Moonlight and Vines

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.

Rating:
Summary: Newford; A more somber collection
Review: I was glad to find a third collection of Newford tales, but still a bit dissapointed. The stories hit some deep emotional tones, and I even found tears streaming down my face at more than one part of this book. However, this didn't have the light-hearted flow of his previous Newford collections of short stories. It seems almost like DeLint set out to come up with a moral tone and it wasn't as enjoyable as the lighter, beat-of-the-town which I was expecting.

Some of the ideas were a bit far-fetched as well. Even though I didn't care as much for it as the two previous Newford Collections, it's still good. His prose is well writen in a realistic, conversational way. His charachters put me back in a time of my wild, young, living-on-the edge days and remind me of people I used to know. I've moved to a more stable(ok, I'll admit, boring and full of responsibilities) lifestyle now and it's nice to remember my young, living on ramen noodles lifestyle with a romantic and magical edge that DeLint can infuse into his stories and charachters.

Rating:
Summary: Newford; A more somber collection
Review: I was glad to find a third collection of Newford tales, but still a bit dissapointed. The stories hit some deep emotional tones, and I even found tears streaming down my face at more than one part of this book. However, this didn't have the light-hearted flow of his previous Newford collections of short stories. It seems almost like DeLint set out to come up with a moral tone and it wasn't as enjoyable as the lighter, beat-of-the-town which I was expecting.

Some of the ideas were a bit far-fetched as well. Even though I didn't care as much for it as the two previous Newford Collections, it's still good. His prose is well writen in a realistic, conversational way. His charachters put me back in a time of my wild, young, living-on-the edge days and remind me of people I used to know. I've moved to a more stable(ok, I'll admit, boring and full of responsibilities) lifestyle now and it's nice to remember my young, living on ramen noodles lifestyle with a romantic and magical edge that DeLint can infuse into his stories and charachters.

Rating:
Summary: What a find!
Review: I'm about 2/3rds of the way through this collection of stories and after most of the tales I think to myself, "That one was my favorite". Thank goodness they are short stories or I'd never be able to put this book down.

This is my first book by de Lint, and my first exposure to "urban fantasy". I am delighted. It is almost Twilight Zonish- you feel that some of these things really could happen, and that they could even happen to you. As I've grown older I was moving away from the fantasy genre, but this has reawakened my love of magical possibilites. These are real characters, partially in a world I'm familiar with, touching on worlds I wish existed.

I've already bought other copies for two of my friends. I highly recommend picking this one up.

Rating:
Summary: What a find!
Review: I'm about 2/3rds of the way through this collection of stories and after most of the tales I think to myself, "That one was my favorite". Thank goodness they are short stories or I'd never be able to put this book down.

This is my first book by de Lint, and my first exposure to "urban fantasy". I am delighted. It is almost Twilight Zonish- you feel that some of these things really could happen, and that they could even happen to you. As I've grown older I was moving away from the fantasy genre, but this has reawakened my love of magical possibilites. These are real characters, partially in a world I'm familiar with, touching on worlds I wish existed.

I've already bought other copies for two of my friends. I highly recommend picking this one up.

Rating:
Summary: not up to the standards of his other collections
Review: like many hardcore delint fans, i was waiting with great anticipation for his latest book. his newest book while quite good,lacks the impact of his other collections. Mr. Delint has chosen to introduce all new characters in his newest book and they just arent as interesting as his regulars,who do make cameo appearances.Buy this book if you are a big fan but be aware he has produced better fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Another wonderful de Lint collection
Review: Someday, I'm going to pick up a Charles de Lint book and be disappointed. Really. So far, while I haven't been uniformly delighted with them, I've never found one I wasn't fascinated by to some degree.

_Moonlight and Vines_ is no exception. It reaches out and entwines itself in your psyche, leaving you still finding bits of it in odd places for months to come. As does all de Lint, it speaks to some part of you that really does see the wonder behind the everyday facade.

Rating:
Summary: Another wonderful de Lint collection
Review: Someday, I'm going to pick up a Charles de Lint book and be disappointed. Really. So far, while I haven't been uniformly delighted with them, I've never found one I wasn't fascinated by to some degree.

_Moonlight and Vines_ is no exception. It reaches out and entwines itself in your psyche, leaving you still finding bits of it in odd places for months to come. As does all de Lint, it speaks to some part of you that really does see the wonder behind the everyday facade.

Rating:
Summary: EXTRAORDINARY!
Review: The characters are deep and fascinating, and the writing is as rich as it gets. Woven among these tales of urban myth and magic are powerful messages of social conscience. My only concern is that few of the male characters are positive, while most of the female ones are. I hope that Mr. de Lint can create a few more heroic men in his future works.

Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as others think
Review: The first time I read this book I was a bit disappointed. I loved the first story (Saskia) and liked the others to varying degrees, but I really didn't think many compared to my favorites (Timeskip from Dreams Underfoot, the one about Sophie's mom in Ivory and the Horn). I've read it several times since, and I really must say that I feel much differently. There is one story I still don't like much, but the others have -- grown on me? Not exactly. It's more like I'm able to appreciate them more after a second or third or fourth reading. I think in colors sometimes, and while Ivory and the Horn was mostly shades of purples and blues, this ranges from shades of green and grey to blood-red and black and taupe and other browns. (I don't know if that's at all helpful, but maybe if you think like I do, it is.)

With some of the stories, if you know where they came from, they make more sense. There is one that came from a horror collection -- two, maybe -- and one is from a collection about castles (that would be the title story) . . .

I suppose if you're looking for the same characters (Jilly, Sophie, Geordie, etc.) you'll get some of them, but Christy has really been expanded, and many new people vaguely associated with the regulars are similarly changed. This new crop is at least on the level of his usual characters. There is a bit more of a concentration on the fringe element than usual, though.

No, as other people have said, this isn't the place to start. To understand the characters, you have to read Dreams Underfoot and The Ivory and the Horn -- and to a point, Memory and Dream, Trader, Someplace to be Flying, and The Dreaming Place. One really must discover the characters as he did.

But it isn't an unworthwhile book. Quite the opposite, really. From the first sentence of Saskia ("I envy the music lovers hear") to the end of the author's note (wherein he tells you his webpage -- find it if you're at all interested!) it is quite thoroughly de Lint. I can't wait for the next book (June 2000, I think) to come out.