Half

Lang’s debut intimately intertwines romance and existential angst with the lives of the Fey folk, handling each aspect of the story with genuine sensitivity and just a bit of melodrama. Luca is a young man living in a present-day city that could be just about anywhere, with a foot in complementing, yet opposing, worlds. His human half enables him to do things for the Fey, yet keeps him from being fully accepted. His Fey half allows him to see more dimensions than the full humans can, yet is slowly killing him. He longs to know his sister, Saban, a high-court Sidhe, as an adult, yet holds himself separate as penance for leaving her behind in the land of the Fey. All of the disparate pieces pull him in varying directions until Kin, a ningyo water yokai healer, comes into his life and offers the possibility of hope. The gentle relationship between the two men follows right along with the exploration of dichotomous themes: there’s a simmering sensuality that’s only enhanced by their almost childlike wonder and innocence. At times the sweetness comes across as cloying, adolescent, and over the top, but for the most part this tale is successful on all its many fronts. (Feb.)