Most wizards have staffs, wands, or mediums. Chickpea Del has a tree...

Sometime in the future, in what is now San Francisco, California, the Kingdom of Embarcadero is under siege. Elvis, Alcalde of Potrero-Taraval, wants to steal its secrets, mysterious outsiders want to expel its citizens, an ancient and sinister Force threatens to devour their souls. Salvation rests on the slender shoulders of a young wizard named Chickpea Del and his unlikely allies - a red-haired Chinese girl, a ghostly tribe of Mission Indians and a small fir tree named Doug.

A brief review by Vonda N. McIntyre: "The book charmed me. I fell in love with Taco and Firescape - and Doug. Bohnhoff's prose is inventive, yet transparent: a dialect comprehensible to contemporary readers but also perfectly evolved for its near-future setting. It can also be very, very funny. When I had to put the story down, I looked forward to picking it up again. After I finished it, I kept expecting to be able to go back to it, because the characters' lives extended beyond 'The End.' I hope I get to read those adventures, too." - Vonda N. McIntyre