Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: A great book...kinda like Swann's "Moreau" trilogy if you were to subtract the furries and add myths and metaphysics. Outstanding post-apocalyptic fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: A mystical sf adventure that works
Review: As the twenty-first century is half way through its final decade, the world is a terrible place to live except for the Enclaves. Most of the residents of the planet live in polluted communities ruled totally by money and greed with things turning worse all the time as the world nears collapse under the weight of destruction and devastation and dissolution. On the other hand, the Enclave is a clean environment where the tribes thrive in peace. The powers of the disease ridden environs outside the Enclave blame the problems on the Tribes as a means of diverting accountability by using a convenient scapegoat to silent the masses. A flyer containing an Enclave technological chip that could help cleanse the world crashes in the outside. Afraid that it will be misused, the Enclavers send Gahzee into the precarious mess to retrieve the chip before the outside world begins encroachment on the Enclaves. SVAHA is a reprint of the classic tale of Native American magic mingling in a world on the eve of destruction caused by self-interests polluting the environment and the minds of the people. The story line is fast-paced, filled with action, and loaded with fully developed characters representing different sides of the conflict. This novel shows why Charles de Lint has been so highly regarded by fans of science fiction and fantasy for well over a decade. Readers of HIERO'S JOURNEY will fully relish this great tale. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A mystical sf adventure that works
Review: As the twenty-first century is half way through its final decade, the world is a terrible place to live except for the Enclaves. Most of the residents of the planet live in polluted communities ruled totally by money and greed with things turning worse all the time as the world nears collapse under the weight of destruction and devastation and dissolution. On the other hand, the Enclave is a clean environment where the tribes thrive in peace. The powers of the disease ridden environs outside the Enclave blame the problems on the Tribes as a means of diverting accountability by using a convenient scapegoat to silent the masses. A flyer containing an Enclave technological chip that could help cleanse the world crashes in the outside. Afraid that it will be misused, the Enclavers send Gahzee into the precarious mess to retrieve the chip before the outside world begins encroachment on the Enclaves. SVAHA is a reprint of the classic tale of Native American magic mingling in a world on the eve of destruction caused by self-interests polluting the environment and the minds of the people. The story line is fast-paced, filled with action, and loaded with fully developed characters representing different sides of the conflict. This novel shows why Charles de Lint has been so highly regarded by fans of science fiction and fantasy for well over a decade. Readers of HIERO'S JOURNEY will fully relish this great tale. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Older de Lint work, standing the test of time.
Review: Before they began reprinting "Svaha" I managed to find a first printing copy in a used book store - yay! This is one of his older publications, and I've found that some of de Lint's earlier works are a little more quirky, a little less formula than his newer ones. In many ways, that's quite desireable, and I find "Svaha" to be a great read.
Rating:
Summary: Older de Lint work, standing the test of time.
Review: Before they began reprinting "Svaha" I managed to find a first printing copy in a used book store - yay! This is one of his older publications, and I've found that some of de Lint's earlier works are a little more quirky, a little less formula than his newer ones. In many ways, that's quite desireable, and I find "Svaha" to be a great read.
Rating:
Summary: An adventure novel with deeper truths
Review: I just finished reading Svaha for perhaps the 6th time. Each time I read it, I get more from the book. While it is a super book to read if you want to experience a post-apocalyptic adventure story, if you read it for that alone, you're missing so much. The mixture of Native American and Japanese cultures, the struggle between honor, duty and the need for change, all of these combine to create a world of teaching.
Rating:
Summary: An adventure novel with deeper truths
Review: I just finished reading Svaha for perhaps the 6th time. Each time I read it, I get more from the book. While it is a super book to read if you want to experience a post-apocalyptic adventure story, if you read it for that alone, you're missing so much. The mixture of Native American and Japanese cultures, the struggle between honor, duty and the need for change, all of these combine to create a world of teaching.
Rating: 
Summary: Not so sure about this.
Review: I love, love, LOVE de Lint. But Svaha...Svaha left me a little cold. I enjoyed reading it, sure, but it didn't affect me the way his books usually do. Part of the problem, I think, is that I don't think even de Lint knew what he wanted this book to be about. There is an element of Japanese culture, the cliched wastelands, the mandatory Native spirituality...but nothing really tying any of them together. The book revs up an adrenaline high early on, keeps it going, and then just ENDS. In, like, a page, the story reaches its climax and conclusion, and the reader is left thinking, "What? It's DONE?" The story doesn't feel finished to me. There is also the annoying gratuitous character death, which is really atypical for de Lint. He keeps introducing these characters, mostly walking sci-fi charicatures, and then kills them off. Also, there was what I have come to call the "Wyrd Science" problem--the panoramic view of the future, the technology--basically, all the sci-fi stuff just sounded sort of off to me. Don't get me wrong, here...the writing is pretty damn good, and a bad de Lint is better than a great Nina Kiriki Whatsername any day. But this just didn't quite work for me.
Rating:
Summary: Not so sure about this.
Review: I love, love, LOVE de Lint. But Svaha...Svaha left me a little cold. I enjoyed reading it, sure, but it didn't affect me the way his books usually do. Part of the problem, I think, is that I don't think even de Lint knew what he wanted this book to be about. There is an element of Japanese culture, the cliched wastelands, the mandatory Native spirituality...but nothing really tying any of them together. The book revs up an adrenaline high early on, keeps it going, and then just ENDS. In, like, a page, the story reaches its climax and conclusion, and the reader is left thinking, "What? It's DONE?" The story doesn't feel finished to me. There is also the annoying gratuitous character death, which is really atypical for de Lint. He keeps introducing these characters, mostly walking sci-fi charicatures, and then kills them off. Also, there was what I have come to call the "Wyrd Science" problem--the panoramic view of the future, the technology--basically, all the sci-fi stuff just sounded sort of off to me. Don't get me wrong, here...the writing is pretty damn good, and a bad de Lint is better than a great Nina Kiriki Whatsername any day. But this just didn't quite work for me.
Rating:
Summary: A great book! Get it before it disappears again!
Review: I really like de Lint's urban fantasy for its grittiness and despair which exists alongside its hope and beauty. I would call this book science fiction-- it takes place in the future and deals with technology we clearly don't have. It also deals with Native American/ Aboriginal spirituality and Dreamtime. It's a beautiful quest book about creating community in an awful time and place between people who are not terrible and not immediately identifiable as 'community.' I am very glad to see this book is now in print again, it deserves a large audience. I had to wait for years to find a copy, you won't have to.
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