Magic Street by Orson Scott Card

I don’t read very much fantasy or science fiction, but occasionally I do make an exception if it blends our real world to the fantasy world, as E. Nesbit and C. S. Lewis do, for example.  I thoroughly enjoyed this novel by Card.  I have read a few of his other works, including Enchantment (very good), Ender’s Game (brilliant, but depressing).  Magic Street  is reminiscent of Enchantment.  Here’s the surprise: Card is white, and book is set in an middle class African-American community in L.A., with no white characters.  I’m impressed that he would even attempt such a thing.  Apparently a friend of his requested that he write a book with an African-American hero.  Whether or not he pulls it off successfully, I can’t say, not being black myself.  But he does seem to do a fair job at the very least.  

The story is kind of like a Part II to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream, and then some.  The plot developed well, although by the end it was pretty easy to figure out what was going to happen.  I think Bryon Williams was one of the most interesting characters, but unfortunately we didn’t see much of him after the beginning.  Puck was well-done.  One of my favorite moments was when Card tossed in an allusion to the movie The Court Jester with Danny Kaye (great show, go rent it), and thankfully did not explain the allusion.  Overall, it’s a good read.