City of Roses is a serialized epic very firmly set in Portland, Oregon-an urban fantasy mixing magical realism with gonzo noirish prose, where duels are fought in Pioneer Square and union meetings are beseiged by ghost bicycles. -It's the story of Jo Maguire, a highly strung, underemployed telemarketer, and what happens when she meets Ysabel, a princess of unspecified pedigree. Jo rather unexpectedly becomes Ysabel's guardian and caretaker, and now must make her way through the strange subculture of Ysabel's decidedly odd family and friends (which involves rather more swordplay than she's used to)-while Ysabel must now deal with a diet of frozen pizza and a job that requires her to call strangers on the phone and ask them how satisfied they are with their banks. Vol. 1, "Wake up...," collects the first 11 chapbooks of City of Roses. -Think of it as a DVD box set collecting the first half of the first season of your favorite television program. It ends on a hell of a cliffhanger, yes: but there's more, much more to come.