Rating: Summary: Magic is alive, and that is not always pretty Review: Charles de Lint has an amazing way of writing; I can only compare his style to Guy Gavriel Key, which makes me think that there is something truly magical in the waters up in Canada. When de Lint writes, you feel a strong tug at your deepest core; you know he is writing about a truth, even if you have yourself never seen balloon people -- they are true on a level beyond something seen on the news.Many writers currently seem determined to make faeries and other magical creatures very nice, very sweet, and altogether sappy. In these short stories we find nice creatures. We also find not quite so nice ones. We also find quite horrid ones, ones that would make our nightmares sit up and take notice. We find here the wellspring for artistic inspiration and the black void that leads to drug overdoses, the spirit of freedom and the freedom that goes too far and leads to madness. Here is hope, despair, and every other emotion, sometimes whispering, sometimes crying defiantly, but always with a sense that there is a truth here, no matter how much it may seem like a "mere fairy tale". This is an important point -- de Lint is writing about reality, about real lives, about real feelings, about real emotions. There is a touch of magic to this, from the woman who doesn't want to admit that she sees things others do not, to the man who falls too in love with a photograph. What de Lint is writing about is what makes us ourselves, whether that is very good or very not good; he writes about fears, lusts, emotional expression, distrust, scams, and dozens of other human activities with a passion and an honesty that few can match or manage. In the end these works may be seen as parables, as internal explanations, or almost anything else, but ultimately they are beautiful works, very poignant, and full of sadnss, beauty, joy, and fear. They are raw expressions of all that happens in our world, coloured slightly by a dusting of the fey and the careful tread of a coyote in his moccasins. Read, love, cry, and feel.
Rating: Summary: Magic is alive, and that is not always pretty Review: Charles de Lint has an amazing way of writing; I can only compare his style to Guy Gavriel Key, which makes me think that there is something truly magical in the waters up in Canada. When de Lint writes, you feel a strong tug at your deepest core; you know he is writing about a truth, even if you have yourself never seen balloon people -- they are true on a level beyond something seen on the news. Many writers currently seem determined to make faeries and other magical creatures very nice, very sweet, and altogether sappy. In these short stories we find nice creatures. We also find not quite so nice ones. We also find quite horrid ones, ones that would make our nightmares sit up and take notice. We find here the wellspring for artistic inspiration and the black void that leads to drug overdoses, the spirit of freedom and the freedom that goes too far and leads to madness. Here is hope, despair, and every other emotion, sometimes whispering, sometimes crying defiantly, but always with a sense that there is a truth here, no matter how much it may seem like a "mere fairy tale". This is an important point -- de Lint is writing about reality, about real lives, about real feelings, about real emotions. There is a touch of magic to this, from the woman who doesn't want to admit that she sees things others do not, to the man who falls too in love with a photograph. What de Lint is writing about is what makes us ourselves, whether that is very good or very not good; he writes about fears, lusts, emotional expression, distrust, scams, and dozens of other human activities with a passion and an honesty that few can match or manage. In the end these works may be seen as parables, as internal explanations, or almost anything else, but ultimately they are beautiful works, very poignant, and full of sadnss, beauty, joy, and fear. They are raw expressions of all that happens in our world, coloured slightly by a dusting of the fey and the careful tread of a coyote in his moccasins. Read, love, cry, and feel.
Rating: Summary: Mostly Beautiful Review: Charles deLint has produced a third collection of short stories ( Dreams Underfoot & The Ivory and the Horn) set in his complex and lovely city of Newford. I have been a great fan of de Lint for about five years... and I have to be honest, with the exception of "Saskia," "Heartfires," "Twa Corbies," and a few others I was a little dissapointed. He evokes such wonder and magic from his stories that the reader is sucked into the world of Christy Ridell, and Jilly Coppercorn, or Geordie... For those of you who are just getting into de Lint, I suggest "Dreams Underfoot" and "Moonheart," or "Memory and Dream," This is something to be attained for us hard core fans. But beautiful nonetheless.
Rating: Summary: What Happened? Review: Having been a De Lint fan for many years now, I found this collection to be just what I had been looking for in his previous works. The masterful blend of reality and the fantasic brings us back to a time when the veil between the mundane and the mystical seemed just a little bit thinner, when we could accept the mysteries of life and of magic without the desperate need to catorgorize them, file them away, and forget them. This novel seems to have a slightly darker feel than the others, incorporating lifestyles and beliefs just a shade outside of our own and letting us borrow them for a while, walk in their steps, and see through their eyes. The incorporation of the political overtones to his work serve as a poignant reminder of our responsiblity to the victims of our society. Overall, this book is a lovely collection which can be taken either as simply a charming set of stories, or as a well phrased wake up call to the issues we all face, directly or just as observers.
Rating: Summary: The Magic in All of Us Review: Having been a De Lint fan for many years now, I found this collection to be just what I had been looking for in his previous works. The masterful blend of reality and the fantasic brings us back to a time when the veil between the mundane and the mystical seemed just a little bit thinner, when we could accept the mysteries of life and of magic without the desperate need to catorgorize them, file them away, and forget them. This novel seems to have a slightly darker feel than the others, incorporating lifestyles and beliefs just a shade outside of our own and letting us borrow them for a while, walk in their steps, and see through their eyes. The incorporation of the political overtones to his work serve as a poignant reminder of our responsiblity to the victims of our society. Overall, this book is a lovely collection which can be taken either as simply a charming set of stories, or as a well phrased wake up call to the issues we all face, directly or just as observers.
Rating: Summary: A more diverse collection of Newford stories... Review: I absolutely loved "The Ivory and the Horn," "Memory and Dream," and "Dreams Underfoot," and as a result, I scooped up a copy of "Moonlight and Vines" as soon as I saw it. In as much as this is a collection of Newford stories, it was another wonderful collection of the urban fantasy that lovers of DeLint flock to. Newford is a city where dreams can walk the streets, where the past and present can touch in rainstorms, and where graveyards can be the sanctuary for lost youth and innocence given form. This is a world where magic walks hand in hand with the reality of a city, in all its glory - and its uncaring. On a more personal note, I found that the Newford stories in "Moonlight and Vines" grew up. Not in a sense that these stories are about harder topics than previous books - for DeLint has not been shy about touching upon such difficult issues as child abuse, addiction, and the like. What I found was that the stories in this book more often figured older adults, not those on the edge of teenage years or the mid-late twenties, and also that the reappearance of the usual cast of characters (Jilly Coppercorn, for example) was not as prevalent in this collection. All in all, I loved it. I re-read all my Newford books, and it was only with slight regret that I didn't find Jilly and the others in this book as often as I'd like. Pick this up, (heck, pick all the Newford books up)! Canada's master of fantasy strikes again. 'Nathan
Rating: Summary: YUK! Review: I always thought of myself as a die hard de lint fan. I died but I went to hell. I can't understand what happened between moonheart and this but you can feel the magic wanting to break through and being bogged down in politics. I'm sorry, but I can't really find anything good to say about this book other than it had his name on the cover. I'm going to cry now in a corner and hope he produces something a little less....dry in the future
Rating: Summary: Quite possibly his best book ever. Review: I have been a fan of Charles DeLint ever since a friend handed me "Dreams Underfoot" and said "Read it, you'll like it." I did and I loved the book. Now, it seems like forever between Mr. DeLint's books and I scour bookstores, hoping that a new one has magically appeared overnight. With his books, one never knows. In this collection of short stories, we follow his characters as they deal with the puzzles that perplex many of us. Who am I? Where am I going? Have I made the right choices? Through his characters, Mr. DeLint tells us that it is good to question, and not to be afraid of the answers. And as added spice, he throws in the "other" inhabitants of Newford. Ghosts, fairies and shape-shifters to name a few. If you have never read any of his Newford Collection, I suggest starting at the beginning with "Dreams Underfoot" and then onto "Memory and Horn" and finally "Moonlight and Vines". By the time you finish the last book, the characters are old friends that you expect to stop over for coffee at any moment. Expect to dive into this book and not want to surface for a least a weekend.
Rating: Summary: What Happened? Review: I have read two of DeLint's collections: Dreams Underfoot and Moonlight and Vines. I absolutely loved Dreams Underfoot, and couldn't wait to read more--but this book disappointed me. The stories are too repetitious, and most of them don't stand up to DeLint's usual standard of quality (or what I assume his standard is; I've only read two of his books, after all). However, there are a few real gems in here, my favorite being the one about Pandora's Box (I'd give you the name, but I can't find my copy). I recommend this book only for serious fans of DeLint. Everyone else should read Dreams Underfoot first (and ignore the stupis cover design).
Rating: Summary: A nice collection of short stories Review: I was first introduced to Charles De Lint's short stories in other anthologies, and that spurred me to find one of his collections. The stories are well-crafted and introspective, although the author occasionally becomes a bit heavy-handed in getting his themes across. "Saskia," "The Big Sky," and "Held Safe by Moonlight and Vines" are memorable pieces in this anthology. _Moonlight and Vines_ is the first book I've ever read by this author, but I will go searching for others.
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