There’s a traveling man the Carolina mountain folk call Silver John for the silver strings strung on his guitar. In his wanderings John encounters a parade of benighted forest creatures, mountain spirits, and shapeless horrors from the void of history with only his enduring spirit, playful wit, and the magic of his guitar to preserve him. Manly Wade Wellman’s Silver John is one of the most beloved figures in fantasy, a true American folk hero of the literary age. For the first time the Planet Stories edition of Who Fears the Devil? collects all of John’s adventures published throughout Wellman’s life, including two stories about John before he got his silver-stringed guitar that have never previously appeared in a Silver John collection. Lost, out of print, or buried in expensive hardcover editions, the seminal, unforgettable tales of Who Fears the Devil? stand ready for a new generation ready to continue the folk tradition of Silver John!-Print ed.
“This is the real thing—a book of haunting fantasies with their roots going down deep into the American folk tradition. Manly Wade Wellman not only wrote the stuff, he lived it—exploring the Ozark storytelling traditions at first hand for many years, and shaping the tales he heard into unforgettable fiction.”—Robert Silverberg, author of Lord Valentine’s Castle
“From pulp magazines to Arkham House to “The Twilight Zone,” Manly Wade Wellman is a legend—and one of the finest regional fantasists of his day. Having all these tales in one place is both fitting tribute and pure delight!”—Greg Bear, author of Darwin’s Radio
“A superb writer at his best, and at his best, I think, when writing Silver John.”—Michael Moorcock
“Just as J. R. R. Tolkien brilliantly created a modem British myth cycle, so did Manly Wade Wellman give to us an imaginary world of purely American fact, fantasy, and song...These stories are chilling and enchanting, magical and down-to-earth, full of wonder and humanity. They are fun. They are like nothing you’ve ever read before.” Karl Edward Wagner, creator of Kane
“One of science fiction’s few authentic, legitimate artists...entertaining, familiar in a racial-memory sort of way, and educational, [but] also comforting and uplifting...stories that somehow feel exactly right. There are some brilliant and evocative stories waiting up ahead for you.”—Mike Resnick, author of Stalking the Dragon
“...these stories read as if John is sitting by the potbellied stove in the general store, talking to the good ‘ol boys, maybe once in a while pausing to dip into the cracker or pickle barrel...Wellman is a writer as good as he is prolific, and his output is so varied that anyone interested in the fiction of the supernatural is sure to find something enjoyable.”—The Reader’s Guide to Fantasy
“Wellman’s stories are not only first-rate fantasies and marvelously entertaining, they have a truly unique warmth to them.”—Gahan Wilson for Realms of Fantasy
“This is the real thing—a book of haunting fantasies with their roots going down deep into the American folk tradition. Manly Wade Wellman not only wrote the stuff, he lived it—exploring the Ozark storytelling traditions at first hand for many years, and shaping the tales he heard into unforgettable fiction.”—Robert Silverberg, author of Lord Valentine’s Castle
“From pulp magazines to Arkham House to “The Twilight Zone,” Manly Wade Wellman is a legend—and one of the finest regional fantasists of his day. Having all these tales in one place is both fitting tribute and pure delight!”—Greg Bear, author of Darwin’s Radio
“A superb writer at his best, and at his best, I think, when writing Silver John.”—Michael Moorcock
“Just as J. R. R. Tolkien brilliantly created a modem British myth cycle, so did Manly Wade Wellman give to us an imaginary world of purely American fact, fantasy, and song...These stories are chilling and enchanting, magical and down-to-earth, full of wonder and humanity. They are fun. They are like nothing you’ve ever read before.” Karl Edward Wagner, creator of Kane
“One of science fiction’s few authentic, legitimate artists...entertaining, familiar in a racial-memory sort of way, and educational, [but] also comforting and uplifting...stories that somehow feel exactly right. There are some brilliant and evocative stories waiting up ahead for you.”—Mike Resnick, author of Stalking the Dragon
“...these stories read as if John is sitting by the potbellied stove in the general store, talking to the good ‘ol boys, maybe once in a while pausing to dip into the cracker or pickle barrel...Wellman is a writer as good as he is prolific, and his output is so varied that anyone interested in the fiction of the supernatural is sure to find something enjoyable.”—The Reader’s Guide to Fantasy
“Wellman’s stories are not only first-rate fantasies and marvelously entertaining, they have a truly unique warmth to them.”—Gahan Wilson for Realms of Fantasy
