The Art of Arrow Cutting

When Michelangelo Magistrale (aka Mage) meets Amanda Sharmon at a Greyhound station and ends up with the key to her apartment, it's nothing unusual for him. Despite his scruffy appearance and lack of money, Mage is handsome, personable and has a way with women. It's a complete surprise, however, when, a couple of days later, he's almost murdered by a gun-toting goon looking for Amanda. Realizing that the young woman is in serious trouble, Mage sets off across Canada and the western U.S. to find her. He's aided in his quest by an odd assortment of characters, among them Charlie Takumo, a stuntman who specializes in playing movie ninjas and who may just be the illegitimate son of Charles Manson; Kelly Barbet, a black public defender and former basketball star; and his uncle Dante Mandaglione, a mystery writer with inside information on the yakuza. Before ending his quest, Mage must clear himself of a murder charge, do battle with a variety of monsters and magicians out of Japanese mythology and train himself to be a mage in fact as well as in nickname. Dedman's first novel isn't particularly deep, and Mage learns his lessons in magic with less effort than seems reasonable, but it's well written and the author has a knack for developing fascinating, if somewhat unlikely, characters. This novel should appeal to readers who enjoy urban fantasies of the sort made popular by Charles de Lint, Megan Lindholm and Emma Bull. (June)