** spoiler alert ** 
 Drunken angels hang out in bars. Djinn wander the world with wizard children. And occasionally the faeries kill a bunch of campers. 
 This is the world of "Dreams and Shadows: A Novel," a cleverly-written urban fantasy all about two very unusual young boys who become equally unusual young men. And rather than writing the usual werewolf/vampire garbage, C. Robert Cargill writes his debut novel like the greats -- there are definite echoes of Neil Gaiman and Charles de Lint. 
 Ewan was kidnapped by faeries as a newborn baby, and a deformed changeling named Knocks was left in his stead. He was raised, fed and educated by the cruel capricious fae in the Limestone Court, never suspecting the terrible reason they kept him around. And Colby was an ordinary child with an alcoholic mother, until the day he encountered the djinn Yashar -- and set off around the world on a magical journey. 
 When the boys meet, they immediately become friends. But when Colby discovers Ewan's future fate, he goes to desperate lengths to save him. 
 Fast forward fourteen years, and both Colby and Ewan have grown up. Colby is still haunted by the supernatural sights he's seen, but Ewan has forgotten everything about his old life... until hints of it start to resurface. A mysterious girl is following him in his rock concerts, the Wild Hunt demands Colby's help, and Knocks is out for revenge. 
 C. Robert Cargill spends the first half of "Dreams and Shadows" setting up the second, exploring the increasingly strange lives of both the two boys, and the circumstances that forge a lifelong friendship. In fact, that is the book's major flaw -- it spends as much time setting the stage as it does playing out the drama on that stage. 
 Cargill has a writing style reminiscent of Neil Gaiman -- wry, clever and vividly descriptive without getting overblown, with a knack for clever phrases ("Finish your drink; we've got a trap to walk into"). We move everywhere from the ethereally cruel Limestone Court to the slums of Austin, Texas, where fallen angels get drunk in bars and budding rock stars are romanced by Leanan Sidhe. 
 He also loves to explore the darker side of mythic lore, such as the Wild Hunt's ride from Hell or the faeries who feed off despair and death. And rather than exposit on that, Cargill weaves in fictional chapters by Dr. Thaddeus Ray, Ph.D. 
 The entire story hinges on three young men -- Ewan, Colby and Knocks. While they have their similarities, they all end up as very different people. Ewan is a dreamer, optimistic and somewhat clueless, tossed around by forces he doesn't really understand. And Knocks is born a doomed, hateful creature whose life only twists him further -- you pity him and despise him, and he knows he's worthy of both. 
 But the hero ultimately ends up being Colby. He starts out another innocent child, but wishes for knowledge and understanding that no mere mortal should have -- and this makes him an outsider everywhere, dark and cynical, but still appreciative of the brightness in his old friend. 
 "Dreams and Shadows" takes a long time to build up its plot, but it's still worth it -- the story is richly written and gorgeously spooky, with a depth you don't find in many urban fantasies. Here's hoping for more tales in this shadow world.