after the first three or four times, I started to feel like "Yes, we get it, both magic and technology are unpredictable. Can we move on?" I also quickly grew tired of the "here's why I ran away to Bordertown" stories, with the result that the few stories told from the point of view of Bordertown natives wound up being some of my favorites. And while the stories themselves were each technically well-written with no obvious clunkers, I felt like a lot of them only skimmed the surface, rather than exploring the full potential of the world and magic and emotion they were creating, and most of them have not stuck with me particularly well. Bordertown is undoubtedly an interesting world, full of interesting story possibilities, and I can see why so many authors are drawn to it. But I was left with the feeling that there was a greater whole out there, something that was more than the sum of the parts of this anthology, but something it also (frustratingly) never quite reached. 3.5 out of 5 stars.Individual Stories: - "Welcome to Bordertown" by Ellen Kushner and Terri Windling was an excellent (albeit long) story to open with, about a bookish small-town girl who ran away to Bordertown before the borders closed, and her now-not-so-little brother who came looking for her thirteen years later.- "Shannon's Law" by Cory Doctorow is a story of how Bordertown's "internet" works, and about an attempt to get any information across the Border into the Realm. I thought the ending was a little abrupt, but I liked the way Doctorow worked his typical tech-heavy style into a world where the tech is made of equal parts magic.- In "A Voice Like a Hole" by Catherynne M. Valente, a homeless teenage runaway who didn't even believe Bordertown existed tells the story of how she wound up there.- "Incunabulum" by Emma Bull is the story of a young Trueblood, who crosses into Bordertown covered in blood and missing his memories, and how he finds out who he is. The tone of this one was different, darker than a lot of the other stories in this collection, but I liked it quite a bit, and not just because it was a nice change of pace after three runaway stories.- In "A Prince of Thirteen Days" by Alaya Dawn Johnson, the main character hears a prophecy that in thirteen days, she will lose her virginity and fall in love... and she appears to be the only one who can hear the thoughts of the statue in the park. It took me a little while to get my bearings in this story - it's comparably light on the exposition - but I really enjoyed it; several interesting twists meant it never went quite the way I expected.- "The Sages of Elsewhere" by Will Shetterly stars Bordertown's resident wolfman and bookseller, who comes into possession of a valuable and powerful book, and gets caught up in a nasty struggle with one of his less-scrupulous competitors. I enjoyed this one; I think at least in part because it features an older, established Bordertown resident rather than a new arrival... and also a bookstore!- "Crossings" by Janni Lee Simner features two close friends, one obsessed with vampires, the other with werewolves, who find their way to Bordertown in search of romance, only to discover that the creatures that inhabit the shadier parts of town are not so interested in the true love part of the vampire story. While I undoubtedly found the narrator a little silly in parts (as I think you're supposed to), this story had a number of unique elements that I really liked - particularly the focus on friendship over romance, and the subtly dark ending.- "Fair Trade" by Sara Ryan, drawn by Dylan Meconis is a short piece about a girl who goes looking for her mom in Bordertown, but what she expects and what she finds are substantially different.- "Our Stars, Our Selves" by Tim Pratt is the story of an ambitious young musician who travels to Bordertown in search of stardom, but learns - like everyone else - that there's a world of difference between wishing for something and getting it.- "Elf Blood" by Annette Curtis Klause is the story of a girl who doesn't fit; even in Bordertown, she's treated like a half-blood. But the consequences of a decision she made to ease that lonliness are catching up with her, and she might have to do something terrible to save herself. I really enjoyed this one, in no small part because Moss, the leading man, was extremely appealing.- "Ours Is the Prettiest" by Nalo Hopkinson is the story of a vodou Bordertown native, a tempestuous half-blood, and a newcomber to Bordertown, and proves that relationships are even more complicated in Bordertown than in the World.- The narrator of "We Do Not Come in Peace" by Christopher Barzak is a few years older than many of the other narrators in the book, an established Bordertown transplant who is attempting to keep a new arrival from making the same mistakes he did.- "The Rowan Gentleman" by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare is a story of Ashley, a young woman who works at Bordertown's only movie theater (as a live actress, for when the projector stops working). One day, a young woman staggers in and dies with only a few cryptic words, and Ashley's boss starts acting highly suspicious. Another story I really enjoyed, in part because it tells a good, complete story, and in part because it actually does some unique worldbuilding about a side of Bordertown that's not covered elsewhere in the book.- "A Tangle of Green Men" by Charles de Lint is about a young Native American man who is headed down the path of self-destruction, and is given a miraculous second chance to make something of himself, thanks to the saving grace of an extraordinary young woman. This was a really beautiful story, smoothly written and heart-tearing in places, that fit well with the Bordertown feeling without spending more than a tiny fraction of its time in Bordertown proper.I'm not going to comment on the poems (listed below) individually, but I do want to note that the editors did an excellent and very thoughtful job with their placement throughout the collection. In several cases, they either add an interesting counterpoint to the story that preceded them, or provide a bridge between the perspectives of the stories on either side.- "Cruel Sister" by Patricia A. McKillip- "Stairs in Her Hair" by Amal El-Mohtar- "Run Back Across the Border" by Steven Brust- "Soulja Grrrl: A Long Line Rap" by Jane Yolen- "Night Song for a Halfie" by Jane Yolen- "The Wall" by Delia Sherman- "A Borderland Jump-Rope Rhyme" by Jane Yolen- "The Song of the Song" by Neil Gaiman

[basbleu0 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An excellent return after thirteen years to the fey pleasures of Bordertown.

[lilibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Bordertown is on the edge between the Faerie Realm and the mortal lands. Inhabited by Truebloods (faeries), halfings and mortals it is a place where magic and technology both function erraticly. Most of the humans there are young and either searching for somthing or running from something. This collection features stories by popular authors, set in Bordertown.

[sunnysd_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Bordertown is back! Only thirteen days have passed for the denizens of the little city in between, but thirteen years have passed beyond the city limits for us back here in the world. Cell phones, FaceBook, the internet and Wikipedia may be new, but teenagers haven't changed much in the decade plus three. The lost, longing for solace, abandoned and abused still find hope in B-town's promise - of course, reality has sharp teeth, and the escape that's offered isn't for everyone. My favorites? It's a tie between Charles de Lint's "A Tangle of Green Men" and "The Sages of Elsewhere" by Will Shetterly. Wolfboy and Sparks deserved a happy ending, and what a way for Bordertown to acquire... nope, not going to spoil it for you.Those are my favorites, but Welcome to Bordertown has stories of all shapes and sizes - visiting may be tricky, and you don't want to drink the water, but the entertainment's first class.Some of the authors may have changed, but the feel of the stories hasn't. The 13 year gap between installments was annoying, but what a way to explain it - here's hoping Bordertown finds the love, and there are lots more stories forthcoming!

[omnia_mutantur · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was freaking fantastic. I love the idea and execution of shared world writing. I love that there was a mix of old friends and new writers. I love the graphic bit in the middle. If you're new to Bordertown, or coming back to an old haunt, this is an awesome book.

[katekf_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Urban fantasy is a genre that's been constantly changing since the eighties and Welcome to Bordertown has stories from the greats who began the genre and those who continue it. Bordertown is a shared world that sits on the edge of our world and the Realm of the elves, its not an easy place but if its right for a character it can be life changing. The stories and poems all revolve around moments when Bordertown helped someone see themselves and the world anew with a mixture of humor and pathos. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good fantasy and wants some ideas of authors they might enjoy. I plan on finding some of these authors as I'd never read them before and now want more.

[susiebookworm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've never read the original Borderland series, but this anthology has convinced me that I need to. I wasn't really expecting much (a bunch of stories and poems about runaway punk kids is only interesting for so long...), so I was really surprised by what I found. Quality: the authors featured in the anthology are really good writers. Not just exciting, attention-holding good, but well-written good as well. Also, the references to classic literature, everything from traditional fantasy stories to Kipling to Aphra Behn to Flatland, were surprising. Yet the authors keep their writing styles and main subjects distinctly YA because, after all, that's the intended audience. Anyway, I have a much more positive view of urban fantasy now than before, and it was quite interesting to trace through some of its beginnings (and how they're connected to older works and tales) as mentioned in the introductions at the start of the anthology.As to my comment about stories of runaway punk kids only be interesting for so long: I found that there's so much more to the stories than just whiny teenagers. The characters of Welcome to Bordertown come from diverse backgrounds and each has traveled to Borderland for his or her own reason (some trivial, most not), making every work in the anthology come with its own unique characterizations, subsetting, purpose, and style. Basically, the anthology never gets boring. The stories and poems retain diversity; some are sweet, some humorous, some...odd. Vampires even popped up at one point and actually managed to be successfully integrated into the Borderland mythos! (On a side note, Twilight gets referred to by one character as "tween abstinence porn"). Welcome to Bordertown is a very enjoyable read and will draw readers into the blend of fantasy and realism that is Borderland. It's YA fantasy writing at its best.

[readinggeek451 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A return to the quintessential urban fantasy setting, Bordertown, where runaway street kids both human and faerie mingle.Add a star if you like short stories.