The Meq

November 22, 2004
Anyone who can get past the trite opening scenes of country singer Cash's fantasy debut will be pleasantly surprised as the stilted prose becomes the accented speech of a fluent foreigner and the sketchy characters turn into solid people. As the orphan Zianno searches the world for the mysterious Sailor, he soon meets other Basque children who share his true heritage: they are the Meq, who stay 12 years old until they meet their soul mates and choose to attain mortality together. Zianno's almost-romance with the beautiful and mortal Carolina and his friendships with other Meq are described with a deep tenderness that plays up the brutality of the Fleur-du-Mal, an ancient renegade Meq who kills Carolina's sister and kidnaps her daughter. As Zianno, Sailor and their companions hunt the Fleur-du-Mal, the vividly painted landscape of the early 20th century unfolds around them, populated by many famous people (from T.S. Eliot to Scott Joplin) and events from the 1904 World's Fair to the 1918 influenza epidemic. Those expecting a conventional tale of immortality's woes or a coming-of-age story won't find either, but as light and engaging historical fiction with a fantasy twist, the novel works well. Agent, Frances Bissell. (Jan. 25)

FYI:
In the 1970s, the author was a member of the Ozark Mountain Devils band and composed the hit pop song "Jackie Blue."

Starred review from December 15, 2004
Cash's first novel is a surprisingly ingenious, lushly detailed story that turns fantasy on its head. Yes, it features a battle of good against evil, magic amulets, and a group on a quest to discover its long-forgotten heritage. But beyond that, it soars into new territory. The Meq is a race that has lived anonymously among humans throughout the centuries. But when Meq turn 12, they remain that age, in body if not in mind, until they each meet the one other Meq who is their soul mate. The day he turns 12 in 1881, Ziannio Zezen, known as Z, loses his parents in a tragic train wreck, knowing only that he must keep the baseball his father gave him and must find Umla-Meq and Sailor. As he embarks on the search, various humans as well as other Meq befriend him, and they unite in trying to stop the evil Meq known as the Fleur-du-Mal. As years pass, the plot encompasses the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, China's Boxer Rebellion, and other turn-of-the century events with a you-are-there flavor, and also dips back into antiquity through the memories of Meq who have been alive for centuries. The drama is intense, the characterizations are fully realized, and the very cadence of the language infuses a rich sense of time, place, and historical context that draws one in.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)

January 15, 2005
Upon his 12th birthday, in 1881, young Zianno Zezen discovers that he is not human but an immortal creature known as a Meq, who will not grow older until he finds his soul mate. As the years pass, Zianno attempts to understand what he is while also trying to bring to justice the evil Meq called Fleur-du-Mal. Singer-songwriter Cash's first novel displays the author's storytelling talent as well as his original approach to fantasy. A well-crafted tale, this belongs in most libraries' fantasy collections.

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.